Help please

okliw14

HI ALL,

A bit stuck here really, need some advice.
Unfortunatley we are unable to keep up with our rent and have fallen into arrears. When we first signed our tenancy agreement( which is a AST) we were also given a section 21 (1)(b) notice. our AST started on the 6th april 2009 and ends on the 6th october 2009. the date on the section 21 notice says that it expires after the 5th october 2009.

my questions are:

do we have 2 months notice from the 5th october 2009 until the landlord can apply for a possesion order
or because we were given the notice when we signed our AST can the LL apply for a possesion order on the 5th/6th october. so straight away.

any help advice would be great thanks

okliw14

just to clarify:

if a section 21 b notice is issued when you sign at the bigining of an AST, do you still have 2 months notice until the section 21 runs out? or ca the landlord gain automatic posession because the section 21 was issued at the begining of the AST. THANKS

clutton_2

what it measn is that on 6th October your LL can go to court with an Accelerated Possession form in his hand and apply for possession. You will then have 14 days to defend it, if you want to. If you dont defend it - the judge will give the house back to the LL and will probably give you 28 days to leave

why are you behind with your rent ?

Jowo_2

Please ignore the earlier poster whose comment is unhelpful.

My understanding is that serving an S21 at the start of tenancy does indeed mean that the notice has been served before the fixed term expires. This is done precisely so a landlord who wishes to evict a tenant rather than continue with the tenancy does not have to issue the notice from scratch at the end of the fixed term and can take legal action much sooner. Search the forum for the 'sword of damocles' which I believe covers the background to this.

In addition, even during a fixed term tenancy, if the tenant pays monthly and defaults on the 2nd months rent, the landlord can also kick off court action using an S8. This means that one month and one day (2 rental periods), this can be served not 2 months in duration before it gets issued.

An S21 is known as a 'no fault' notice, if served correctly, possession is granted without the landlord giving a reason. An S8 is also very strong since if at the time of serving it and the time of the court case the tenant owes 2 months rent (if rent is paid monthly) the judge must always award possession to the landlord, it's a mandatory ground.

Have a look at the Shelter site about notice periods, eviction and the legal process to understand your rights and what will happen. Their website also contains info of how to manage your arrears. Contact your landlord to arrange a repayment schedule for them that you can manage and stick to it, since this is probably the only way (and still not guaranteed) to get them to reconsider evicting you.

okliw14

no it's not. i have asked for advice, not what ever it is you've replied with.

it's not being dishonest it's finding out what my rights are so i can keep a roof over my familys head and not living in a door way. put your self in my shoes!

bassi_man

Jowo - I did apologise before making my comment, but I am entitled to my opinion. There are too many people on here looking for ways to avoid paying money - not saving money! If the poster has legitimate reasons for not being able to pay the rent then fair enough I wish them luck, but I think it's unfair not to consider that someone is losing out here ie the Landlord!

okliw14

bassi_man wrote: »

I'm sorry, but put yourself in your LLs shoes! What your doing is just down right dishonest. Why don't you just look for somewhere cheaper to live rather than looking for ways to live rent free? :money:

THIS IS NOT HELPFULL, YOU HAVE JUST WASTED 5 MINS OF BOTH OUR LIVES....:mad: :eek: BEGONE!!!

TO everyone else thank you for you replys, it's cleared up what i was looking for. thanks for your assistance. very quick replys and very usefull. mucho thanks.:j:T

Jowo_2

okliw14 wrote: »

no it's not. i have asked for advice, not what ever it is you've replied with.

it's not being dishonest it's finding out what my rights are so i can keep a roof over my familys head and not living in a door way. put your self in my shoes!

Actually, your knowledge of your rights should be fairly strong now as I note that eviction proceedings were kicked off against you last November for rent arrears.

Fortunately, there is plenty advice on the website on how to track and manage your budget, reduce your outgoings, etc. See a CAB advisor about your persistent financial problems that have threatened the roof over your family's head twice in less than a year.

http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.html?t=1306179

bassi_man

I rest my case!

pinkshoes

Why are you having problems paying your rent? I presume this is not the same property you had rent arrears on previously?

Could you not find somewhere cheaper to live, and post on the DFW forum to find ways of cutting your spending.

You really should prioritise your rent over ALL other bills.