A Cautionary Tale for Landlords Using Section 8 To Arrange Vacant Possession

And Why It Makes Sense To Use Portfolio Exit Specialists To Sell Your Rental Properties for 85 – 90% of Estimated Market Value to Avoid Court Cost and Post Eviction Headaches.

Complementary to our guide Sell your buy-to-let with tenants in situ and receive the money in your bank in less time that it takes for a Section 21 eviction to be heard, where we looked at how selling through Landlord Sales Agency with tenants in situ is normally faster than evicting tenants to sell property with vacant possession; here we also look at what can and does go wrong doing it the hard way (through the courts).

Real-World Example

A recent “Evicted tenant’s aftermath” case on Property118 highlights just how costly and draining evicting tenants can be https://www.property118.com/evicted-tenants-aftermath

One landlord shared they were left with most of the tenant’s belongings—and property damage—far exceeding the deposit, sparking questions about how best to recover costs.

Veteran Landlords’ Perspectives

Just some of the responses from landlords who commented under the post, offers a sobering first‑hand account:

“My repairs was close to £10k… it would probably cost another £8‑£10k to do all the legals…”

“Trying to reclaim costs from the ex-tenant isn’t going to work because obviously he has run out of money. I tried MCOL and yes it posted a CCJ on the person, but that didn’t get me my money.”

“Just be careful… I learned this the hard way! After a canny tenant had utterly played me, and I had lost a year’s rent plus court costs ..this was the final insult.”

One landlord explained that legal prep, court appearances, and CCJ enforcement promised minimal returns — so he gave up and chose to exit the sector.

Why This Matters—A Cautionary Tale

• Time and stress: Hundreds of landlord hours often get swallowed by court processes and follow‑up on CCJs.
• Financial exposure: Even with a CCJ, tenants on benefits may pay only £5–£10 a week—delivering poor results.
• Asset liability: Damaged property, leftover items, debris removal: landlords frequently bear costs far above deposit sums.

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An alternative Strategy

Instead of enduring protracted eviction and disposal proceedings through the courts, where possible Landlord Sales Agency (LSA) works with tenants to solve their problems and help rehouse them.

Nobody wants to abandon their belongings. In the case study given above, LSA could have helped the tenant move, on condition they left the property empty:

• Sell through Landlord Sales Agency at 85-90% of estimated market value.
  A modest price reduction may offset the risk and delay associated with tenant extraction.
• Sit back and relax while we take on the headaches.
  Landlord Sales Agency can organise sales with vacant possession, using mediation or negotiation to exit tenants with minimal conflict.

Benefits

Benefit	Explanation
Avoid legal fees and delays	Skips Section 8 evictions and court timelines
Eliminate clean‑up costs and liability	Vacant property can be handed over in better order
Programme certainty	Enables swift disposal and reinvestment without tenant issues
Emotional relief	Avoids adversarial relationships and stress associated with eviction

Key Takeaway

This real‑life account and the expert responses to it explains why sometimes taking a slightly lower sale price upfront and working through a sales agency that handles empty possession can be more efficient, cost‑effective, and less emotionally draining than pursuing eviction.

It’s a useful alternative worth considering—especially in a tougher legal environment where Section 8 claims and CCJs yield limited return and high friction.

Once you have made the decision to sell using a specialist service to avoid all the stress and headaches of trying to vacate properties through the courts to sell ex rental properties on the high street, all you need to do is make sure you use the best in business – the Landlord Sales Agency!