Recovery of Possession Service
Landlord may sometimes encounter difficult tenants who are unable to pay rent on time, or in breach of the tenancy agreement. In order to protect the interest, the landlord can apply to the Lands Tribunal to forfeit the tenancy and recover possession of property.
Our team can provide professional advice and apply on behalf of the landlord (who have participated in tenancy management services) to the Lands Tribunal to recover possession. The application service including:
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Filing an application to the Lands Tribunal
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Service of notice to the respondent (the Tenant)
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Apply for judgment of the court
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Apply for a Writ of Possession
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The Court Bailiff execute the Writ of Possession
How long does it take to apply for repossession?
The entire repossession process is mainly divided into three steps, and the time will be determined by each case, but each process takes a certain amount of time, and the fastest time is about three months.
The first step is that the landlord needs to submit a notice of application to the Lands Tribunal, together with the stamped tenancy agreement and other tenancy documents, and submit it to the Tribunal for registration. After that, a copy of the notice should be sent to the tenant, and a copy of the notice should be affixed to the door of the unit for three consecutive days. After completion, a copy of the notice should be sworn in at the Lands Tribunal within a few days.
The second step is to apply for a judgment, which takes about two to three days, but the premise is that the tenant has not made an objection within seven days of receiving the application notice. If the tenant has objections, they need to wait for the hearing, which will take about half a month or more.
The last step is to come to the door to take back the unit. After the owner gets the judgment, he will apply for a repossession writ, and the bailiff will execute the court order to take back the unit. The time required will depend on the bailiff's schedule of the district, and the average waiting time is about one to two months.
Does the landlord have to wait 7/14 days to recover the arrears of rent?
Generally speaking, unless otherwise stipulated in the tenancy agreement, there is an implied covenant in the law that the landlord can forfeit the tenant's tenancy rights after the fifteenth day after the tenant owes the rent, and the landlord can apply to the Tenancy Tribunal for repossession of the building.
After the executor collects the building, how should the abandoned property of the tenant be handled?
On the day when the executor comes to collect the property, all items in the unit will be counted one by one by the executor. During the counting process, the executor will not distinguish whether the items belong to the tenant or the landlord. All items on the site will be recorded in an inventory list.
Once the executor completes the list, the landlord must consider the value of any abandoned items. If there are valuable items, the landlord can apply for a "sale order" from the Land Tribunal. After applying for the "sale order," the landlord must wait for 7 working days before selling the items listed in the inventory to offset part of the rent loss.
However, if the items have no value, such as old furniture or clothing, they cannot be directly discarded. The landlord must apply for a "disposal order" from the Land Tribunal based on the inventory list recorded by the executor. After the application is submitted, the landlord must wait for 7 working days before disposing of the items.
It is important to note that the landlord must wait for the court to issue a "disposal order" or "sale order" before disposing of any of the tenant's items, otherwise they may be subject to civil claims from the tenant.
Does the collection process need to be immediately terminated if the tenant suddenly pays off the overdue rent?
The answer depends on which stage of the collection process the landlord is at, as the entire legal process is divided into three parts: submitting the application notice, applying for a judgment, and collecting the unit. The first step is to post a notice on the door (a copy of the "Notice to the Actual Occupant or Resident"), and the second step is to apply for a judgment or a legal production period.
During the first two stages, if the tenant pays off all overdue rent, the collection process will be terminated immediately. If the tenant falls behind on rent again, the landlord needs to reapply for the collection process. In this case, the landlord cannot forcibly continue the collection process.
However, if the process has progressed to the third stage (applying for the executor to collect the unit), even if the tenant has paid off all overdue rent, the landlord can still exercise their rights and continue with the collection process. Of course, the landlord also has the right to keep the case and temporarily suspend the application for collection.
