This guidance is how to complete the court forms for obtaining a possession order after a tenant has served on the landlord a notice to quit. If the notice was invalid (too short or expired on the wrong day) a landlord does not always have to accept the notice. DO NOT ask for rent after the notice has expired. The landlord will normally be entitled to an amount equivalent to double the rent for any period after expiry of the notice until they vacate (calculated daily). This double rent may be accepted as “mesne profits” (damages for use and occupation).
If in doubt, contact us.
OPTIONAL – Step 1 – Letter before action
Because the landlord has not served notice, a letter before action may be necessary warning the tenant that because they have failed to vacate after expiry of their notice, you now intend to commence court proceedings. This won’t always be necessary in particular if you’ve made it clear that you would seek possession if they failed to vacate etc. Contact us if your not sure.
Please download the letter before action (link below). In the middle of the letter, there is a section dealing with rent arrears which should be deleted if there are no arrears.
Complete all the blank areas and send to the tenant and get a “certificate of postage” from any post office. You may hand deliver a second copy if you wish. Retain a copy yourself as it will need attaching to the court forms.
Step 2 – Court Forms
Under step 1 above you will have issued a letter before action. The court forms must not be handed to the court until the time given in the letter before action has expired.
First you need to download the two required forms ... Please login or signup to continue reading this content
