Tenant refuses to move out

pmlindyloo

silvercar wrote: »

You could go tot the council and ask for emergency housing. They may give you a flatlet or something while they assess your claim.



Although your extra housing costs aren't claimable from the tenant, any court and bailiff costs you incur will be claimable.

I doubt very much that the council would give you temporary housing as you have made yourself intentionally homeless (ie. you moved out of your rented accommodation)

Sounds harsh I know but those are the rules.

So, find out your tenants intentions. If they are waiting for the council to house them they are most likely going to stick it out until you go through the courts and eventually get the bailiffs out. Unfortunately for you, because of the council housing situation that is how it works. It is unlikely that they will be rehoused until then.

If they are not waiting for council rehousing then you could try the financial incentive route. (factor in your storage costs and alternative accommodation costs to come up with a reasonable financial incentive)

If you are looking at an extended period then you need to make some other arrangements. Friends/family are the obvious ones. Try travel lodges and see if they will give a discount for a longer stay. Caravan site? House sitting for someone on holiday?

Make sure you tell everyone you can think of about your need for accommodation. Something usually turns up.

Good luck!

I_have_spoken

I'm having deja vu all over again...https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/4772011

Serve them a Section 8, giving 2 weeks notice, using Ground 1 as ground for eviction, then take it to Court.

Ground 1 is a discretionary ground, and is used when the landlord wants to live in the property as a permanent home. It is only permitted when the landlord has already lived in it as their main home previously, and the court will make a decision based on the hardship that will be suffered by the tenant by granting the possession order.

If a possession order means they get social housing off the Council, then there's no hardship.

G_M

1) check the deposit was protected and PI was given totenants within 30 days
2) check a S21 Notice was served
3) check the service date, and expiry date, of the S21
4) check the dates against the tenancy dates

do not take any of the above for granted

5) once S21 expiry date has passed (assuming S21 was valid) apply to court for possession - the agent can't do this, only you, or a solicitor, can
6) consider serving a S8 ground 1 as well, as 'I have spolen' advises above

Read

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/4772011

BitterAndTwisted

owitemisermusa wrote: »

Unbelievable! If everything has been done by the book why can somebody just simply refuse to move out? It's just ridiculous IMHO.

I wish the law could be addressed so that people can't just mess about. There must be a penalty for tenants who wantonly disregard properly served notices.

I hope that there would be some sort of redress and a way to ensure that tenants who blatantly try to play the system are counter-sued and made to pay back the landlord.

Honestly, I thought the law had been rebalanced recently?

I am surprised that folks are having a go at the OP regarding the homeless issue. Very surprised.

OP, I feel for you. I hope things work out ok.

I don't see anyone "having a go" at the OP. They have just been acquainted with the facts. Which is what people deserve to have given to them when they have a problem.

To be fair, the law around tenancies are very heavily weighted in a landlord's favour. Tenancies can be ended, but must be ended lawfully, and there's not a damned thing any tenant can do about it. They could choose to hang on but it won't be for long if the landlord does it properly.

Mr_Pitiful

I_have_spoken wrote: »

I'm having deja vu all over again...https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/4772011

Serve them a Section 8, giving 2 weeks notice, using Ground 1 as ground for eviction, then take it to Court.

Ground 1 is a discretionary ground, and is used when the landlord wants to live in the property as a permanent home. It is only permitted when the landlord has already lived in it as their main home previously, and the court will make a decision based on the hardship that will be suffered by the tenant by granting the possession order.

If a possession order means they get social housing off the Council, then there's no hardship.

It's actually a mandatory ground, but also a prior notice one, so would only apply if the tenant was given notice before the start of the tenancy that ground 1 could be used.

owitemisermusa

B&T, I've heard of it taking up to 12months to evict a tenant, that is much too long for someone who has done things properly. Time and money down the drain!

Even if a LL has made a mistake, does he/she deserved to be 'gamed' by professional tenants?

I wish the OP well.

outofmoney

owitemisermusa wrote: »

Unbelievable! If everything has been done by the book why can somebody just simply refuse to move out? It's just ridiculous IMHO.

I wish the law could be addressed so that people can't just mess about. There must be a penalty for tenants who wantonly disregard properly served notices.

I hope that there would be some sort of redress and a way to ensure that tenants who blatantly try to play the system are counter-sued and made to pay back the landlord.

Honestly, I thought the law had been rebalanced recently?

I am surprised that folks are having a go at the OP regarding the homeless issue. Very surprised.

OP, I feel for you. I hope things work out ok.

It's not always that simple though!

If our LL was to serve us an S21, it is very unlikely we would be out in 2 months. We are in receipt of benefits, have children, have pets and hubby doesn't have a brilliant credit history. Most LLs don't want to even know us and those that would give us some chance would back away once they did a credit check.

Our only hope would be to beg the council. That is not straight forward either though. We have been in that position and the council will not re house until the day of eviction so you still need to wait for things to go through court.

So, as you can see, just because a tenant doesn't move out the moment the LL wants the property back, it may not be because they are trying to be awkward, or play the game.

To the OP: I sympathise, but have to ask. If the property was empty 6 months ago, why did you rent for the last 6 months instead of just moving back in then?

BitterAndTwisted

It could take up to 12 months but that's most likely when a landlord doesn't understand or implement the correct paperwork.

Once a S21 Notice expires the landlord can immediately apply to the court. It could take a month or two before a court-date becomes available but if the paperwork is correct and the grounds for possession are correct the landlord will be granted possession. It's then the tenant's choice whether to move out immediately or wait for the court-appointed bailiffs to remove them.

But a professional landlord fully acquainted with the rules about possession etctera should be prepared for the time it could take. It seems that the ones we hear about on this forum suffering difficulties are generally not professional landlords but accidental ones who aren't fully prepared for what may happen and don't seem to get candid and accurate information from the agents they appoint and don't join a landlords association where that information would be available to them for free either. This is unfortunate but not a tenant's fault if they know the rules themselves and there are plenty of sources for that.

G_M

PLEASE can we all resist the temptation to once again:

* get into a discussion about the rights/wrongs of the law - save that for the discussion forum

* start having a go at each other, or the OP

The OP asked for information. Let's provide the info requested, and any other related helpful info, and leave it at that.

(some hope!)

mrginge

owitemisermusa wrote: »

B&T, I've heard of it taking up to 12months to evict a tenant, that is much too long for someone who has done things properly. Time and money down the drain!

Even if a LL has made a mistake, does he/she deserved to be 'gamed' by professional tenants?

I wish the OP well.

I find it interesting that you have such disdain for the 'professional' tenant who knows the law and acts according to it, but have great sympathy for the landlord who appears to have no such knowledge.

Perhaps you would be happy for an 'amateur' landlord to boot their 'professional' tenant out on the street, simply because they make a 'mistake' of failing to understand the legal requirements in which they are running their business.

Dare i suggest that the landlord should be equally 'professional', thus avoiding situations like this?