During the pandemic, many employees will have found themselves furloughed, or worse, without employment. This means that they might struggle to continue to pay their rent.
If you have a tenant who has...
Enforcement agent visits suspended
Following the Prime Minister’s announcement on Monday 23rd March 2020, visits by our enforcement agents are temporarily suspended. We will follow ongoing guidance from...
The Welsh Government wishes to provide greater security for people who rent their homes. This security will be achieved by extending the minimum notice period for issuing a section 173 notice from two...
Following on from the webinar we held on the 20th November 2019, we have compiled some further questions that were asked by attendees. The webinar was presented by Matt Carter here at The Sheriffs Office...
UK expats often rent out their primary residence when they relocate overseas. It is also the case that some individuals relocate for the primary purpose of limiting their UK tax bill. HMRC is undertaking...
Webinar: Rapid eviction of tenants from a residential property
This webinar is for landlords, legal professionals and property agents and will run through the eviction process for residential tenants.
The Government is holding a consultation covering additional legal support for those facing eviction or repossession. Currently, the Housing Possession Court Duty Scheme (HPCDS) offers free advice on the...
A guarantor is an individual who is agreeing to pay the rent if the tenant defaults on payments. Guarantors can often be necessary when renting to students or those in part time or low paid work, but any...
All deposits must have been registered with a government backed tenancy deposit scheme, these schemes are
Deposit Protection Service
MyDeposits
Tenancy Deposit Scheme
At the end of a tenancy as a landlord...
Extensions and loft conversions can add both value and extra space to your property, but what can you do when things don’t quite go to plan?
There are ways to mitigate the risk of hiring a cowboy builder...
The Ministry of Justice have released the 2019 Q2 report on mortgage and landlord possession claims.
Landlord possession claims
There has been an overall decrease in landlord possessions. Compared to the...
A lettings agency claiming to be a members’ club has been fined more than £40,000.
Lifestyle Club LSC has fallen short of the tenant fees ban, the club sought to imply that its members are licensees...
In this CPD webinar the Sheriffs Office will cover High Court enforcement for business, this webinar will be useful content for solicitors and credit controllers and for any one who has their own business.
I thought an HMO required an AST because of mortgage company requirements. Is a license acceptable for HMOs?
An AST and a licence are two very separate things, an AST is the legal contract between the...
A torts notice is a legal document alerting the owner of items that have been abandoned on private land or property. It is issued in accordance with the Torts (Interference with Goods) Act 1977. The fact...
The Government says that the bulk of homelessness is due to Section 21. Is this true?
Homelessness is not down to a single factor; there are several factors to consider including the reduction in social...
The roll out of Universal Credit has had an impact on rental arrears for claimants. Rent owed by Universal Credit claimants in the UK is, on average, £663 compared to just £263 for those on housing benefit...
The Sheriffs office is running the webinar “Rapid eviction of tenants from a residential property.”
This webinar is for landlords, legal professionals and property agents and will run through...
For some millennials, ownership, it seems, isn’t particularly important. They will happily utilise facilities driven by Apps such as Uber and Airbnb. And In terms of careers and jobs, they will happily...
The Government is currently looking closely at discriminatory policies which affect those needing to be housed but are reliant either fully or partially on benefits to be able to afford to do so.
The All...
Many people threaten bankruptcy with a Statutory Demand but few rarely see it through as Robert rightly says the chances of getting what you're owed are slim to none.
Also, the average costs for a solicitor to draw up a Stat Demand are circa £400 whereas to petition for bankruptcy will see you having to find a further £2,000 or so.
We would always recommend obtaining judgment in the County Court via MCOL. This will give you 6 years to decide how best to enforce it if it is not repaid with several options at your disposal. It may also be that in the 6 years the debtors circumstances change and they need the judgment to show as satisfied on their credit rating for a mortgage, loan or finance etc.... Read More
This is not uncommon but it will often take a good few months for people to 'pop up' again.
