Terms & Conditions
Terms and conditions
Payment by you for any of the services offered by Landlord Recoveries and or their lawyers is deemed acceptance by you of our terms and conditions. Payment by you for any of the services offered by Landlord Recoveries or their lawyers now or in the past is deemed acceptance by you that you have read and understood our terms and conditions and that you fully understand and accept them. Alternatively where you instruct Landlord Recoveries prior to payment, receipt of your instruction is deemed acceptance by you that you have read and understood our terms and conditions and that you fully understand and accept them.
Your continuing instructions will amount to your acceptance of these terms and conditions.
Eviction Cases – Fixed fee Stage I Notice
We will prepare and serve* either a section 8 notice or a section 21 notice or both on your tenant. We recommend that any outstanding repairs of which you have knowledge are dealt with prior to the service of notice as soon as possible in order to reduce the tenant's chance of submitting a successful defence and/or counterclaim should the matter progress to stage II of the eviction process. If you are relying on section 8 rent arrears grounds you should ensure that the arrears of rent you are claiming are genuine and fully accounted for. Errors regarding rent arrears can lead to disputes which can lead to a defence being filed by your tenant. A defence will invariably lead to any subsequent court possession hearing being adjourned thus leading to delays and extra legal fees being incurred by you for which you will remain liable. We will prepare notices only on the information that you provide us with and there is an assumption that all factual information which you provide us with is correct. We do not carry out an advisory review of your papers unless you specifically request us to do so and for which an extra fee will be payable and will be charged at our hourly rate. We will simply prepare whichever notice you have specifically requested us to do so and it will be prepared strictly on basis of the information which you have provided us with. Landlord Recoveries will not be held liable should the notice be deemed invalid by reason of reliance on incorrectly provided information by you. In the event that a case becomes defended our fixed fee service will no longer apply.
*Service is by first class post and first class recorded delivery. If you require service by personal hand delivery a process server fee will be appicable.
Your continuing instructions will amount to your acceptance of these terms and conditions.
Eviction Cases - Fixed fee Stage II Court Proceedings
On your behalf and acting as your agent we will instruct our lawyers* to prepare all the necessary court papers in order to commence the appropriate property possession action in the county court strictly in accordance with your instructions. Therefore if you instruct us to commence an action based on a section 8 notice we shall do so. If you instruct us to commence an action based on a section 21 notice we shall do so. The fixed fee stage II service does not include advice in relation to which notice you should proceed under. If you instruct us to commence an action under a section 8 notice we shall not make any assumptions with regard to any other notice you may or may not have already served. Likewise if you instruct us in relation to a section 21 notice. If you need advice in relation to which notice is the most appropriate upon your specific matter facts then an extra fee will be payable in respect of that advice. We will liaise with the court and deal with all the court papers. We prepare all necessary witness statements and will make arrangements to attend the first hearing on your behalf. Provided the court agrees that the landlord has grounds for possession the landlord will in most cases be entitled to a 14 day order for possession unless the judge takes the view that the tenants circumstances are such that possession should be delayed. Possession, if established on a mandatory ground, cannot be delayed for more than 42 days unless the ground for possession is discretionary. Unless we are seeking possession on an expired Section 21 Notice in isolation through either the traditional or accelerated procedure you should obtain an order for a fixed contribution towards your legal costs up to a maximum of £276.75. Regardless of the possession order we are seeking, any contribution awarded by the court is unlikely to match the total you have expended. Our Stage II fixed fee is limited to one court attendance. Should the court adjourn the hearing for whatever reason and require subsequent attendances a further fee will be required from you. Depending on the location of the court, a travel disbursement maybe added to the fixed fee. Our fixed fee services are not an advisory service. Instructions received from you are taken on the strict understanding that you are satisfied that all paper work that you submit with your instruction is checked and in order. Landlord Recoveries will not accept responsibility or liability if a process fails on account of defective documentation submitted by you. We recommend that any outstanding repairs of which you have knowledge are dealt with prior to the service of notice as soon as possible in order to reduce the tenant's chance of submitting a successful defence and/or counterclaim should the matter progress to stage II of the eviction process. If you are relying on section 8 rent arrears grounds you should ensure that the arrears of rent you are claiming are genuine and fully accounted for. Errors regarding rent arrears can lead to disputes which can lead to a defence being filed by your tenant. A defence will invariably lead to any subsequent court possession hearing being adjourned thus leading to delays and extra legal fees being incurred by you for which you will remain liable. In the event that a tenant defends the action or the matter is adjourned for whatever reason please see our section 'Defended cases'.
