possession via accelerated route

[Steve C]

I have a tenant whose fixed 6 month AST has come to an end and has decided she is not going to leave, nor pay rent. I have decided to make a claim for possession in the court using the accelerated procedure. I know I will not get any money for rent via this route but would prefer to get her out earlier rather than later. The forms do allow for costs to be requested however and I will certainly be asking for them ie court fee. The tenancy agreement has a guarantor on it, (her step dad).

My question is thus. Does anybody know what the position is, in naming the step dad on the application? The application form does not have a section to name anybody other than the tenant as a defendant. The guarantor agreement allows for me to recover costs of this nature from the step dad and so would naturally wish to do so. The normal court chestnut is “We can’t give legal advice” and so I’m left wondering whether I should put his name on this application and risk a judge chucking it back and probably wasting another week, or wait until she is out and then start a separate action against him. Papers going to court tomorrow and so any advice given now would be gratefully received.

[P.Pilcher]

It ain't that accelerated! What you are talking about is the section 21 proceedure which you have to start by serving the correctly worded section 21 notice giving your tenant a minimum of two months notice. Only then can you apply to the court for a possession order requiring said tenant to leave. There are differences in the wording of the section 21 notice depending on whether it is served during the fixed term of the original AST or or when the tenancy has become a statutory periodic one after the fixed term has expired. There is tons about this on other posts on this board. The issue with your guarantor is IMHO a separate issue which needs to be dealt with in the small claims court. Initially a letter to this person advising them of the arrears might be a good idea and reminding them that you WILL be taking action to recover your losses. Only the tenant should be named on the court paperwork or section 21 notice as your issue with the guarantor is an entirely separate action.

P.P.

[Steve C]

Thanks for reply. S21 is all done and dusted, there is no problem there. It was the bit about the guarantor that was causing the problem. It all makes sense now that somebody else has said it, so thanks again.