Is a lawyer required for lodging possession order?

Hi

A Lawyer is not required for applying for possession order. If you are applying an accelerated possession this will be without a court heanng but under this process you will not be able to Claim arrears.

if you wanted Possesionand arrears then this is a longer process and a hearing will be listed.

The court's backlog together with being unable to geg through to the court for updates does becom rather frustrating

Just to give you an idea I assisted a friend and we started an application on 24th July and submitted to Wandsworth County Court and possession order has only just been granted and am awaitung for bailiffs appointment and gave been informed that court is on a 10 to 14 weeks back lag so this will most likely not be resolved until Feb 2024

I hope this helps

Thanks
Resh

Reply to the comment left by Kin Wang at 15/12/2023 - 10:40
You are covered, though check if for Legal, under block insurance policies as paying your share of the premium and should, as well as your mortgage lender, be noted as being an interested party on the policy

Reply to the comment left by Neil Heffey at 14/12/2023 - 17:35
I am currently trying to evict a tenant who owe in excess of 5 months rent. Whilst all of the paperwork is in order, my solicitor advised me to go with Section 8. The initial court court hearing came, to my surprise the tenant attended with a legal aid solicitor. Low and behold, the tenant sat there in silence throughout and their solicitor informed the judge they will be lodging a counterclaim for disrepair. The judge immediately adjurned until mid Feb next year. The tenant has not reported any disrepair since this June , when I had their boiler swapped. Am I correct in thinking that disrepair is the only ground a defendant can derail / delay possession ?. As with any eviction , I do not expect to see a penny , I just want to regain possession. Would you think that, as long as the paperwork is tight, Section 21 notices are more straightforward going forward ?
Thanks

When I read articles like this, I don't understand why landlords don't take out legal cover as part of their buy to let buildings insurance. It generally adds around £20 to an annual policy - much cheaper than paying for legal help as you go.

Reply to the comment left by Trapped Landlord at 16/12/2023 - 15:43
The section 8 procedure is the best and quickest to use in my own personal opinion especially for rent arrears or other breaches of tenancy. As far as my own experience with evictions goes, judges are far to keen to simply adjourn the first hearing as soon as a defendant attends and claims disrepair. There is no consideration for the additional fees that the landlord often incurs for having to attend another hearing and await the further delay whilst the arrears escalate. Not really much can be done, the rules of the court require the defendant to file a defence and counterclaim before the hearing so it should not really be adjourned.

Most of the time, whilst disrepair claims get an adjournment, it is very rare that possession wouldn’t be granted at the next hearing as the defendants fail to actually make any claim or evidence the disrepair

Reply to the comment left by Neil Heffey at 16/12/2023 - 18:26Bearing in mind I have never issued a Section 21 that isn't down to rent arrears or asb , it sounds like I've nothing to be concerned about with the section 21 being banned ?. It is encouraging what you say about very few cases being thrown out at the second hearing, it seems to me like the disrepair yarn is nothing more than a loophole of grabbing on to another month or two. My tenants have now come up with a list of alleged repairs this week that I intend looking at and carrying out any necessary work, but under what circumstances in your experience would a judge not grant possession at the second hearing ? I would have thought an improvement / emergency remedial action notice from environmental health would be needed ?

Reply to the comment left by Trapped Landlord at 16/12/2023 - 20:19
Claims for disrepair are not generally straight forward. Expert evidence is usually required by way of a surveyors report of some description. The tenant have to have actually reported the repairs and you have to have failed to address them. The usual way that compensation is awarded to a tenant is a percentage of rent (20% - 50% depending on severity of disrepair) for the period that the disrepair has been ongoing. If your tenants have now sent you a list of repairs that you were unaware of before now, you should arrange for necessary works to be carried out regardless of the fact that you are evicting them. If they don't allow you access, then keep notes of your efforts to address the issues and use written communication rather than phone calls

Reply to the comment left by Judith Wordsworth at 16/12/2023 - 09:52Hi Judith,
Thanks for your advice.
Could you elaborate a bit more about the building insurance in regards to cover for this aspect please? How do I make a claim by using the building insurance?
Thanks,
Kin