Section 21 issued, but told not to move out!

Xiphias

We have been renting a property in England since April 2011 (min 6 month term). The tenancy has now been rolling on since then on a month by month basis. The landlord wants to sell the house, the estate agent (who I rent through) has said this may take several months to go through, but will be issuing a section 21 with a date of mid Sept 2013 (2 months notice), but not to panic as they are only doing this as it's law and after that date I can continue living here as normal and when things get nearer to the house being sold (solicitors and things), they will then give me 2 months notice. We get on really well with the estate agent and have been discussing other properties in the area that we can move into when this one is sold, so getting the section 21 was a bit of a shock.
Is this OK?, what happens after the 10th Sept 2013, if they change their mind, will I be evicted with no notice, could I come home to find locks changed and no access to house etc.. It seems a bit strange to be living here after the section 21 date has passed? Would we be breaking the law?
worried and confused
xiphias

Mr_Moo_2

Hi, have a read of this -

http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showpost.php?p=52421475&postcount=6

Post from G_M who knows this stuff very well indeed. Should answer all your questions. I'm taking it from your post that they haven't actually issued S21 yet? If they want the notice to have expired by mid Sep they'll need to get a wrigle on and will also depend on the dates for your tenancy period.

savvy1234

If you're not sure - seek proper legal advice. This is my slightly educated take on it though...

If you don't leave as per the S21 notice the landlord cannot change the locks etc. They will go to the country court for a posession order. Having this against your name will not do you good for getting credit or renting in the future.

Once they have the posession order it will then have to go the the county court ballifs who will then evict you. This can be months down the line and even then they have limited power...

So in short igoring the order is morally wrong, will make future referrences or credit hard, but it won't mean you're locks are changed straight away.

Like i said, this is only very limited advice and i really would reccomend seeking proper legal advice before ignoring your s21 notice

jamie11

Xiphias wrote: »

Would we be breaking the law?

No. In any case the agent has invalidated the S21 simply by telling you to stay on. A S21 must be unconditional.

tim123456789

savvy1234 wrote: »

If you're not sure - seek proper legal advice. This is my slightly educated take on it though...

If you don't leave as per the S21 notice the landlord cannot change the locks etc. They will go to the country court for a posession order. Having this against your name will not do you good for getting credit or renting in the future.

rubbish. It is perfectly normal part of the process and does not count against the tenant who waits for it to happen

BitterAndTwisted

Xiphias wrote: »

We get on really well with the estate agent and have been discussing other properties in the area that we can move into when this one is sold, so getting the section 21 was a bit of a shock.

Is this OK?, what happens after the 10th Sept 2013, if they change their mind, will I be evicted with no notice, could I come home to find locks changed and no access to house etc.. It seems a bit strange to be living here after the section 21 date has passed? Would we be breaking the law?
worried and confused

No, they cannot evict you with no notice. That S21 is telling you that the landlord can apply to the court for a possession order once the two months has expired. But it's unlikely that they would do this unless they have had a firm offer for the property.

Staying on after expiry of the S21 is not "breaking the law".

Don't forget that should you find alternative accommodation you can give your own one rental-period's notice.

If you want to maintain a good relationship with your landlord and with the agent it might be wise to give the appearance of wanting to be cooperative with viewings and whatnot until you have secured your forward move.

thesaint

Forget what the agent says, look for somewhere else to live sharpish.
You are required to give notice if you decide to move.

jamie11 wrote: »

No. In any case the agent has invalidated the S21 simply by telling you to stay on. A S21 must be unconditional.

I don't think it is possible to invalidate something that doesn't yet exist.

BitterAndTwisted

The landlord obviously wants the maximum income in rent before exchange of contracts takes place and therefore is wanting the agent to encourage the tenant to stay on until the eleventh hour if possible.


I'd be making my own plans in my own sweet time.

spacey2012

I agree, start packing.

grifferz

If you have in writing that you are being told to stay on after the S21 has expired then any S21 would be invalidated.

If you don't have it in writing then it could be your word against theirs that the S21 they will send dated to expire in mid September is invalid. If that S21 is deemed valid then as soon as it expires they can apply for possession. You may end up with less then two months from when they tell you that you have to go, to when the possession order is granted.

So, if that two months from when they "really" say you have to go is important to you, you should get this in writing.

It is probably going to be less stressful for you to wait until their S21 arrives and then find somewhere new before the expiry of that S21, regardless of what they would like you to do. Don't forget that although their S21 will expire in two months, you can give only one month of notice. They won't like the void but that is their issue.

N1AK

grifferz wrote: »

It is probably going to be less stressful for you to wait until their S21 arrives and then find somewhere new before the expiry of that S21, regardless of what they would like you to do. Don't forget that although their S21 will expire in two months, you can give only one month of notice. They won't like the void but that is their issue.

They are basically issuing the S21 so that if you turned out to be a difficult tenant and refused to move in the time period they want they can get a possession order quicker.

This is not a good thing for you. I would make it extremely clear to your letting agent that if the S21 isn't revoked you will treat it seriously, as one should treat an S21, and plan to leave around the time it ends.

The landlord has shown they will put their own interest ahead of yours, it wouldn't surprise me if they get an eviction notice against you straight after the S21 period to ensure they can get you removed quickly (even though you have shown no reason to think you won't leave without it). This will make it much harder for you to rent again.