Being served notice, with new baby

Ian_W

Welshwoofs wrote: »

so I think I need to spend my Eastenders Saga time getting extremely knowledgeable!

No, get back on the East Enders thread - Now!! This very minute I tell you!! :rolleyes:

The entire nation is waiting with bated-breath for the next instalment!

franklee

Welshwoofs wrote: »

God I will! I've obviously held a lot of assumptions from the years that I've rented, but I've never been a bad tenant and I've never had a particularly bad LL (had a few agencies chance their arm with deposit, but I've always won out) so I think I need to spend my Eastenders Saga time getting extremely knowledgeable!

Nowt wrong with a periodic tenancy, some LLs and Ts prefer it, some prefer a new fixed term. If the LL wants the tenant to leave then he needs to serve notice. The no fault notice is a Section 21 notice requiring possession which the law intended give the tenant at least two months notice. Shelter says that most tenants leave at the end of the S21 notice period - indeed I would not dream of staying on past that.

Unfortunately in recent times the Section 21 notice has been undermined both by landlords and also by the local authority.

Landlords and agents undermine the S21 by serving it as routine to all tenants shortly after the start of the tenancy - even to those that they as yet have no intention to evict and they have told they hope will be long term tenants. Therefore the tenant has little choice but to ignore the notice, he can't just move on every six months it isn't practical. Landlords do this so as to bypass the need to wait the two months later on once the tenancy has become periodic and they for any reason then want the tenant to go. They can just say get out pronto or I'll commence possession proceedings with the court and you will have to pay my costs. (This wheeze is nicknamed the Sword of Damocles).

If landlords would only serve the Section 21 notice when they really wanted it to take effect then tenants would not be trained to ignore it. A LL telling the tenant not to worry the S21 is just routine as the "Sword of Damocles" landlords do isn't helping anyone IMO.

For serious breaches of the contract like rent not paid, including during the fixed term, the landlord can use a Section 8 notice. This is better than the S21 as it can evict during the fixed term which a S21 can't.