What to do if the landlord does not reply to a request for extension of tenancy?

meg0210

Hiya,
My sister's landlord has sold his property (where my sister is living) and has sent her a letter asking her to move out in 2 months (she had a AST which was expired a few months ago, but neither the landlord or she has it renewed, so the 2-month notice seems reasonable). However, she cannot move out at the designated time because she would be in the middle of her holiday in August. So, she wrote him back and ask for an extension for a month and offered to pay 20% more for that month. However, she has not received any reply (the letter was sent two weeks ago). So, she is very worry, and does not know what to do as she should be leaving for holiday at the end of this month.
I would like to know what she can do now? Can she send another letter and demand a reply by a certain period and whether she can say in the letter that if the landlord does not reply it shall be deemed that he agrees for the extension (I know it is a bit cheeky but is it legally viable?)
Your help will be greatly appreciated.
Meg

BitterAndTwisted

What form did this "letter" take? Was it a Section 21 Notice?

If it was a S21 the landlord will need to apply to the court for possession. Courts are extremely busy so this may not take place for a couple of months.

If the landlord is selling to a buyer who requires a mortgage you can be quite certain that completion cannot take place until the landlord can give vacant possession. So, it's extremely likely that your sister not being prepared to move out at the end of the two months notice will hold up the sale. Consequently she should expect some financial inducement to be offered for her to move out sooner rather than later.

bigal993

Or she can sit tight get taken to court get thrown out, and pay the costs of the landlord.
Why seek money of the landlord, hes trying to do things right !!!
my advice would be ;

Speak to him and tell him you will move out but you need a bit of extra time over the notice period, Im sure he will see sense and allow it, otheriwse it will cost him having to apply to the court, and get baliffs to throw you out , it will happen you cant stop it, so try and work together
best regards
Al

BitterAndTwisted

The OP's sister has already communicated with the landlord but has received no reply after two weeks.

OP: your sister should sit tight and take her holiday as planned but it might be prudent to be prepared to move quickly once she returns, as she may only have a couple months once the landlord decides to exercise the Section 21.

If indeed that "letter" was a proper Section 21 Notice.

Please confirm

thelem

Is the landlord asking her to leave at the end of a rental period, or 2 months after the notice was served? Say she signed her initial tenancy to start on 10th Nov 2012, meaning the 6 months finished 9th April 2013. If the landlord wants posession by 10th August 2013 he would need to issue the section 21 by 10th June. Two months notice issued on 15th June would expire on 9th September.

She should also check that her deposit was correctly protected in one of the deposit schemes, as if it wasn't then any section 21 issued would be invalid.

jazabelle

Also - if she does go on holiday, it might be worth changing the locks, just in case!

Werdnal

The landlord has no obligation to extend the tenancy just because she doesn't have anywhere to go and has a holiday booked!

Assuming the notice served was correct, arrived in time to give 2 full calendar month's notice and the deposit paid was protected correctly, the LL can apply to court for possession from the date the notice expires. It could already get underway whilst she is on holiday, just because the LL has not replied, or given any further notice.

Indeed, if the LL was foolish enough to agree any "extension" he would effectively be invalidating what could be a perfectly correct notice, and would therefore be faced with issuing another 2 month's notice if he wanted to follow through with the eviction.

Maybe you could provide some more info, for us first to try to determine if the notice was correct:

When did tenancy start - exact date?
When did fixed term end - exact date?
Was there a deposit?
Is this deposit in a scheme and has tenant receive the full package of information (not just a certificate or email) confirming this?
When did notice arrive?
How was it served - post, by hand?
What was the date of expiry - if possible please quote the full expiry sentence as it must be worded correctly to stand up in court.

It is possible the notice is wrong or invalid - a high percentage of S21s are and will be thrown out if the LL applies to court for eviction. However, if it is valid, LL can proceed to court at any time with no further notification to the tenant, and get possession order granted.

I personally would not be leaving the property unattended for a holiday with the possibility of eviction hanging over me! LL may interpret her being away, as having left the property. Whilst he would be wrong to regain possession without gaining the possession order, I wouldn't want to be coming back from holiday to find my LL has taken the place back in my absence!

She would have a good case for illegal eviction if this did happen, but its still going to be very inconvenient for her!

harpoboy

Why doesn't she vacate before her holidays?

Putting her stuff into storage for a few weeks, and moving in to a new place straight after her holidays could save money and hassle

propertyman

Absolutely get on with a new place and leave early.

After the contract ended ,and assuming it was a monthly rent, the L did not give the correct s 21 notice, it becomes periodic so the tenant will be obliged to give a months notice and pay rent for the month. Give notice of a month before the next rent day and only pay that month and move out before going on holiday.

eg rent is 8th July to 7th August give a months notice of 8th to the 7th but it must be sent before the 8th.

meg0210

Thanks for all the replies.
#3 : my sister does not object to moving out, but she just needs some time to pack up and clean.
#4 : it is a S21 notice, which gives 2 months for my sister to move out (but I don't know if it is "proper" or not).
# 5 : the property in question is in England. the S21 notice is accurately sent - by hand, EXACTLY 2 months before the demanded exit day.

I may come back with some information regarding the contract and deposit.
Many thanks.

meg0210

Hi, I come back with some information :
- The initial contract was signed on 18th June 2012 for six months (till 17th Dec 2012).
- The S21 notice was put to my sister's letter box on 17th June 2013 at 16.30. It demanded the possession on 17th Aug.
- it was mentioned in the EA's covering letter that it was a S21 notice, but in the attachement (the notice) itself, it is only written "I give you notice that I require possession of the dwelling house known as xxxx- the address).
then, it was the date of expiry : 17th Aug 2013 and the signature of the EA, with the dated of 17th June 2013.
Hope this information can help clarify the situation.
Regarding the deposit, she received the documents explaining the scheme, but did not seem to receive a certificate. is it compulsory?
Many thanks.