Tenant no written contract, notice to evict & deposit query

Jamie_A_2

Hi all, Partner & me are tenants, so seek advice regarding the best way to proceed, we've secured a new rented home but cannot occupy it until 1st week August, our current agent wants us out by 1st July :

We have a periodic tenancy paid monthly in advance as the letting agent declined our request to provide a tenancy agreement previously we had a 12 month assured shorthold tenancy, advice or opinion much appreciated on...

1).

Our legal position if we remain in the property past 1st July as ;

Agent served notice via email to me on 13th May stating they had sent a recorded delivery letter giving section 21 notice on 27 April. We received a missed delivery card for this as we were away when delivery was attempted, and informed agent of this. We still have no written copy of this section 21 notice.

I've asked the agent if we can stay until 1st week of August they have flatly said no as contractors are booked.

2).

Return of deposit :

Have no copy of a current deposit protection scheme certificate, which had previously been provided (the agent recently provided a glowing reference re the manner in which we have maintained and repaired the property, its in better repair than when we took it on... have photos to prove it, so not expecting any deductions ). Should I just ask them for a copy ?

Essentially we're glad to leave as we had long since lost faith in the agent/landlord but are now wary of incurring the additional cost/effort of securing & moving to temporary accomodation on top of the nightmare we've just had securing a reasonable new place...

dancingfairy

It would appear you have 2 main 'solutions'
1) move out when you are supposed to and rent for a short period elsewhere, stay with friends, put stuff in storage etc until you can complete your onward move and hopefully get a decent reference
or
2) stay past the date when you are supposed to leave and wait for the landlord to start court proceddings and the bailiffs to turn up, not to mention being held liable for all the additional costs, extra rent , the risk of a CCJ and probably not a great reference.
That is unless you can come to some sort of arraangement with the landlord - why do they need the possession? Can you ask to stay but put up with whatever works are arranged or conduct house viewings - anything to keep the landlord happy? It's the landlord not the agents you need to keep happy.
df

jamie11

Give your agent your own notice stating the day you intend to leave. Your notice must be a minimum of one month and end on the last day of a statutory tenancy period. The S21 your agent has served is not a notice to quit but merely allows them to apply for a court hearing. You do not have to allow the contractors to enter if you do not want to.

It would take the agent around 4-5 months if he had to get you out through the court.

mightymouse

Hi

Agent served notice via email to me on 13th May stating they had sent a recorded delivery letter giving section 21 notice on 27 April. We received a missed delivery card for this as we were away when delivery was attempted, and informed agent of this. We still have no written copy of this section 21 notice.

from what you say you have not been served with a S21 notice, you were merely informed that one had been sent but as yet not received.

As previous poster says serve your own notice and check up on any deposit.

Werdnal

If you originally had a tenancy agreement, which was allowed to automatically run to a periodic tenancy, then that agreement still applies and all the terms and conditions it contained are still valid. Only the length of notice required to terminate the contract changes, ie 1 month for you and 2 months for your LL.

Similarly, you mention that the deposit protection certificate had not been issued, as you had one previously. If you had the deposit protected at the start of the fixed period tenancy, it is not always necessary to re-protect just because the tenancy has become periodic, so the original protection details should still apply.

As others have said, you have not actually received the S21. This is why it is common practice not to send notices via recorded delivery, as a lack of anyone to sign for, or a tenant's refusal to accept it, counts as non-service of the notice - fatal mistake by LA me thinks! Ordinary post gets dropped through the letterbox regardless of you being there, so it is considered as served in 2 working days if sent by first class mail (usually 2 copies via 2 different post offices as a backup). If you refuse to sign for it, and it gets returned to sender, LA will have to re-issue, as the dates giving 2 months notice have passed buying you extra time too. Besides, S21 is not a notice to quit, but notice that LL/LA will apply to court for possession, so nothing is obliging you to leave anyway.

Issue your own notice, and sit tight if you can live with the inevitable hassle you will get from LL and LA. They won't like it, but processing eviction through the courts is not an overnight procedure. However, you must obviously pay your rent up until the date of your notice expiry.

Also, did you get an inventory at the start of the tenancy? LL will need this to prove condition at start and end of tenancy for any deposit claim. Take photos of the condition of the property when you leave, and ensure all your utility readings are taken and forwarded for final bills. This should hopefully ensure that your LL has nothing valid to claim from your deposit, but be prepared that he might try it, as you have messed him around by not leaving when expected.