Evicting a tenant

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Original Poster:

39,690 posts

195 months

Tuesday 19th August 2014
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Does anybody have any experience of evicting tenants and debt recovery? I’ve obtained a possession order as well as an order for costs and arrears.

With regards to the eviction is it better to use the County Court bailiffs or to transfer the case to High Court and ask HCEO people to enforce the eviction? The latter option seems quicker and more efficient but Im not sure what the cost is likely to be.

With regards to order for costs and rent arrears – Scrotey McTenant is working but it’s a fairly low pay job. It will cost me £300 to apply for an attachment of earnings order. Is it worth it?

Anything else I should consider?

Thanks in advance

Mildly irritated of Tunbridge Wells

zcacogp

11,239 posts

243 months

Tuesday 19th August 2014
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Being brutally honest, if he doesn't own a place of his own and will move to another rental then tracking him down for any outstanding money is not likely to be easy. Getting him out is your goal, along with keeping as much of the deposit as possible.

I don't know much about the eviction process (thankfully not something I have ever had to do) but a specialist lawyer may be your best bet. Rude-Boy (John) will probably know more. I do know you need to do it correctly, otherwise Mr Scrotey McScroteScrote can decline to leave.


Oli.

Randomthoughts

917 posts

132 months

Tuesday 19th August 2014
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Send it over to HCEO. They tend to wander in and 'help' people to move out, leaving them no choice.

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Original Poster:

39,690 posts

195 months

Tuesday 19th August 2014
quotequote all
zcacogp said:
Being brutally honest, if he doesn't own a place of his own and will move to another rental then tracking him down for any outstanding money is not likely to be easy. Getting him out is your goal, along with keeping as much of the deposit as possible.

Oli.
Thanks. She's still in my property and she's in employment so my Solicitor suggested applying for an attachment of earnings order quickly while we still know where she is and where she works. However if she's on low pay Im not sure how much I'd get so Im weighing this up against the £315 it's going to cost in terms of applying for one.

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Original Poster:

39,690 posts

195 months

Tuesday 19th August 2014
quotequote all
Randomthoughts said:
Send it over to HCEO. They tend to wander in and 'help' people to move out, leaving them no choice.
Apparently HCEO are quicker and FAR more efficient at evicting people. However I've been quoted £1440 to use them. Apparently there's a waiting list of 6/8 weeks for the County Court bailiffs, however they will only cost £225 ish.

Does anybody know if CC Bailiffs and HCEO Bailiffs have the same powers ?

Randomthoughts

917 posts

132 months

Tuesday 19th August 2014
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I thought they got that from the people they were rinsing... TVs etc get lifted to cover the bill...

Eleven

26,271 posts

221 months

Tuesday 19th August 2014
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Countdown said:
Apparently HCEO are quicker and FAR more efficient at evicting people. However I've been quoted £1440 to use them. Apparently there's a waiting list of 6/8 weeks for the County Court bailiffs, however they will only cost £225 ish.

Does anybody know if CC Bailiffs and HCEO Bailiffs have the same powers ?
Just a thought: Go over and see your tenant, taking the documents with you. Explain that she is imminently leaving whether she likes it or not, wouldn't she rather leave now with £500 cash in her hand than be rudely removed by some horrid men in a couple of weeks? The first scenario gives her a deposit with which to terrorise another landlord, the latter leaves her empty handed.


zcacogp

11,239 posts

243 months

Tuesday 19th August 2014
quotequote all
Countdown said:
Thanks. She's still in my property and she's in employment so my Solicitor suggested applying for an attachment of earnings order quickly while we still know where she is and where she works. However if she's on low pay Im not sure how much I'd get so Im weighing this up against the £315 it's going to cost in terms of applying for one.
She's employed by you as well as being your tenant? Gosh, that'll make things a little more interesting. While it will mean you will need to play things entirely by the book, doesn't it give you some interesting positions for leverage?

