Lawyers from Moore Blatch, a specialist in tenant and mortgage lender repossessions, is advising landlords that they should be much clearer in warning tenants about the risks of eviction for failing to pay rent.
This follows recent reporting claimed that 200,000 rental sector tenants across England are estimated to have faced a ‘revenge eviction’ in the last year after asking for a problem with their home to be put right, according to research for charity Shelter.
Propertyreclaim, a division of Moore Blatch, would like to see an unambiguous risk warning: ‘Your home is at risk of repossession if you fail to pay your rent’. This recommendation follows numerous examples of tenants claiming not to understand that they could be evicted.
Paul Walshe, head of Propertyreclaim, Moore Blatch, said: “While there will always be wording to the effect that failure to pay will result in eviction, it will often be hidden in the small print of a contract and many tenants claim not to understand this.
“A similar issue was faced by mortgage lenders who adopted a much clearer policy on the failure to pay with a standardised wording. We would recommend the adoption of a universal wording to be used on all communication and it to follow a similar format to the lender wording: ‘Your home is at risk of repossession if you fail to pay your rent’.”
