Landlord wants friend out this weekend

inapickle2011

Thanks all, she's feeling so much better now I'm reading your replies to her. I feel for the next tenant these get, especially if they don't do the repairs before they get in. She wonders what she should put in the letter to make it sound like she knows what she's talking about? Should she mention her CAB visit? You guys are great.

G_M

There is some misinformation in some of the repiles above:

* No, the LL cannot just write a letter, and then evict. This is a criminal offence. Protection from Eviction Act 1977 She can only be evicted by a court order.

* To obtain a court order, theLLmust first issue the tenant either a S21 Notice (this is where the '2 months' advice above applies) OR a S8Notice

* A S8 doesNOT require 2months notice. And if the tenant owes 2 months rent both on the date the S8 is issued AND on the date of the court hearing, the judge has no choice. He MUST grant possession to the LL

* if friend wants to stay, get the arrears below 2 months.

* If LL 'harasses' the tenant (threats, bangingon the door, coming in uninvited, that isalso a criiminal offence(again, see Protection from Eviction Act 1977 )

* if friend wants to leave, get agreement from LL to end the tenancy. In writing. Don't just move out which could result in ongoing rent arrears.

Futher details here:

Ending/Renewing an AST (what happens when the Fixed Term ends?)(What is a Periodic Tenancy?)(How can a LL remove a tenant?)(How can a tenant end a tenancy?)

inapickle2011

G_M wrote: »

* A S8 doesNOT require 2months notice. And if the tenant owes 2 months rent both on the date the S8 is issued AND on the date of the court hearing, the judge has no choice. He MUST grant possession to the LL

Right so the S8 is that sent to tenant or can LL just turn up with it and get her out, panicking again now

00ec25

the following assumes:
a) friend is in England / Wales (not Scotland or Northern Ireland)
b) rents by the month
c) moved in after 1997 (15 years implies 1998 - note this date is important so if she moved in 1997 then get the exact date as that could change things enormously)

presumably after 15 years the LL has forgotten that they too must follow the law...

- your friend is behind on the rent by 2 rental periods ( ie 2 months)

- LL cannot physically evict without an eviction notice obtained in court. Any attempt to remove friend before the eviction notice is given will be a breach of criminal law and friend can call the police to have the LL arrested for attempted breach of the peace and/or harrassment

- LL can apply now (no further notice /wait required) to court on basis of rent arrears. LL will seek a possession notice on the basis of "Section 8", ie 2 or more months unpaid. Court will automatically award possession to the LL if, on the day of the court hearing, the money is still unpaid. Therefore this attempt can be defeated by simply paying off enough money on day of hearing to get debt below 2 months outstanding

- because of this any sensible LL will not rely only on S8, they will also serve a Section 21 notice. However, this takes longer as it must give 2 full rental periods notice aligned with the start date of the rental period (ie it is not 2 calendar months notice starting from tomorrow) but the notice cannot be defeated as the friend is now on a statutory periodic tenancy and so a S21 "no fault" notice can be served and will be automatically granted by the court

- armed with the possession notice from the awarded S8 and/or the S21, the LL returns to court and applies for an actual eviction notice. It could take another few weeks before the eviction court hearing

- armed with the eviction notice LL appoints bailiffs to carry out eviction (further delay 1- 2 weeks). If LL attempts to do DIY eviction call the police, if bailiffs carry out the eviction, do not resist...

- having completed the eviction the LL can take out a civil court claim for outstanding unpaid rent

NOTE WELL

if LL goes to court and wins then the court will most likely award costs against your friend - these will not be huge but will be extra £ on top of any unpaid rent owed

See here for the full explanation

http://england.shelter.org.uk/get_advice/eviction/eviction_of_private_tenants/eviction_of_assured_shorthold_tenants

(if in Scotland or NI then read the relevant shelter website for them instead)

inapickle2011

Thank you, she moved in July 98. She's just so worried LL will just barge in and she won't have time to move her stuff. Good to read these replies so she can have a better understanding of what's happening and I don't think the LL has a clue what they're doing really, they like to use scare tactics. She's just kicking herself that she didn't get them done for lack of repairs and even worse 4 boiler checks in 15 years :eek:

G_M

inapickle2011 wrote: »

Right so the S8 is that sent to tenant or can LL just turn up with it and get her out, panicking again now

The LL must serve the S8 Notice (by post, by hand whatever)

then the LL must go to court and request a possession order.

Then the LL can enforce the court possession order.

As noted above, all this implies

* England (not Scotland)
* a tenancy (not a lodger)

benjus

inapickle2011 wrote: »

She's just kicking herself that she didn't get them done for lack of repairs and even worse 4 boiler checks in 15 years :eek:

In that case, if the landlord brings a Section 8 claim against her, she may have a case to counter-claim for disrepair, which could further delay any eviction.

inapickle2011

G_M wrote: »

The LL must serve the S8 Notice (by post, by hand whatever)

then the LL must go to court and request a possession order.

Then the LL can enforce the court possession order.

As noted above, all this implies

* England (not Scotland)
* a tenancy (not a lodger)

Thanks for clearing that up, yes it's England and she's not a lodger

benjus wrote: »

In that case, if the landlord brings a Section 8 claim against her, she may have a case to counter-claim for disrepair, which could further delay any eviction.

Oh that would be funny, thank you.:)

RAS

Does she have a current Gas Safety certificate (if gas is supplied)?

inapickle2011

The 4th gas safety check was carried out just before Christmas by LL's father as usual (he's registered) so she has the certificate for that. He started using his father after the 1st check condemned the fire in the living room (which was taken out and never replaced) and sealed the bedroom window due to the vent was too close or something.

Like I say she's only had 4 checks done and the state of the boilers (separate ones for heating (which hasn't worked since father checked it) and hot water) I'm surprised she hasn't had a problem with poisoning.