We spend a small fortune on tracing software and our in-house trace department would usually expect to wait 3 months before somebody appeared on the systems again.
As Neil says, you can do a fair amount of research yourself especially on social media. Facebook, Linked In, Twitter and other sites will often provide decent info, which whilst may not give you an address it can be cross referenced against any tracing info and may confirm one.
We're happy to undertake a free trace for any Property 118 member.... Read More
We regularly see Judges in the County Court allow what we consider to be paltry amounts as an arrangement to settle a judgment.
I would advise your best bet is to do your research on the defendant, advising the Judge of any assets you believe they have and giving him details any financial details you have. Defendants will always try to look like a man of straw.
It is worth noting that even if a payment arrangement is agreed, if they break it the judgment becomes enforceable immediately. Accordingly, you may wish to act fast and if the remaining sums due are over £600 you could use an HCEO like us.... Read More
The government has decided to increase the 18 month period to 36 months, for both of the scenarios set out above, as the most appropriate way to provide additional support. This change gives extra time to those who are moving home in challenging circumstances to rearrange their affairs.
The 36 month time period will commence from 25 November 2015 for those who had sold a previous main residence prior to the Spending Review and Autumn Statement 2015, in order to provide additional transitional support.
I am currently purchasing a property for main residence but keeping my old property also and should complete by 31st of this month.
Does the 2nd paragraph in the SDLT summary above mean that I will have to pay the additional 3% as it is after 25 Nov 2015?... Read More
Hi Gareth, reporting should really be within 3 days of a visit but this will depend on each HCEO company their processes and staffing.
The reason 3 days is sensible is because this will allow any response from the debtor to be included in the report. You are the client, so yes, get onto them.
Unfortunately, the author (an anti-eviction solicitor) is misinformed and has not read the recent Guidance Notes issued by the Senior Master of the High Court.
I am out of the office at present but when in, shall post the details. I will also write my own article on the subject debunking his article.
What I can confirm is that they state that form N293A is perfectly legal to use in such circumstances.... Read More
10:36 AM, 20th September 2016, About 8 years ago
Many people threaten bankruptcy with a Statutory Demand but few rarely see it through as Robert rightly says the chances of getting what you're owed are slim to none.
Also, the average costs for a solicitor to draw up a Stat Demand are circa £400 whereas to petition for bankruptcy will see you having to find a further £2,000 or so.
We would always recommend obtaining judgment in the County Court via MCOL. This will give you 6 years to decide how best to enforce it if it is not repaid with several options at your disposal. It may also be that in the 6 years the debtors circumstances change and they need the judgment to show as satisfied on their credit rating for a mortgage, loan or finance etc.... Read More
11:26 AM, 2nd September 2016, About 8 years ago
Hi Jason,
Sorry to hear of your tenant woes.
For info, I wrote an article on the subject earlier in the year which should be of some help:
https://www.property118.com/disposing-of-goods-left-in-properties-after-eviction/83626/... Read More
9:33 AM, 28th April 2016, About 9 years ago
This is not uncommon but it will often take a good few months for people to 'pop up' again.
We spend a small fortune on tracing software and our in-house trace department would usually expect to wait 3 months before somebody appeared on the systems again.
As Neil says, you can do a fair amount of research yourself especially on social media. Facebook, Linked In, Twitter and other sites will often provide decent info, which whilst may not give you an address it can be cross referenced against any tracing info and may confirm one.
We're happy to undertake a free trace for any Property 118 member.... Read More
21:08 PM, 22nd April 2016, About 9 years ago
Reply to the comment left by "ashley peters" at "22/04/2016 - 21:02
... Read More
20:43 PM, 22nd April 2016, About 9 years ago
Reply to the comment left by "ashley peters" at "22/04/2016 - 20:20
... Read More
11:34 AM, 22nd April 2016, About 9 years ago
Jamie makes a good point.
