To qualify for housing assistance from their local authority some tenants find that they actually are required to be evicted.
Landlord Action hears of too many instances where local authorities and housing departments are not totally open with landlords. They may say things like “let’s wait and see” or “circumstances may change” when in fact, nothing will change.
They know full-well that their policy is to force the landlord and tenant through the whole eviction process. By not revealing that from the start, they delay the landlord’s legal action and so keep the tenant in the property for even longer.
The real problem is a terrible shortage of social housing. So it seems the authorities are trying to buy time. The tenant stays in the property while the authority asks the landlord to wait for “change”.
Then, when nothing happens the tenant has another long period in the property while they go through the full eviction process from having notice served, to court proceedings, to bailiff eviction.
When authorities are not open about their policies, the start of the legal process is delayed and so the tenant is in the property for longer. The housing shortage has forced the authorities to act like this – and landlords are paying the price in lost rent, court fees and legal costs.