*Our lawyers are independent from Landlord Recoveries. By instructing Landlord Recoveries you hereby agree and consent to Landlord Recoveries acting as your agent for the purpose of instructing our lawyers on your behalf and liaising with them in respect of all matters relating to your case. You hereby agree, consent and authorise our lawyers to liaise, pass, share, and divulge with Landlord Recoveries all information, correspondence and evidence in relation to your case. You hereby authorise Landlord Recoveries to instruct our lawyers and hereby authorise our lawyers to take instructions from Landlord Recoveries on your behalf in relation to all aspects of your case. You will not be be charged separately by our lawyers.
Your continuing instructions will amount to your acceptance of these terms and conditions.
Fixed fee Accelerated Procedure
On your behalf and acting as your agent we will instruct our lawyers* to prepare all the necessary court papers in order to commence the appropriate property possession action in the county court strictly in accordance with your instructions. Landlord Recoveries will liaise with the court and ensure that all the court formalities and further court paperwork is dealt with. The accelerated procedure is only applicable to section 21 notices and can not/does not include a claim for any outstanding rent arrears. Generally the accelerated procedure takes between 3 and 6 weeks, however depending on which court has jurisdiction the process can in some cases take longer. The accelerated procedure generally does not require a hearing. The court will ordinarily decide the case in private and without the need for a hearing. If for whatever reason and in the rare event that the court requires the necessity for a hearing Landlord Recoveries will require a balancing payment of £144 to attend the hearing. In the alternative the landlord can attend the hearing in person and Landlord Recoveries will have no further involvement in the matter. In the event that the matter becomes defended please see our terms and conditions for defended actions below.
Defended Cases
In the event that your case is defended by the tenant or other circumstances arise which are not covered by our fixed fee services, Our charges are based upon the time we spend in dealing with your case. On your behalf and acting as your agent we will instruct our lawyers* to continue to defend your case. Anything that you can do to assist us in dealing with your case will minimise our potential charges. Time spent will include meetings with you (and maybe others); time spent traveling, considering, preparing and working on papers, correspondence, making and receiving telephone calls. All extra work will be charged out at £99 per hour plus vat and in units of 1/10th of an hour. In addition to time spent we may take into account any of the following factors, which could include: the complexity of the issues and the speed at which action must be taken. Landlord Recoveries will advise you that your case has been defended or adjourned and will seek your instruction before proceeding to with any further work. Your continued instruction will amount to acceptance of our terms and conditions and that you wish for us to continue to act on your behalf. You can however choose a solicitor of your choice and Landlord Recoveries will no longer act as agent on your behalf. Landlord Recoveries will advise you of the probable cost of pursuing the defended case for you. Additional court fees may be required which will be payable by you. Advocates fees for attending hearings and traveling and waiting charges will be added. Whilst every effort is taken by Landlord Recoveries to ensure a successful conclusion to your case, due to the very nature of defended claims, Landlord Recoveries can not offer any guarantees as to the outcome of your claim. Instructions received from you are taken on the strict understanding that you are satisfied that all the paper work that you have submitted is correct, checked and in order. Landlord Recoveries will not accept responsibility or liability if a process fails on account of defective documentation submitted by you. After completing the work, we are entitled to keep all of your papers and documents while there are fees owing to us for our charges and expenses. If you terminate your instructions or we stop acting for you with good reason, you will still have to pay our charges and expenses and our solicitors charges and expenses up to the date that we cease acting, including costs for removing our name our our solicitors name from the court record if court proceedings are involved and transferring our files to you or another advisor. When a matter becomes defended you run the risk that if the defendant wins that you will become liable to pay all or part of their legal costs as well as ours. If your opponent has Community Legal Service Funding you are unlikely to be able to recover any of your costs from them. In any event even if you win the case the legal costs which you have to pay are likely to exceed the amount recoverable from the other party. If the tenancy agreement upon which you are relying does not reserve your right to claim legal costs from your tenant you will not be able to claim them and you will only be entitled to fixed costs regardless of your actual expended legal costs. Litigants in person if successful, the court can order the unsuccessful party to pay their costs provided that they can show that they have suffered financial loss in preparing for and attending the hearing. If you are unhappy with a court order for whatever reason you must inform us immediately and in event within 7 days of the order being made. Landlord Recoveries will not be held liable for your failure to raise such issues after this time.