I wrote an article on it last year as we found it difficult to manage expectations on such an emotive subject.
http://www.property118.com/the-challenges-of-recovering-rent-arrears-from-residential-tenants/77625/... Read More
15:20 PM, 21st April 2016, About 9 years ago
It's a tricky one I'm afraid.
We regularly see Judges in the County Court allow what we consider to be paltry amounts as an arrangement to settle a judgment.
I would advise your best bet is to do your research on the defendant, advising the Judge of any assets you believe they have and giving him details any financial details you have. Defendants will always try to look like a man of straw.
It is worth noting that even if a payment arrangement is agreed, if they break it the judgment becomes enforceable immediately. Accordingly, you may wish to act fast and if the remaining sums due are over £600 you could use an HCEO like us.... Read More
9:05 AM, 22nd March 2016, About 9 years ago
Reply to the comment left by "Luke P" at "21/03/2016 - 22:31
... Read More
16:58 PM, 18th March 2016, About 9 years ago
Get some prices on eviction first though as some agents just add fees to the charges of the actual HCEO.
As a guide we would usually charge £395 plus VAT for a standard eviction. We've heard of some charging £800 plus.... Read More
16:11 PM, 16th March 2016, About 9 years ago
Here's a question.
In the SDLT summary it states:
The government has decided to increase the 18 month period to 36 months, for both of the scenarios set out above, as the most appropriate way to provide additional support. This change gives extra time to those who are moving home in challenging circumstances to rearrange their affairs.
The 36 month time period will commence from 25 November 2015 for those who had sold a previous main residence prior to the Spending Review and Autumn Statement 2015, in order to provide additional transitional support.
I am currently purchasing a property for main residence but keeping my old property also and should complete by 31st of this month.
Does the 2nd paragraph in the SDLT summary above mean that I will have to pay the additional 3% as it is after 25 Nov 2015?... Read More
14:49 PM, 28th January 2016, About 9 years ago
Hi Gareth, reporting should really be within 3 days of a visit but this will depend on each HCEO company their processes and staffing.
The reason 3 days is sensible is because this will allow any response from the debtor to be included in the report. You are the client, so yes, get onto them.
Kind regards, David Carter... Read More
13:25 PM, 28th January 2016, About 9 years ago
Reply to the comment left by "Ann Large" at "28/01/2016 - 12:49
... Read More
19:29 PM, 19th January 2016, About 9 years ago
Reply to the comment left by "Gareth Wilson" at "19/01/2016 - 18:56
... Read More
18:38 PM, 19th January 2016, About 9 years ago
I'm surprised at this as it would seem to me they are missing out on an opportunity to recover enforcement fees in the matter.
However, despite some fancy websites there a few new small HCEO companies in the market that lack coverage and coverage.
We would of course be happy to assist if they fail to deal with the issues you have raised.
Kind regards, David... Read More
12:13 PM, 18th January 2016, About 9 years ago
Reply to the comment left by "Gareth Wilson" at "18/01/2016 - 11:27
... Read More
10:47 AM, 18th January 2016, About 9 years ago
Reply to the comment left by "Gareth Wilson" at "17/01/2016 - 16:53
... Read More
10:39 AM, 18th January 2016, About 9 years ago
Reply to the comment left by "Chris Byways" at "17/01/2016 - 14:58
... Read More
12:09 PM, 17th January 2016, About 9 years ago
Reply to the comment left by "Chris Byways" at "17/01/2016 - 11:01
... Read More
15:23 PM, 15th January 2016, About 9 years ago
Reply to the comment left by "Nearly Legal" at "07/01/2016 - 11:58
... Read More
10:36 AM, 7th January 2016, About 9 years ago
Unfortunately, the author (an anti-eviction solicitor) is misinformed and has not read the recent Guidance Notes issued by the Senior Master of the High Court.
I am out of the office at present but when in, shall post the details. I will also write my own article on the subject debunking his article.
What I can confirm is that they state that form N293A is perfectly legal to use in such circumstances.... Read More