We are continuing our series on Civil Procedure Rules, highlighting some of the little known but common rules and hopefully explaining them in plain English.
The next rule we will be looking at is Rule 6.8(b) – Service of a claim form.
The rule says:
Service of the claim form where before service the defendant gives an address at which the defendant may be served
6.8 Subject to rules 6.5(1) and 6.7 except where any other rule or practice direction makes different provision –
(b) in any claim by a tenant against a landlord, the claim form may be served at an address given by the landlord under section 48 of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1987.
What does this mean?
This rule is of interest to tenants in claims against landlords. The Landlord and Tenant Act 1987 requires a landlord to give an address to the tenant at where documents can be served.
In a lot of cases, the Landlord does not want the tenants to know their personal address and so in tenancy agreements (and other tenancy documentation), the Landlord puts the address of their agent’s office for any documents and notices to be served there. Typically, a Landlord is normally referring to documents relating to the tenancy (like Notices) however, this rule also allows tenants to arrange service of the Claim Form at that same address (as opposed to the usual rules which normally requires service at an individual’s place of residence or a company’s registered office).
This can be a useful tactic in claims made by tenants against landlords where the tenancy has come to an end and no address for the landlord is known.
You can find the full Civil Procedure Rules online (currently) at https://www.justice.gov.uk/courts/procedure-rules/civil/rules
Any questions or support with the above please email us at: philip@whitecollarlegalandadmin.com or phone 0151 230 8931.