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.
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.
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.
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If your landlord is not making repairs to your rental property, you have a number of factors to consider; firstly you may be worried about making a claim for disrepair in case your Landlord tries to evict you from your property. However, there are laws in place that protection you from being evicted just because you have made a claim for disrepair. You may be protected from eviction under new legislation (available in England) to protect you from what is known as 'retaliatory eviction' . You can make a claim for damages (compensation) under S11 of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1985 and you can take out an injunction forcing your Landlord to make the necessary repairs with or without damages. It is difficult to obtain legal aid to bring a claim and it is difficult if not impossible to get free advice and assistance to make a claim for disrepair. It can also be expensive and risky to attempt to pay privately without being financially secure or without ATE (after the event insurance). One option to explore is NO WIN NO FEE, and Newbold Solicitors may be able to assist you to bring a claim this way. You should never live in a property that has damp, that does not have adequate heating or water, that has rats or mice, that is too cold in the winter. If you pay rent, you should live in a property that you are proud to live in.
Thank you to one of our Conveyancing Clients for arranging delivery of this beautiful bouquet of flowers and chocolates. Moving house is often a very stressful time, it can be made more stressful by instructing a slow and unfriendly lawyer. Sarah and Natalie take the time and effort to get to know their clients and no question is too silly to ask. It is always nice to be appreciated - so well done team Sarah.
