SLC Solicitors

Why SLC Solicitors? landlords want their rent paid and the property vacated!

SLC Solicitors is a solicitors' practice acting on behalf of letting and managing agents and private landlords including right to buy landlords.

If you need to effect prompt recovery of any overdue rent and wish to ensure the tenant is evicted then we can help you achieve this.

We are able to accept your instructions to recover rent and ensure you recover possession of the property from a tenant on a no recovery no fee basis and/or fixed fee basis.

There are no geographical limitations to our service.

Who pays for our services? the tenants!

Recovery of our client's legal costs and court disbursements, interest and mesne profits.

Dependant upon the terms of the tenancy, and the court's order, it is generally the case that our fees are recoverable from the debtor tenant.

In the first instance, we require payment of all court disbursements in advance of the commencement of proceedings along with payment of our fixed fee charges although this may vary depending on the volume of instructions our clients provide.

As any recoveries will always be subject to the debtor tenant being financially capable of paying or simply willing to pay without further enforcement measures being undertaken, we review the merits of further enforcement action with our clients at every stage so as not to incur unnecessary expenses and costs to our clients. If the landlord is unable to recover our costs from the tenant, we will still be entitled to our fees from the landlord.

What information do we need to commence the recovery of arrears?

Essentially very little information is needed to commence the recovery of rent arrears only. For example, a simple statement of the amount owed including dates when arrears became due and a copy of the tenancy agreement so that we can ascertain whether we include within our demand for rent additional amounts such as interest on late payment, agent and landlord administration charges etc.

If legal proceedings are necessary, at the time of any court hearing we will require the original tenancy agreement and title documents along with attendance by the owner or the owner's agent to confirm the current level of arrears.

If the debtor tenant is still resident in the property, we are able to offer pre-action letters demanding payment of rent arrears either on a no recovery no fee or fixed fee basis. We recommend that prior to instructing us a landlord or landlord's agent sends a 7 day demand letter to attempt to make a recovery of arrears prior to our involvement.

If a debtor tenant has already vacated the property we will require confirmation of their current whereabouts. If this not known we are able offer a tracing service, initially on a no find no fee paying basis. We do not charge for our time in this respect save for a small administration charge. If the debtor tenant is found it is then possible to instruct us on a no recovery no fee basis or alternatively on a fixed fee or hourly rate paying basis.

Costs information - how much will it cost to evict a tenant?

There are two types of notices relevant to the commencement of possession/eviction action. These are commonly known as a Section 8 and a Section 21 notice.

These are notices that state a tenant is required to leave by a specific date. The section 8 notice contains breaches, for example, rent arrears. These notices amount to a warning to tenants that if they fail to leave court action for possession/eviction may follow.

Section 21 route:

This route is ideal if you simply want to get your tenant out of the property

Section 21 Notice	£75.00 (+ VAT)	This can be enough to make the tenant leave the property
Accelerated Possession Procedure	£395 (+ VAT) on costs (includes court fee of £150) - see also Defended Proceedings below	If the tenant is being uncooperative a Court Order for Possession is required

Section 8 route:

This route is recommended when you want the tenant to vacate the property and you also wish to claim for any arrears of rent (it is possible to evict the tenant before the tenancy end date)

Section 8 Notice	£80.00 (+ VAT)	This can be enough to make the tenant leave the property
Possession Proceedings	£525 (+ VAT on legal costs) (includes court fee of £150 and advocate attendance for one court appearance to plead your claim) - see also "Defended Proceedings" below.	If the tenant is being uncooperative a Court Order for Possession is required.
	Bailiff Instruction to evict an uncooperative tenant: £190 (+ VAT on legal costs) At a court hearing the court will generally order that the tenant leaves the property in 14 days or even forthwith. However, on rare occasions when the 14 day court order has expired the tenant may still refuse to leave. If this happens it is possible for us to arrange for the court appointed bailiffs to eject the tenant.
Defended Proceedings	Most claims are undefended. If a defence is filed at court we may be unable to continue with a fixed fee arrangement as it is generally not possible to fix a fee for defended claims, although depending on the nature of the defence we will attempt to estimate our costs ahead of a court hearing and, if possible, we will try to fix the amount. When a claim is defended we will reserve the right to refer the claim to recommended property litigation law firms who assist our clients with such matters. A separate fee arrangement will need to be agreed with you in relation to defended claims. We will advise you on the most appropriate way forward once we are notified of any defence.

Other services

Letter Before Action (Fixed Fee)	£65 (+ VAT)	Often a solicitor's letter setting out your rights can quickly resolve disputes with tenants and letting agents.
Letter Before Action	No Recovery No Fee	25% + VAT of the amount recovered without recourse to court proceedings and service of statutory notices and with a minimum charge of £65 + VAT applying upon payment of any arrears.