Advice re section 21 order

clowe74

After 13 years of living in our house our LL has decided she wants it back. Our order is due to run out on the 21st September and at the moment it looks like we will have to stay here longer as the LA dont consider you a priority until an actual evcition process has begun.

I have just took a phone call from LL daughter saying her and her mother want to come and look round the house on Saturday for damage (there is no damage) and want to know what time they can come.

Do we have to let them in? I do not feel comfortable at all having them in the house lookijg round especially while the children are there and still know nothing about this yet.

Any advice greatly appreciated

Brb

Legally you can stay there until your LL has court ordered baliffs kicking you out which can take months. BUT this is good for no-one

You don't have to let anyone in if you don't want to no but may need a good ref from your LL if you was to move onto another rental property.

Have you looked into finding another rental property ? even if you wait for the possession order from court your local authority may well put you into B&B accomodation.

clowe74

We have been to look at a few but there is such a high demand in our area for houses it is proving difficult. I think I will have to get in touch with CAB and see if I have to let them in. I have an autistic son and this could prove quite distressing for him.

Jowo_2

Any particular reason why you prefer to stick it out to qualify for social housing rather than find a new private rental?

Housing law means that tenants have quiet enjoyment of the property and landlords can only enter in the event of an emergency or if they give notice and consent is gained from the tenants. Therefore you can refuse the visit.

Tenancies in england/wales were subject to changes in 1997 which mean that some tenants from that year are assured tenants with greater security of tenures while others do not have this protection. Have you signed a new AST since that date? Find out your status by working your way through the Shelter tenancy type checker which is an online wizard. This is the link to the England site but you can find the appropriate one if the property is in Wales or Scotland.

http://england.shelter.org.uk/get_advice/downloads_and_tools

clowe74

No real reason at all why we cant rent privately, we have been to see a few but there is just such a high demand at the moment for some reason we havnt been succesful, we are still looking and havnt ruled anything out.
Thankyou for that link, I have spoken to shelter so not sure why i didnt think of them again, thankyou for your help

BitterAndTwisted

Use the "Property To Let" button down on the left-hand side to search for private landlords' properties by post-code. Some of these may not be being advertised via letting agents. It's possible that none of them are.

http://www.landlords.org.uk/index.htm

tbs624

I can understand why you would not want to have the LL calling round but you may want to view it as helpful to you, because it gives you the opportunity to address any possible issues which may otherwise affect the return of your deposit.

After 13 years in situ there will be a lot that simply comes under "fair wear and tear", but some Ts do like to have the opportunity to sort any niggles before they move out.

If you feel you may be put under some form of pressure by the LL can you perhaps arrange for another adult to be present?

As the others have said,however, it is up to you whether you allow them access at this stage. Some LLs would be less than helpful about references if they felt you were playing a waiting game ( even though you're within your legal rights to do so) as well as refusing them access. That said, anyone who has stayed put for 13 years must have been a reasonable/"good" T or they would have been given notice much earlier:)

As Jowo says, do check your tenancy status.


If you do have to move on, as well as the link that B&T has posted up for you, you could try the private sector rental officer at the local Council, to see if they hold a list of accredited private LLs or try googling your town/area and "landlord association", then aks for contact info on private LLs who self manage their properties. Good luck.

clowe74

Thankyou so much for your advice.
I havnt yet responded to her as I want to wait until my HB gets in from work and see what his opinions on it are.
My other problem is that my eldest has autism and am very worried this could all be very stressful for him. We have told the kids we are looking to move elsewhere but not the urgency in it.
Thankyou again for your help

Ankatden

LL references are pretty not much worth anything as a LL trying to get rid of someone will happily give a good reference.

That said anybody who has 13 years in a single property pretty much has a gold plated reference by length of time there anyway.

I would check to ensure S21 issued correctly but aside from postponing it for a couple of months there is relatively little a tenant can do long term.

As for damage !!!!!!
Ask for a copy of their original inventory (which likely doesn't exist) to check whether any damage has been done prior to allowing them access.

I would suggest to daughter that her comment regarding looking for damage is offensive given you have been there for 13 years and needs to look at her hostile attitude, if nothing else it stops her thinking she holds all the cards.

G_M

13 years? You are right on the cusp! If you moved in before 27 Feb 1997 you may well be an assured tenant with extra rights above those of an assured shorthold tenant.

clowe74

Thanks again for your answers.

i am genuinely quite offended that this lady would think we have damaged any of her property, if anything it has been improved greatly over the last 13 years, we even put in a new kitchen for her.

I do believe in karma and that everything happens for a reason but its very hard to see it when your are in a bit of a mess like this