Legal help, services and support for private residential landlords
“I could probably do a better job myself” you may have said to yourself.
Properties in England & Wales UK only
Traditionally people say there are three stages to an eviction claim, but we say there are FOUR!
They are:
This is critical – get it wrong and you could lose your case. You need to serve the right notice and use the right procedure.
These are the procedures available to you with the Landlord Law Eviction Guide:
This can only be used for gaining possession of assured shorthold tenancies under section 21. However, we recommend this procedure if it is available to you, as (if your paperwork is correct) there is less that can go wrong.
The notice period is shorter and you can issue during the fixed term. However, you will have to attend court and tenants sometimes put in fictitious defences. This is why we recommend using an advocate (see below).
This can be useful if you do not have a written tenancy agreement or if you want to get a CCJ for rent arrears at the same time as your possession order.
Not all tenants have ASTs! A few will have unregulated tenancies for example company lets. We provide guidance on two procedures you can use, based on notices to quit and forfeiture for non-payment of rent.
Use these even if you are not a paid up Landlord Law Member (links will open in a new tab or window):
Use our telephone advice service to speak to a housing solicitor about your case.
Cost is £130 for non-members or £115 for members.
Alternatively – why not try to see if you can help your tenants source grant and other aid to assist them pay your rent?
Check out our Helping Tenants in Arrears Kit
(The link will open in a new tab or window).
Complete on-screen using our ‘document generator’ system so you can re-use them later. Notices are updated as necessary to take account of changes in the law.
Use our pre-drafted covering letters – they will protect your position, e.g. if you have served notices before or are serving two notices at the same time
There is no point in serving a notice if you can’t prove this later. Tenants often claim they haven’t received the notice. Guard against this using our advice
Follow our detailed guide when drafting up your paperwork and preparing your case.
The eviction guide includes instructions on how to complete the forms, guidance on court procedure and what to do at Court.
What do you do if your tenant turns up and starts lying to the Judge? Could you cope?
Court proceedings are confusing and scary if you are unfamiliar with the process. If your case goes to a hearing, play safe and use an experienced advocate. The normal cost is in the region of £180 (incl VAT).
This is the last stage of the procedure. However, you can STILL be guilty of unlawful eviction if you do not use the bailiffs (or High Court Sheriffs)!
This is not always necessary as sometimes tenants move out of their own accord.
However, if your tenants need to be re-housed, you will normally need to have a bailiffs date before the local authority will do anything.
Our instructions cover the procedure and also tell you what you need to do if the tenants apply for more time.
No-one has your interests more at heart than you do!
Understand the law so ‘devious tenants’ can’t trip you up
Your good tenants will be glad to see action taken against defaulters
Tessa is an absolute STAR!!
Rex Oratokhai
For example our tenancy agreements service, all the FAQ and articles, and the special guides
Discuss issues and ask Tessa questions in the Members' private discussion forum
Monthly training webinars with experts, online video courses (Business Level only) plus pay extra training workshops and other training events.
Relax, knowing that professional help is just a mouse click away
I qualified as a solicitor in 1990 and ran my own specialist landlord & tenant law firm, TJ Shepperson, for nearly 20 years. I have done a lot of evictions! I closed my law firm in 2013 to concentrate on Landlord Law and my separate training business.
You can cancel you Landlord Law membership and get a full refund provided you let us know within 30 days of first joining. Refunds after that are at our discretion. You can also get a full refund if you notify us within 7 days of your recurring payment.
It covers most standard evictions for 'short let' residential tenancies. However it cannot be used for complex and defended claims or for non residential properties such as offices or shops.
Yes, we have guidance on the eviction process and all the forms for Welsh landlords. The court procedures are very similar to those for England.
No, Scotland has a different legal system as does Northern Ireland. Nor can we help landlords elsewhere, e.g. in American or Australia (apart from ex-pat landlords). This site is only relevant for property in England & Wales UK.
One to one advice can only be provided as a paid service - either via the members discussion forum or our » telephone advice service. However, you can use our free Which Possession Proceedings Guide.
We do not provide any drafting services. You can ask questions in the members' forum though.
However if you decide you want someone to help you, we have 'recommended solicitors' who will act for fixed fees (for standard claims) who you can instruct easlly via our online forms.
Of if you just want to talk to a solicitor, see our » telephone advice service.
If you find that Landlord Law is not for you – that’s fine! Just contact us within 30 days of joining and we will cancel your membership and refund your payments within 14 days (and usually within 5 days). We will also refund your recurring renewal payment (eg if you forgot to cancel it) so long as you let us know within 7 days of payment. Refunds to returning members and ‘teams’ are made at our discretion.
Our online joining system is quick and safe – you could be reading and using the eviction guide within minutes.
Note that we have two levels of membership (see below) but if you are looking to bring court proceedings yourself, you will need to join as a Business Level member.
Note that basic membership does NOT include the step by step eviction guide or any of the video training.
Note that monthly members will not get access to the step by step Eviction Guide until month 2.
Landlord Law is essentially a ‘do it yourself’ site for landlords and our eviction guidance is based on the premises that you will be acting in person. However we don’t want you to join unless it is right for you.
Here are a few of the things you may be thinking, with our comments:
So long as you follow our guidance you should be fine. The main problems occur when landlords make mistakes which is when cases become expensive and time-consuming. Our guide has been used by hundreds of landlords like you and as long as you are careful you should not have any problems.
The eviction procedure is formulaic – provided (and this is essential) you get the formula right, your tenant will, in most cases, not be able to defeat your claim.
If you have any problems you can ask questions in the forum – and we are clever and devious too!
Well, they would, wouldn’t they, if it’s going to stop you evicting them! And do you really want them as tenants any more, anyway? Non-paying tenants are serious bad news. After all, you presumably still have YOUR outgoings to pay??
Fair enough, but do remember that it can take up to six months or more to get a possession order through the courts. If they are not paying rent, you could lose a lot of money.
Are you happy for your tenants to live in your property rent free? Because in our experience landlords rarely recover the unpaid rent ….
Note that we have a selection of ‘recommended solicitors’ who are experienced in eviction work and who will act (in standard claims) for fixed fees. Landlord Law members can instruct them easily via our online forms.
This is another benefit of membership.
"I became a subscriber of Landlord Law/Tessa Shepperson when my tenant went into arrears. The tenant arrears and eviction kits really helped me to understand what I should not do, what I needed to do and in what order and the document templates were really important in getting me started in the right way.
I could not have managed without this clear step by step process. It really did clear away the fog. It truly turned a daunting prospect into a manageable task.
But importantly I learned a lot more about being a landlord and the law during this whole process."
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Tessa Shepperson of Landlord Law is an accredited trainer with the
Property Investors Bureau.
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