My landlord has given me notice... help???

BitterAndTwisted

PasturesNew they're in a six-month AST expiring on March 24th. Surely if the LL has issued a S21 to formally end the AST the tenant can't legally give any notice to leave earlier than the terms of the agreement, can they?

ETA: Ah, I see that PN has now read the full discussion and advice given.

PasturesNew

BitterAndTwisted wrote: »

PasturesNew they're in a six-month AST expiring on March 24th. Surely if the LL has issued a S21 to formally end the AST the tenant can't legally give any notice to leave earlier than the terms of the agreement, can they?

ETA: Ah, I see that PN has now read the full discussion and advice given.

Yes, I lost a year somewhere, I thought they'd been there over a year, on a periodic.

Skimming doesn't always work does it

bitsandpieces

First things first, I'd check the property you might be able to rent - sounds like a lot for the price, but you want to make sure it's OK for you to live in. Also make sure you can afford the council tax etc. for it.

If you want to move out before the end of your AST, I'd just ask LL nicely first. Hopefully she says yes, and everyone's happy.

If she initially refuses to let you out of the contract early, you *could* say that you're struggling to find money to move - which might mean you can't leave in March and she would have to evict you. Sounds like the council may well only see you as more of a priority for housing when you're actually evicted (though if you're working you may well be able to save up deposit etc. before then - even if not by March). If you take this line, though, you're likely to get a pretty terrible reference from LL.

Fire_Fox

The council will not rehouse you if you are evicted for non-payment of rent.

Britwife

I agree to talk to your current LL and see if she will let you move out a month sooner without having to pay the last month. I think as long as all lose ends are tied, you should be fine. If she won't do that, you are legally obligated to complete your lease agreement.

Also, it was mentioned above to make sure you know the amount of council tax. Is it a larger house? Will it cost more to heat it? It sounds like a great price for a 3 bed but there could possibly be more costs in running it than a 1 bed which will cost you more in the long run.

If you find that you can afford it and like it, could you ask your family to help cover the 2 months rent or contribute to it and then make sure your current residence is spotless so you can get all your deposit back and use it to pay your family back.

Kit603

BitterAndTwisted wrote: »

If you have an Assured Shorthold Tenancy you are legally obliged to pay the rent for the whole of the term whether you occupy the property or not UNLESS you make an agreement with the landlord to release you from the contract early.

Negotiate with your landlord to either release you from the contract early (and confirm this in writing) OR to offset the last month's rent from the deposit, or maybe both. Some landlords are understandably reluctant to do this in case the cost of putting right any damage is greater than the deposit. For this reason you MUST ensure that the property is in exactly the same state as when you found it.

Put your case to the landlord convincingly and you could find that they are sympathetic.

By the way, I'm assuming that your deposit is in one of the deposit protection schemes and that you signed a full inventory with a detailed description of the property and all its fittings. Is that the case?

Thanks for the advice. I'll try to get a hold of the landlady to speak to her this weekend and see if she'll allow me to move out early with no repercussions with regard to the last month's rent.

The deposit is with one of those schemes and we got a full inventory with photos of every room, descriptions of property and fittings etc. The house is exactly as it was and the only thing she might be able to pick fault with is the state of the garden because the hedges and grass haven't been cut in a couple of months because of the weather.

All bills are paid in full so she won't be left with any charges or anything like that.

arborlinden wrote: »

You knew your leaving date on 25th September 2009.
You seem to be asking for advice on how to defraud your landlord of rent you clearly owe. This is not a good idea: your credit worthiness may be affected and for anybody who is not rich credit worthiness is essential for financial matters including housing throughout your life.

I did know that this could happen when I signed the tenancy agreement but up until the moment I signed the agreement it was supposed to be a 12 month agreement (the estate agent said it would be a 12 month agreement and the landlady arrived with a 6 month agreement) and at that point I couldn't really argue because i'd given notice on my other property and had a week to move. Also, the landlady seemed very sincere about wanting to let the property for a minimum of 3 years and at the time anything was better than the place we had because the landlord was refusing to carry out repairs.

Britwife wrote: »

I agree to talk to your current LL and see if she will let you move out a month sooner without having to pay the last month. I think as long as all lose ends are tied, you should be fine. If she won't do that, you are legally obligated to complete your lease agreement.

Also, it was mentioned above to make sure you know the amount of council tax. Is it a larger house? Will it cost more to heat it? It sounds like a great price for a 3 bed but there could possibly be more costs in running it than a 1 bed which will cost you more in the long run.

If you find that you can afford it and like it, could you ask your family to help cover the 2 months rent or contribute to it and then make sure your current residence is spotless so you can get all your deposit back and use it to pay your family back.

The council tax should be the same amount because its the same village, under same council and it's the same band. The house is larger but i'm hoping that the heating will be about the same because its gas central heating and here it is electric storage heating which has been more expensive.

BitterAndTwisted

Just remember that although we're talking about your HOME to the landlady this is a business arrangement. Just approach her respectfully and turn on the charm and I'm sure she'll be agreeable. After all, it's her family who she's bailing out of the s**t when she could be raking in the rent from you.

Will you come back on and let us know how you get on, please?

blue_monkey_2

We was evicted because the LL wanted to sell, we had no-where to go and the Council told us to stay put. Only when the date for the bailiff arrived would they consider us homeless.

S21 is issued.

This runs out, you refuse to leave.

LL goes to court, court gives 14 days to leave (takes around 3 months to get to court)

You refuse to leave.

LL has to go back to court and get's a date for the bailiff to evict you (this takes 4-6 weeks). Bailiff gives 2 weeks notice roughly.

We did not owe any rent, if you intend on doing this keep on paying the rent and you cannot get a CCJ for non-payment.

I took 7 months for us to be evicted from the S21 being issued, I went to the council on day 1 of the S21 being issued and we got housed 3 days before the bailiffs were due. We was however packed and ready to go into a hostel because up until that day there was nothing available. They will want to see copies of bank statements, wage slips etc... to prove that you cannot afford to rent privately as if you can afford to they will encourage you to do this. Some will also give you the deposit if this is the problem. For us every EA wanted 3 times the rent which my husabnd no-where near earned.

BitterAndTwisted

This is all very interesting blue_monkey but what has it got to do with this thread? The OP hasn't asked for advice about becoming eligible for LA housing, they have a new property to move into

chez000

Has the landlord actaully served a s.21 or just written a letter saying she wont be giving the tenant another 6 month tenancy?

As blue monkey mentioned even if notice is served correctly you dont have to leave the property until after it has been to court, which can take months - obv this would cost you in fees.

Given that evicting someone can take a long time I think that this puts you in a very strong position to negotiate with your landlord esp is she wants the property back soonish