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As a commercial premise property owner in St Helens there are a lot of reasons for the need to repossess your property, the common one being when your tenant breaches their tenancy terms; such as failure to pay rent, not keeping the premise in St Helens in good condition by repairing them, being annoying to fellow tenants or assigning or subletting the premise without your permission.
Repossessing your property in St Helens that is occupied by a tenant is known as 'forfeiture'.
Nevertheless, you can only lose the rent if there is a sentence in the rent allowing you to do so.
If no clause enables you to do so, your rights as a landlord are restricted severely, so it is advised that such clauses are included for all commercial leases in Merseyside.
If you ascertained your rights to forfeit in St Helens, you can do so using two ways:
It enables you to change the locks of the doors after entering the premises in Billinge, Prescot, or Haydock effectively.
However, this may be a risky procedure as the tenant can claim in the court in Merseyside for the wrongful eviction under a 'relief from forfeiture' and if this is successful, the tenant gets possession back and can put in a settlement for losses due to unfair eviction from the premises in St Helens.
This normally is the preferred option in St Helens although, as with any proceedings of the court, it can be costly to you and takes long, you should therefore consider it as the last option.
The option you opt for depends on the reason for repossession.
When a tenant is no longer paying rent in St Helens, you can re-enter the premises, but you are not required to give any notice of your intention to forfeit.
Reminding the tenant of any overdue rent is unnecessary as acknowledging continuance of the tenancy in St Helens because this will lead to a waiver of your right to forfeit and will be required to wait the tenant misses the next payment of rent.
It is recommended that you drop a notice of repossession at the front door of the property in Billinge, Prescot, or Haydock in the presence of a witness such as a locksmith, or even your solicitor is recommended.
It would help if you first served a section 146 notice for any other breaches before you can take possession of the property in St Helens.
The notification must be offered by your lawyer on all interested parties in Merseyside, comprising the occupant, any mortgagee and any subtenant.
It must define the extent of the violation in St Helens and whether, within a reasonable time, this needs remedial action or monetary pay-out.
If the compensation is not done or any violations not resolved, then you can exercise the forfeit.
Additional rulings in St Helens are applied to notices that involve breaches in the failing to maintain property conditions.
The landlord will be required to offer the opportunity to the tenant in Billinge, Prescot, or Haydock where they may claim statutory protection.
This must be claimed by the St Helens tenant not more than 28 days after getting a section 146 notice and the landlord is required to apply for a preliminary claim for permission from the court in Merseyside before doing anything else.
This may be prevented if the rental agreement includes a clause that empowers the landlord to enter the property in St Helens and correct any repair deficit and claim the incurred costs of repair as debts to be paid by the tenant.
Applying to the Merseyside county court for possession is the first step in the court proceedings for forfeiture.
There are standard claim procedures that must be finalized, which in St Helens can now be delivered online in some courts.
The forms will then be served to the tenant in St Helens preferably by your solicitor within a strict time-frame.
This being an area of law that is complex, any delay mistake may be costly and repossession in Haydock, Prescot, or Billinge delayed, so it is advised to always seek legal advice.
The tenant can apply to the Merseyside court for relief from the forfeiture proceedings if specific requirements are met.
Although the tenant does not have an automatic discretionary remedy available to the court, but if granted they may be able to continue to occupy the St Helens premises under the lease they already have.
The tenant in St Helens is advised to apply for this straight away after receiving the section 146 notice as they can be penalised for any unnecessarily delayed time.
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