section 21 of the housing act

nicky143

Hi All

I currently rent my property from a private landlord on a AST. My tenency started on 25 April 2009 and on the 4th Sept recieved a letter from the landlady dated 28th August that she was not renewing the tenency and that on 24th oct would be at the property at 10.30am in which to take back the property.

I went into the local council and showed them the letter the lady behind the desk told me that this was not worth the paper it was written on and that the landlady must serve me with a section 21 notice and not just a letter (is this true)

Whilst serching on the internet i came across the tenencey deposit scheme i had never heard of this but my landlady has not registered my deposit. On the direct gov website i read the leaflets on this and the landlady does not have the right to the property untill she registers my deposit.

So my question is can she get the property back on the 25th of Oct to be honest i do want to go and do not want to stay but the council say they cannot do anything without the section 21

I pay my rent monthly and all rent is up to date

THanks in advance

Jowo_2

What are you expecting the council to do if you present them with an S21 - are you applying to them as homeless?

My understanding is that an S21 that is issued by a landlord when they should have protected the deposit but haven't is that they invalidate it anyway and should they then go to court when the notice expires and the tenant has moved out, and fail to prove it has been protected, the court won't give them possession. That's their problem, not yours.

Ask your landlady what scheme she used to protect it or check with all 3 schemes to see if it was lodged there but you didn't receive confirmation of it.

You may find the Shelter website helpful to understand the process and steps of a landlord giving notice.

http://england.shelter.org.uk/get_advice/eviction/eviction_of_private_tenants/notice_from_the_landlord

PasturesNew

You were advised correctly on several points:
- she has to issue a proper Section 21 in writing ... giving you 2 months' notice from a rent date. Even if she had done this she missed the date so it would now be valid from 24th September, for you to move out on 24th November.
- 10.30 my 4rse, you'll move out in a timely manner on the relevant day, it's not a B&B (even they often let you stay until 12)
- deposit should have been registered, you could claim 3x your deposit from her if she's not registered it and/or not advised you which scheme it is in

She cannot just turn up and turf you out either .... although she might think she can, so be mindful of this.

You can do any one of the following:
- completely ignore her and not tell her you're not moving out and watch her face at 10.30am on 24th when she's letting herself in through "her" front door ... only to find the keys don't fit because you changed the barrel.

- you could advise her of all her wrong doings, which will at least delay the moving out date and give you some time to find another place

- you could just go along with it and let the silly mare do what she likes, then sting her for the 3x deposit.

nicky143

Thanks for your replys guys.

Yes i need a section 21 to be homeless that is what i went into the council for.

I do want to move out of the property but calling her a lady is me being very nice. I had no hot running water down stairs fior 4 months she fixed this as soon as giving me notice i think to make sure she got her money in september. Also the 2 bedroom lights do not work.

As for changing the locks i had to put a new barrel in the back door as there was never one there it was just locked on a dead bolt.

I am going to get proper legal advice on Tuesday as i work i am taking no more time off work to try and sort this as from what i read she i am in a better position than her. Had she been a nice person i may have told her straight away but surley being a landlady she should have known all this as the lady in the council said they want the money then dont give a chit.

clutton_2

if you like where you live, stay put, ignore the letter, continue to pay your rent, and wait for her to contact you again. If you stop paying your rent and are evicted for rent arrears the council will not re-house you as you will be deemed to have "made your self voluntarily homeless".

This is obviously an amateur landlady, who does not know what to do.

Did you sign an inventory when you moved in ?

No tenant can be forced to leave a property without a court order. Because she has not protected your deposit, she cannot issue you with a Section 21 notice.

I am a LL of 10 years, and all the above advice re a Section 21 notice is correct. A simple "letter telling you to go" is not enough for her to have issued notice to you. It has to be in a prescribed Section 21 format - AND she got the dates wrong !! If she sent this to court (with her £150) it would be thrown out by the judge.

nicky143

I have paided my rent up to date and will carry on doing so as the lady in the council office said it will make me look better than her i am doing all i should and she is not.

I like the area where i live but as for her house she can stick it i have rented private before years ago and he was great but she is not and for that reason i am going to seek legal advice and see what they say but as for the 24th oct i will still be here thank you all for your advice

theartfullodger

If the deposit is not protected etc. then the Section 21 is invalid (Housing Act 2004 section 215). So (sorry Clutton) she can issue an S21 notice whilst deposit not protected but it would be invalid...

Sounds like LL doesn't know what she is doing...

Even if you get a S21 notice that is valid (ie deposit protected) then she must apply to court for possession then get the bailiffs in... which will probably take some 4 months from when the S21 notice expires....

btw you can sue LL for deposit & 3xdeposit (all comes to you) if she hasn't protected it (!!!!!) Bingo!


Cheers!

Lodger (Landlord since 2000)

Jowo_2

You've made it clear that you wish to leave and the council have made it clear that they won't assist you until the landlady has issued you with formal notice.

Despite the landlady's short-comings, - you need to communicate with her what the council have advised and get the ball rolling on the protection of the deposit and the issue of an S21, don't you? Otherwise the council will just continue to bat you away.

Councils often operate a gate-keeping policy where they try and cut down demand on their services by getting the tenant to remain in place as long as possible, sometimes even insisting they stay put until the landlord has got a court order for possession which can only take place after the notice has expired and it can take a few months to get a court case scheduled.

This means that the council may (not always, this is a practice that shouldn't take place but seems to be fairly common) then tell you stay in the property after the new notice issued by your landlady expires. This could take a further few months.


Are you on Housing Benefit/LHA? My understanding is that tenants who are employed are quite often assisted solely by being given advice how to secure another private tenancy and find it hard to secure social housing.

sontoon

Hi Guys,

Reading this is very helpful but can anyone shede any light on a problem my sister-in-law has. She is privately renting and has been given notice with a letter, her partner is registered disabled and blind and has gone to the council about this. They have said her landlady needs to fill out a section 21 notice. The bit that is confusing me now is that when she took on the house she didn't pay a deposit so therefore no deposit has been registered, so does this still make a section 21 notice invalid?

Thanks in advance

Ulfar

sontoon wrote: »

Hi Guys,

Reading this is very helpful but can anyone shede any light on a problem my sister-in-law has. She is privately renting and has been given notice with a letter, her partner is registered disabled and blind and has gone to the council about this. They have said her landlady needs to fill out a section 21 notice. The bit that is confusing me now is that when she took on the house she didn't pay a deposit so therefore no deposit has been registered, so does this still make a section 21 notice invalid?

Thanks in advance

She still needs to issue a section 21 notice.

If she didn't take a deposit there is nothing to protect so the DPS guidelines are irrelevant to your situation.

DPS is only relevant to a section 21 in that if the deposit (there isn't one in your case) hasn't been protected and notification issued then a 21 notice is invalid.

nicky143

Just an update rang the LL today told her about the section 21 and the Tenency deposit scheme she told me i do not need these she has done this before and will be taking back the posetiton of the property onn Oct 24th.
I was nice and polite told her what they had said she said on a private tenency they do not need this.

As for the deposit that is rubbish also she does not know why i am getting clever as i will come unstuck i have messed with the wrong person. Also i have made myself homeless by only signing a 6 months tenency and so made myself homeless and that means the council will not rehouse me.
I have kids and this is casusing me nothing but sleepless nights i wanna move and frightened for the 24th oct