What are the grounds for defending possession proceedings?

Your Landlord (Council or Housing Association) must follow the Rent Arrears Protocol issued by the Ministry of Justice. If there are outstanding housing benefit issues or your property suffers disrepair issues you can defend the possession proceedings and also could make a counterclaim against your Landlord for disrepair issues. We can assist with this.

I am a private tenant and the Landlord seeks possession due to rent arrears under the ground 8 mandatory ground, what can I do?

We can help you defend the possession proceedings if your property suffers disrepair and you have made complaints to your Landlord and to the Council’s Environmental Health Team/Home Improvement Team. If your Landlord failed to protect your deposit, you could file a counterclaim to recover up to 3 times of your deposit from your Landlord. We can assist you with this.

My Landlord has issued Accelerated Possession Proceedings (often known as Section 21 Proceedings)?

If your Landlord seeks possession under theses grounds giving 2 months’ notice you will have a limited defence. Please contact us to make sure the Landlord’s notice under Section 21 is valid. If your Landlord failed to protect the deposit and has not provided prescribed information then your Landlord is not entitled to issue proceedings under Section 21. If your Landlord failed to protect the deposit you may be entitled to issue a counterclaim. We can assist with this.

My landlord has issued Possession proceedings due to anti-social behaviour including nuisance

If your Landlord is seeking to recover possession of the property on the basis of alleged anti-social behaviour or causing a nuisance you can defend the possession proceedings at the County Court. We can assist with this.

My landlord has issued Possession Proceedings due to Breach of Tenancy Agreement

If your Landlord seeks to recover possession of the property due to breach of the Tenancy Agreement for any other reasons you may be entitled to defend the possession proceedings at the County Court. We can assist with this.

What are Debt/Mortgage Possession Proceedings?

If your mortgage company issues possession proceedings due to the non-payment of monthly instalments, we can advise you how to defend the claim.

What is the law regarding my tenancy deposit?

All Private Landlord tenancies from April 2007 requires the Landlord to protect your deposit either through my deposit, DPS or TDS. If they fail to do so the Landlord is not entitled to issue a Section 21 notice or seek possession under the accelerated procedure. You may be able to make a claim against a landlord for 3 times your deposit under the Housing Act 2004, if the landlord fails to comply with the law. Contact us for further information on whether we can offer a conditional fee agreement or a fixed fee to represent your case.