advice about renting T&C

Colincbayley

bunglesabout wrote: »

Can anyone tell me what will happen next if they wish to evict us for non-compliance with their demands?

Bungle

I doubt they will.

But they would have to to send you a section 8 notice, on ground 12.
They would then have to wait 2 weeks, before applying to the courts for a possession order, even IF the judge awards them possession you still would not have to move out at the expiry of the order, and they would then have to appoint court bailiffs to evict you.

It just ain't going to happen, they would be mad to even attempt it on the circumstances you discribe. But if they are mad, and they do, then the whole process will probably taken 6+ Months anyway.

Pepzofio

Well this is what should happen:

The LL (probably via LA) will serve you with a Notice of Seeking Possession, probably under Section 8, Ground 12 of the Housing Act 1988 (breach of tenancy). It should notify you of the breach and give you two weeks notice. If you have not quit the property or rectified the breach within the notice period they can apply to court for possession.

The LL will apply to court, you will receive notice of a hearing and the opportunity to submit a defence. It will then go to a hearing and the judge will hear both sides and decide whether or not to grant possession. This process can take a couple of months from notice expiring to court hearing.

If possession is granted you will have xx days to move out, after which the LL would have to apply to the court to instruct bailiffs to remove you from the property if you have not already left. It could take another month or two from the court hearing to the bailiff appointment, depending on how long the judge gives you, how quickly the LL acts on the order and how busy the court is.

If this process is not followed the LL could be committing an illegal eviction.

Personally, I do not believe it will even get as far as notice being served, let alone court, (I'd be highly surprised if LL was fully aware of the situation) but I don't think you've got a lot to worry about if it does.

(a) It's debatable whether or not you have breached the tenancy, even if there is a correctly written clause in your TA. (Depending on the age of your mother, you could even argue that she is a dependant, especially if she is not working - dependants would not normally be covered by such a term. BTW no offence to your mother, just pointing out a possible argument!)

(b) IANAL, but I believe the onus is on the LL to prove the breach. I would imagine that submitting a defence explaining the verbal agreement you reached regards your mother would convince the judge that you had LL's permission. (Especially if there was more than one of you present when you discussed it with the - I assume - lone LA?)

(c) Even if the judge decides that strictly speaking you are in breach of the tenancy, he does not have to grant possession. I find it extremely unlikely that the judge would in such circumstances, let alone award costs. (Maybe if you were subletting each room in the house to whole families and had put LL into a position where he had a statutorily overcrowded, unlicenced HMO the judge might grant possession, but not for a family having a relative stay with them.) Worst case scenario, the judge might give you xx days to remedy the breach or possession will be awarded.

(d) If you were to submit a defence stating that you had remedied the breach (i.e. that your mother was no longer permanently resident at the property - she could still come to stay) the ground would no longer stand and I'm pretty sure the case would be thrown out (or it would be down to the LL to provide proof that the breach was still occuring, which is going to be pretty hard unless they stake out your house, and then you could do them for harrassment!)

As I said though, I am not a lawyer, so if the LA did go so far as to serve notice, I would recommend speaking to CAB or Shelter. I would also be inclined to contact the LL directly to make sure they are aware of all the facts and have endorsed the LA's actions (especially if the LA has signed the notice on behalf of the LL). If you do not have the LL's personal address, request it from LA in writing. By law they have to provide it to you within (I think) 21 days.

bunglesabout

I hope it doesn't come to that Colin, I've never been in trouble with courts/bailiffs, so it's all a little nerve racking, but I'll just have to give a go and hope I don't do anything to make my situation worse.

You have been a great help, so I am very grateful.

Bungle