Landlord has had house repossesed

trfcgirl06

Thanks I'll double check our contract when I get home, but I'm sure I remember it stating one months notice given by LL. I'm thinking of contacting the mortgage lenders again and seeing if they're willing to take us on as tenants, and then hopefully consider our offer to buy the house.

I hadn't thought about attending the hearing. Definitely something to think about.

In the mean time we'll continue to look for somewhere else. We're still (relatively) young and we'd only be buying this house for the opportunity rather than because we really want to buy a house.

Hope this all makes sense! It's been a hectic day!

SavvyStudentSaver

Now, I'm no expert, but from what I can tell, you can't be forced out. You cannot be evicted unless by court order. And even then, I believe the courts will only grant possession after a Section 21 notice has been correctly served, which must give you at least two months notice to end at the end of a rental period- in your case, on the 5th of the month. Therefore, if you were served notice now, you should be given until March the 5th at least, because there aren't 2 months between now and the 5th February. (You on the other hand can give a minimum of one months notice, in a similar fashion). And even then, it is only notice to quit, and the LL will have to apply to the courts (as said), which would give you more time if necessary.

And I believe that here, as there is a formal process in law, it will override any clause stated in the contract, thought I can't be sure. Sorry. Though they'd still need to apply for possession if the clause in the contract holds- otherwise it's an illegal eviction, so you'll still have more time.

However, this is all in the case of your current landlord asking you to leave. When the propety is taken from him, if he doesn't have consent to let, different processes apply, though once again- I'm fairly sure the courts are involved, and you don't HAVE to leave straight away.

kaisersoze_2

From Landlordzone "To end a shorthold tenancy the landlord must give at least two months' notice under Section 21 of the 1988 Housing Act."

As far as i am aware this overwrites anything written in your contract as it is not legally enforceable.

G_M

It does not matter what dodgy clause is in the contract. By law, a (monthly) Periodic Tenancy can only be ended by the landlord (or his agent), by giving TWO full rental periods notice (via a S21 Notice). This means in practice at least two months, but depending on the date of Notice and dates of the tenancy periods, could be almost 3 months.

After that, the landlord (or his agent) must still go to court for a posession order). In the situation you describe, since the LL/agent has givven a faulty S21 Notice (ie only one month) the court will throw out the application for possession and the LL/agent will have to start again with another 2 month Notice!

What date did your Fixed Term end? If it was, 5th November, then you Periods are 6th to 5th of each month. So if you received Notice on, say, 7th Dec, the two months would run from 6th Jan to 5th March!

Note - It is the tenant who has to give one tenancy period's Notice.

If/when a court case for repossession by mortgage lender takes place, a letter will first be sent addressed to "The Occupier". Go to court! Make sure the judge knows you are a tenant there. Take your tenancy agreement.

See the new Mortgage Repossessions (Protection of Tenants etc) Act 2010

The court can give you 2 months notice, so there is no longer a threat of instant repossession

trfcgirl06

Thanks to you all. The LA said they were putting it in writing and posting the notice to us, so we'll see what it says. It was my husband that spoke to them so he may have misheard them

It's great to know we can fall back on that two months' notice section, especially with Christmas coming up it's going to be difficult to get appointments to view places. Also I'm not allowed time off in certain weeks, such as this week and the week beginning 9th Jan.

Again, thank you for your advice. It's greatly appreciated.

G_M

Ah! - so written Notice not yet received? That means they've missed 5th Dec so your 2 months will run from 6th Jan to 5th March.

Then 6 - 8 weeks to get a court possession hearing = May next year??

Meanwhile - be careful who you pay rent to. Make sure you get receipts. If the property has already been repossessed, then the mortgage company is now your landlord so rent is due to them. If you continue to pay the 'old' landlord, it is just £ in his pocket and you will be in rent arrears!

So find out if formal repossession has taken place.

If in doubt, set the rent money aside in a separate account and write to the LL/agent explaining you will pay the rent once it is clear who is due to collect it.

agrinnall

And if the mortgage company and/or court is not aware of your names in connection with the property watch out for mail addressed to 'The Occupier' as that could be important documents for you to respond to.

trfcgirl06

My title to this thread is very misleading (sorry about this - I can't seem to change it)!

The LL hasn't had the house repossesed yet. He has a court hearing in early January (he says he's not sure of a date yet) and I think that's the repossession hearing.
I double checked with my husband and the LA did say they wanted us to vacate the premises as early as 13th January.
My husband has viewed two rental properties in our area today and he wasn't impressed at all... (sigh).

So here are the options:
Find a new rental property ASAP (we have been looking since this thread started to no avail).
Once we receive the written notice from the LA, write back to them (very very politely yet firmly) that we should have two months' notice and we would appreciate this to give us extra time to find a new property.
Contact the mortgage company again, saying we are the tenants of the property and we may be in situ when they gain possession of the property. We would be interested in them taking over the rental and they will at least have to respect the end of our tenancy. Leave our details with them and again stress our interest in buying the house.
Get a mortgage offer in principle? Just in case?

The problem is that we are feeling very sentimental about this house, and really don't want to move! Whinge, whing, moan, moan - get the violins out!

BitterAndTwisted

Vacate as early as the 13th of January? Not a chance.

I think either you or your husband should attend the repossession hearing in January with your tenancy agreement to hand. IF your landlord has a Buy-To-Let mortgage the lender may be interested in retaining you as tenants. They often do but it all depends on how much equity there is. The less equity there is in the property the more likely it is that they will want tenants paying rent.

trfcgirl06

Thanks for your reply.

Hmmm ok, I'll have to try to find out when and where the repossession hearing is... is there a way to finding this out without asking LL or LA?

There is a lot of negative equity on the property, so much so that when we offered to buy the house he said he couldn't possibly sell it to us as it would be over £40,000 what the house is worth.

I will definitely contact the mortgage company again.