Unexpectedly being given notice.... help!

blunther

Hello all

My landlord has posted a note through my door giving me two months notice to get out of the house! I'm in a periodic tenancy, so I know two months notice can be given, but it's come as a shock as last time we spoke, he was saying how he hoped we'd be in the property for years to come. We've never given any hassle, always paid on time, and been generally good tenants, so am not happy about this, especially as I have a holiday booked in May which is when I'd have to go house-hunting!!

My question is this: is a note through the door (assuming it's written correctly, section 21 given, etc.) legally binding, or can I simply claim not to have received it - there's no proof of delivery, or a signature, or anything. as you can see from the time, this is causing me stress, and I haven't even told the missus yet as she has a propensity to panic! Need some answers before I have a chat with her....!

I'm hoping that it's not binding, and if he contacts me in June or something, I can simply say to him that I haven't recieved notice, which would then mean I have until the end of August which is better for me!!

thanks!

theartfullodger

You can claim anything you like, eg that you've always given him an extra £500 cash each month :question is, will judge believe you.

Landlord may have taken a witness & photos of envelope going into letterbox.

S21 is not a notice to quit but a notice saying he MAY take legal court action after it expires : you could delay eviction some significant time, particularly if disputing s21 service or validity & also get no or bad reference, but probably OK reference as he'll want shot of you.

princeofpounds

Speak to the LL, ask what's going on. You are unlikely to be able to dodge the S21 - if the LL produces a copy and a witness the judge may well just accept his version of events.

musey

Are you sure the notice is valid? It is not sufficient to simply give 2 months notice, if your tennancy is now periodic the notice must be worded specifically and end on the last day of a rental period. Many landlords (myself included some years ago) fall foul of this and do not realise. If the dates are not correct or the correct notice has not been served it is invalid, you are under no obligation to inform the landlord if the notice incorrect it is up to them to ensure it is right. Obviously ignoring the notice and waiting for them to find out and re-issue has to be weighed up against the affect this will have on the landlord/tenant relationship and likely reference you will recieve. As for just pretending you haven't received it, the landlord may have attended with a witness and so be able to prove they put it through the letterbox.

theartfullodger

NB Did you give a deposit & were you served (after you gave deposit) with the "prescribed information" about how it is being held??

If not, ANY S21 notice is invalid...

Sadly that Thatcher brought in S21 so that Landlords could kick innocent tenants out for no reason at all: Remember, elections are coming up!!

Best of luck....

DVardysShadow

theartfullodger wrote: »

... Sadly that Thatcher brought in S21 so that Landlords could kick innocent tenants out for no reason at all: Remember, elections are coming up!!

Thatcher resigned as PM in 1990 and as MP in 1992, so punishing her at the elections would be like kicking her when she is down.

GavB79

theartfullodger wrote: »

Sadly that Thatcher brought in S21 so that Landlords could kick innocent tenants out for no reason at all: Remember, elections are coming up!!

Hang on, so long as sufficient notice is given why should the landlord need a reason? Presumably most landlords intend to sell their property at some stage, or numerous valid reasons?
What is the alternative?

BitterAndTwisted

Landlords don't need a reason to want to end a tenancy and that's why a Section 21 is known as a "no-fault" notice.

It's possible that the OP's landlord has suffered a change of circumstances and may wish to sell the property.

In the OP's situation I would contact the landlord and see if I could sound out their reasons for wanting to end the tenancy. In any case, receipt of a correctly served S21 signifies a landlord's intent to repossess. It doesn't actually give them possession. Only a court can do that.

Tiddlywinks

OP,I understand that this has come as a bit of a shock so let your thoughts settle over the next couple of days.

You could contact the LL and see why he wants to end the tenancy, at least then you'll understand the background - this lack of security of tenure is the worst part of renting from a private LL in the UK.

You could do all sorts of things to frustrate the process of the LL getting you out BUT do you really want the hassle? Also, you need a reference from the LL so lying about never receiving a hand delivered notice is not going to help, is it?

After the conversation, if your LL still wants to end the agreement, then I'd recommend just going with the flow as anything else will only be delaying the inevitable and will cause you a lot of stress in the meantime.

Good luck.

Wee_Willy_Harris

GavB79 wrote: »

Hang on, so long as sufficient notice is given why should the landlord need a reason? Presumably most landlords intend to sell their property at some stage, or numerous valid reasons?
What is the alternative?

Sell it with a sitting tenant?

G_M

Wee_Willy_Harris wrote: »

Sell it with a sitting tenant?

At 15 - 20% below market value.