A Section 8 Notice / Section 8 Notice to Quit / Section 8 Possession Notice all refer to the initial notice used to commence legal eviction proceedings. A few landlords try to tackle the eviction process themselves, others prefer to use a reputable eviction service company such as Evictions South East.

The main problem most landlords find with a failed eviction attempt is due to inaccurate paperwork. When a judge is faced with a mandatory eviction claim, they tend to air on the side of caution, especially if the paperwork is less than 100% accurate. This can leave many private landlords attempting the court process themselves very frustrated.

If the initial section 8 notice is found to be inaccurate it may become completely invalid and the whole process will have to start again. Given the current UK court process this could put you back about 8 weeks. If the eviction is for non payment of rent, which you have already accumulated a significant amount of rental arrears, the additional 8 weeks of lost rent can be the straw that broke the camels back.

This article looks at all the common put calls of an incorrect Section 8 Notice and how to avoid them.

Some basic facts about serving the Section 8 Notice

1. A Section 8 notice to quit, sometimes referred to as a Section 8 possession notice has to be completed and served correctly on the tenant(s) of the rental property, allowing the landlord to seek possession of the rental property from the tenant during the term of the Assured Shorthold Tenancy (AST).
2. The Section 8 notice needs to show that the tenant has breached the conditions of the tenancy agreement, any term or condition of the tenancy agreement that is seen to have been broken constitutes a breach. The most common type of breach is the non-payment or late payment of rent, however, damage to the property, unsociable conduct, and subletting are also grounds for a possession order.
3. To make a Section 8 form valid, the landlord must state which grounds the tenant has breached according to Schedule 2 of the Housing Act 1988
4. All Section 8 forms require the landlord to specify the grounds they are citing as reason for eviction.

If you are in any doubt over the completing of serving of the Section 8 Notice it might be a worth while investment to hire the services of a professional eviction company. Look for those who work on a fixed fee basis such as www.evictions-southeast.co.uk so you can  be sure the cost of the service will be more than compensated by reducing the amount of time your property is not available to generate rental income or for more information visit www.evict-a-tenant.co.uk or click here for a list of eviction rules https://www.gov.uk/private-renting-evictions