Cancelling a tenancy cancellation notice?

jjlandlord

Wait until they hear what the incoming tenant has to say...

BigAunty wrote: »

...This can take a number of months depending on various factors.

There's not much a landlord can do immediately if a tenant changes their mind, whether the tenant has served notice or not, whether the landlord has accepted a new deposit/signed tenancy agreement from the new incoming tenants.

Landlord can start court proceedings immediately without further notice, and I hear that courts may be a bit faster if ground for possession is trespassing.
In addition, landlord may go after the (ex-)tenant for mesne profits equal to double the previous rent.

Thus indeed the landlord cannot force anyone out, by the (ex-)tenant will be in a very tight place...

jaylee3

Not gonna lie: I wouldn't even have given my notice until I had signed the tenancy agreement with the Housing Association.

Hope it works out for you.

kashmirix

jaylee3 wrote: »

Not gonna lie: I wouldn't even have given my notice until I had signed the tenancy agreement with the Housing Association.

Yep, normally I wouldn't either, but we were explicitly warned by HA that the period from when the flat is ready to when agreement is signed will be very short, "if even a week". That's why, after we were shown the flat already in January, saw the entire development nearly completed, and were told the tentative date of 10 March, we finally decided to give a notice to our landlord. Just in order not to pay two rents at the same time which in no way we could afford (£1000 + £1150).

Jenniefour wrote:

If this works out then I would still be contacting HA to tell them what's happened (after your chat tomorrow and you know the outcome) and to let them know that you will need a definite moving date that you can rely on when they are able to give one, and not a date that turns out to be a moving feast. They need to manage their side of things more effectively.

That would be ideal, but it seems that this particular HA is a complete mess, people have no problem giving unreliable information, etc., despite 150 tenants being forced to wait already for several months beyond the announced completion date (initially 21 January). I have been asking for a written offer of tenancy for the last month or so, to be finally told that "we will send the offer to the tenants all at the same time - no-one here is going to deal with you individually". So, yes, they definitely need to manage their part more efficiently.

lighting_up_the_chalice

agrinnall wrote: »

But in this case it's the HA that is completely in the wrong, and I think they should be responsible for accommodating the OP until the promised property is ready, rather than screwing both the LL and new tenant.

And the OP. Why should they suffer for circumstances not of their own making. It may be unfair, but if the choice was between screwing the current landlord and being homeless, I'd always take the former. A roof over your head is a basic need which transcends commercial politeness. At the end of the day, all it would mean is delaying the new tenant a bit. They would in turn delay their new tenant, and so on until there is a break in that renting chain. Much the same as a house buying chain collapsing when a sale falls through. Inconvenient..... even annoying..... but hardly the end of the world.

kashmirix

jjlandlord wrote: »

Landlord can start court proceedings immediately without further notice, and I hear that courts may be a bit faster if ground for possession is trespassing. In addition, landlord may go after the (ex-)tenant for mesne profits equal to double the previous rent...

Refusal to surrender a house by a (paying) tenant would be a different thing than trespassing IMHO. Also, the double rent is doubtful and might be difficult to enforce, at least if one trusts comments to this article.

The main worry is not that the landlord would try to evict us - this is a property exclusively meant for rent - but that they will ask us to compensate for all their losses related to our extension, i.e. double the next tenant's deposit plus any marketing expenses. This could mean quite a lot of money

jaylee3

kashmirix wrote: »

Yep, normally I wouldn't either, but we were explicitly warned by HA that the period from when the flat is ready to when agreement is signed will be very short, "if even a week". That's why, after we were shown the flat already in January, saw the entire development nearly completed, and were told the tentative date of 10 March, we finally decided to give a notice to our landlord. Just in order not to pay two rents at the same time which in no way we could afford (£1000 + £1150).

But every social landlord I have ever known, only expects a weeks rent in advance. And £1000 a month rent! Seriously? :eek:

What kind of housing association charges THAT much rent for a flat? Even in London, a housing association flat should only be half of that.

Are you sure this is a bona fide registered housing association? I have never heard of such a high rent from a social landlord. And as I said, most folk I have known in private let, who were offered social housing, wait until the tenancy agreement is signed, pay the week's rent required, and then give the month's notice to the landlord. It also gives you a month to move. It's definitely doable, especially as the private landlord will have to give you your deposit.

From the way this company are giving you the runaround, and by the sound of the extortionate rent, I would give them a swerve anyway. That rent is massively high for a flat. And if they're being this incompetent now, what kind of a landlord are they going to be?

jjlandlord

kashmirix wrote: »

Refusal to surrender a house by a (paying) tenant would be a different thing than trespassing IMHO. Also, the double rent is doubtful and might be difficult to enforce, at least if one trusts comments to this article.

If you serve a valid notice to quit (or, I believe, an invalid one which is accepted by the landlord) your tenancy will end on expiry.
Then, if you remain at the property you will be trespassing and the landlord will be able to immediately start court proceedings.

Double rent can be claimed, and such claims do succeed.

These are not my opinion, but facts.

CreditCrunchie

You need to think about YOU in this situation. If the Housing association can sort this (and they should as it is all down to their error), then all well and good. If you do have temporary housing you can use in the meantime (family, friends etc) that is suitable, then again that would be an option. However, if there is no suitable place for you to go in between time then stay put. As a poster above said, a landlord looking to take possession must go through the courts and be granted a possession order. It's not the ideal situation, and may jeapordise your deposit, but that's what I would do if there are no other options. You certainly can't make yourself homeless!

I'd also be wary of them and their costs as Jaylee pointed out above. It all sounds very shady.

G_M

kashmirix wrote: »

Refusal to surrender a house by a (paying) tenant would be a different thing than trespassing IMHO. Also, the double rent is doubtful and might be difficult to enforce, at least if one trusts comments to this article.

Did you atually read the article you linked to?

Yes, it lists circumstances in which the double rent might not be enforcible, but that applies to any law.

(eg the maximum speed limit in UK is 70 mph and you can be fined/banned for exceeding it. But only if driving on the public highway. On private land it is not enforcible)

The double rent is not 'doubtful' or difficult to enforce provided the conditions are met. In this case, of course, we do not have all the facts, but from the facts we do have, it appears to apply

thesaint

kashmirix wrote: »

Thanks. I ringed the landlord (a corporate landlord by the way) and the officer agreed to contact the new tenant and see whether they would be willing to wait a few more weeks. She also told me that I could cancel the notice altogether, and this would be OK with them.

Then there's no problem.