Being served notice, with new baby

Doooford

Good morning all,
I have just been called by our letting agency to let us know that we are being served 2 months notice as our landlords brother is ill and the landlord wants to come back to live in the area. Now we are about 7 months in to a year contract (which I don't have at hand as I'm at work).
The twist in this, is that we moved to this house because we were assured by the landlord that this was a long term let (I know letting agencies tell you anything but it was the best guarantee we could get), and we planned to make it a family home. We love this house, it's near the school we want our new son to go to and we have put so much work into this house, including paying for carpets, paint and shelving etc.
When speaking to the agency they said that they were sorry as we had been perfect tennants, and I've negotiated that should we have to move that we would not beleft out of pocket. So basically, can we be served notice even though we have been perfect tennants, but because the landlord wants to be near his terminally ill brother.
Also, how the f%%k are we to be expected to look for and move to a new house witha 5 week old baby? We hardly have time to make a meal at the moment!

Any help would be appreciated! I am in total shock, talk about timing

Soot2006

Now we are about 7 months in to a year contract

.... Has he served you notice to leave at the END of the fixed period or is he trying to get you out before?

Out,_Vile_Jelly

Doooford wrote: »

So basically, can we be served notice even though we have been perfect tennants, but because the landlord wants to be near his terminally ill brother.

Yes, if it's all done as per your contract. It's a shame, but I'm sure you'd rather have a healthy baby than a terminally ill brother to worry about.

Jowo_2

Doooford wrote: »

Now we are about 7 months in to a year contract (which I don't have at hand as I'm at work).

Find it and examine the notice period clause as the personal circumstances of you and the landlord are secondary to this. An S21 which gives 2 months notice is nicknamed a 'no fault notice' and doesn't have to give a reason.

If you have a fixed term contract without any kind of notice period within it, then you are entitled to stay for the full duration.

If your landlord wants you out any earlier, it's up to you and you can negotiate compensation for your expenses. Indeed, even if he's happy for you to stay for the full term of 12 months, there's nothing to stop you from requesting compensation from him because he gave you the impression you would have a renewal.

Doooford

It is 2 months notice, so about 3 months shy of the contract.
And we really appreciate his plight, It's just that this is our first baby, and believe me, we are finding our own lives hard enough at the moment. Normally I would be more than happy to help out with this, but this is a really hard time for us, and we would appreciate leaving it a few weeks longer.
I just want to know our rights, so if we are rolling over on this and we don't need to, we can then get the letting agency to help us out more or get some money back from the landlord. We really can't afford the associated costs that come with a move, so any little fiscal bonusses would be welcome

Soot2006

You don't have to leave a day before the fixed period is over. That's the whole point of the fixed period. Let the EA know that you're aware of your rights & that give you just under three months to find a new home. Unless the LL is so desperate for possession in two months that he's willing to buy out the contract - maybe some kind of arrangement could be made with respects to helping you find a new home, paying for the move, etc ...

clutton_2

if you have signed a fixed term agreement for 12 months - neither the LL nor the LA can ask you to leave before the end of the 12 months unless you stop paying the rent

IF you want to cooperate with the LA/LL then you might discuss things calmly and suggest that you might be willing to move but ONLY if they find a similar property at the same rent, take you to all the viewings, pay your removal expenses and generally make suree you are not out of pocket.

Legally they will be unable to get you until they have taken you to court and got a possession order - and they cannot do that before the end of your fixed term. This whole process will take several months after the end of the fixed term.

You need to decide when is most convenient for YOU to move - now or in /6/7 months time

Doooford

I have just found a sample of the contract (which I got before the contract was ready), and it states:-
The tenant agrees that the landlord has the right to terminate the tenancy after the first (insert period) by giving the tenant not less than two months notice in writing by serving a section 21 notice to end the agreement.

I'm going to leave work early and dig out the original and hope the the (insert period) says 12 months.

Even though this is our dream home, I really just want to be able to move without it ending up costing anything. I do feel for tehe landlord, and sorry if I sound unfair. But this seems like a critical part of our life and relationship, alot is being tested, so I could just do with this move being as stress free as possible

Smiley82

What the others have said is correct - providing there is nothing in your contract about a break clause. You really need to read your contract and see what it says. Feel free to post it here, I'm sure plenty of people will help.

Basically, if there is a break clause and it has been exercised correctly, then there is nothing that you can do about it. You really should have had something in writing about a longer term contract before spending money on carpets/paint/shelving etc. **sorry - just read that you said you'd negotiated it so that you wouldn't be out of pocket** - doesn't necessarily make things any better, but at least you won't have lost the money you spent on the house

Sorry, I hope that comes across okay, I'm not intending to sound harsh, unfortunately with the letting agents, they will tell you anything to get you into a property, it's what you get written on paper that actually counts.

We recently got asked to move out of our rental property, after only 6 months and 2 weeks - despite being told that it was a 'long term rent' and that 'the previous tenants were there for 3 years' - the landlord only wants 'long term tenants'. Circumstances change - we too learnt the hard way and have now signed a 24 month lease (with break clauses) at our new place.

Best of luck....I hope it works out for you

clutton_2

it also depends on exactly how you have given you notice. Notice has to be in a prescribed form and headed "Section 21 Notice" and has to be worded correctly. OP might want to tell us what form her notice takes...

Doooford

Smiley82 wrote: »

Sorry, I hope that comes across okay, I'm not intending to sound harsh, unfortunately with the letting agents, they will tell you anything to get you into a property, it's what you get written on paper that actually counts.

Hi Smiley82, that is fine, we knew the risks as you did. The decorating was because we wanted a first rate job with quality wood, paint and carpets. And as we are the sort of people who just get on with things, we decided that we'd only get the results that we wanted if we paid for them ourselves. Also with the letting agent thing, I knew they were talking tosh, but they were the only ones talking tosh about long occupancy so we went with them. I think I'll try and get a 2 year fixed term next time, I think that will be our valuable lesson this time!