Without Section 21 to fall back on, every possession claim now needs a Section 8 ground and the evidence to support it. A scribbled note saying “tenant always paid late” is not evidence. A complete, dated trail of rent records and chasing communications is.
The file you would want a solicitor to read on the morning the claim is filed should ideally exist on the day the tenancy starts. Here is what builds into that file.
A complete check-in pack
Signed inventory, signed tenancy agreement, certificates the tenant was given, deposit protection registration. This is the baseline that everything else is measured against. Missing items here cause problems months later.
Periodic inspection reports
Each one dated, with photos and notes, and — importantly — a record that the tenant was given proper notice of the visit. A consistent inspection cadence is itself evidence that your branch is acting reasonably.
A written communication log
Phone calls become written follow-ups. Texts get saved. Letters are scanned. Anything that ever happens between the branch and the tenant or the landlord ends up in one place, with a timestamp. Memory is not evidence; the file is.
Rent statements that match the bank
For rent-arrears grounds, the most common mistake is a rent ledger that has been edited over time so the numbers no longer reconcile to the actual statement. Lock the records, and produce them straight from the system.
The notice itself
Served on the correct ground, with the correct notice period, and — critically — served in a way you can prove. Recorded delivery, signed receipts, witnessed service. A perfect case can still collapse on a service technicality.
None of this work is glamorous. It is the unsexy, repetitive habit of writing things down properly and storing them in the right place. The agencies that do it well rarely need to use the file. The agencies that do not are the ones standing in court trying to explain a gap.
