does contract still stand if landlord has lost his copy

terryw

tbs624 wrote: »

OP - as Werdnal says, be pleased that the T is going without a long drawn out eviction process and use the time to get the property in good shape for viewings/selling.

So true.

And nevertheless, OP, you are naive to expect a tenant to put on a good show for a prospective buyer which will lead to them being homeless. Quote:

"They new from the start that after 6 months we will be looking to sell. We actually did some viewings while they were in the property but the feedback was embarassing to say the least about the way they have kept the house (we didn't tell them that is the reason we need them to leave"

Letting a property and trying to sell are very bad bed-fellows.

dz6kb4

Hi all. Thanks so much for all your help on this. Just wanted to give an update.

Werdnal - Well it looks like they have found another property and will be leaving before the 6 months is up - I guess this is the surrender of property you mentioned as we will do a check out and get the keys back.

Ulfar/tbs - yep we gave them a valid gas safety certificate when they moved in and had it renued last month with the boiler service. It didnt say you have to move out by any date. It just said this is the s21 in line with the agreement to be served 2 months before end of 6 month agreement.

I knew it would be difficult to sell and rent at the same time which is why I wanted to get possession back at the end of the tenancy. I would let it go and just spend time getting it ready for viewings but the threatening messages and claiming we have done everything wrong just makes that hard.

The situation has changed a little since my first post as I have found the tenancy agreement!

G_M

dz6kb4 wrote: »

..... It didnt say you have to move out by any date. It just said this is the s21 in line with the agreement to be served 2 months before end of 6 month agreement.

Still does not answer the question!
1) Does it say "after 28th March"?
2) you say it was served on 28th Jan - served how?

This harping on about tiny details may seem trivial, but believe you me, you will not think that if the court rejects your S21 Notice because a date is one day out, or a single word is wrong!

However, in addition toserving a valid S21, I stillmaintain (as others have) that the best solution is to

* discuss amicably
* allow them to leave at their convenience
* jointly sign an Early Surrender agreement

You can then clean up the property ready for viewings.

olly300

dz6kb4 wrote: »

thanks for your reply.

Yep just read that out on the RLA site. Think he's trying anything that may get him out of the contract.

thanks alot

Just because one clause in a contract is invalidated it doesn't mean the entire contact is invalid.

Put it another way if the tenant didn't pay rent, and the boiler was due for a gas certification but needed servicing you would still have a legal duty to get the boiler serviced and certified on time. If you didn't and the boiler exploded hurting the tenants then you would be held liable for it.

I'm also surprised that you don't have an unsigned copy of the tenancy agreement so you know what wording and clauses are in it.

tim123456789

tbs624 wrote: »

There is no obligation for a property owner to obtain a new EPC to reflect improvements resulting from renovations etc so no "administrative error" involved unless the OP did not provide the original EPC info to the Ts. A Fixed Penalty of 200 quid would then be a distinct possibility.

I completely missed the point about this being an EPC after improvements

I thought that OP was saying that Tenant didn't receive the original one

franklee

dz6kb4 wrote: »

We didnt ask them to move due to bad relationships at all. They new from the start that after 6 months we will be looking to sell. We actually did some viewings while they were in the property but the feedback was embarassing to say the least about the way they have kept the house (we didn't tell them that is the reason we need them to leave).

The embarrassing state of the property for viewings leading you to serve notice sits at odds with the tenancy being expected by all to end at six months as notice would have been served regardless of the property state. The above quote implies they could have stayed if they had kept house better, so they didn't know it was to be only six months.

Given you served notice at the start of Feb (or 28th Jan your stated dates vary) and the tenants were allowing viewings before that the viewings were more than two months before the end of the fixed term and before you served them notice. That's pretty generous IMO. So they have been helpful to you as they aren't obliged to allow viewings, especially before you served them notice. You cannot expect a tenant to tidy and prepare the property for viewings as you would wish as it's their home and they can live messily if that's their style. Besides getting that show home look is hard enough work when benefiting from a sale.

You still haven't posted the wording and dates used on the S21 for when it asked for possession.

If you insist on rent payment for the whole of March the tenants can retain the keys till then and refuse all viewings and leave the property in it's current "embarrassing" state till their final before leaving cleanup. This would leave a gap in your marketing during a crucial spring month or maybe longer. It's not that clear if the tenants are moving as of yesterday there was "no sign they are leaving tomorrow".

I think it's time to focus on what's important for you and set about achieving it without being distracted by bickering with the tenant. Remember they have been helpful to you in the past and so time to set about getting the best deal for both sides.