advise on section 21 please!

neas

while i think the timing is wrong... if you are on a periodic tenancy agreement am assuming you hace been there for 7+ months....

You speak of mould,.... and threatening to get environmental health involved...

Not know the situation with mould.. alot of time is from inproper ventilation and not heating a property well enough (i.e saving on the bills)...

I had mould in one property and realised it was our behaviour (drynig clothes and not opening window/extractor fan after bath)... we changed behaviour, bought dehumidifier bags and dehumidifer and suprise suprise ... no mould now.

Another property we had a missing lead flashing and water was penetrating wall... so that time mould was caused by building damage.

Just saying.... the landlord might think your habits/behaviour in property is causing/making mould worse... and thus want you out? Also being threatened to report him to environmental health is... well coercion aka bullying.

If somenoe said to me ' do this or i will report you';.. i wouldnt be too happy with them... especially if problem was caused by said person.


So what im saying is.... you sure he doesnt want you out because your relationship broke down and maybe your habits are making mould/destroying his property?

As to the guy giving you a S21 one day out... i'd say its a very stressful route as going to court am sure that wont be stress free... and will be happening JUST AS YOU SIT EXAMS.

How hard is it to move out.find somewhere else and move? I've lived in 10 properties through my life.... been a student too (lived 5 properties during that time) and other properties as a 'professional'. Basically..... it takes 2 days to move out if you take full days.... while its hard i doubt its impossible to do... and will allow you to feel happy taking your exams instead of facing down court summonings (which will drain you of around 2 days of time/effort as well...)

So is it really worth it? Landlord wants his house back.. hes supposed to give you 2 months notice... he tried to give you 2 months but was one day out.. now you trying to use letter of law to overturn his notice. While he has tried to follow correct procedure you are trying to find sneaky ways to get around it... which could blow up in your face.


I realise this isnt what you wnat to hear.. but if it was me.. with exams and my entire future on the line i wouldnt risk it by arguing over a day...

worriedtenant

neas -its not a case of finding 'sneaky ways'. I CANNOT find an AST in my area for just 2 months before I am due to move out of the area anyway. our agency, stuck in the middle of all of this, admitted as much to me today. they can't help.

section 21 is due to landlord deciding they want to move into flat, relationship troubles I think - so nothing to do with any misunderstandings between us and them. and as for the mould, tenants have a right to contact environmental health for advice and surveys on mould problems if they are severe, so this was not a threat, but our only option as he was not willing to help fit better ventilation to the flat as advised by damp experts. every local council will have similar services for tenants in inadequate conditions. there were no threats, we put forward our problem to LL honestly and he was unsympathetic - the day you have mould growing on your table, chairs, mattress, clothes, coats etc you will stick up for your rights!

mould is not 'destroying' his property - its our possessions! yes, inevitably daily activities such as washing and drying clothes contribute, but we ventilated flat obsessively, used dehumidifier, had windows open etc etc.

the trouble with these landlords who have multiple properties and use agents is theres (in my experience anyway) no personal touch, no dedication to help with properties when things go into disrepair. its all about making money for their pension pot. I am sorry to be so hasty to judge but if i am ever a landlord with decent tenants I will treat them decently too. you can make money and be nice at the same time!

now I wait and wait for LL to answer the agency's numerous messages....

teeni

Very simply if the start date of the tenancy is the 7th then this notice Would not found possession proceedings at court and is not valid.

If the notice has a saving clause directly after the date saying or the last day of the next tenancy period then it is valid but does not end until 6th June,

Given that a s21 is a no defence issue the courts absolutely insist that the notice is 100% correct so the wrong date is extremely important.

Has your deposit been placed in a scheme, if not the notice is not worth the paper its written on anyway.

worriedtenant

thank you for your advice

yes our deposit is placed in the scheme and so at least there is some protection there. If it wasn't protected, there would be no point in contesting the exact wording of the s21 because either way it costs - if i move it costs but if I contest it and the LL keeps my deposit I still lose out! but yes, thanks for pointing that out.

Fire_Fox

worriedtenant wrote: »

neas -its not a case of finding 'sneaky ways'. I CANNOT find an AST in my area for just 2 months before I am due to move out of the area anyway. our agency, stuck in the middle of all of this, admitted as much to me today. they can't help.

section 21 is due to landlord deciding they want to move into flat, relationship troubles I think - so nothing to do with any misunderstandings between us and them. and as for the mould, tenants have a right to contact environmental health for advice and surveys on mould problems if they are severe, so this was not a threat, but our only option as he was not willing to help fit better ventilation to the flat as advised by damp experts. every local council will have similar services for tenants in inadequate conditions. there were no threats, we put forward our problem to LL honestly and he was unsympathetic - the day you have mould growing on your table, chairs, mattress, clothes, coats etc you will stick up for your rights!

mould is not 'destroying' his property - its our possessions! yes, inevitably daily activities such as washing and drying clothes contribute, but we ventilated flat obsessively, used dehumidifier, had windows open etc etc.

No you can't get an AST for just two months, but you can advertise at uni for a spare room in a shared house or ask if there is space in student halls or take a room as a lodger in someone's home or investigating bed and breakfast. None will necessitate signing an AST. :huh: There will be students who have quit mid-year and left their rooms vacant - ask your accommodations officer, student support, student union, all your tutors. Forget the agency they are not YOUR agency they are the landlord's agency, as such they are not stuck in the middle of anything. I appreciate you have furniture to store but surely this will be as much of a problem in April as June?

Your final option is to take on a six month tenancy and then serve two months notice the day after you move in. This may cost you in that you are liable for the rent until a replacement tenant is found, which is why I am suggesting you serve two months notice. I know this is a nightmare, but I think you are not being creative in your solutions or flexible in your approach. IMO being threatened with court or being harassed by your landlord is going to be more stressful than moving.

Mould is almost always due to condensation which in turn is almost always a lifestyle issue. Moisture penetrating or rising brings salts out of the plaster which tends to inhibit mould growth. The more people live in a small space the more of a problem it is, each individual releases around six pints of water each and every day! Installing ventilation solutions is no more effective than you manually ventilating by opening windows or using a large enough dehumidifier (or two). The other mistake people make is to open windows AND use a dehumidifier, in that case you are simply trying to dry out the entire world.

teeni

worriedtenant wrote: »

thank you for your advice

yes our deposit is placed in the scheme and so at least there is some protection there. If it wasn't protected, there would be no point in contesting the exact wording of the s21 because either way it costs - if i move it costs but if I contest it and the LL keeps my deposit I still lose out! but yes, thanks for pointing that out.

Glad it has been protected,but shame really as it would have given you the extra time you need.
If the dates you have provided are correct and you
remain in the property after the date of this notice ll would have to issue proceedings at court . The judge would dismiss the application as being inaccurate, and no award of costs would be made.

In your position i would contact him and advise him that you believe the notice is not valid and that you will defend if he takes possession action, but offer to leave after your exams by consent to avoid any un pleasantness, if he has any sense he will save everybody a lot of stress and money