Advice please Section 21 served - tenant wont move out

far2812

Hi all

Need a little advice.

My friend has had section 21 served so she should move out on 30th August (next week). She has found a new property but cannot move in until the 5th.

She has asked the Landlord for 5 extra days but she has said no. Apparently the Landlord's daughter is moving into the house but not immediately.

Is there any way my friend can stay at the house until the 5th (she has a baby daughter).

Thanks for advice as usual.

marliepanda

Yeah. She just doesn't leave.

A S21 is a notice that they intend to possess the property, not an eviction notice.

She should just stay until the 5th then move out.

far2812

Thanks MarliePanda - that's great advice. Will they just take money from her deposit then? The letting agent is due to come on the 30th for the "handover". What advice should I give her to advise them? Many thanks again

tbs624

A S21 does not give a date on which a T *must* move out - it gives a date *after* which the LL may seek repossession of the property via the courts.

You need to give a little more information.

Is she within a Fixed Term tenancy where the Fixed Term expires on 30 August?

Or is she now on a statutory periodic tenancy, which runs on month to month after an original Fixed Term expired? If yes, can you give the date that the Fixed Term ended?

If your friend has paid a tenancy deposit which has not been scheme registered ( tenancies post 6 April 2007, or those which were renewed after that date) and she has not been given the scheme's prescribed information then the S21 will be invalid anyway. If she is unsure about the registration she can check online at DPS, mydeposits and TDS

marliepanda

Technically she would be liable for the full months rent, however, if they want her out she should say I'll either make life difficult or if you let me pay rent up until the 5th I will leave on the 5th.

Deposit should be handled normally.

Does she know when her tenancy began/ended? What specific date of the month, as this may help with regards to the s21

Soot2006

marliepanda wrote: »

Technically she would be liable for the full months rent, however, if they want her out she should say I'll either make life difficult or if you let me pay rent up until the 5th I will leave on the 5th.

I have always found this negotiation very successful, however one does need to be prepared to pay that full month's rent + also remember to give notice of one's own!

G_M

Ending/Renewing an AST (what happens when the Fixed Term ends?)(What is a Periodic Tenancy?)(How can a LL remove a tenant?)

tbs624

marlie - it's best to try to keep things as amicable as possible, even when the LA is clearly trying to misrepresent what an S21 means.

Many LLs seek out comments from a couple of previous LLs so *negotiation* over the rent is the way forward.

far2812

Thanks guys - she has AST which was a 6 month contract due to expire 30th Julyt. She then received the notice 2 months ago dated 29th June.stating "the specified date is 30th August 2012.

Does that help?

Werdnal

As already said, the S21 does not mean the tenant has to leave on the date it expires. The S21 is 2 months notice that the LL will seek possession, ie apply to the courts to obtain a possession order, after which the tenant will need to move out.

If the tenant cannot leave until the 5th, then the LL or agent cannot force them to until they get a court order, and this could take another 6 weeks or so. Agent making arrangement for a hand-over is totally irrelevant - tell them to go whistle if they turn up on the 30th! Indeed, any agent who is worth their salt should know this, so should not be the least surprised when tenant is not moving out.

Just out of interest, has the tenant's deposit been protected and did they receive the full prescribed information from the scheme used. If No to either of these, the S21 is invalid anyway, so she can ignore it!

far2812

Thanks Werdnal - she received confirmation from the TDS confirming tenancy protection. Does this mean they will with-hold the full deposit if she hasn't paid for the 5 days?

Sorry for so many questions but I don't know how all this works really.