Eviction

When can a tenant be evicted?

Under the terms of the Tenancy Agreement, tenants are responsible for their own behaviour, and for that of anyone either living with, or visiting them.  If we have evidence that the tenant or other household members have breached their tenancy conditions, we can ask the Court for permission to evict them.  

The Anti-social Behaviour Act 2003 gave social landlords new powers to deal with nuisance tenants.  Evicting people from their homes and making families homeless is now seen as a last resort after other options available to us, such as Injunctions and Anti-Social Behaviour Orders to encourage troublemakers to amend their behaviour have been used.  This is because Injunctions and Anti-Social Behaviour Orders prohibit people from engaging in nuisance behaviour, whereas evicting anti-social tenants simply moves the problem on and leaves their behaviour unchecked.  

In Court, a Judge has to consider whether it is reasonable to take someone’s home away from them.  A Judge may decide that it is not reasonable to award a Possession Order, or to suspend the Possession Order on the condition that the tenant complies with their Tenancy Agreement from then on.  However, if the person responsible for causing the anti-social behaviour holds an Introductory Tenancy (usually within the first year of them being an Blyth Valley Borough Council tenant), the Judge must allow us to take possession of the person’s home if a breach of tenancy is proved.

How long does it take to evict a tenant?

Evicting someone from their home is a very serious matter.  We need to collect enough evidence to satisfy a judge that the tenant has breached their tenancy conditions and that it is reasonable to take their home away from them.  Collecting the appropriate amount and quality of evidence can take months.

Once we have collected enough evidence, we need to serve a Notice on the tenant giving them 28 days notice that we intend to take them to Court to ask for permission to evict them.

After the 28 days have passed, we can apply to the relevant County Court for a possession hearing.  The Court may give us a hearing date in 4-6 weeks time.  At the hearing, the Judge will listen to the evidence from all sides and make a decision.  Unless the tenant holds an Introductory or Demoted Tenancy (in which case the Judge must allow us to take back possession of the person’s home if the breach of tenancy is proven), it is up to the Judge whether or not to make an outright Possession Order, a suspended Possession Order, or refuse to grant a Possession Order.  

If the Judge grants an outright Possession Order, the tenant can still be given up to 28 days from the date of the Court hearing to remove their belongings from the property and find somewhere else to live.  The whole process can therefore take months.   

Injunctions preventing people from engaging in nuisance behaviour are much quicker to implement, and can be in place in a matter of hours if the behaviour involves violence or threats of violence, and we seek a Without Notice Injunction.  If violence is not involved, and we seek an Injunction on Notice, the process can take slightly longer. However, it can still be in place within weeks.

Further Information

You can obtain further information from the following:

ASB Unit, Blyth Valley Housing, Dinsdale House, 75 Marine Terrace, Blyth NE24 2LN.

Telephone: ASB Unit Hotline 01670 542060

RNID Typetalk service prefix number 18001

EMail: Anti-Social Behaviour Unit