Eviction process (Wales)
We inherited our tenanted property about 18 months ago. It's being managed by a local letting agent. Our tenants are on a converted occupation contract (Wales). Six months ago, we instructed our letting agent to serve our tenants a no-fault notice, which they did by email and post, as we're looking to sell the property and step away from being landlords. The tenants did not respond to the correspondence, and the letting agents advised us at the time that we should be prepared to consider legal action in the worst case that the tenants fail to vacate.
Today is the day the tenants should have moved out and our letting agents have told us that the tenants are not planning to vacate and that we should "start applying to the courts to get a possession order to evict the tenants" and that we have 2 months to do this.
Even though the letting agents gave us a heads-up about the possibility of needing to go through this process, we buried our heads in the sand, thinking it would never come to this. We don't know where to start. Our letting agents have washed their hands of this (which I'm guessing is absolutely the norm) and we're waiting for a call-back from our landlord insurance's legal advice helpline. In the meantime, we want to wrap our heads around this process.
Do you apply to the courts yourself, or do you normally engage with a legal representative (or some other professional)? Sorry if this comes across as naive - we're newbies, a bit overwhelmed and worried about the 2 month time-frame. Would it be worth engaging with NRLA (are they helpful for Welsh landlords)? We have landlord insurance with legal expenses cover, so happy to use a legal representative, so we don't know if NRLA would be a useful addition at this point.
Thanks in advance for your insight!