tennant rights during assured shorthold

yan101_2

hi,

my sister signed an assured shorthold tenancy contract for her house. this is the 2nd she has signed for a 12 month period, she moved in to the property in march 2012. her current tenancy is a 12 month contract up until march 2015. my sister is friends with the ll's partner and they discussed the fact that my sister may want to move back to her home village in the future but she did not give any kind of formal notice as she had just siged a new tenancy and did not intend to move until this is up. Her landlard has now put her house up for sale. she is arranging viewings, one of which has taken place, she has booked 2 for next week. although my sister does want to move eventually, she cannot afford to do so yet. her landlords partner who seems to be handling this all has said that she is within her rights to sell the property and can show anyone around, and if my sister is not home, she has a key and will show them round herself.

Now from what i have read, she cannot do any of this. My sister has not been given any notice, and has been told that she wont give her notice until the house sells as they cannot afford to pay the mortgage if my sister leaves and the house is empty. there is no clause in the contract that states she can ask her to leave before the tenancy agreement ends, the last 2 paragraphs state the landlord can end the tenancy with 2 months notice and the tenant can end with 2 months notice, it does not state this as a break clause, and i beleive it to be wording from the housing act which states that when the contract gets into its 10th month eother party can give notice that they wont be continuing. This contract was written up by the landlords "friend" who is supposedly a solicitor.

now, i know this is the landlords property, but my sister is the legal tennant. from what i have read she cannot be given notice to leave until the contract is 2 months towards the end. and only then does she have to accomadate viewings etc at her discression with 48 hours notice and no one can enter without her being their or without her permission. My sister has sought advice from the local council who have told her this also.

i just want some clarification from someone in the know who can give me some solid advice. my sister does want to move, but into a housing assosiation property or council property as she is now a single working parent of 2 and is struggling with the rent and bills of a private rent house.

to sum up i beleive the landlord has to sell the property as having a live in tennant, and only until the end of her tenancy can she be asked to leave. they have no other reasons for ending her tenancy early other than they want to sell. i would say from what i have read, that she can stay until march 2015 and either party can give notice in january 2015. the lettings agency have put up for sale signs and are arranging viewings at inappropriate times, im not even sure if they know the full situation. for all we know her lanlords partner has told them my sister has given notice when she hasnt. my sisters problem is that if she backs down and agrees to leave, or gives notice herself she wont be in a position to get a council house as they will deem her as making herself voluntarily homeless. she is stuck between a bully of a landlord and what legal rights she has. if anyone can give some constructive advice, that would be great. id apreciate any comments on how its not her house etc to be kept to a minumum as she still has rights as a tennant to not be chucked out whenever the landlord feels like selling up during a contracted period they both agreed to and the laws of the housing act 1988 protecting this right.

many thanks

franklee

Suggest you post the clauses about giving notice. They do sound a bit like break clauses but you say they aren't?

If there are no break clauses then your sister can stay at least till the end of the fixed term.

Also check the contact for clauses about viewings for sale, often these are restricted to the last two months of the tenancy.

Your sister can refuse viewings, indeed having to put up with viewings for months isn't very palatable. If necessary she should change the barrel of the locks keeping the originals to reinstate before leaving. Google "quiet enjoyment" so see the rights she has.

Suggest she writes to the landlord and agent expressing her concerns of intrusive viewings and putting forward what she will accommodate. Also put in writing to landlord and agent that she hasn't given notice or had any notice served on her (double check no notice has been served, sometimes a section 21 notice is sneaked in early in the tenancy).

If she needs someone to intervene on her behalf she could try the TRO, tenancy relations officer, at her local council and google tenant harassment to see if that applies.

