Question

Tenant Wants to Leave (England) | Types of Tenancies (England)

Is my sister a tenant?

7 Oct 2017 | 1 comment

My sister lives in my property but has never paid any rent.

I have asked her to pay rent and she refused. I have asked her to leave numerous times but she refuses.

There is no, and has never been, a tenancy agreement.

Do I have to serve her notice?
How long should the notice give her?
What are my next steps after said notice expires? I.e. can she be removed by private bailiffs or do I need a possession order?
If I need a possession order, must this be done via paper or can it be done online?
On what grounds would I be seeking possession?

Once again, thank you in advance

Answer

1 Comment

  1. guildy

    From what you describe, the fact you have demanded rent means this is a regular assured shorthold tenancy but on a periodic basis from the outset rather than having any fixed term initially (unless something was agreed verbally e.g. 6 months minimum term).

    In that case, the simplest way would be to issue a section 21, 2 months notice. You may need to serve some paperwork first depending on the date the tenancy began. If the tenancy commenced on or after 1 October 2015, you must have first provided and energy performance certificate, how to rent guide and the gas safety record.

    It may be possible to also serve a section 8 notice which is a notice used where there are rent arrears. The problem you may face with this notice though is the tenant may disagree with the amount of rent you are claiming where there is no tenancy agreement. That’s why the 2 months notice is better because you don’t need to prove anything.

    When obtaining a court order after expiry of the notice, you won’t be able to use accelerated possession procedure because there is no written agreement. However, the standard procedure isn’t that much slower.

    Please follow our notice wizard which will determine the notice you require and ensure what documents are needed to be sent first.

    Any problems please come back to us as it’s important to get this bit right.

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