What distinguishes us from many other landlord and tenant lawyers, is that we deliver legal services by combining the best aspects of the traditional law firm, with a flexible consultancy based legal services model. This means that in addition to having employed lawyers, we also have consultants, who work remotely, and by using the latest IT and legal technology, can deliver fast and effective legal services.
Our business model means that clients have the option of choosing either, remote delivery of legal services which is simple, effective and cost efficient, or alternatively, the more traditional delivery of legal services via meetings in person at either, our serviced offices, or at the client's business premises.
With the exception of our administrative headquarters, we only use serviced offices for basic needs, such as telephone answering. Any additional fees for meetings are only incurred on an "as and when" used basis, which means that we do not incur many of the significant property overheads, which are incurred by other more traditional law firms.
Our Landlord and Tenants Solicitors provide the following services:
Chris is excellent at getting to grips quickly with our members’ legal issues, and giving practical, succinct and jargon-free advice.
A Landlord may issue a Section 21 Notice if they wish to repossess the property and given their tenants notice that they must vacate after the 2 months' notice period expires. A Landlord will not need to provide a reason as to why they want to regain possession of the property with a Section 21 Notice.
A Section 21 Notice can only be issued to tenants after the fixed term, or 'Assured Shorthold Tenancy Agreement' has expired. It is important that it must be after a fixed term tenancy ends if there is a valid written contract. Alternatively, it can be during a tenancy that does not have a fixed end date if it is a rolling contract, this is known as a ‘periodic’ tenancy.
There are strict guidelines of when a Landlord can serve a valid Section 21 Notice and certain exceptions apply when it would not be applicable for example, if one of the following apply.
A Landlord must ensure that they have given the tenants copies of the property’s Energy Performance Certificate (EPC Certificate, How to Rent Guide and a current Gas Safety Certificate.
We can also support you and can claim compensation for you if your deposit was not protected in a Tenancy Deposit Scheme.
Section 8 Notice
A Section 8 Notice may be issued if you've got an Assured or Assured Shorthold Tenancy. There are several reasons a landlord can use this notice to regain possession of their property, for example if the tenant is in rent arrears, has caused damage to the property or caused a nuisance of their neighbours.
If the Tenant does not vacate the property at the expiry of the notice;
If the tenant does not vacate the property at the end of the notice period, a Landlord can apply to the Court for a Repossession Order or Accelerated Possession Order. We can assist you with this procedure and process.
What happens next
Once the application is approved, the court will send the tenants a copy of the application. A tenant will have 14 days to challenge the application, from the date they receive it. We can challenge this and prepare compelling arguments and explain extenuating circumstances on your behalf. This includes if you are suffering any financial hardship.
A judge will decide either to:
We can also assist you if you are a borrower and have defaulted on your mortgage or are a lender seeking to take possession or your property. We can help you mediate with your mortgage provider in order to establish how much you owe and whether they will consider a request from you to change the way you pay your mortgage or an offer of repayment.
A mortgage provider must give you 15 days' written notice if they plan to start court action. The claim will include a money claim for the balance of the mortgage and also repossession of the property.
The mortgage lender must follow a strict process that is governed by Part 55 of the Civil Procedure Rules.
We can help you find a solution, and if you feel that you are going to be homeless, we recommend that you contact the Citizens Advice Bureau or your Local Housing Association.
Our lease solicitors advise on lease renewals under the Landlord and Tenant Act 1954. We act for both landlords wishing to oppose a lease renewal, and tenants wishing to negotiate a lease renewal. We provide pragmatic tactical advice to ensure, where possible, that our clients get the result they want.
If you are a landlord and your tenant is not paying the rent then our landlord and tenant solicitors can assist with issuing court proceedings for eviction, and recovery of rent arrears.
Are you a landlord and your tenant is breaching the terms of a lease? If so our lease solicitors can advise you on the options available to deal with the breach including issuing a claim of forfeiture. Or as a tenant we may be able to draft retrospective licence for alterations in situations where you required landlord’s consent to works carried out to the property.
Our landlord and tenant solicitors advise on repossession proceedings whereby a mortgage lender or secured loan provider wishes to take ownership of a property. We act for both the owner of the property, and lenders.
Our landlord and tenant solicitors advise on repossession proceedings whereby a mortgage lender or secured loan provider wishes to take ownership of a property. We act for both the owner of the property, and lenders.