Before embarking upon litigation (and this includes possession actions based on section 8 and section 21 notices), you must give careful consideration as to whether the other party might have a defence (to all or part of your claim) or a counter-claim. Your potential liability for costs is twofold. Firstly your own legal costs and secondly the other party's, if they are successful against you, whether in whole or in part. If there are aspects of the case upon which you can co-operate with the other side you should do so to prevent the court applying costs sanctions against you.
A full break down of the additional costs will be provided on request.
*Our lawyers are independent from Landlord Recoveries. By instructing Landlord Recoveries you hereby agree and consent to Landlord Recoveries acting as your agent for the purpose of instructing our lawyers on your behalf and liaising with them in respect of all matters relating to your case. You hereby agree, consent and authorise our lawyers to liaise, pass, share, and divulge with Landlord Recoveries all information, correspondence and evidence in relation to your case. You hereby authorise Landlord Recoveries to instruct our lawyers and hereby authorise our lawyers to take instructions from Landlord Recoveries on your behalf in relation to all aspects of your defended action. All further fees incurred by you in relation to your defended action will be payable to Landlord Recoveries. You will not be be charged separately by our lawyers.
Your continuing instructions will amount to your acceptance of these terms and conditions.
Court paperwork only service
Landlord Recoveries will prepare and draft all the appropriate court paperwork including the claim form, particulars of claim, exhibits and exhibit sheets. If you have previously instructed Landlord Recoveries in respect of a stage 1 notice service Landlord Recoveries will provide you with a statement of service. This will be included in the paperwork. The court papers will be duplicated to the correct quantity necessary for you to commence the court proceedings on your own behalf. The Court paperwork only service does not include the court fee of £150, this will be paid by you when you submit the papers to the court. Landlord Recoveries will have no further involvement in the particular case once the paperwork has been completed and dispatched to you. The purpose of this service is to give the Landlord who has enough time and confidence (and who doesn't need to worry about taking time off work) to take control of the possession action and attend the court hearing themselves. Landlord Recoveries will prepare the court paperwork strictly in accordance with your instructions. Unless you have instructed Landlord Recoveries in relation to a fixed fee Stage 1 notice then this service is not an advisory service, therefore if you instruct Landlord Recoveries to prepare the court paperwork based on a section 8 notice we shall do so. If you instruct us to prepare the court paperwork based on a section 21 notice we shall do so. The court paperwork only service does not include advice in relation to which notice you should proceed under. If you instruct us to prepare the paperwork based on a section 8 notice we shall not make any assumptions with regard to any other notice you may or may not have already served. Likewise if you instruct us in relation to a section 21 notice. If your case is adjourned for whatever reason Landlord Recoveries will be happy to offer assistance and advice in accordance with our Defended action terms and conditions.
Trespasser and Squatter eviction
Landlord Recoveries will prepare all the necessary court papers and ensure that the papers are issued in the correct county court and that the issued papers are correctly served on your trespassers. We will liaise with the court and deal with all the court papers. We will prepare all necessary witness statements and will make arrangements to attend the first hearing on your behalf. Landlord Recoveries, with your instruction and payment, will appoint a bailiff to attend your land or property. It is sometimes more appropriate to instruct a High Court Sheriff Officer to attend the eviction. Landlord Recoveries will advise you whether this is appropriate. If a High Court Sheriff Officer is requested to attend your property they will charge an extra fee. This fee will have to be met by you. If the matter is defended please see our section 'Defended cases'.
Your continuing instructions will amount to your acceptance of these terms and conditions.
Rent arrears claim
Before considering pursuing a claim for rent arrears, Landlord Recoveries will need to see the original or a true copy of the tenancy agreement. Landlord Recoveries and/or its solicitors reserves the right to claim all legal costs from the tenant, these will be significantly higher than our fixed fee charge for this service.
