Urgently looking for a good solicitor specialised in housing

[Etta Ermini]

Hello all,

I am urgently looking for a solicitor who works in housing. I'd like to help my neighbours who have been waiting for a council flat for seven years. The council has forced them to rent privately and now the agency has send the eviction letter without any explanation. When they arrived in the UK they stayed in a flat for three months until they got evicted because the landlord wanted to sell. So this is the second time in seven years they have to find something else. They are a couple with two children. If you have recommendations for a good solicitor I'd be very grateful. They are very worried and don't speak English well enough to defend themselves. Thanks for your help!

[Angelina]

Do you think this is an illegal eviction and that the documents are not in order? You can get advice from Citizen's Advice or Shelter as well.  There is also a lot of advice on line - i.e. what the documents need to include for the landlord to evict the tenant.

[alice]

If the eviction is coming through an agent, it’s unlikely to be an illegal eviction in which case a solicitor would be an expensive waste of money. Southwark council’s  housing department   gives free advice/help to private tenants. 02075254113 

 

Edited April 29, 2025 by alice
Additional info

[Cyclemonkey]

What do you need a solicitor for? What advice do you/they need?

Only the courts or the tenants can end a tenancy, the landlord can only require possession.

If it is a section 21 that is a "no fault" eviction,  meaning the landlord simply wants their property back vacant.

If it is a section 8 it means the landlord requires possession because of rent arrears or some other kind of breach of the tenancy agreement.

If there is no notice then it is potentially an illegal eviction.

TBH the council are probably likely to advise they stay put until the courts evict them, but that could result in them being allocated emergency accomodation - which could be outside of Southwark and possibly a hotel room or hostel.  As you will be very much aware council housing is rarer than hens teeth in inner London so I would advise this family not to pin thejr hopes on that, they would better off trying to find somewhere more stable to rent privately.

[IlonaM]

As well as Shelter England you can try Cambridge House Law Centre: (https://ch1889.org/law-centre) Call 020 7358 7025  Email: [email protected]