Asked to leave our private rent HELP!!

d_rok69

I think im just going to see a lawyer tomorrow. As far as I can gather I am entitled to two months notice. I have had no formal notice in writing from either LA or LL and she has sold the house out from under us

Cissi

I don't know the law in Scotland but it still seems pretty clear that you're entitled to stay until your contract expires in August, at least. DO NOT let them bully you into leaving earlier unless you're happy that you've been properly incentivised to do so! Your employment status is nobody's business at this stage of the contract, and if the LL has sold the house and someone else bought it without checking the legal situation, then more fool them.

d_rok69

i feel really unclear if im dealing with the letting agent or the owner as the agent says the contract has changed the owner is dealing with the house but she has to give three months notice to leave the agent.

The owner says i am contracted by the letting agent and doesn't seem to think i am entitled to written notice or two months notice

jim-22

Hi d_rok69,

I'm in Scotland too, & in a very similar situation ie/ owner & letting agent paying no heed to the actual law.

Check out Legal Services Agency :

http://www.lsa.org.uk/defendedevictions.aspx

They have free drop in advice times.

Keep trying Shelter, I've got through & had on-going advice regarding my own situation.

This is from my e-mail from Shelter regarding my latest call (relevant to you also) :

Advice

To end a short assured tenancy at the end of the contractual period, known as the ish date (you will find this date in your tenancy agreement) the landlord should provide
" A valid notice to quit giving 40 days notice. However if the agreement has reached its ish date and is rolling on a monthly or two monthly basis then a valid notice to quit must be served giving 28 days notice
And
" A valid section 33 notice stating that the landlord requires possession of the property, giving two months notice
Or
" Section 19 notice (AT6) providing two months notice
To end a short assured tenancy during the contractual period the landlord must get a court order to remove the tenant.
There are certain 'grounds' for which a landlord can seek possession of the property during the contractual period.
See link for these grounds
http://scotland.shelter.org.uk/getadvice/advice_topics/eviction/eviction_of_private_tenants/grounds_for_eviction_-_assured_and_short_assured_tenants

I advised that we could check over any notices issued to see if they are valid.


I'm having a nightmare here too, unbelievable.

DVardysShadow

d_rok69 wrote: »

..
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

There is a tenancy arrangement whereby the contract is with the agent, but this is very unusual - and your contract would make this clear. As it is the Landlady who has given 'notice', she is talking out of the wrong end and she should know that she is wrong about this.

Now this is important, because if she sells, your contract is transferred to the new owner who is also responsible for your deposit. It makes things easier if you ensure that your deposit is protected now...

d_rok69 wrote: »

I think im just going to see a lawyer tomorrow. As far as I can gather I am entitled to two months notice. I have had no formal notice in writing from either LA or LL and she has sold the house out from under us

As I see it, you have a contract in place. And regardless of whether the term is the initial term, I would say that your notice period will be as given by your contract - ie if there is no provision for giving notice, then the term of the contract is as given by the contract itself. Allow for my English ignorance here, but as I see it, this will be the case unless there is a provision in Scots Statute law, which overrides the contract.

perthperson

Verbal notice or a letter will not be legal notice in any case. They will need to serve an AT6 at a minimum and probably a Notice to Quit, depending on what grounds they are relying on.

Get in touch with Shelter Scotland or go to your local Council - they will have homeless officers or homeless prevention officers or some such name. You can only be given notice during the tenancy on certain grounds, as said in one of the posts above. If they can't rely on one of those grounds then they would have to wait until the end of the tenancy and serve notice 2 months before the end of the tenancy. It's complicated so get advice.

poppy10_2

d_rok69 wrote: »

I think im just going to see a lawyer tomorrow. As far as I can gather I am entitled to two months notice. I have had no formal notice in writing from either LA or LL and she has sold the house out from under us

If it's a Short Assured Tenancy, as you said earlier, then you should have been served an AT5 notice prior to agreeing to take the property. The Landlord can get possession of the property by giving two months notice, but this can only happen at the end of the contracted tenancy period, i.e. August 2012 in your case. As long as you keep paying your rent and don't break the conditions of your contract, there's absolutely nothing the landlord (or letting agent) can do to kick you out of your home before the end of your contract.

They are chancing their arm, stand your ground and don't get intimidated. If they want you to waive your legal rights to remain in the property, they should make it worth your while by offering you a cash sum or other incentive that you can accept if you want.

Contact Shelter Scotland for further advice (most of what people have told you on this thread is incorrect and applies only to England, apart from ScottishBlondie's posts).

pinklady21

EDIT: sorry didn't see the last 2 posts before I finished writing my epistle!
Anyway - they are quite right, and far more succinct than me!

Agree completely with the post quoting the email from Shelter Scotland.
Also - to be a valid Short Assured Tenancy, the landlord or their agent MUST have issued an AT5 form prior to the tenancy agreement / lease being signed.
This is most important. If no VALID AT5 form was issued to you, then the tenancy is not a Short Assured Tenancy, but an Assured Tenancy, which confers increased rights to you in terms of the length of the tenancy created, and your rights to remain in the event that the landlord or their agent tries to evict you.
I cannot stress this enough, the property may belong to the Landlord, and the tenancy may be managed by the Agent, but the property is your home, and you have rights in law to occupy the property in peace and without being threatened with eviction.
The Landlord or their agent can evict you, but ONLY if they follow correct procedures and as a previous poster rightly said, that the notices they serve on you are valid.
In your position I would advise you to ensure that only you and your partner have keys to the property (change the locks if necessary) and wait until they serve valid notices to you.
These notices MUST be in writing.
If I were your landlord, and knew the law, I would not be putting pressure on you to leave before you have to, this is Harrassment and is illegal.
If I really wanted you to go, then I would have to either negotiate reasonable terms on which we both agreed, or follow the correct legal process and get an eviction order.
Then and only then are you obliged to leave. Unless of course you and your landlord can agree terms..... and frankly you hold all the cards here!

Check your contents insurance, you may have legal cover.
Also check with your local council, do they have a Tenancy Relations Team who can advise you on your rights? In Edinburgh this is the LetWise team. Google them.
Best of luck - and keep us posted on how you get on.

d_rok69

the saga continues.............

i told the owner i am entitled to two months notice she said she was told by the agent at remax this was not necessary as the terms of the contract have changed. She now tells me she stated at the begining of her contract with remax she stated only employed people to rent the flat and we were at the time but we have never been told this by remax and their is certainly nothing in the contract about it. She now telling me to talk to Remax about it. She seems quite happy to tell me to leave on april but ants no part in a dispute about my notice period.

i have now asked remax to provide me with a written notice of exactly what terms in my contract have changed as i fail to see any terms that may have changed or i am in breech of

As of close of business tonight owner still insists i have to leave on april but have had no written notice

p.s. no idea what an AT5 is???

poppy10_2

d_rok69 wrote: »

She now tells me she stated at the begining of her contract with remax she stated only employed people to rent the flat and we were at the time but we have never been told this by remax and their is certainly nothing in the contract about it

p.s. no idea what an AT5 is???

It doesn't matter what she told RE/MAX about whether she wanted employed people or not. That's between her and the letting agent, nothing to do with you. In any case, anything that she put in the contract about this would not be able to override your statutory rights.

Your contact is with the landlord. Your contract extends up until August 2012. You don't have to leave until then as long as you keep up with the rent. It's as simple as that. Ignore any other attempts to confuse the issue. You have no obligation to negotiate or even talk to RE/MAX.

Tell the landlady you will be seeing out your contract, and not to bother you again.