Many companies across the UK specialise in property evictions but many of these organisations are not regulated as legal service providers. As a result of this any landlord instructing one of these firms to act on their behalf need to be aware that the eviction company might not be able to represent them in Court proceedings.
This point was made clear in the County Court case of Kassam v Gill & Gill, where the Judge ruled that the ways in which these companies operate is actually unlawful according to the Legal Services Act 2007.
Case Background
The case involved the claimant landlord, Mr and Mrs Gills, bringing possession proceedings against the tenant, Mr Kassam, as rent arrears had been accrued.
The landlord instructed the services of ‘Remove a Tenant’ (a trading name of Fentham Group Limited), an unregulated (as defined in the Legal Services Act 2007) legal firm who specialised in property evictions. Remove a Tenant served section 8 notice proceedings on the tenant on behalf of the Gills, and once the section 8 notice had expired, Remove a Tenant filed a possession claim via Possession Claim Online (PCOL), and an order was granted.
However, the tenant then appealed the possession order on the basis that Remove a Tenant was not a regulated legal services provider, and thus could not represent Mr and Mrs Gill in the Court proceedings.
Court Ruling
The Judge agreed with Mr Kassam in relation to Remove a Tenant, but also ruled that the possession order should still remain in place as the fault was with eviction firm and not the landlords.
The outcome of the ruling is that any unregulated eviction firm (not licensed by the Solicitors Regulation Authority) is not able to act for a landlord in Court proceedings.
How Nelsons Can Help
Simon Waterfield
is a Partner in our Property Litigation team.
Our expert team of property litigation lawyers are able to assist landlords with their legal rights and obligations, providing advice to resolve any disputes with their tenants as quickly as possible.
For more information, please call Simon or a member of the team on 0800 024 1976 or contact us via our online form.