Can they really kick us out?

jjlandlord

Jeffrey_Shaw wrote: »

Ground 1 CANNOT give any right for L to obtain possession during the fixed term.

Thanks Jeffrey. That's what I thought.

So I think this means that, at least during his fixed term, OP needs only worry about a break clause.

Jeffrey_Shaw

Yes, or any applicable Schedule 2 grounds.

pmlindyloo

OK all you clever people, instead of talking about ground this and ground that and schedule 2 how about quoting what they are so us less knowledgeable people know what you are talking about?

Jeffrey_Shaw

pmlindyloo wrote: »

OK all you clever people, instead of talking about ground this and ground that and schedule 2 how about quoting what they are so us less knowledgeable people know what you are talking about?

Schedule 2 to the Housing Act 1988 lists nineteen possible grounds for L to use in the s.8 Notice.
Here it is: http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1988/50/schedule/2

G_M

Originally Posted by G_M
No tenant can be made to leave within the first 6 months of an AST except a) for rent arrears etc AND b) with a court order.

Jeffrey_Shaw wrote: »

Not so. Any s.8 Notice (rent or otherwise) can lead to a Possession Order, even within the first six months.
But only grounds 1-8 are mandatory grounds, of course. The others (9-17, plus 14A) are discretionary.

Which is why I said "except a) for rent arrears etc ".
Note the etc (ie grounds 1-17).

I did not (and still do not) see the value of detailing gounds 1-8 for the OP since his post gave no indication that they would be relevant. Enough to say that he is secure for 6 months unless he does naughty things! That is what he needs to know at this stage, not the intricacies of landlord and tenant legislation.

Come on! Let's stick to providing practical, relevant advice!

jjlandlord

G_M wrote: »

I did not (and still do not) see the value of detailing gounds 1-8 for the OP since his post gave no indication that they would be relevant.

OP did suggest that there might be a ground 1 notice in his tenancy agreement.

Zelazny

Thank you everyone for all your help :-)

Interesting news - we don't have a copy of the rental agreement.

When we moved in, I signed three copies, and the letting agent said they needed to send them off for landlord to sign. They were going to post me a copy once it was signed. Thus far, no sign of it.

No idea what difference that makes.

For what it's worth, I'm fairly sure it did have a clause relating to the landlord wanting to move back in, so I think we'd best assume 2 months, but I'm not sure if not having a copy of the agreement makes any difference.

I'm also still assuming that it'd be 2 months from when notice is served - which it hasn't been thus far.

Yorkie1

You need to ask for one of the copies of the tenancy which you signed. The wording of the break clause, if any, is vital.

Soot2006

Don't assume anything until you have a copy in hand. Go to your EA and demand a copy right now -

Zelazny

Thank you all for your help. I thought you might like an update.

The contract did contain ground 1 notice, so we had at best two months (we might have been able to challenge it and stayed until the 6 month point, but that would only have been 3.5 months anyhow). We found another place nearby that looks nice (although it is a bit more expensive). We went back to the letting agent and said that we would be willing to forego the two months notice if they'd pay the costs of moving, and they have agreed.

So tomorrow my wife and I are moving into a new place, and this one doesn't have anything in the agreement that means they can kick us out early :-) It's a 1 year contract with a 6 month break clause, but the landlord has never lived there, and owns 4 properties close together. He bought them as a buy to let investment and as such is keen to have long term tenants (we spoke to one of the other tenants who has been there for 6 years, which is obviously a good sign).

Our original Letting Agents have been really good - they agreed to pay the costs of referencing and having contracts drawn up for the new place, as well as the cost of hiring a van (plus petrol) and moving my wife's piano. They've also kindly agreed to release the deposit early so that we can pay the deposit on the new place (after inspecting our current place, of course). If anyone is in the Croydon area and needs to move, I can't recommend Martin and Co enough :-)