Certainly a pretty frank face-to-face discussion would be the first thing to do, if you haven't done so already. Find out what she wants and what worries her, and go from there.


Oli.

ETA: SORRY, Epic thread mis-read there. I've left my last (wrong) answer up as someone is bound to quote it, but please ignore it. She's in employment but not in YOUR employment.

A direct conversation is the first step, as I suggested. Also, how much is the place going to let for a month? If it's £1400 for the High Court baliffs but it means you get the place back a month earlier, it could be £1400 well spent.


Oli.

Edited by zcacogp on Tuesday 19th August 15:25

Red Devil

13,055 posts

207 months

Tuesday 19th August 2014
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Countdown said:
Does anybody know if CC Bailiffs and HCEO Bailiffs have the same powers?
HCEOs have far more clout.

For starters, obstructing one who is effecting the execution of a Writ is an arrestable offence. They also act a LOT quicker.
However, as you will be seeking a Writ of Possession in respect of an AST or periodic tenancy, read these articles first.

http://thesheriffsoffice.com/articles/repossession...
http://thesheriffsoffice.com/articles/residential_...

Also, HCEO fees are for the account of the judgement debtor, NOT the applicant.
All the latter pays is a compliance fee if the enforcement is unsuccessful.

If the County Court judge approves the transfer under Section 42 (see link above) there is every prospect of success.

Edited by Red Devil on Tuesday 19th August 16:12

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Original Poster:

39,690 posts

195 months

Tuesday 19th August 2014
quotequote all
Randomthoughts said:
I thought they got that from the people they were rinsing... TVs etc get lifted to cover the bill...
That's what some websites lead me to believe which is why I'm wondering why the people I instructed to issue S8 Notice are asking for £1440 for the next stage.

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Original Poster:

39,690 posts

195 months

Tuesday 19th August 2014
quotequote all
Eleven said:
Just a thought: Go over and see your tenant, taking the documents with you. Explain that she is imminently leaving whether she likes it or not, wouldn't she rather leave now with £500 cash in her hand than be rudely removed by some horrid men in a couple of weeks? The first scenario gives her a deposit with which to terrorise another landlord, the latter leaves her empty handed.
That's the thing. All the way through I've been texting her, adjusting her payment dates, deferring her rent until it came to a head last December when she was 2 months in arrears. I gave her a final verbal warning and she'd actually caught up with her arrears in Feb, at which point she completely stopped paying. The agents chased her, I chased her, absolutely nothing. Refuses to answer the door, has changed the locks, neighbours complaining about the smell of marijuana. Ive tried to contact her repeatedly but nothing.

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Original Poster:

39,690 posts

195 months

Tuesday 19th August 2014
quotequote all
Red Devil said:
HCEOs have far more clout.

For starters, obstructing one who is effecting the execution of a Writ is an arrestable offence. They also act a LOT quicker.
However, as you will be seeking a Writ of Possession in respect of an AST or periodic tenancy, read these articles first.

http://thesheriffsoffice.com/articles/repossession...
http://thesheriffsoffice.com/articles/residential_...

Also, HCEO fees are for the account of the judgement debtor, NOT the applicant.
All the latter pays is a compliance fee if the enforcement is unsuccessful.

If the County Court judge approves the transfer under Section 42 (see link above) there is every prospect of success.

Edited by Red Devil on Tuesday 19th August 16:12
Thanks - they look very useful.

On first glance there's nothing about costs in there for using a HCEO. Anybody have any ideas?

Eleven

26,271 posts

221 months

Tuesday 19th August 2014
quotequote all
Countdown said:
Eleven said:
Just a thought: Go over and see your tenant, taking the documents with you. Explain that she is imminently leaving whether she likes it or not, wouldn't she rather leave now with £500 cash in her hand than be rudely removed by some horrid men in a couple of weeks? The first scenario gives her a deposit with which to terrorise another landlord, the latter leaves her empty handed.
That's the thing. All the way through I've been texting her, adjusting her payment dates, deferring her rent until it came to a head last December when she was 2 months in arrears. I gave her a final verbal warning and she'd actually caught up with her arrears in Feb, at which point she completely stopped paying. The agents chased her, I chased her, absolutely nothing. Refuses to answer the door, has changed the locks, neighbours complaining about the smell of marijuana. Ive tried to contact her repeatedly but nothing.
The problem is that you're making it easy for her to ignore you and the legal process is doing nothing but costing you money and buying her time.