Payment of fees
We do not accept payments in cash in any form from anyone or organisation. We only accept payment by our secure online website payment system by an authorised debit/credit card, or where agreed in advance by cheque. Otherwise the bank may consider your payment as an example of money laundering which would delay us in our actions on your behalf. Payment online by you is deemed as authority for the payment for the completion of your specific service.
Payment of fees in relation to Defended actions are strictly on the basis of 14 days from receipt of our invoice.
Your continuing instructions will amount to your acceptance of these terms and conditions.
Cancellation of instruction
Landlord Recoveries will endeavor to commence your instructions within 48 hours of receipt of payment and relevant documentation. You have a right to cancel your instruction within 7 days of making payment. However, if work has already commenced on your case your right to cancel will end and you will remain liable for all costs to date. To cancel your instruction please write to Landlord Recoveries at the contact address found on the ‘contact us’ page of the website.
General
The information conveyed on the Landlord Recoveries website is intended to convey general information only. The contents of the website are not aimed at any person, individual or organisation specifically and nothing contained within it constitutes an offer to contract. Landlord Recoveries reserve the right to cancel, withdraw or change its services at any time. If you terminate your instructions or we stop acting for you with good reason, you will still have to pay our charges and expenses up to the date that we cease acting, including costs for removing our name our our solicitors name from the court record if court proceedings are involved and transferring our files to you or another advisor.
Your continuing instructions will amount to your acceptance of these terms and conditions.
Retention of documents
Original signed copies of documents created by Landlord Recoveries on behalf of a client remain the sole property of Landlord Recoveries. Copies are not distributed to clients. If a client requests such documents Landlord Recoveries reserves the right to refuse such a request or levy a charge of £55 per copy original signed document.
Our charges and other costs
All work where stated in this website (with the exception of defended cases and our consultancy service) is carried out on a fixed fee basis and includes disbursements. If a statement of service/certificate of service is required separately from one of our fixed fee services an additional charge of £75 will be levied.
Complaints Procedure
Landlord Recoveries are committed to providing you with the very highest quality service. We ensure that procedures are consistently followed by all members of the organisation and we are consistently looking to improve the quality of our service. If however, you have any queries or concerns about our work for you it is important to raise them immediately in writing (we do not accept complaints made by email) and in the first instance with the member of staff involved. Do not wait until the completion of a matter to raise a problem which occurred at a much earlier stage. If that does not resolve the problem or you would prefer to speak to someone else then please make this clear. Following receipt of a written complaint, we will endeavor to respond to it in writing within 28 days of receipt. We will attempt to resolve problems that arise with our services in-house. It is therefore important that if at any time you feel that quality is not being maintained please raise it the moment you feel that an issue has arisen. If you have a complaint about any aspect of our services or the way in which they are being delivered to you, you must raise it the moment it arises. To continue to instruct Landlord Recoveries after you later rely on a complaint which should have been raised earlier, it will be taken as evidence that a genuine complaint has not arisen. If you raise a complaint at the end of a matter which should have been raised much earlier and you continue to instruct Landlord Recoveries putting them to expense in terms of both time and disbursements after the date the complaint should have been raised you will remain liable for our costs in their entirety. We value your instructions and would not wish you to think that you have reason to be unhappy with us.
Your continuing instructions will amount to your acceptance of these terms and conditions.
Contractual obligation
All services provided by Landlord Recoveries on this website and requested by an individual or organisation will only form a binding agreement upon confirmation by Landlord Recoveries. Such confirmation will take the form of either an email, fax, or postal correspondence. That you understand that your continued instructions in any matter which we act on your behalf will amount to your full acceptance of these terms and conditions of business and that you fully understand that you may not be able to recover the full legal costs but nevertheless wish to instruct Landlord Recoveries to proceed in your required service and agree to compensate Landlord Recoveries against any liabilities incurred by them in acting for you.
Terms and conditions
Payment by you for any of the services offered by Landlord Recoveries is deemed acceptance by you that you have read and understood our terms and conditions and that you fully understand and accept them. Alternatively where you instruct Landlord Recoveries prior to payment, receipt of your instruction is deemed acceptance by you that you have read and understood our terms and conditions and that you fully understand and accept them.
Your continuing instructions will amount to your continued acceptance of our terms and conditions.
Landlord Recoveries reserve all rights to amend and change it's terms and conditions without notice.