Renting advice on landlord ending tenancy

nurse-money

Our landlady had informed me that she is selling the house we rent. The estate agent has been round and has already got a viewing booked in for tomorrow. We are currently on a fixed term assured short hold until 20th March 2014. We were expecting to sign again for another 12 months like previous years. We have been told it is unlikely a person who buys it will want to rent it out.

Can if the offer is accepted from up coming viewings ask us to leave early. Or can we still stay until the 20th March?

RAS

A fixed term is just that; you cannot be required to leave earlier than 20 March 2014.

Assuming Negland or Wales, has your landlady actually given you a proper S21 notice? Even if she has, this is merely notice that she wants the property back and does not require you to move out when the tenancy ends. That requires her to go to court and get a possession order.

In the meantime, you are not required to allow viewing although for niceness sake you might agree to one of two slots a week.

BigAunty

Advice applies to England.

If you have a fixed term tenancy agreement without an early break clause, then the landlord cannot regain possession of the property unless you leave voluntarily or they take you to court on grounds associated with anti social behaviour (a discretionary ground that a judge does not have to grant) or rent arrears (requires 2 month's rent arrears at the time of serving the notice and at the time of the court case to be a mandatory ground granting possession to the landlord).

So you can either sit tight until then or use any desire for the landlord to get you out as a negotiating point for some compensation, towards your moving expenses and general inconvenience, etc.

In fact, you don't even have to cooperate with viewings though it maybe perhaps makes sense for a positive tenant reference. A landlord is obliged to give notice and gain possession for entry to your property as you are entitled to quiet enjoyment of it.

nurse-money

Yes we live in England.
Landlady hasn't served anything yet to us

RAS

Check the date of the end of the fixed term.

You are not required to give any notice as long as you leave by 23.59 on the last day; the LL has to give 2 month's notice in the correct format.

She may be hoping that if she tells you, you will just disappear but there is no legal requirement to do so.

Come back when she has sent the paperwork.

nurse-money

Thanks for your advice

BitterAndTwisted

READ YOUR TENANCY AGREEMENT! You need to satisfy yourselves that you know whether there is a break-clause which the landlord can exercise. This is sometimes, but not always, at the six months mark.

If there is no break-clause your tenancy cannot be ended before March.

If you allow viewings at all I wouldn't agree to them until the last two months of the tenancy as an absolute maximum.

Yes, they can ask you to leave early but I'd be attaching a rather hefty price-tag before I agreed to it.

BigAunty

nurse-money wrote: »

Yes we live in England.
Landlady hasn't served anything yet to us

Are you sure you didn't get served one up front with your rental agreement? They can be served any time, including at the start of the tenancy.

The Shelter website has information on the notice/eviction process.

I wonder whether the landlady is oblivious to the good practice of serving an S21 and is expecting you to leave without any official service of this document because of the end date of the contract or if it will soon come in the post. In theory, an S21 is not required because tenant's should be cooperating with the terms of their contract.

In reality, many landlords will serve it ahead of the end of the tenancy because the notice period is 2 months in duration (and should be timed with the expiry of the fixed term contract). If, for example, a tenant refuses to leave at the end of the fixed term, and they haven't served an S21 on a timely basis with its expiry ahead of this, the clock starts from scratch at the end of the term - the tenant's get another two months in the property before the landlord can take the next legal step by applying for a possession order in court. That's why the S21 and the fixed term normally overlaps as a time saving device.

pmlindyloo

nurse-money wrote: »

Our landlady had informed me that she is selling the house we rent. The estate agent has been round and has already got a viewing booked in for tomorrow. We are currently on a fixed term assured short hold until 20th March 2014. We were expecting to sign again for another 12 months like previous years. We have been told it is unlikely a person who buys it will want to rent it out.

Can if the offer is accepted from up coming viewings ask us to leave early. Or can we still stay until the 20th March?

You have already been advised about the protection that your fixed tenancy gives you and the legal requirements of ending your tenancy.


This is one of my pet hates - landlords selling and expecting the tenants to put up with viewings or allow the estate agent to enter the property with potential buyers. It is enough of an inconvenience when you are selling yourself but to expect tenants to suffer this inconvenience is 'not on' in my books.


Personally I would be writing to the landlord and asking for some rent reduction whilst viewings are going on. I would also restrict the viewings to day(s) and time of your choosing. Under no circumstances would I be allowing the estate agent to come round whilst I was not there.


It is a blooming cheek of the landlord. It is 3 months until the end of your fixed tenancy agreement (if you agree to go then without the LL getting a court order. That's 3 months of having the inconvenience.


Grrrrrh!

Halle71

Alternatively the OP could be nice and allow a reasonable amount of viewings (a block of viewings a week?) and move out when their tenancy ends if the landlord gives enough notice? The house sale will take until then anyway.
The landlord isn't doing anything wrong so why be antagonistic?

BitterAndTwisted

OP: what's the dealio with your deposit? Received confirmation that it's been registered and received the prescribed info?