Eviction and housing law specialist solicitors, Landlord Action, have announced that they have partnered with the Property Redress Scheme, aiming to provide a unique service to help landlords regain possession of their properties.
Landlords who use Landlord Action to serve notice on their tenants and start the process of eviction can now choose to simultaneously use the Property Redress Scheme’s mediation service to come to a resolution outside of court.
With notice periods now six months for Section 21 and most Section 8 notices served after 29 August 2020, the new service helps landlords to regain possession of their properties quicker.
Through the Property Redress Scheme’s mediation service, the landlord and tenant can come to an amicable resolution over rent and repossession. They can then choose if they want to formalise the agreement in a legally binding document, which will set out what happens if either party breaks the agreement.
The new partnership will also help cases that continue to court.
The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) recently announced that the Pre-Action Protocol that applies to social landlords is likely to be extended to landlords in the private rented sector. The Protocol requires a landlord to make reasonable attempts to resolve issues with the tenant before a case can be heard in court.
The Property Redress Scheme’s mediation service provides landlords with reports that can be used in court to show they have tried to resolve issues with their tenants.
Paul Shamplina, Founder of Landlord Action said, “This is a unique and innovative offering. When the courts reopen next week, there is going to be a huge backlog of cases for the courts to deal with. This means most landlords will have to wait longer to get their properties back, on top of the new six-month notice periods. I think most landlords will be waiting between a year and 18 months to get possession through the courts.
“That is why we have teamed up with the Property Redress Scheme. Through our partnership, we can offer landlords an expert eviction process and the chance to get their property back sooner than the current court process allows.
“Since the Property Redress Scheme launched its mediation service back in April it has settled 45% of the cases it has been instructed to mediate on. I’m confident that Landlord Action and the Property Redress Scheme will help thousands of landlords get their property back”.
Both Landlord Action and the Property Redress Scheme are part of the Hamilton Fraser family. The Hamilton Fraser family is a group of companies that provides specialist insurance and regulatory services to the private rented sector.
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