Notice to move and request to move out earlier than the date the notice period is for

respiratory23

My moving out date given by the estate agent is for february.

they have asked if i can leave by the start of january. if i reply to their email and agree to this, is it legally binding?

i have not been able to pay the rent for the past two months as i lost my job. i have applied for the local housing allowance, LHA, but it is taking a very long time to be processed so it is not in place yet.

i kept my landlord updated and said i cannot pay the rent until this comes through. So of course he gave notice for me to move out.

Now the estate agent has sent letters saying they will take me to court for non payment of rent and costs which will be 2000 pounds. i will pay the outstanding rent when i am able to, but i would not be able to pay the court costs at all. And i do not know what to do.

They said if i move out by the start of january they wont start the court proceedings against me. The notice period is to move out in February.

The local council have said i must stay in the flat, and when the date to move out comes along, i still have to stay until i am evicted as otherwise i have made myself voluntarily homeless and they would not offer any help such as a hostel space.

but are the court proceedings not the same thing as the eviction process so they would get baliffs to get rid of me by the move out date rather than waiting until that date and then taking the steps to evict me? the council seemed to suggest i would be able to stay for a few weeks after my official moving out date.

I am really confused by it all.

Werdnal

What format does the notice you have received from the agents take? Is it is writing? Does it make mention of Section 21 or Section 8 of the Housing Act?

The ntoice issued is usually notice that the agent/LL will take court action to evict you. The notice itself does not end the tenancy and should not give you a move out date, merely a date that the notice expires and from which the LL can start his court action. The court order and baillifs can take several more weeks to arrange, so they will not be turning up on your doorstep on the date the agents have given you.

If you are looking to get council housing, they will tell you to sit tight to ensure that the LL evicts you. You will then be unintentionally homeless, and council will have to find you somewhere. However, you will not be given a choice of the location or type of property you are given. If you are single it could be a flat, or even a house share. Sometime it may be temporary B&B type emergency housing.

Also, if you are in arrears, and the LL is using that as ground to evict you, the council may take his into account as they don't want to take on a non-paying tenant either.

Court action to evict on rent arrears, will also give you a CCJ on your credit reference, meaning you will have severe problems getting credit, loans, renting etc in the future! Is there any way you can beg, steal or borrow the money to pay off the arrears now? Your LL may also be awarded his court costs for taking this action, so you will be paying back much more than you actually owe in rent!

I am assuming your property is in England/Wales (Scottish law differs)?

When did tenancy start - excat date?
Did you pay a deposit?
Is it protected in a scheme and have you received the prescribed information from the scheme used?

respiratory23

Yes, everything has been done properly as far as i can see.

Yes section 8 for the court proceedings , i owe exactly two months rent. and i think it has to be 2 months rent before they can do that.

and another notice for moving out, giving two clear months notice from the next date the rent was due.

letters i have to sign and return and the date to check out and do the check out inventory. and that you get charged if you dont keep that appointment.

no im not looking to get council housing as i dont see how it would be possible, the waiting list is many years along and of course young, single people would not get any priority, the council said a hostel place would be all they could offer and possibly not even that, as people with drug and alcohol addictions get priority for hostel places.

they have said if i move out by january they will not proceed with the court actions (so over a month earlier than the notice date, but then the council will not help me?).

yes - London.

Tenancy started last year, is now on a rolling basis after the first year ended.

yes my deposit is protected and i have all the paperwork for it.

i cannot see any way of begging, borrowing or stealing the money. my overdrafts are maxed out. i dont know when the LHA will come through.

RAS

Have you taken the notice to quit to the Housing Benefit Office???

Once they know that you are about to be evicted, they will get their act together. And check if your local councillors have a surgery this weekend. Explain you are being evicted for non-payment of LHA, becuase it has yet to be processed.

respiratory23

thank you RAS what a great idea, was not aware you could do anything like that.

RAS

to be honest, I sometimes suggest that people whose LHA has not been paid after several months get the LL to send them a section 8 specificly so they can lever the LHA people into paying.

Is your rent less than the local LHA rate?

respiratory23

no rent is more than the LHA rate, i think it would be hard to find a place that is the same or less than LHA unless you were living in a place where you could not claim LHA.