access to the property for upgrades vs right to quiet enjoyment

Dagmar72

theartfullodger wrote: »

Perhaps a calm polite letter (yes, WRITE, keep copy..) saying what you would agree to .. and see what happens. It is your home, your property, merely landlord's investment whilst you are tenant.

Cheers!

Artful (Scottish Landlord..)

PS I note you say you have SaT. An SaT is only an SaT is, amongst other things, LL can prove AT5 was served on your before you signed tenancy and if the tenancy was for AT LEAST 6 months. If your tenancy was for JUST 6 months, as you'd not be able to move in before, say, some time mid-morning it will be an AT not SaT & thus you can't be evicted just because LL wants you out - you'd need to be, usually, at least 3 months in arrears on rent.

Yes it was all done (AT5, short-assured tenancy with a minimum of 6 months and periodic after) by the letting agents before I moved in at the start of last year, unless it makes a difference that the owner of the property changed in-between? the flat was sold to the new owner a few months ago (yes, I know, more alarm bells!), I met him once immediately after, he assured me that nothing was gonna change, that he was happy with me continuing to rent, and with the current agent continuing to manage the property. No new paperwork was done with me (and I was told none was needed) as my agreement is with the letting agents (they're the ones named on the lease), and their agreement with the owner does not affect my lease, if that makes any sense?

As for the PRHP, thanks, I'll bear that in mind, although at this stage it isn't exactly a dispute, they have simply stated their intention of upgrading the flat, and what worries me is what the thinking behind that might be (getting me out of there, putting the rent up?).

As I said, the best I can think of doing for now is write a letter (I'm thinking to the agents themselves first, which might make things easier, especially as I know them better, and it was them who informed me of the landlord's intentions), expressing my wish for a new tenancy agreement to be drawn for my peace of mind, they can suggest it to the landlord and if he refuses, then that'll be proof that he has other things in mind (that would go against what they said on my first encounter with them, that they are happy to keep me as a tenant).

Dagmar72

propertyman wrote: »

Irrespective of the local laws you should look at similar properties, with the new spec, in the area so you get an idea if the rent might go up.

You could also suggest that they can do the work with little fuss. if you've not had your holiday yet that a chunk of spending money would mean that you are "oot the way fer a wee wheil"

Yeah they could reasonably expect a lot more rent for it, I don't know if it's just a bad time of the year, but I can't even see much in the area going for the same price as I pay at the moment (although there was plenty when I last looked in January, around the time of the new owner's visit, including the flat right above me which had been advertised for a while and stayed empty for about 6 months in-between tenants)...

I've thought of the holiday too (if I can find the time to get away that is!), in the meantime I guess it'll also help if I speak to the contractors when they come in for the quote, to see exactly how much disruption could be
expected. I'm sure they'll think it can be done with little fuss anyway in most cases, the only problem is I'm not "most cases"!

Dagmar72

missile wrote: »

You could ask the LL what his intentions are, but it seems you already know the worst case senario.
If I were you, I would refuse access and look for another rental before your current term ends. Obviously, this will annoy the LL and you risk getting no reference.

The worst case scenario is what I'm hoping to avoid... If I can be assured that nothing will change (not just by taking their word, but by signing a new lease) then I'll just put up with the renovations, and I don't want to make too much of a fuss about it (and then give them a reason to find me a difficult tenant and be unhappy with me).

But if I'm gonna get kicked out anyway then I don't want them to do the work whilst I'm here, they can wait until they've actually got me out of the flat!

I would consider a new rental if need be, but am unable to do so until after mid-December, which is why I'll need to try and drag things out if it turns out they intend on getting me out of here earlier than that...

Dagmar72

That said, if getting a higher rent is their main intention, and they're hoping to put the rent up by say 20%, that wouldn't necessarily be without costs to them either if I were to move out instead of paying the extra, so I'll be ready to argue that if if they were to have a gap of only just 2 months between me moving out and a new tenant moving in, it would take them 10 months at the higher rate to recoup the loss of those 2 months' rent (and that's assuming it doesn't take longer than 2 months, and assuming that the new tenant will pay their rent for at least 10 months), so they'd be just as well letting me sign a new lease at the current rate...

Dagmar72

I just got the notice to quit through the letterbox this morning, dated 20th August but only delivered (by hand apparently as there was no postmark) on 21st after the rent had been paid, is that even valid? can they ask me to be out of the property by 21st October if I didn't get the notice till now? Or can I argue they missed the deadline and I've now got till 21st November?

rpc

Notice must be delivered by recorded delivery or a Sherriff Officer. It is clearly not the former - is there any indication it was the latter?

Did you just receive notice to quit? You should also have received a Section 33 as well.

The dates sound wrong to me. What is your ish date?

Dagmar72

rpc wrote: »

Notice must be delivered by recorded delivery or a Sherriff Officer. It is clearly not the former - is there any indication it was the latter?

Did you just receive notice to quit? You should also have received a Section 33 as well.

The dates sound wrong to me. What is your ish date?

There was not even a knock at the door, just the letter through the letterbox, so it's clearly not a sheriff officer either.

Yeah I just got the notice to quit, no Section 33 (remember I'm in Scotland, don't know if it makes any difference).

Dagmar72

Any thoughts on whether the notice can be delivered on 21st August itself (which is my rent day), or whether it has to be delivered by 20th August?

As far as I'm aware, from my side anyway, if I want to leave the flat, I have to give my notice before the rent day...

rpc

This is for Scotland.

Both Notice to Quit and Section 33 Notice are needed to evict (they can be served together and even in the same document). Service must be by recorded delivery or Sheriff Officers. AT6 used to be required, but I think this is no longer the case (I am not 100% certain on this)

What is your ish date? The tenancy can only be ended on this date. The NTQ can give you 40 days notice, but the Section 33 (and AT6) must give you 2 months.

edit: rent day does not matter - ish date does. When did you move in and when did the initial tenancy expire? If your ish date is the 20th, then service on the 21st does not count.

Dagmar72

rpc wrote: »

This is for Scotland.

Both Notice to Quit and Section 33 Notice are needed to evict (they can be served together and even in the same document). Service must be by recorded delivery or Sheriff Officers. AT6 used to be required, but I think this is no longer the case (I am not 100% certain on this)

What is your ish date? The tenancy can only be ended on this date. The NTQ can give you 40 days notice, but the Section 33 (and AT6) must give you 2 months.

edit: rent day does not matter - ish date does. When did you move in and when did the initial tenancy expire? If your ish date is the 20th, then service on the 21st does not count.

I don't know what you mean by "ish" date, can you explain? I moved in on 21st March 2011, and the initial tenancy expired (I'd need to check but I'm pretty sure) on 20th September, it's been periodic since.