Two-Thirds of Landlord Notices are Incorrect
Almost two-thirds of section 8 and section 21 notices issued by landlords and letting agents to tenants are incorrect, claims a tenant eviction firm.
Landlord Action conducted a study of the last 200 instructions received where the eviction process had already begun. Of these, 62% contained mistakes.
Paul Shamplina, Managing Director, warns that errors in eviction notices are among the most common reasons for postponements and increased costs when a landlord tries to regain possession from a tenant.
“I understand the need for landlords to consider every cost, but I can’t stress enough that the notice is the most important part of a possession court case, and the slightest mistake can end up costing a landlord significantly more than the cost savings, in extra legal fees, delays and lost rent,” he strains.
The research found the top five causes of invalidated notices are:
- Incorrect expiry dates.
- Failure to observe deposit legislation.
- Inaccurate accompanying rent arrears schedules.
- The method of how the notice was served.
- Typing errors on the notice.
Shamplina continues: “Over the last year, we have encountered an increasing number of problems with notices served by landlord and agents. As a result, our legal department has carried out a full analysis of our last 200 cases, not only to get a true reflection of how common this is, but also to find out exactly what mistakes are being made.”
“Unfortunately, some landlords and even agents are still making classic errors when drafting and serving notices. The worst case scenario for a landlord desperate to regain possession of a property is to be three months down the line and find they have to start the whole process all over again, costing them a small fortune in legal fees and lost rent. That’s why in cases where we are not instructed to draft the notices we carry out a full health check on notices and legal paperwork, before it is filed at court.”1
1 http://www.landlordtoday.co.uk/news_features/Study-reveals-62-of-landlord-notices-are-incorrect