Asked to leave our private rent HELP!!

jjlandlord

princeofpounds wrote: »

This creates, in my understanding, a new tenancy rather than extending the original one, and so restarts the clock on the 6 month period.

Yes it does create a new tenancy, but that's what is referred as a replacement tenancy in the Housing Act 1988, and it does not restart the clock on the 6 month period.

princeofpounds wrote: »

If that understanding is incorrect, please point me to the language in the Housing Act that makes it so as I would like to clear the point up.

Section 21. Specifically subsections 5 to 7.

Break clauses are not impacted.


And yes... None of that applies in Scotland.

scottishblondie

G_M wrote: »

If the LL wants you to leave in August, they need to serve you 2 months Written Notice by June. Even then you do not need to leave till the LL gets a court order (another 1 - 3 months?)

If that does not happen, then in August, if you stay, you will automatically get a 'Periodic (monthly) tenancy. The LL (old or new) then needs to serve you 2 months written notice (S21) at any time.

G_M your advice is usually bang on but like other posters you are giving wrong information because the OP is in Scotland.

* The notice period will be laid out in the contract, it is not 2 months by law in Scotland.
* Contracts do not automatically go onto a monthly periodic tenancy - what happens if no new contract is signed is also laid out in the contract.

EDIT:
I see you noticed the Scotland thing before me and my useless left hand finished typing!

d_rok69

Ok I have my tenancy agreement in my hands it says short assured tenancy relating to my address. the tenancy commencing on 24/8/11 and expiring on 24/8/12. It says notice period is two months.

I just came from viewing another house where my agent from Remax told us our contract has changed because we are unemployed and LL is not covered by insurance and mortgage and we are not entitled to two months notice because of the change.

i havent been given any new contract or notice of change other than LL calling and saying she wants us out.

we were going to rent privately not with an agent but have just been told that we will not get our deposit back until we have left the house. so i cant even use this as a deposit on a new place.

i have been told im not entitled to any compensation or moving costs from the LL

d_rok69

so as a tennant in scotland an i entitled to two months notice?
can i stay in this house until a court order has been served?
can i ask for compensation since i cant afford to move without my deposit etc?

scottishblondie

d_rok69 wrote: »

so as a tennant in scotland an i entitled to two months notice?

* No, AFAIK the minimum period is 28 days, but this is superceeded by what is stated in the contract (as long as it is equal or more). However, I still don't think that they can issue notice during the fixed term. Do not take my word for it tho.

can i stay in this house until a court order has been served?

* Yes, absolutely.

can i ask for compensation since i cant afford to move without my deposit etc?

* You can ask, but since the only way to evict you is with a court order that they are unlikely to get this is kind of irrelevant. You could use the fact that they would have to go to court to get possession as a bargaining tool to get a payout from the LL, if you are happy to move early.

Eviction will only be granted by the court on certain grounds. Unless your contract very specifically mentions your employment status, losing your job is not grounds to evict you. It's not your problem if the LL has to pay extra for insurance etc.

Honestly though - the roof over your head is important and it's better to be safe than sorry. Call Shelter Scotland ASAP to get professional help.

d_rok69

i have tried to call shelter all day and no one answers

scottishblondie

d_rok69 wrote: »

i have tried to call shelter all day and no one answers

They are a very busy charity - don't give up you will get through eventually.

d_rok69

Just got off the phone with the lady who owns the house.

I told her i had been in touch with remax and the properties they showed me were unacceptable and that they wont give us our deposit back until after we have left the house and only after "a resonable period of time" would we get the deposit money. I cant rent another place without the deposit money.

She said i dont know what i can do to help because your contract is with remax. I can maybe talk to them and see if you can get your deposit back early but that would require a major trust on my part. I thought i was doing a good thing by giving you a month notice.

Also turns out she has sold the house and the woman wants in the house sooner but she wanted to give us a month notice.

I still havent received anything in writing from either LL or Remax

dancingfairy

Hmm. Something sounds very fishy to me.
Normally in England a seller requests vacant possession and a solicitor would advise not to complete with a tenant still in situ as a new owner would inherit the tenant and the tenancy agreement would continue as before (just with a new landlday). Also the thing about not having to give you notice doesn't sounds good either - I can't believe tenanys have fewer rights in Scotland and can just be turfed out, something just doesn't sound right.
Also certainly in England your contract is with the landlord - the agency is just that, an agent on behalf of the landlord. At the end of the day it should be up to the landlord to make sure they are following the law, not any agency.
Please make sure you get proper independent advice - keep trying Shelter as it sounds like your landlord/agency may be trying to get one over on you.
df

dancingfairy

See here: Shelter Scotland link:
http://scotland.shelter.org.uk/get_advice/advice_topics/eviction/eviction_of_private_tenants/eviction_of_short_assured_tenants/eviction_at_the_end_of_your_tenancy
As far as I can see it implies that you don't have to leave until the end of the tenancy and if they want you to leave at the end of your tenancy they have to issue the correct paperwork. Worth a read.
See also this bit here that has a link to the way(s) they can make you leave mid tenancy:
http://scotland.shelter.org.uk/get_advice/advice_topics/eviction/eviction_of_private_tenants/eviction_of_short_assured_tenants
df