BBC News: Social Housing Pledge

Sep 19 | 2018
The PM will announce £2bn to build new homes in England, in an attempt to remove the ‘stigma’ of social housing. Under the plan, housing association, councils and other organisations will be able to bid for money to spend on new projects, starting from 2022. Read the full story here: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-45569453 If you are a housing association, council, other organisation or a social housing tenant looking for advice or looking to be kept up to date speak to us about our newsletters, or keep reading our blogs, follow us on Facebook, or attend one of our training events. Speak to Kirsty for further information.

FREE ADVICE ON SERVING NOTICES

landlord
Sep 18 | 2018

There are mainly two procedures to follow when a landlord wishes to obtain possession of his/her property which is let under an AST.  Firstly a Landlord has to make sure that all the licenses are in place, that if the property is in Wales, that the Landlord is registered, that the bonds are also registered and the prescribed information has been served. If in England, retaliatory evictions does not apply when serving a S21 notice.   If all the above is correct, then the landlord can serve either a Section 21 notice, or a Section 8 notice.  The Section 21 notice, is served because the landlord simply wishes to recover the property from the tenant.  the notice is served for 2 months.  Once the two months has expired, then an application for accelerated possession can be made.  The other route is when a tenant has breached a condition of the tenancy, there are mandatory grounds (the Court should make an order) and discretionary grounds, where the Court has the discretion to order possession or not.  With a Section 8 notice it must be served for 2 weeks, rather than the 2 months of a Section 21 notice.  A landlord can recover his/her loses by serving a Section 8 notice (e.g. rent arrears).  It is important that you get all your paper work correct which ever procedure you follow as any discrepancy will give the tenant a complete defence.  Many Landlords find the £60.00 advice line helpful because we can explain the pitfalls and help you to make sure you fast track your eviction process.  It is often difficult to obtain free advice, so for initial guidance, the firm does offer 10 minute free advice which will put you in the right direction.

SERVING A SECTION 8 NOTICE

Sep 18 | 2018
If your tenant has breached a condition of his/her tenancy, a landlord can serve a S8 notice on the tenant.  A  S8 notice is a warning to the tenant to remedy any breach. The usual grounds that a Landlord relies upon is grounds 8, 10 and 11 as they are the grounds for rent arrears.  There are also mandatory and discretionary grounds.  A mandatory ground means that if made out (e.g. 2 months or more rent arrears is due at the time of service of the notice and at the time of the Court hearing), then the Court has little discretion but to order possession of the property within 14 days of the Court order.  Ground 10 is often relied upon but it is a discretionary ground, that means that if the Landlord can make out this ground (e.g. the tenant is in arrears, but it not over 2 months in arrears), the court does not have to order possession, the Court can stipulate how the tenant has to rectify the default (e.g. pay an amount per month on top of the usual rent paid), ground 11 is relied upon when a tenant is not in arrears, but it persistently late in paying.  This again is a discretionary ground.  At Newbold Solicitors we tend to plead all three grounds, so when we attend Court at least one of the grounds will apply.  Of course there are other grounds, for example, damaging the property, causing a nuisance etc.  If a Section 8 notice is served, before a Landlord can recover possession a Court order must be obtained.  it is important to get the wording of the notice and the notice period correct, any discrepancy will give the tenant a complete defence to remain in the property.  If you have a question, for example, what is a  hardship case and how can this be defended (a tenant can ask for further time to remain in occupation) then you may wish to use the £60.00 advice line.

FREE HOUSING ADVICE

Sep 17 | 2018
If you are a tenant and need housing advice, you will know how expensive it can be.  Sometimes if you are lucky enough to find an agency that will offer the advice, the level of support can often be weak.  It can leave you feeling isolated, it can result in many tenants living in unsuitable accommodation, or having to put up with Landlords who have little respect for the law.  There are agencies available you can go to, such as Shelter or the CAB, but they have restrictions on their own funding and you may find they are unable to offer you the free advice and support you need.  Some law firms do offer pro-bono advice, which basically means free advice, but they are rare.  Housing law is complex, the law changes often, so what can you do if you have a problem and you cannot afford a solicitor?  The first thing to do is check with the agencies mentioned above, if they cannot offer you the advice and support you need then phone Newbold Solicitors.  We will offer 10 minutes free advice and there are many payment options that may help you, such as NO WIN NO FEE or our deferred payment scheme.  Our website lists the various payment options available to you.  All is not lost, you can defend claims and you can bring claims against landlords without paying an upfront fee.

QUICK NO FAULT DIVORCES ARE AVAILABLE SOON

Sep 17 | 2018
 

 

The Ministry of Justice has launched a 12 week consultation to introduce No fault divorce as quickly as possible.

 

Gone will be the need to allege fault and spouses will be stripped of their right to defend a divorce.

It is considered archaic to have to blame the other party in order to obtain a divorce.  It causes all sorts of psychological issues with children and can tear apart extended families.  Solicitors have to explain to their clients that in order to get a divorce (unless you have lived apart for 2 years and you both consent), you have to find a reason.  When the reasons are filed at court, the other party can naturally get very upset and it makes the whole process unnecessarily painful.  Newbold Solicitors will update you when the law is changed to make a divorce easier and quicker to obtain and less expensive.

  Read the full story  

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