Advice on what to do?! Landlord court date for mortgage arrears

franklee

silvercar wrote: »

This puts you in a difficult situation as you do not know where you stand.

This is the nub of the issue IMO. A tenant may know court is in the offing but they do not know if a repossession will be staved off at the last and thus the tenant may then find themselves bound to the tenancy till the end of the fixed term or until they could give notice. It's the exclusion of the tenant from knowing what's going on that is the main problem IMO meaning the tenant needs to take a stab in the dark if they should stay put or sign up elsehwere and exactly when that should start from. A right to the tenant being kept fully informed by the lender of the details would be a good first step in sorting out this loophole in the law. Better yet, as ARLA suggested, the law should be changed to give the tenant two months notice after the lender has been granted possession *holds breath for this to happen*.

PayDay

franklee wrote: »

This is the nub of the issue IMO. A tenant may know court is in the offing but they do not know if a repossession will be staved off at the last and thus the tenant may then find themselves bound to the tenancy till the end of the fixed term or until they could give notice. It's the exclusion of the tenant from knowing what's going on that is the main problem IMO meaning the tenant needs to take a stab in the dark if they should stay put or sign up elsehwere and exactly when that should start from.

It's a really bad situation that the government needs to sort out, fast. There are too many people getting had by landlords who don't have their lenders permission. Renting to a tenant when the landllord doesn't have permission should be an instant 6 months in jail.

Pee

If it is an option for you, which with a young family I appreciate it may not be and I don't think it will work if you are earning anything like decent money, sit tight, wait until you are evicted, go into B and B accomodation and see how long it takes for the council to rehome you.

I have a friend, a single parent with a baby, who ended up in this position. The B and B was meant to have a daily lock out, but the owner loved the baby and was very nice to her. It was "only" a few months before the council found her a place with very cheap rent, meaning she was able to go back to work. I appreciate that "only" a few months could be utterly unbearable, depending on the circumstances.

spongerob500

Update: We've found a private rented property, got to give no notice to current LA because of situation and being 'unlawful tenants' so we can leave asap with written notice. I spoke to the council but they have one property, which is not particularly nice, and the only way to get it is by bidding. So therefore, we are going private, again. Moving in for the 12th December. Hopefully this LL will restore our faith in private renting.

BitterAndTwisted

Phew! As long as you are suitably housed, and in time for Christmas then all is well. I wish you and your family all the very best.

spongerob500

BitterAndTwisted wrote: »

Phew! As long as you are suitably housed, and in time for Christmas then all is well. I wish you and your family all the very best.

Thanks very much. Definitely a weight off my mind. Just the stress of packing and unpacking now! :eek:

DVardysShadow

franklee wrote: »

This is the nub of the issue IMO. A tenant may know court is in the offing but they do not know if a repossession will be staved off at the last and thus the tenant may then find themselves bound to the tenancy till the end of the fixed term or until they could give notice. It's the exclusion of the tenant from knowing what's going on that is the main problem IMO meaning the tenant needs to take a stab in the dark if they should stay put or sign up elsehwere and exactly when that should start from. A right to the tenant being kept fully informed by the lender of the details would be a good first step in sorting out this loophole in the law. Better yet, as ARLA suggested, the law should be changed to give the tenant two months notice after the lender has been granted possession *holds breath for this to happen*.

Or lender could give 2 months notice to tenant when initiating proceedings and indemnify tenant against action from Landlord.

MissMoneypenny

spongerob500 wrote: »

got to give no notice to current LA because of situation and being 'unlawful tenants' so we can leave asap with written notice.

Did a solicitor tell you that?

BTW, I agree you are unlawful tenants but was just wondering what the legal stance was on this? It would be good if a tenant could just leave the property without giving notice or completing their contract, if the landlord failed to have their lenders permission to let.

Fire_Fox

spongerob500 wrote: »

Update: We've found a private rented property, got to give no notice to current LA because of situation and being 'unlawful tenants' so we can leave asap with written notice. I spoke to the council but they have one property, which is not particularly nice, and the only way to get it is by bidding. So therefore, we are going private, again. Moving in for the 12th December. Hopefully this LL will restore our faith in private renting.

Give your one months notice in writing, you should adhere to the tenancy agreement wherever possible or you may well end up in a wrangle to get your deposit returned. The letting agent does not work for you, they could easily deny whatever you agreed verbally. You've said you have spoken to the solicitors acting for the bank and to the council who have both advised you to look for alternative accommodation, but do you have a written record of this advice?

chappers

Absolutely even though you have no contact with the LL, does your agency.
It appears that from what you have said your LL is unlikely to chase you for breach of contract anyway.
I would do as you suggest and just move on.