7 days notice to leave.

looby75

My sister rents a house via a letting agency. She's lived there for a couple of years now without any problems. Today she got a letter from the agency telling her that the owner of the property has sold it (this is the first she has heard about it even being up for sale) and that she has 7 days to move out.

Can they really give her such short notice, she has a 5 yr old son too and it's going to be impossible to find another house, pack everything up and arrange for removal in 7 days. She doesn't even have the money for a deposit on a new place, or money for removal van etc, and as none of us live close to her we can't help her out either.

Any advice appreciated.

lynzpower

No I dont think they can give her such short notice.

Others will be certain, but if she is likely to need council accomodation, then she will need to be formally evicted.

Alleycat

Simple answer is no!! Even if they have sold the property they cannot give your sister such short notice. Either they or the new owners must give your sister a two month/8 week written notice depending on the rental period (i.e. is her rent due 4 weekly or calendar monthly?). If she has not managed to find suitable altenative housing within this time period she still would not have to move out straightaway. They would be required to apply to the court for possession of the property which could give your sister a further two or three months in which to vacate.

Don't worry about the fact that the propety has been sold. If the sale has been completed it would be the new owners responsibility to go through the proper eviction proceedings. He/she should have made sure that there was no current tenant before they completed.

It may be worth approaching her letting agent and trying to find out who has bought the property. If it has been bought as a buy to let, there is always the possibility that they or your sister could negotiate with the new owner to keep her on as a tenant. Alternatively the letting agent may have an alternative property that would be suitable for her needs and she could transfer to this one.

She should continue to pay her rent, though if there is a new owner, I don't know who it would need to go to. I am sure someone on here will be along who does.

Send her my best wishes and tell her to try not to worry too much. When she is issued with the correct notice, she should make an application to her local Homeless Advice Unit to make an Homeless Application asap. Then if all else fails and she is unable to get herself sorted in alternative private rented, they can assist with rehousing.

looby75

Thanks you! That is so reassuring to know, I just hope the letting agency don't start trying to bully her, they have in the past over a issue with some paint work that got damaged by her son. They come to inspect the house every 6 months or so and there was a small scratch on one of the walls where her sons had knocked some paint off with one of his toys, they threatened to evict her for that :eek: they do seem to think they are a law to themselves

silvercar

Sounds like the owner has two contracts which contradict, his tenancy contract and his sale contract.

If the owner has sold with vacant possession he will need to ensure that to get his money. If this is in breach of the terms of the tenancy (which seems likely) he will need to entice her to leave by any means possible or he is going to be in breach of his sale contract. He may there fore be willing to pay your sister off. This could include help with moving costs and a deposit.

Your sister should also check who holds her deposit and when she can expect it to be returned.

The buyer will also be inconvienianced by this. Imagine turning up with your removal men and finding that the property isn't empty!

Browntoa

http://www.citylets.co.uk/services/rights3.htm

[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]22. What period of notice must a notice to quit give?[/FONT]
[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]If the house is let:[/FONT]

[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]a. by the week, fortnight or month, at least 4 weeks;[/FONT]
[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]b. by the quarter (3 months), at least 31 days;[/FONT]
[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]and[/FONT]
[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]c. by the year, at least 40 days.[/FONT]

looby75

Thanks again everyone.

This site is fantastic, we have so much going on in our family at the moment that I think my head would have exploded if it hadn't been for all the help, advice and support I've received from people here over the last week or so.

I'm printing all this off to send to my sister (she hasn't got a computer) so she can talk to someone at the letting agency.

It's madness, how on earth do they think they can get away with giving someone just 7 days notice

Tassotti

If it were me, I would insist that the letting agent find me somewhere else to live within 7 days. I would also demand two months rent as a pay off for the (illegal) short notice.

If they don't agree, I suggest she stays there until the baliffs turn up (could be 4 months)

I usually wouldn't advise this being a LL myself, but LL's like this give us good ones a bad name and deserve everything they get!!!

amboy

Totally agree with Tassoti, I refrained from advising to hold out for a payoff but on reflection that was my first thought and indeed I still feel that their bullying tactics should be met by a no nonense approach.

looby75

Thats a good idea, I suggest that to my sister. She is at the CAB as we speak, luckily tuesday is the drop in day so she's gone down to see what they suggest.

Thanks again.

Ivrytwr3

Copy and paste your original post on this website:

http://www.landlordzone.co.uk/forums/

It is a fantastic site filled with landlords/tenants/solicitors/accountants etc (much like here really!). These will tell you your exact rights.

My understanding is your sister must be given 2 months notice to leave. After that the landlord must then issue a S8 or S21 (forget which) through the courts system. And all this takes time and money. Your sister could quite happily sit there for approx a further 4 - 6 months (refusing to pay rent if she wishes!) and it will cost the landlord in excess of £2k to get her out.

The law sides very heavily with the tenant and your sister could makes thing extrememly difficult for her landlord. Tell her not to be bullied, she knows her rights and she will leave when she is ready within the 2 months notice date.