Landlord's property being repossesses - how long do I have?

eshroom

Hi, I've received a notice to occupier that Bank of Scotland is repossessing the flat I am renting. The letter sounds as if the court has approved repossession of the house, but I was never given a date for the hearing. Could someone on this forum help me identify if this letter is worded to invoke fear and perhaps a final solution before heading to court, or if in fact the first notice to owner went astray?

There is added confusion as court dates are not mentioned in the letter, as is required, and payment methods are also included. I have photographed all three pages of the letter for you to look at. If someone could give me an indication of time scales and what stage in the process we are in(the lender won't speak to me), that would be really appreciated.

I have paid rent up until September 20, so really don't want to apply for my 2 month extension until the very last moment.

Since the landlord cannot be gotten hold of by the estate agent (using an agent means my deposit is safe right?) I thought I mit try and buy the property from the bank - I understand I can't do this, is this also right?

Many thanks in advance.

G_M

Unclear letter.
Solicitors do not 'enforce an order for possession' so my guess is that the solicitors will be arranging a court hearing to which you should go.
The fact that the letter also informs the owner how to pay also implies this is a 'last chance' warning to the owner (your landlord) before going to court.
However I would contact Bank of Scotland to clarify.

It is possible the bank has no idea you are living there as tenants. Informing them is a good idea!

If the landlord had Consent to Let from the bank, then the bank becomes your landlord and has to honour the tenancy.
If the landlord had NO Consent to Let from the bank, then the bank can apply to a court for possession, but
a) you should be informed (are you sure there have been no letters addressed to 'The Occupier'?)
b) under the new Act you can ask the court to give you 2 months delay.

RecoveringAlcoholic

I guess that Bank of Scotland had already obtained a suspended possession order that they are now going to enforce.

Information from Shelter can be found here:

http://england.shelter.org.uk/get_advice/eviction/repossession_by_a_landlords_lender

dancingfairy

O.K re the deposit - it's up to the landlord to protect it as far as I am aware - the letting agents are merely the middle man and ultimately any problems are between you and the landlord - having said that you should have been given details of which scheme your deposit is lodged with. The letting agents might have details of this but you can check with the 3 main deposit agencies to check for yourself on this one.
With regard to giving notice then I wouldn't worry about this at the moment. You first need to establish whether a repossession order has already been granted and whether the landlord had permission to let the property. Depending on the state of play you may want to withold rent for a moment until things become clear (obviously you will then still owe it but if the landlord doesn't have permission to let it might not be due to him/her - you should check this though).
IF a possession hearing has happened then you might want to withold rent - 1) to offset the lack of deposit if it's not registered because let's face it the landlord is hardly going to give it back are they if they are in this situation? and 2) because the landlord is unlikley to give you notice and start trying to kick you out. Technically you may owe the rent but as said it's unlikely the landlord will want to take you to court over this.
I suggest you get in contact with Shelter as they can go through all your rights and responsibilites with you and what to say/do in court for the landlords reposession hearing if necesary to give youself extra time to find a new property
Best of luck
df

Hump

Worth pressing the landlord as to what he/she is intending to do. As Recovering Alcoholic says it looks likely that the lender has already obtained a Possession Order - probably suspended on terms which your landlord has now broken. The PO could pre-date your occupation which may explain why you were not made aware of it previously. The landlord can apply to the Court at any stage to apply to have the warrant of eviction suspended on terms. If the landlord does nothing then your local county court will be in contact in due course to advise the date/time of the eviction. Usually contacting the lender to advise them that you have a tenancy followed by sending/ faxing them a copy of your tenancy agreement will be enough for them to grant you the 2 months grace due under the 2010 Act mentioned above. If they fail to concede the 2 month protection then you may need to make an application to the court yourself.

If you have no realistic alternative accommodation options were an eviction to take place then try to speak with your local council's housing aid, housing options, housing advice centre NOW especially if you have children, disabilities or major medical issues (good luck)

eshroom

BoS won't give me any information, court dates - past or present - wether it was a buy-to let or when to expect an enforcement order or how to apply an extension. They won't let me know if the borrow had permission to rent so there is no way to know if they are now my landlords.

silvercar

eshroom wrote: »

BoS won't give me any information, court dates - past or present - wether it was a buy-to let or when to expect an enforcement order or how to apply an extension. They won't let me know if the borrow had permission to rent so there is no way to know if they are now my landlords.

Well they aren't your landlords yet as they haven't yet repossessed!

Seems a bit unreasonable that you can't find out a court date in this circumstance.

sonastin

eshroom wrote: »

BoS won't give me any information, court dates - past or present - wether it was a buy-to let or when to expect an enforcement order or how to apply an extension. They won't let me know if the borrow had permission to rent so there is no way to know if they are now my landlords.

Might be worth reminding them that they wrote to you - you are the occupier. If they feel it necessary to contact you to tell you that they intend to repossess your home, they should have the courtesy to answer your queries in relation to the information in their letter.

This isn't about the Landlord's mortgage account with them so Data Protection and all that malarky relating to his financial position doesn't apply. This is about you asking for clarification about the subject that BoS chose to write to YOU about.

eshroom

My estate agent is reckons the landlady borrowed money and paid the bank. I'm not sure if I believe this, however, since I want to hold out another 3 weeks before asking for my 2 month extension, I may just wait to see if an order to vacate comes through.

The bank is certainly not being helpful in the least.

Thanks for all your replies.

franklee

There are a few posts that might help towards the end of the Check your LL has permission to let that property sticky thread.

If it is an old possession order then this may be of interest:
http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showpost.php?p=40460380&postcount=361

Also have you read the guidance linked to from here:
http://freelegalweb.org/6116/2010/10/guidance-on-tenant-mortgage-protection/

I'd suggest you need pro help pronto, can you try ringing Shelter?

eshroom

Thanks for the info. One of the problems is that the bank won't talk to me, so how can I find out if the landlord had permission to let the property?