Unfair Eviction

dxkuk

I hope someone can help, we have been renting for about 12 months, about 4 months ago we had an altercation with the landlord about her coming to the property without informing us, now she has refused to renew our contract and wants us out. We have never missed a single payment in the 12 months, they have now given me and my family a 2 months quit notice. question can we refuse to go as there is no valid reason for the eviction??

Soot2006

As long as notice was served correctly and you are outside any fixed contract, then the LL is entitled to their property back --- some clever folks will come along I'm sure to double check the notice is correctly served!

Sammy85_2

You can refuse to leave and the LL will have to take you to court to remove you, but you may then find it difficult to get a reputable LL afterwards as she will not give you a good reference.

If i were looking at a new tenant and the old LL refused to give a reference or the tenant couldnt provide a reference from previous LL then alarm bells would start ringing and i would think twice before letting and would most definately start digging deeper.

The question is, do you really want the hassle with this LL and possible future trouble in getting another house? I would start looking for somewhere else and move on. I wouldnt want to live there now anyway after having trouble with the LL.

princeofpounds

The landlord is entitled to the property back. There does not need to be a reason if the notice is served correctly.

Just make it clear that you will need a reference so you can secure a new place- no reference, less easy it will be to vacate as she asks.

Zelie

For future reference, if a landlord does this then write to them informing them they are not to enter your home without first being given your express permission and that they must request this a minimum of 24 hours in advance in writing. Should any landlord then enter your home you do what you would do for anyone else breaking and entering and you call the police. They might owe the bank money for it but it is NOT their place to do as they want in.

G_M

Once your fixed term contract has expired, the LL has a perfect right to his property back. You signed for (presumably) 12 months, you've lived there for 12 months. Either you or the LL is entitled to refuse to sign a new contract.
You are entitled to 2 months notice, and, yes, you could hold out and force the LL to go to court, but you may end up paying costs, will have the hassle of a court hearing (which you will lose), and the stigma will follow you.

move on with the minimum of fuss - it's easier for everyone.

Jowo_2

There doesn't have to be a valid reason for a landlord to seek possession of the property, the landlord only requires to serve notice correctly. An S21 (two months notice to quit) operates as a 'no fault' notice.

There is another route available to landlords to regain possession when there are significant arrears (2 months rent owed if the rental period is monthly, for example) - perhaps you are confusing your notice with this other option? This is commonly referred to as an S8 and this is where a judge has no discretion but to award possession back to the landlord on a mandatory basis if the grounds for the eviction are proven (i.e. if the rental period is monthly, the landlord has served the S8 when 2 months rent is owed and 2 months rent is still owing at the time of the court case).

If you ignore the notice and the landlord goes to court to gain a possession order, the landlord does not have to justify themselves to the judge. If the notice has been served correctly, the possession order will be granted.

If you ignore the possession order, the landlord will then have to return to court to request a court appointed bailiff. Again, no reason has to be provided, its merely a procedure to enforce possession.

A number of possession cases get thrown out by the judge because the landlord has completed or served the S21 incorrectly, such as filling in the date fields wrong.