(PART 1)
If the tenant doesn’t want to pay rental but continues to occupy the property, the landlord has the right to go for distress action.
What is distress action?
Distress action is a court order to direct the bailiff to seize the movable properties of the tenant and sell it to recover the rental arrears.
BUT the bailiff cannot seize the tenant’s clothing, tools, and equipment to be used in his trade as well as properties not belonging to the tenant.
This distress action can be carried out by the landlord against the tenant without terminating the tenancy agreement.
So, the question is how much rental arrears can landlord claim?
Under our law, landlord may only claim up to twelve (12) completed months of the outstanding rentals.
In addition, the landlord also can claim double rent from the tenant from the expiry of the notice of eviction until the possession is given to the landlord.
The action for distress can be made to either Magistrates’ Court or Sessions Court depending on the claim amount.
The landlord can then proceed recover possession of the property with a proper court order. For this recovery proceeding, the tenancy agreement must firstly be terminated. If the landlord forcefully enters the property/cut the utilities’ supplies, the tenant can sue landlord for trespass.
Prevention is better than cure. And the secret to preventing this entire unnecessary headache lies in your tenancy agreement. We at GENGEYS & CO help you to draft a comprehensive tenancy agreement that secures the rights of landlords as well as tenants (as the case may be) which provide the necessary safeguards.
