Lease ending but nowhere to go

Robin_Hoods_mum

Hi

My partner and I have been renting the same house for 4 years, and the lease expires on 1st Sept. 14 days ago we received a letter offering another year at an increased price. No surprise, we expected that.

The week after we received the letter re renewal, my partner told me he was going to move in with his daughter in the middle of August, ending the relationship and leaving me in a rather difficult position as I'm sure (and he knows) I can't afford the rent alone.

So, I am frantically trying to find a new home for my teenage son and I, but it isn't easy as the area we live in is very popular, the school he attends is oversubscribed and any suitable properties are taken before the advert even goes out. It doesn't make it easier that I have a lot of furniture etc to take with me from our current house so size does matter.

My question is, do I have any rights at all if I ask for an extension on the lease at the current rent, say for a couple of months, to allow me a little more time to find somewhere suitable? Or do I have to move into something less than ideal for however long it takes, and give up my stuff?

Thanks
Robin H's mum

G_M

The good news is that if you stay beyond your fixed term (ie 2nd Sept) you will automatically have a Statutory Periodic Tenancy (monthly).

And even if you have already been served a S21 Notice (which may or may not have happened?) you still do not have to leave till the LL gets a court order.

The bad news is you have to continue paying the (same) rent, which sounds like it might be a struggle.

If you get into arrears of course, both you and your ex continue to be liable.

More info here.

Werdnal

Have you looked into the possibility of claiming benefits? If you have a dependant child and low income, it is possible you would get some housing benefit towards your rent. Ifsyour partner the father of your child? If so, he should contribute towards the cost of keeping a roof over that child's head too!

Your only other option would be to wait for your LL to formally evict you - this can take several months from issuing 2 month's notice to apply to court for a possession order, and then approach your local Council and Housing Associations. They are not obliged to provide you with a property if you are unintentionally homeless, so you need to sit out the eviction process to give you more chance of the council taking your situation seriously.

For the meantime, I would discuss the situation with the LL. Explain what has happened and ask whether they would consider you staying on, until you can find somewhere else. As GM says above, you do not have to leave when the lease ends, and can await the LL's court action to force you to go, but this will cost him money, and if you have been a loyal and reliable tenant for 4 years, appeal to the LL's sense of compassion and see what response you get. Unless you ask you will never know!

BitterAndTwisted

Once your fixed-term expires you will automatically go onto a periodic tenancy. Once that has happened, in order to increase the rent the landlord will have to issue you with a Section 13 Notice. You cannot be forced to sign another fixed-term regardless of any pressure or misleading threats the agent makes. However they could decide to try and end your tenancy by giving you two month's notice by issuing you with a Section 21 Notice. This does not end the tenancy but does signify the landlord's intention to apply to the court for possession, Courts are busy so it could take them a couple of months to get a date for the hearing.

For the moment I would just not respond to the agent about your intentions and perhaps consider speaking to the landlord about your needing extra time to find alternative accommodation.

tbs624

G_M wrote: »

The good news is that if you stay beyond your fixed term (ie 2nd Sept) you will automatically have a Statutory Periodic Tenancy (monthly).

If you get into arrears of course, both you and your ex continue to be liable.
.

...and of course the ex can bring the SPA to an end for both of them by giving his own notice to the LL/LA

OP - you may want to remove the LA's name from your OP. LAs do ego search now and again and you may be giving them advance notice of your possible intentions.

Robin_Hoods_mum

Thanks to all of you for your advice. I've never heard of either Section 13 or 21, so am off to research these further now.

Benefits are not an option as I am not on what they consider to be a low income, and I appreciate that I am fortunate in that if nothing else.

The agents letters and emails are coming regularly now but I have ignored them so far. If I don't find something soon I will talk to them, or the landlord directly if I can. As I need to continue renting for the immediate future, the last thing I want is a record of court action and eviction, but it's reassuring to know that if I am stuck and the LL is not willing to help me , I'm not going to be evicted in September.

thanks again everyone.

Benji

Once the contract expires (and not before) your ex can give notice. On the expiry of that notice, the tenancy ends. You will then be a trespasser. A landlord can get a court hearing for trespass within a week.

On the basis ex won't want to be liable for the rent longer than he has to, this is a likely outcome.

As there are children involved, maybe ex can help find a new suitable place in order to ensure his children are safe.

You will not get any sort of 'record' if you are evicted via section 21 of the 1988 Housing Act (but you may be liable for court fees).

G_M

Robin_Hoods_mum wrote: »

Thanks to all of you for your advice. I've never heard of either Section 13 or 21, so am off to research these further now.

.

The link I gave you above will give examples of S21, and links to the legislation.

S13.... I'll need to do another post!

dancingfairy

Hi. I would double check you are not entitled to any benefits - you never know -try Turn to us or Martin has a benefit checker on here I think. It shouldn't take that long to double check.
Also a lot of people are paying off debts/struggling with debts so if you are one of the majority then it would be worth taking advice on them. Clearly people should be paying off their debts but if it means the difference between paying for a roof over one's head and paying slightly smaller token payments or struggling and not keeping a roof over one's head. Applogies if this is not relevant to your situation but it does seem to apply to quite a lot of people.
df