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Legal action

Find out about the legal action we will take when recovering unpaid rent.

The legal action taken to recover possession of a secure Council tenancy is taken under Ground 1, Schedule 2 of the 1985 Housing Act. This says:

“Rent lawfully due from the tenant has not been paid or an obligation of the tenancy has been broken or not performed”.

A tenant who does not pay the rent breaks both parts of this, because payment of rent is also an obligation of the tenancy. The legal action, including eviction, is taken on this basis.

Any action taken in respect of rent arrears recovery will also consider the context of any national legislation that may impact, including but not limited to:

  • Equality Act 2010
  • Welfare Reform Act 2012
  • Coronavirus Act 2020

Notice seeking possession

  1. We may serve a Notice Seeking Possession, the first legal step to eviction, on any tenant who owes 4 weeks net rent.
  2. If a Notice Seeking Possession is in force and the tenant does not pay the rent and begin to pay off the arrears, or if they make an agreement to pay the rent and amount off the arrears but it is broken, an application for a Possession Order may be made.
  3. A tenant who is served with a Notice Seeking Possession for their home and is renting a garage or garage site from the Council will also be served a Notice to Quit, terminating the tenancy of the garage or garage site. A tenant who is served with a Notice Seeking Possession, and who has household insurance via the Council’s scheme, will have their insurance cancelled.
  4. Further contact and recovery work will continue after the Notice Seeking Possession is served.

Court order for possession

  1. We may apply for a Possession Order for any tenant who owes 8 weeks rent.
  2. We will attempt to make three contacts with the tenant warning of Court action, before we apply for a Possession Order.
  3. We may ask for the costs of taking legal action to be awarded against the tenant at the Court hearing. If granted, the costs will be charged to the tenant.
  4. Further contact will continue after the Possession Order application, to try to clear accounts, in order to avoid a Possession Order being granted against the tenant.
  5. If the tenant does not comply with the Possession Order, then we will consider repossession of the tenant’s home. We may also consider other means of recovering any outstanding arrears, including further legal action.

Application for eviction

  1. We may apply for a warrant of eviction if the arrears increase or an agreement to pay the rent plus an amount off the arrears is broken. But before this, as a minimum, we will attempt to make three contacts with the tenant, warning of eviction and telling them that unless the Possession Order is brought up to date, we will apply to evict them.
  2. We will ask for the costs of any eviction application to be awarded against the tenant. If the Court agrees, the costs would be charged to the tenant.
  3. If we make an application for eviction, we will not agree to suspend the warrant, and the tenant will have to make an application to the Court to request this.
  4. If the eviction is suspended but any subsequent order made in Court is broken at any time, we will make a further eviction application.