Landlords' Surgery: - getting possession (Part 1)

Securing possession of rented property is a legal minefield; get it wrong and you could goto jail!

There comes a time when a Landlord needs to get their rented property back. This could be due to the tenancy agreement coming to a natural end, or due to a breach of the agreement on the part of the Tenant. In any event there is a procedure, which needs to be followed. The procedure is designed to protect a tenant's home and failure to adhere to it could prove costly both financially and legally. Today Judicial Cat shows you how to secure possession when the fixed term of the tenancy has concluded. Next week the issue of securing possession when the Tenant is in breach of their agreement will be dealt with.

Assumptions

It is assumed that you are letting a property on an Assured Shorthold Tenancy agreement and that your Tenant has exclusive possession. In other words you do not live in the same property as your Tenant (a resident Landlord). Further, that you do not provide services such as cleaning, cooking, etc. Procedures relating to social tenancies, non protected tenancies, and licences are beyond the scope of this blog post.

Legislation

Housing Act 1988: - Section 21

Protection from Eviction Act 1977: - Part I

Civil Procedure Rules 1998: - Rule 55

My Tenant has not paid the rent for months, or the tenancy agreement has come to an end. Can't I just change the locks?

A health warning. In most cases it is unlawful to change the locks and evict your Tenant without first obtaining an Order for Possession from your local County Court. Even after this order has been obtained only the Court Bailiffs acting under the authority of a Warrant of Possession can carry out the physical eviction. If a Landlord (or any other person) evicts a Tenant without lawful authority then they risk substantial damages in a civil court and/or criminal proceedings, which on conviction in the Crown Court, could lead to imprisonment for a maximum of two years.

The fixed term of the tenancy has come to an end

Let's say you've granted a tenancy for 12 months and the fixed term has concluded. In order to lawfully terminate the tenancy agreement and gain possession of the property you must have first served a notice. Judicial Cat covered how to properly serve a notice last week: -

http://judicialcat.blogspot.co.uk/2012/05/landlords-surgery-how-to-correctly.html

Once the notice has expired you must issue proceedings in your local County Court (i.e. the court in the district the property is located). The procedure is known as the  Accelerated Procedure for Possession. This will allow a Landlord to secure a possession order in most cases without the need for a court hearing. You simply complete the relevant form and send three copies (or more if there is more than one tenant) to the County Court. You should also send a copy of the written tenancy agreement, a copy of the notice served, and a Certificate of Service (referred to in last week's blog post). Judicial Cat also suggests sending a Witness Statement outlining in detail how the notice was served. The relevant form can be found here: -

http://hmctsformfinder.justice.gov.uk/courtfinder/forms/n005b-eng.pdf

It is also absolutely vital that you enclose proof that any deposit has been protected; i.e. enclose a copy of the Deposit Protection Certificate. Failure to do this will mean that the Court is unlikely to grant a possession order. Any previous "section 21" notice will be invalid unless the deposit was protected at the time that the notice was served.

What happens next

The Court will pass the paperwork to a District Judge for review. If everything is in order the Court will make an Order for Possession. Usually this will be in terms that the Tenant leaves the property within fourteen days of the date of the order. Should the Court be in any doubt as to the facts then it is likely to schedule a hearing to resolve any issue identified. Your Tenant can defend the proceedings but only on very narrow grounds; e.g. the dates you rely on for the tenancy are wrong, you did not protect the deposit, or you failed to serve notice. If the Tenant defends the claim on these grounds then the Court will almost certainly fix a hearing. That is why it is important to get your paperwork in order.

And if the Tenant still does not leave

Well you would need to ask the Court to issue a Warrant of Possession. An appointment will then be made for the Bailiffs to attend and physically evict the Tenant. This is rare and your blogger has only needed to instruct Bailiffs once in the past five years!

COMING SOON: - getting possession when the Tenant is in breach of their agreement

BBC Question Time: - Tips for Appearing in the Audience

How do you get on BBC Question Time as a Member of the Audience?

Every week David Dimbleby will announce the locations for the next round of programmes. He will also give out a telephone number and website address http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/programmes/question_time/1858613.stm 

The starting point is that you telephone or fill out the online application form. Question Time strives to select an audience, which is "representative". So you fill out the form and what happens next? Well, it is worth taking a look at the odds of being selected. Apparently, some 4000 applications will be received for programmes in the larger cities. Approximately 150 people will be selected. That gives you a 3.75% chance of being selected! Not very good odds you will say! I appeared as an audience member for the London show on 3 May 2012. My application was submitted late night on the prior Monday; i.e. 30 April 2012! Twelve hours later I received a voicemail from Allison Fuller, who is the Audience Producer for the programme, asking that I urgently contact her. Having returned Allison's call she then proceeded to ask me a fair few questions about my political viewpoints, affiliations, and thoughts on contemporary news items. She then asked me what sort of questions I would wish to pose to the panel. One thing I should stress is that it was made clear to me that I was expected to want to ask questions and/or participate in the debate. It seemed to me that the programme is not looking for audience members who are content to just sit there and say nothing. So if that is your intention don't, whatever you do, admit it! After about five minutes chat she told me that I was "in". I was quite pleased, only 14 hours after submitting my application form, I was confirmed on the programme!

