Section 21 (1)(b) help!

sugarbunny2012

Hi,
Today I received a letter from my Estate Agents saying that they are serving me a section 21 (1)(b) notice should the landlord wish to take posession of the property after 9th August 2012 (the date the tenancy exires).
On the second part of the letter it says that the landlord requires to posess the house after this date.

I called the estate agents, and they said it's nothing to worry about, just a standard letter, but I have to wait until Monday to renew the contract.

I'm a little worried, and I have conflicting information. One thing is telling me that I can't stay after the tenancy ends, and the other says it's fine.

I don't understand why they would send that letter when I spoke to them 3 weeks ago and said that I would be renewing.

Where exactly do I stand??

thanks

BitterAndTwisted

Of course you can stay on after the AST expires! Only a court order can secure your exit.

What is really going on is that they are trying to put the frighteners on you, to ensure that you are persuaded to sign another fixed-term tenancy. And then pay the agent a nice big fat fee for the privilege.

It's all a balancing act: you might prefer to stay on after the fixed-term end and automatically go on to a periodic tenancy, but you do run the risk of the landlord issuing you with a S21 Notice giving you two months before they can go to court to apply for possession, or you might prefer to get ripped-off for the renewal fee in return for the security of tenure a fixed-term brings.

Why not contact the landlord (not through the agent) and ask what their intentions are? It wouldn't surprise me if both you and the landlord are going to get stung for a renewal fee if you decide to sign another fixed-term AST.

G_M

1) It's a legal thing. IF the landlord decides to evict you, he first has to give you 2 months notice via the S21. He now has that option. Does not mean he will do it.

2) It's psycological pressure - scare you into signing new xontract (and paying a fee for this..???)

3) You do not need to sign a new contract,

Read this post here.

sugarbunny2012

Thanks for the help.
Not sure if it matters, but we signed a contract for 6 months, and then we signed a contract for another 12 months.
I have read a lot about fixed-term tenancy and periodic tenancy, but I don't fully understand it.

G_M

sugarbunny2012 wrote: »

Thanks for the help.
Not sure if it matters, but we signed a contract for 6 months, and then we signed a contract for another 12 months.
I have read a lot about fixed-term tenancy and periodic tenancy, but I don't fully understand it.

I'm afraid I cannot explain it any more simply than in the post I referred you to above!

Maybe someone else can. But I suspect, simplifying the explanation will mean missing out important parts of he explanation!

(edit: no, the length of the fixed terms makes no difference)

BitterAndTwisted

Just because an agent acts on behalf of a landlord does not mean that their interests always coincide. The agent's only interest is in preserving their own fee-income, and if they can manage to persuade the landlord to issue you with a S21 Notice and get shot of you, this opens the door for them to be able to source another tenant and charge the landlord a tenant-finding-fee, plus all the mark-up on referencing them.

When you automatically go onto a periodic tenancy the agent earns nothing from you or the landlord.

The simplest way of explaining the main difference between a fixed-term tenancy and a periodic one, is that you cannot be given notice by the landlord before the fixed-term ends. In a periodic one you can be given two month's notice for any reason or no reason at all.

G_M

BitterAndTwisted wrote: »

The simplest way of explaining the main difference between a fixed-term tenancy and a periodic one, is that you cannot be given notice by the landlord before the fixed-term ends. In a periodic one you can be given two month's notice for any reason or no reason at all.

Nice try Bitter....

But as I thought.....

BitterAndTwisted

How many important parts did I miss out?

It_can_get_better

BitterAndTwisted wrote: »

The simplest way of explaining the main difference between a fixed-term tenancy and a periodic one, is that you cannot be given notice by the landlord before the fixed-term ends. In a periodic one you can be given two month's notice for any reason or no reason at all.

S21 notice can be given at any point during the fixed term, but it can't expire before the end of the fixed term.

BitterAndTwisted

Thanks for that but I was trying to keep it simple. This particular tenant is still in their fixed-term and has not been served with a S21 Notice.

I think we can all agree that the legal interpretation of a "fixed-term tenancy" means just that: fixed.

G_M

BitterAndTwisted wrote: »

How many important parts did I miss out?

I'm interpreting that as a rhetorical quesion....