Landlords urged to back legal case protecting their repossession rights in rent arrears cases
Landlords are being urged to back a legal case to protect their rights to repossess their properties when a tenant stops paying rent.
This follows a recent court case in which a landlord’s attempt to regain their property was deemed invalid because of a licensing technicality.
The landlord Mr Jarvis holds a Rent Smart Wales licence in the name of the company, and the property is owned in his own name.
Despite the tenant owing large rent arrears, when Mr Jarvis attempted to gain possession of the property using the Section 8 grounds-based process, the court ruled that the notice was invalid.
This was because the company, rather than the individual, holds the licence.
This technicality has not been an issue in England and Wales before, and the RLA is now supporting the landlord in appealing the decision.
Landlords are being urged to back the appeal by making a financial contribution to support the case through a Crowd Justice website. Funds raised will go towards supporting legal costs for this challenge.
David Smith, Policy Director for the Residential Landlords Association (RLA) said:
“Landlords should be able to regain possession where they have a legitimate reason to do so, and the legislation was never intended to prevent possession against tenants in arrears of rent.
“This appeal could have far reaching implications for landlords across the board”.
Last month, the RLA launched a crowd funder to raise money for an appeal to protect the rights of landlords to repossess their properties, following a recent court case in which a landlord’s attempt to regain their property was deemed invalid due to a dispute over a gas safety certificate.
The crowd funder reached its initial target in less than three days.
