Notice periods when there is no contract

magic

Hi,

In a case of tenants renting from a private landlord but with no written contract in place, what does the landlord need to do to evict the tenant due to non payment of rent? What notice periods need to be given and what must the eviction notice include?

Does the landlord need to send a written letter asking for payment before proceeding to evict?

Bob_the_Saver

Does the landlord live on the premises?

magic

no, landlord is not on the premises.

clutton_2

has the rent been paid monthly? weekly?

when did the tenancy start ?

as long as rent has been paid there is a contract in law

Bob_the_Saver

magic wrote: »

no, landlord is not on the premises.

OK, let's start with the easy questions, Why not just pay the rent? (we'll save the complicated bits till later).

olly300

magic wrote: »

Hi,

In a case of tenants renting from a private landlord but with no written contract in place, what does the landlord need to do to evict the tenant due to non payment of rent? What notice periods need to be given and what must the eviction notice include?

If you are in England and Wales a written tenancy contract does not need to exist for you to have a tenancy agreement.

I suggest you go to shelters web pages, work out what tenancy you have and then read the law about it.

And the only reason people put contracts in writing is to avoid he said/she said arguments.

N79

olly300 wrote: »

And the only reason people put contracts in writing is to avoid he said/she said arguments.

Another reason is to deviate the tenancy terms from those created under a statutory AST or common law tenancy - depending on which type of tenancy applies.

magic

Hi,

Sorry for being vague.

This is in England, tenant has been at the property for about 18 months. Rent has been paid in various amounts on an "ad-hoc" basis, usually weekly but not always. And it has never been to the agreed amount so the tenant is a few thousand pounds in arrears and now not paying at all. When the rent has been paid, it has been recorded in a rent book by the landlord.

The tenant and landlord know each other which is why they went ahead without a written contract. Landlord would now like the tenants to move out.

magic

Looking around the information I have read suggests this is a periodic "contract" even though nothing written down so the landlord has to give 2 months notice. Is this correct? What would the landlord need to put in the notice (ie under any particular section)?

Jowo_2

Was the deposit protected in a tenancy deposit scheme?

Serve both S21 and S8 (belt and braces). Ensure the paperwork is completed correctly because large numbers of cases are thrown out in court for not being completed accurately and the LL is back to square one. If the landlord is not confident in doing this, then contact Landlord Action.

S8 is served when a tenant owes 2 rental payments (2 months if paid monthly, for example). Should a tenant owe this at the time of it being served AND at the time of the court case, a judge MUST award possession to the landlord - it's a mandatory ground and there is no discretion.

S21 is known as a 'no fault' notice - so long as it is served correctly, possession will be awarded. Can't be issued when a deposit should have been protected in a TDS but the landlord failed to do this - failure to protect invalidates it.

Look at the info available on landlordzone - articles on possession, rent arrears, notice to quit and so forth.

magic

There was no deposit paid so nothing to protect.

So is the landlord able to serve under S8 if the tenant is still in arrears but has (either partly or fully) paid rent for the last 2 periods?

I will have a look on Landlordzone too.