Which Possession Proceedings?

Possession proceedings against assured tenants

Assured tenancies are very similar to assured shorthold tenancies save that the special no-fault (shorthold) ground under section 21 is not available.  Therefore if the tenants are not in arrears of rent, or if you are not able to re-house them somewhere else, it may be difficult to find a ground to evict them.

1. Rent arrears

If the tenants are in arrears of rent of two months (eight weeks) or more, then you can bring standard repossession proceedings based on rent arrears.

Business Level members will be able to do this using our   Eviction Guide, or if you prefer not to act in person you can use the service from one of our   recommended solicitors.

You will find our possession notices for claims based on rent arrears  here.

Note that if the tenants have a claim against you for compensation, for example for breach of your repairing obligations they will be able to defend and counterclaim on this basis.  You should make sure that any such claim is resolved before proceeding against them for rent arrears.

2. Suitable alternative accommodation

The other ground for possession which is likely to have a good chance of success is that you have offered the tenant somewhere else suitable to live, but that this has been unreasonably refused.  This is very similar to the alternative accommodation ground we discussed for evicting Rent Act tenants earlier, and the same case law applies.

This course of action will not help you if it is the tenant himself you object to, but can be used very successfully if you are anxious to obtain vacant possession of the property, for example for redevelopment.  A few points:

• The replacement property must be reasonably suitable for the needs of the tenant and his family, for example, it must be a similar distance from schools and workplace
• It must have a similar security of tenure, so offering an assured shorthold tenancy will not be sufficient.  It must be an another assured tenancy.
• You must offer the alternative property to the tenant first, and it is a good idea to serve section 8 notice on the tenant citing ground 9 on the tenant at this time (note we do not currently have a precedent on Landlord Law, but one can be developed on request)
• Only if your tenant refuses the property, and his refusal is unreasonable, should you bring court proceedings for possession

If you think you may have a good case and would like someone to act for you, we suggest you purchase some  telephone advice and ask the solicitor to give advice and provide a quotation for further work if appropriate.

3. Other cases

There are other grounds you can use to evict assured tenants but the circumstances under which they can be used are fairly rare. They will normally be a ‘discretionary’ ground for possession which means that the tenant can challenge your right to possession, even if you have made out the ground.  This means that these cases are frequently complex, time-consuming and expensive.  Unless you are very experienced in litigation and eviction proceedings you should not contemplate bringing such a claim without solicitors.

If you are considering evicting an assured tenant for anything other than under the serious rent arrears ground (ie two months/8 weeks arrears) you should take legal advice first.  You can use our telephone advice service.