Phoenix Legal Limited have recently defended a client in relation to a possession claim brought by the landlord wanting to regain possession for themselves.
The Client has occupied the property from March 2019 with his two elderly parents and his young son. Since the inception of the tenancy, they made several and consistent complaints as to the condition of the property; however, the landlord refused to do substantial remedial work.
In early Autumn 2021, the Client informed the Landlord that the condition of the property was so bad, that if it continued, they would have no option but to look to move out. The landlord agreed that work needed to be done and promised to do it.
Unfortunately, however, two weeks after these promises, the landlord issued a Section 8 Notice citing Ground 1 – which is that they wished to regain occupation for themselves. The landlord instructed a company who styled themselves as “eviction specialists” but were not legally trained to.
The Client believed that this was purely a result of their continual complaints of Housing disrepair and that the landlord had no intention to occupy the property for themselves; however, they would be denied the ability to use the Section 21 procedure due to the complaints of housing disrepair and lack of prescribed information which needs to be provided to tenants.
The Section 8 Notice expired in December 2021; however, proceedings to recover possession were not started until April 2022, two weeks after the Client had commenced separate proceedings for Housing disrepair, again, reaffirming that there was never an intention that the Landlord needed to regain possession for themselves and that it was only a retaliatory eviction.
Fatally though, the eviction notice and claim form only named the Client as the tenant and failed to name the other tenants.
At a hearing in August 2022 in Luton County Court, the Judge held that it was indeed fatal that not all tenants had been named, and there was no need to look beyond the veil of the eviction to determine if it was indeed a potential revenge eviction. As such, the judge rightfully struck out the possession claim out for not following the establish rules regarding what needs to be on a notice and a possession claim form.
To ensure that the tenant remained in the property was vital not only for their immediate physical and mental wellbeing, but also to ensure that the landlord did not escape liability for housing disrepair.
The established rules for a Section 8 Eviction Notice which applied to this matter can be found under Civil Procedure Rules 55 Practice Direction 55A Paragraph 2.1, which reads;
- Identify the land to which the claim relates;
- State whether the claim relates to a residential property;
- State the ground on which possession is claimed;
- Give full details about any mortgage or tenancy agreement; and
- Give details of every person who, to the best of the claimant’s knowledge, is in possession of the property.
Robert Porter is a Trainee Solicitor at Phoenix Legal Limited and has experience acting on behalf of both tenants and landlords in possession claims, and this case underpins the importance of ensuring that all details are correct before you issue a notice and / or send a possession claim to court and the easy failings landlords can often fall foul to.
If you are a landlord looking to evict a tenant, or if you are tenant who has received an eviction notice, and are illegible to claim legal aid, and / or have made complaints of housing disrepair and fear that your landlord may attempt to evict you as a result, contact Robert today by emailing rp@phoenixlegalsolicitors.co.uk or calling 0151 306 3694.