Landlord Solicitors.

Landlord and tenant law is an umbrella term for the law that applies to any legal matters between a landlord and a tenant. Most commonly, landlord and tenant law will include eviction and tenancy disputes.

At Britton and Time Solicitors, our landlord solicitors offer the following services:

• Evicting tenants and serving eviction notices
• Court representation
• Defending tenant claims
• Drafting tenancy agreements
• Enforcing evictions (section 21 and section 8)
• Neighbour disputes
• Recovering tenant costs
• Resolving tenant disputes

A tenant must always give you access to the property to examine and fix any damages. However, you must ensure that you always give your tenant 24 hours notice before a visit and that the visit is at a reasonable time of day.

Tenants primary responsibilities include:

• To take good care of the property.
• Make repairs or pay for any damage caused by you or anyone associated with you.
• Pay the agreed rent on time.
• Cover the cost of any agreed charges with the landlord, for example, any utility bills.
• Only sublet a property if your landlord or tenancy agreement allows it.

As most landlord enquiries are regarding evicting a tenant, it’s unsurprising that this is one of the most commonly asked questions. However, under an assured shorthold tenancy (AST) there are three stages to evicting a tenant, which are:

1. Draft and serve notice: Identify which notice you need to serve to your tenant. Under an AST, you will need to serve either a section 21 notice or a section 8 notice to your tenant.

2. Issue a possession claim: Tenants don’t have to vacate the premises by the date set out in the eviction notice. In this instance, you will need to issue a possession claim to the court.

3. Apply for a warrant of possession: If your tenant still hasn’t vacated the property following the possession claim, you will need to apply for a warrant of possession which, if granted, will give bailiffs permission to evict your tenants.

Only in severe circumstances will your eviction progress to stage three. In most cases, a tenant will vacate the premises after receiveing the eviction notice.

The cost of landlord and tenant matters depends entirely on your matter’s type and complexity and how far the other side is willing to contest the case.

Generally, for section 21 and section 8 notices, the prices are as follows:

Eviction through a Section 21 notice: Starting from £1,500 plus VAT (excluding court fees of £404 for a possession claim and £148 for a warrant of possession).

Eviction through a Section 8 notice: Starting from £1,700 plus VAT (excluding court fees of £404 for a possession claim and £148 for a warrant of possession).

Any other landlord and tenant matters: you’ll likely need an untimed initial consultation, which will include the following:

• Unlimited time to discuss your landlord and tenant matter
• Guidance on your legal standpoint and available options
• A clear fee-quote and time frame for your case

Much like calculating the cost of landlord and tenant matters, the time-frame for a landlord and tenant matter will depend entirely on the type and complexity of the case, as well as whether the dispute is contested.

For example, evicting a tenant through a section 21 notice may be as simple as drafting and serving notice, which gives the tenant six months to vacate the property. However, in an instance where the tenant doesn’t leave the property by the notice date, the eviction process will take longer as the landlord will need to resort to the courts for an accelerated possession claim and potentially a warrant of possession.

To get a more accurate time-frame for your matter, please contact our landlord solicitors on 020 3007 5500.

We don’t currently offer legal aid and cannot act on a pro bono basis.