Notice periods when there is no contract

Enfieldian

Bob_the_Saver wrote: »

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

You must be psychic Bob, I can't tell from the OP whether he is the Tenant, Landlord, friend /family of either or none of the above......

Unless you can predict this week's lottery numbers as well, I suggest you wind your neck back in.

clutton_2

if the rent is deemed to have been payable weekly - then a whole different set of regulations apply - whoever you are - you need advice. if you are the LL then ask on https://www.landlordzone.co.uk where there are some great legal advisors

if you are the tenant - ask Shelter

Jowo_2

magic wrote: »

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.

It's all about the amount owed at the time of the court case as well as when served - once the tenants discover that possession is a done deal (mandatory ruling in the landlord's favour if the criteria on serving and at the time of the court case is met in terms of arrear), the game is up, - they tend to either surrender the tenancy, abscond or pay up the least they can get away with to thwart possession. Failing that, you have to send in the baillif's if the judgement doesn't coax them to leave.

Serve it with other grounds, which though are discretionary, may strengthen the case.

http://www.letlink.co.uk/letting-factsheets/factsheets/factsheet-8-claims-for-possession-the-section-8-notice.html

Ground 8: that the tenant owed at least two months' rent (in the case of a monthly tenancy) both when the landlord served notice that he wanted possession and still owes two months' rent at the date of the court hearing. If the rent is payable weekly, quarterly or yearly the ground requires that there are rent arrears of eight weeks, three months and six months respectively.
Ground 10: that the tenant was behind with his rent when the landlord served notice that he wanted possession, and when he began court proceedings
Ground 11: that, even if the tenant was not behind with his rent when the landlord started possession proceedings, he has been persistently behind with his rent.

Ground 8 is a mandatory ground and thus the most powerful ground to use; the court must grant possession if this ground is proved. However, the drawback with relying on this ground alone is that the tenant can pay off part of the arrears shortly before the hearing, which means the ground can no longer be proved and thus the possession proceedings will have to be abandoned.

Common practice is to wait until at least two months' rent (or eight weeks in the case of a weekly tenancy) is unpaid before issuing the section 8 notice so that the chances of successfully obtaining the possession order are maximised. However, in many cases of rent default, landlords have been successful in relying on grounds 10 & 11 alone.

magic

lol, thanks for the responses. I am neither the tenant or landlord, just someone close to both parties (and as mentioned earlier the T and LL also know each other very well which is one of the reasons this mess has gone on so long) which is why I was trying to sit on the fence with describing the situation.

Basically rent was supposed to be paid weekly at a specific amount. What has happened is the tenant has usually paid much lower than the agreed amounts and not necessarily weekly. For example, rent was paid in the last few days that was slightly more than the weekly amount, but nothing was paid for three weeks before that. That is the usual pattern or tenant pays weekly or every other week but half the amount they should be paying.

In the end, it works out that for the 18 months or so the tenant has been in the property, they have paid less than half the rent they were supposed to. They are in arrears for thousands of pounds and have no real intention of paying.


From the very useful informatin Jowo has provided I think Ground 10 and 11 are the best to use?



And, not being an expert in these matters, in a scenario where the T was up to date with payments but there is no written contract, does there have to be a reason given for the LL wanting the T to move out? Can they not give 2 months notice as required and that is it?

Jowo_2

S8 for arrears which will have Ground 8 - the important one relating to high arrears that gives mandatory possession, plus the other relevant ones. S21 is known as a 'no fault' notice - if served correctly, possession will be awarded by the judge if the tenant doesn't leave at the end of the notice period - no reason has to be given.

There's nothing to stop a tenant and landlord from agreeing an earlier surrender - get this in writing from the tenant themselves and make sure they hand back the keys - still might be an idea to serve notice in case the tenant changes their mind and doesn't move out - this happens.

Some landlords, for example, get so sick of the long complex legal process to regain possession and will coax the tenant to leave early by agreeing to write off the arrears. Again, it is wise to cover off everything in writing, keeping copies, to head off disputes.

My understanding is that a landlord who receives rent weekly is obligated to provide a rent book so check this out, by the way.