Hear a volunteer tell Alan’s story, a client who faced a no-fault eviction after 17 years in his home. With our support, he challenged the process and suspended the eviction.
Alan was directed to our Support Through Court office by the court officials dealing with housing matters. He had no appointment but waited patiently until there was a gap in our schedule.
Alan was clutching a possession order that he had received in the post that day. The flat that he’d rented for 17 years would be taken from him by bailiffs in 10 days’ time. This was the first that he’d heard of the eviction. Alan was understandably stressed and anxious at the prospect of losing his home.
I read through the documents. This was a section 21 “no-fault” eviction. There was no suggestion that Alan was a bad tenant and in fact he had always paid his rent on time. The landlord simply wanted the whole block back for redevelopment. However there is a procedure to follow and in this case Alan was adamant that he hadn’t received any notice of the eviction application and had therefore no chance to seek legal advice or contest the eviction.
In such cases it is possible to apply to the court to suspend the possession order. Time is limited so I helped Alan find the correct application form. It became clear that Alan had some difficulties with writing so I helped him summarise his arguments. Crucially he had never had a proper signed tenancy agreement from his landlord and also his flat had no gas certificate. Either of these two omissions would have defeated the section 21 eviction application.
Two days later we accompanied Alan to the hearing. In the waiting area Alan felt intimidated when the landlord’s solicitor wanted him to just accept the repossession. The fact that we were sat with Alan gave him confidence and helped him control his anxiety. Alan was able to speak clearly in court and the judge suspended the eviction. I referred Alan to a free legal service for advice going forwards.
Unfortunately there is (at the time of writing) no real way to stop a section 21 “no fault” eviction. The landlord could reapply once they have got the tenancy agreement, gas certificate etc. in order. But Alan has some hope that they will reconsider or possibly offer him a tenancy in one of their other properties.
In 2025 new laws are due to take effect that seek to prevent “no fault” evictions like this and in the meantime Alan feels that at least he has some breathing space.
Alan’s story is told by Rob, a volunteer in our Manchester office
