Notice to Quit and other unpleasantries.

Sidewinderr

Okay, here's the overview.

I have been a tenant in a 3 bedroom property with 3 other flatmates (2 friends and I share a room with my brother) for the last year and have received a notice to quit from my landlord.

What my landlord has cited on this notice to quit is that he has been through a "remortgage exercise" and is only legally allowed 3 tenants in the property from now on and has said he is not prepared to renew me and my brother's tenancy agreement.

He has went on to cite "comings and goings" from the flat as per a complaint to the factor as a reason for now allowing us renewal and this is being blamed on us despite two other tenants being in the property, one of whom likes her parties.

There had also been an issue with rent on my part - I paid two months rent at the end of the month instead of the middle as I had been swapped to monthly pay from weekly pay, which my landlord agreed to and even says on the notice to quit that he agreed to it.

Now - My landlord has also broken the law on two occasions.
Firstly he gave me ~10-15h notice before a visit on 27/12/12 and when I told him nobody would be home as everyone was back with their families for Christmas and I was working, he said he'd let himself in - I came home at around 4PM that day to find him just leaving.

There was also an issue with our boiler and the heating and hot water were not working and he only had 6h legally to get it repaired from what my research can gather.

Also, he doesn't appear on the private landlord registry for Scotland.

To sum up, I'm looking to find out the following

* Is it possible to have a prohibition placed on the number of tenants in a property by law or is this hot air? I have failed to find any sort of legislation on this.
* Is he allowed to blame a complaint that was never elaborated upon on two of the four tenants in the property and use that as a valid reason to ask us to leave? What rights do I have to find out more about the complaint?
* Does the verbal contract I've had with the landlord re: the rent hold any real weight?
* Can I ignore his notice to quit and carry on paying rent as if nothing happened?
* What action can I take regarding the laws/rules I know the landlord has broken?

Thanks in advance, hope someone can give me some answers, I already got SOME bits and pieces from CAB but some stuff was beyond the gentleman who helped me.

00ec25

as this is Scotland there are fewer people on here with specific knowledge of the procedures

until one comes along have you looked at Shelter Scotland's advice on eviction?
http://scotland.shelter.org.uk/get_advice/advice_topics/eviction/eviction_of_private_tenants
Also what form of tenancy do you have as that is vital in knowing what route the LL must take - do you have an AT or a SAT

moneyistooshorttomention

I'm confused by your point - you say that "2 friends and I share a room with my brother".

That sounds as if 4 people are sharing a room.

Is that what you mean?:eek:

Did you mean to say "4 of us share a 3 bedroom house"? That is 3 people have a bedroom each and I'm not sure where the 4th person sleeps (in the sitting room?).

Or is the situation that there are 3 tenants (each with a bedroom) and that includes your brother, but you are sharing your brothers room with him?

arbrighton

moneyistooshorttomention wrote: »

I'm confused by your point - you say that "2 friends and I share a room with my brother".

That sounds as if 4 people are sharing a room.

Is that what you mean?:eek:

Did you mean to say "4 of us share a 3 bedroom house"? That is 3 people have a bedroom each and I'm not sure where the 4th person sleeps (in the sitting room?).

Or is the situation that there are 3 tenants (each with a bedroom) and that includes your brother, but you are sharing your brothers room with him?

You're just being pedantic over grammar here. They quite clearly mean that the two friends have a room each and op and their brother share the third.

I_have_spoken

Is it possible to have a prohibition placed on the number of tenants in a property by law or is this hot air? I have failed to find any sort of legislation on this

As you are in Scotland, the LL would need a license for a house in multiple occupation (HMO); perhaps the license has been revoked as the Authority now doesn't believe the flat is suitable for 4 people after complaint(s) of "comings and goings"?

http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Topics/Built-Environment/Housing/privaterent/government/hmo

The mortgage lender may well not re-mortgage on an HMO where the Authority is withdrawing the license.

There had also been an issue with rent on my part

I guess that would make you the obvious choice for the LL to S.21. We'd need to know the terms of your tenancy to comment if the 2-month notice is valid.

he only had 6h legally to get it repaired

Source?

molerat

Sidewinderr wrote: »

Also, he doesn't appear on the private landlord registry for Scotland.

What does the register show for your address ? The "LL" does not necessarily have to be the person on the register.
This is far more important than the other "illegal" things that the LL has done.

molerat

I_have_spoken wrote: »

I guess that would make you the obvious choice for the LL to S.21. We'd need to know the terms of your tenancy to comment if the 2-month notice is valid.

"S21" and "2 months notice" is of no relevance in Scotland. The notice period can be as little as 2 weeks in certain circumstances.

ValHaller

arbrighton wrote: »

You're just being pedantic over grammar here. They quite clearly mean that the two friends have a room each and op and their brother share the third.

Sometimes, such trivial distinctions can make a big difference to the advice

princeofpounds

I can't answer the Scottish law parts, but it's entirely possible for a mortgage lender to restrict the type of tenants a LL may rent a place out to. In England for example they might not permit Houses of Multiple Occupations (HMOs), presume there may well be a Scottish equivalent.

This isn't a legal restriction as such but a contractual restriction which can be enforced under the law.

As for verbal contracts over rent, it's worth about as much as the paper it's written on. But frankly there is every possibility it doesn't matter one bit. In England a LL can refuse to renew a tenancy for any reason they like or no reason. I suspect Scotland has a similar provision, though you might find there is some technicality in the way tenancies have to be ended that can delay any eviction, that's for Scottish law experts.

I also highly doubt that under Scottish law LLs only have 6 hours to repair a boiler. That would criminalise most landlords. And I am sure that not providing notice of access on one occasion is not punishable, unless this somehow caused you material loss or damage.

To me you sound like you are clutching at straws. You should focus on whether the right processes are being followed which might delay your exit, but don't think you can do any more than this.

Norman_Castle

What my landlord has cited on this notice to quit is that he has been through a "remortgage exercise" and is only legally allowed 3 tenants in the property from now on

There are limits based on square footage of properties. A one bed flat near me can only have 1 occupant despite there being room for a double bed. No idea who applies or enforces these rules or if Scotland is different.

http://england.shelter.org.uk/get_advice/repairs_and_bad_conditions/home_safety/overcrowding

Sidewinderr

00ec25 wrote: »

do you have an AT or a SAT

Tenancy Agreement says SAT but according to the Citizen's Advice Bureau for it to be SAT I must have signed an AT5 form, which nobody in this flat did.

moneyistooshorttomention wrote: »

That sounds as if 4 people are sharing a room.

Is that what you mean?:eek:

I share the room with my brother, I wrote this at 4am in desperation. Sorry.

molerat wrote: »

What does the register show for your address ?.

It shows nothing for my address whatsoever.

princeofpounds wrote: »

You should focus on whether the right processes are being followed which might delay your exit, but don't think you can do any more than this.

What I know is that as far as the Tenancy Agreement goes, regardless of whether it is S/AT he has done it by the books.

My real intention is to try and save my brother's place in this flat to avoid him being uprooted too. I've had too many people telling me now that the 3 tenants part of his letter, even if it is nonsense, I have no legal right to request to see the guy's mortgage so I just need to accept that one of us is going no matter what and I'm just looking for whatever I can to use as leverage for negotiation.