You need to be careful about not breaking the law but it's usually possible to bring about the right outcome by employing the relevant section of the Ways and Means Act.

Eclassy

1,201 posts

121 months

Tuesday 19th August 2014
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The County Court will not allow a transfer up to the High Court for eviction unless you are friends with people in high places e.g the district judge. Once the 14/28 days notice she was given is up, apply to your county court for the bailiffs. It cost me £100 in April. Maybe prices have now gone up. Average waiting time around my way is 10/12 weeks. The bailiff said he is doing about 11 a day. Just shows you there is an endless supply of scum tenants.

£1440 is a scam. Thanks to the internet, you can do most of these things by yourself these days.

I have just had the money order bit of my possession order transfered to a HCEO. It cost only £60

Red Devil

13,055 posts

207 months

Wednesday 20th August 2014
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Eclassy said:
The County Court will not allow a transfer up to the High Court for eviction unless you are friends with people in high places e.g the district judge. Once the 14/28 days notice she was given is up, apply to your county court for the bailiffs. It cost me £100 in April. Maybe prices have now gone up. Average waiting time around my way is 10/12 weeks. The bailiff said he is doing about 11 a day. Just shows you there is an endless supply of scum tenants.
Yes, it does depend on the judge but it's a myth that you have to be a member of the same Lodge to be successful. rolleyes
As with many other things, the right form of wording on a Section 42 application can make a difference. See the second link I posted.
It's not a guarantee but makes it more difficult for the judge to refuse the application. Did you even try yet still get short shrift?

Eclassy said:
I have just had the money order bit of my possession order transfered to a HCEO. It cost only £60
If the money order was for unpaid rent you may have missed a trick. Again, see the second link.

Eclassy

1,201 posts

121 months

Wednesday 20th August 2014
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Red Devil said:
Did you even try yet still get short shrift?
Yes I did, at the hearing. The judge who was quite sympathetic said "we dont do that here". As consolation, he reduced the notice period to 7 days.

Red Devil said:
If the money order was for unpaid rent you may have missed a trick. Again, see the second link.
£60 is the court fee. There is no way round that if you want the order transfered up.


You must also bear in mind that a risk of transfering a possession order to an HCEO is that they have no power to force entry. So a switched on scum tenant may just refuse to open the door.

The CC bailiff that attended my property knocked once and told the locksmith to crack on.

Edited by Eclassy on Wednesday 20th August 07:50

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Original Poster:

39,690 posts

195 months

Wednesday 20th August 2014
quotequote all
Eclassy said:
You must also bear in mind that a risk of transfering a possession order to an HCEO is that they have no power to force entry. So a switched on scum tenant may just refuse to open the door.

The CC bailiff that attended my property knocked once and told the locksmith to crack on.

Edited by Eclassy on Wednesday 20th August 07:50
That was the bit I really wanted clarification on.

EClassy - are you sure about this? My understanding was HCEOs had more power than CC, not less?

In fact I'm sure my brief recommended HCEO for precisely the opposite reason that you give (i.e. HCEO could gain entry by force whereas CC couldn't)????

Eclassy

1,201 posts

121 months

Wednesday 20th August 2014
quotequote all
Countdown said:
That was the bit I really wanted clarification on.

EClassy - are you sure about this? My understanding was HCEOs had more power than CC, not less?

In fact I'm sure my brief recommended HCEO for precisely the opposite reason that you give (i.e. HCEO could gain entry by force whereas CC couldn't)????
100%

Being there, done that, got the tshirt.