What happens next?

An email was then sent confirming the location for that week's recording, arrival time, and security procedures. The email also asks you to submit a question for the panel by return. The question should be short, sharp, and provocative and no more than 30 words (though they prefer less than 20). You are also asked to monitor the news on the day of the programme and  submit a different question on the night whilst waiting to enter the studio.

The night itself!

You arrive at the recording location on the night in question between 17:30 and 18:30. Security takes place and you must produce photographic identification. Refreshments are provided. Whilst in the waiting area the news channels are shown on flat screen televisions for any last minute news items, which may give rise to late questions. You submit your second question and then wait. Around 18:30 David Dimbleby appeared, to welcome everyone and give a briefing on what to expect for the evening.

I have to say that Dimbleby was excellent at putting everyone at ease and generating a good atmosphere in the waiting room.

You then enter the studio. There are no allocated seats so it may well be worth adopting a "strategic" location within the waiting area in order to secure a prime seat in the studio itself! I managed to secure front row and centre. Therefore I considered my strategy in that regard a complete success!

Once in the studio the floor manager introduces himself and again gives a briefing on the do's and don'ts for the evening. At this point he asks for volunteers to form a panel. There then follows a mock debate, which is filmed (but not shown on television) to enable the production team to check camera angles, sound levels, and microphone locations. I was selected as a panel member for this mock debate. If you ever join the Question Time audience then I highly recommend trying to get on the panel for this rehearsal. It is an excellent experience, which you can't buy! Now you are not supposed to take photographs in the studio; however, a few audience members did! The photographs found their way to my inbox the next morning (and no doubt a few other inboxes). Here is the panel for the mock debate!

The question for the debate was: -

"Should the Government be responsible for solving childhood obesity?"

Now your blogger (being of "petite" size NOT) found the question ironic; however, a 20 minute lively debate then followed! My stance was that it was down to personal responsibility and finding time in a busy schedule to exercise. I also pointed out that hardly any children walked to school anymore and spent far too much time playing video games and not going outdoors and participating in physical activity. There were lots of contributions from the audience and some very strongly held views!

Finally Allison had appeared on stage and announced the names of the 6 audience members who had been selected to ask the questions! Your blogger was not selected and I must confess to feeling somewhat disappointed at that time. I shouldn't have been! Indeed, if you do get on the programme, my advice would be to hope that you don't get selected as you will then have the chance to make a contribution with much more impact than asking the actual question! Those selected to ask questions are taken aside for a very short briefing.

The recording itself!

Finally after all the rehearsals David Dimbleby and the panel appear. Prior to the recording there is a question put to the panel, which does not go out on television. This is to get the panel and the audience "into the spirit of things". On this occasion the "secret" question was about Tony Blair's decision to hire a public relations adviser to assist with his plans to re-engage in domestic UK politics. There were some lively views from both the panel and the audience! The cameras then started recording. The theme tune came on and Dimbleby introduced the panel and things then proceed as you see them on television. As you will be aware the programme lasts about an hour. The time goes over very quickly during the actual recording. Once the programme was over we had to wait until the production team had verified that the recording had went without any "hitches" and then we were free to leave! I really did not want to have to sit there and do it all again!

Are the questions "planted"?

The short answer is "no". All questions come from the audience and are selected by the production team only minutes before the panel appear. Questions can focus on news items, which break only an hour or so before the recording of the programme. That being said the questions are rather obvious and predictable. Therefore panelists' researchers won't have too many problems anticipating the topics!

Conclusion and final thoughts

My tips are simple, get to the location early, get a good seat, and don't bother participating in the question that does not go out on television! What's the point? Also, try and get on the panel for the mock debate! If you do make a contribution be prepared for Twitter reaction! I mention this in my blog post about "Guardian Reading Lawyer". If your feelings are easily hurt then don't bother speaking! You WILL be abused on Twitter and other online forums regardless of the merits (or not) of the contribution you make. That being said it is an amazing experience and one I recommend any current affairs enthusiast to try and be involved in at least once!