Do I need to sign a new tenancy agreement?

shadow1980

Hi Guys,

I need some advice regarding my LA. I have been living in my rented property for 18 months now, and six months ago, I signed a new tenancy which is ending on April 4th. As the property I am in now is a small bedsit, I have been looking for a much needed bigger place which I have found. The only problem is I cannot move into the new propert until the beginning of June. The letting agent has told me that the landlord is not willing to let me stay for an extra two months without signing another 6 month AST lease, that will end October, 4 months longer than what I need. I have also asked the LA for the contact details of the LL so I can speak to him directly and they won't give me his details. I obviously can't afford to rent two properties. The other issue is, on my old tenancy, my council tax was included in the rent, and now the LA wants to add an additional £85 p/m to cover council tax. I have been a good tenant, I've never missed paying my rent, and it has always been paid on time. I don't complain, even though I probably should have considering the state of the place. If I refuse to sign a new lease, what will happen? I only need to stay in the bedsit for another 2 months... So my questions... can I refuse to sign a new lease, and if I don't can I get evicted before june, and also, if I don't sign a new lease, and everything is ok, would I have to start paying the council tax if in my previous lease it was covered in my rent?

I hope that I've made some sort of sense and my questions don't confuse.

Thank you for your time and help!

G~

Jowo_2

Were you served an S21 document when you signed any of your previous contracts? Does your AST mention any rent increases in it?

If you don't sign the new contract after the fixed term expires, it automatically becomes a periodic tenancy which requires the landlord to give 2 months notice or the tenant one months notice (notice timed to expire with the rental period), assuming the rental period is monthly.

All existing terms and conditions in the contract (with exception of the notice period) continue. There is a formal way for a landlord to increase rent on a periodic contract which might be covered here

http://www.landlordzone.co.uk/legal-residential-rentals/rent-increase.htm

The Shelter website gives excellent information on how a periodic tenancy can be ended.

A letting agent is obliged to give the landlords address to tenants within 21 days of a written request.

http://www.landlordzone.co.uk/landlord's_address.htm

[Deleted User]

To be totally honest, I think it would take him time to throw u out, so I'd just stay there, pay rent and wait for legal proceedings. U should have a couple of months before u HAVE to leave. But check this with shelter etc. If worst comes to worst.., do u have any friends etc u can stay with for a couple of weeks (make a back up plan)?

shadow1980

Thank you Jowo for your fast reply to my question. I don't believe that I was served an S21 document when I signed my previous contracts... to be honest, I don't even know what one is... The only thing I can find in my contract about S21 is "This agreement is intended to create an assured shorthold tenancy as defined be Section 19A of the housing act 1988 (as inserted by the housing act 1996) and the provisions for the recovery of possessions by the landlord in Section 21 thereof apply accordingly" My current AST does not mention any rent increases either. Would this mean that the council tax they want to charge me wouldn't apply?

I really don't want to sign a new contract, but I was really worried what would happen if I didn't. It's good to know that my contract would would change into a periodic contract if I don't sign (I'm hoping this is a good thing... I'm really clueless) My rent is monthly, so out of courtesy, I will give the LA two months notice today that I plan to vacate the property.

I didn't think it was right that they LA would provide the detail for the LL. I will ask them again.

I'll definitely check out the shelter website.

DVardysShadow

Letting Agent is obliged by law to provide Landlord's details.

As Jowo says, did you recieve a section 21 notice? If you did not, then just lie low and stay on under statutory periodic conditions, at the old rent. If LL or LA give you notice now, it will not become effective until 4th June and even longer if the notice does not come until after 4th April.

shadow1980

deannatrois wrote: »

If worst comes to worst.., do u have any friends etc u can stay with for a couple of weeks (make a back up plan)?

Unfortunately not... I'm in London studying with no family close and my friends have full houses.
I have already thought about how long it would take the LA to go ahead with legal proceedings, and I'm sure by the time it would take to do that, I would already be long gone. It's definitely another option for me.

Jowo_2

The S21 notice is essentially the 2 months notice to quit issued by the landlord. Some issue this at the outset of a tenancy so they can apply straight to court at the end of the fixed term to regain possession of the property if the tenant won't leave. This saves 2 months in the legal process by serving it at the same time as granting the tenancy. Apparently there is info on this practice if you search this forum and others for 'sword of damocles' and 'S21'.

If they didn't, they must serve you two months notice to leave if you refuse to sign the contract so this coincides with your intentions anyway.

If you already have been issued with an S21, the time it will take to get a court hearing for the possession order, plus the few additional weeks a tenant can have in the property after the date of the judgement which the tenant can ask to be extended for additional time, is likely to approach 2 months anyhow. The Shelter website has good info on the eviction process.

Don't 'ask' your LA for the landlords address, do it in writing recorded delivery, keep a copy and cite the housing law that compels them to cooperate. Do they belong to a professional body like ARLA (probably not,would be my guess).

Make sure you understand how to end a periodic tenancy if you give them notice - many tenants assume they can just give a months notice at any point during the tenancy (they can) but its expiration has to coincide with the end of the rental period, not just any random day a month from being issued.

If you stay in the property 1 day past the notice period to end a periodic tenancy, you will be liable for a full months rent.

ackaboosie

Confused ??? :S

[Deleted User]

If u haven't been issued an S21 notice already, I'd avoid contacting the Landlord yourself as this gives them an early warning that u may overstay and they could issue an S21 now rather than when/if u stay on once your present agreement runs out.

Try and find all the paperwork u were given when u moved in and go to the CAB and ask if there's an S21 in there.

Jowo_2

shadow1980 wrote: »

My current AST does not mention any rent increases either. Would this mean that the council tax they want to charge me wouldn't apply?

If your AST is exclusive of certain bills, this continues under the periodic tenancy as all existing terms and conditions carry on the same.

But to be honest, I can't see why they can't issue you with a notice of a rent increase through the formal mechanisms that exist which just happens to be equivalent to the sum they are seeking for the CT.

Is your accommodation a HMO? Look at your local council website to see if it is and what they say about who is responsible for paying the council tax. I don't know if it is only HMOs that require a licence (many HMOs don't), but there are certain regulations that compel a landlord to pay the CT.

Jowo_2

deannatrois wrote: »

If u haven't been issued an S21 notice already, I'd avoid contacting the Landlord yourself as this gives them an early warning that u may overstay and they could issue an S21 now rather than when/if u stay on once your present agreement runs out.

As I indicated before, its not the date of issue of the notice to quit that is the main thing, but getting it to time to expire with the rental period.

The tenant doesn't have a full month left on the fixed term agreement.

S21 dates aren't my forte but I assume that even if the landlord were to issue it today, it won't mean they can get the property back any quicker as it needs to span 2 months notice (2 full rental periods) so the next 3 weeks (the remainder of this rental period) are pretty much excluded.

Therefore whether issued today, or in early April, the landlords won't expire until 04 June - would someone else mind verifying this as I'd rather not confuse things? As far as I can tell, if the tenant hasn't received an S21 at an earlier point in the tenancy, the tenant will have to be given 2 months notice from the end of the fixed term? (OP ensure you get this double checked with Shelter - they can help with understanding dates and notice periods).