Finally I suggest she should be present at any viewings and ask the viewers if they are investors. If not suggest she stops all viewings as they are clearly a waste of time (if there is no break clause that is). Either way she shouldn't make herself voluntarily homeless as you seem to already realise.

yan101_2

thank you, yes i read the contract and nowhere does it say anything about a break clause, just 2 bullet points that say the landlord can end the tenancy with 2 minths notice and the tennant can end the tennancy with 2 months notice. its not worded to say that it is a break clause, nor does it say the tenancy can be ended AT ANY TIME which suggests to me it is the standard housing regs 1988 that at the end of the tenancy 2 moths need to be given. i beleive it is the housing officer who is looking over the contract now. also the house is not advertised as having a live in tennant. i dont beleive there is anything about letting prospective buyers see the property during the tenancy wither but even if this was the case it would only be if the prospective buyer was buying with a live in tennant? as my sister can stay until march next year?

as i say she is in a difficult position and at the minute shes letting everyone walk all over her, i can understand that she wants to be accomodating, but she has rights and she needs to know about them. im taking her to see citizens advice tomorrow so ill post what their advice is for anyone else who might be in this situation.

also am i right in thinking the section 21 is if she has broken the contract in some way? she hasnt received any kind of written notice, nor given any.

franklee

A section 21 notice is a no fault notice. It's what's normally used to evict tenants. They need not have done anything wrong. The notice can be used with a break clause or if no break clause the earliest the notice period can expire is the end of the fixed term.

What matters are these two clauses you mention which may be break clauses. Break clauses are often badly drafted. I suggest you get them looked at and/or post the exact wording here. Obviously when you go to citizens advice take the tenancy agreement with you and show them the clauses.

yan101_2

will do, ihtink i got the section 21 and section 8 mixed up. thanks for the good advice

Annie1960

Your sister is in a situation that seems to be very common. See this thread.

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/4986833

jjlandlord

yan101 wrote: »

thank you, yes i read the contract and nowhere does it say anything about a break clause, just 2 bullet points that say the landlord can end the tenancy with 2 minths notice and the tennant can end the tennancy with 2 months notice. its not worded to say that it is a break clause, nor does it say the tenancy can be ended AT ANY TIME

What do you think "tenancy can be ended with 2 months notice" mean, exactly?

dimbo61

Some Landlords put all sorts of stupid things into a tenancy agreement !
I could state that every Sunday I will inspect MY property and the tenant must give me Lunch.
This does not mean the tenant has to do this ( Unfair terms and conditions)
Your Friend has a tenancy until March 2015 and it will cost a lot of time, effort and money to kick her out before then ( IF she refuses to leave)
The Landlord is trying to have there cake and eat it!
Tenant paying rent while selling the property from underneath her!
Contact the estate and STOP ALL VIEWINGS
Change the locks/barrels and point out you have a " Right to quiet enjoyment" of the property.
IF they want to " BUY "the tenant out of the tenancy agreement that is another matter

G_M

dimbo61 wrote: »

Some Landlords put all sorts of stupid things into a tenancy agreement !
I could state that every Sunday I will inspect MY property and the tenant must give me Lunch.
This does not mean the tenant has to do this ( Unfair terms and conditions)
Your Friend has a tenancy until March 2015 and it will cost a lot of time, effort and money to kick her out before then ( IF she refuses to leave)
The Landlord is trying to have there cake and eat it!
Tenant paying rent while selling the property from underneath her!
Contact the estate and STOP ALL VIEWINGS
Change the locks/barrels and point out you have a " Right to quiet enjoyment" of the property.
IF they want to " BUY "the tenant out of the tenancy agreement that is another matter

Some tenancy clauses are unenforcible, ie if contarry to law, or unreasonableo r unfair as defined by OFT.

Other clauses are part of the contract and hence enforcible.

A Break Clause is enforcible.

mrginge

As G_M states, the question of enforceability of a contract term can only be decided by a court. It is therefore quite risky to assume that just because something is worded ambiguously it automatically becomes unenforceable. Especially when you have a LL who needs to rely on that term and is prepared to go to court to enforce it. You may end up contesting something, losing and have to pay costs.

Of course the main question is whether a LL would want the hassle of a court case that they may lose, or would rather negotiate a solution.

As always, the first point of call is to discuss with the LL. If your sister wants to move, she should be negotiating a release process that benefits her rather than taking the default 'screw the landlord' approach that many on this board advocate.

Pixie5740

It sounds like there is a valid break clause in the tenancy agreement. It does seem odd (to me anyway) having a 12 month fixed term with a break clause stating 2 months notice can end the tenancy. Anyway...

Your sister could dig her heels in, refuse all viewings, change the locks and make the LL go to court to get an eviction notice....or your sister could negociate with the LL....maybe get a financial incentive to help with the cost of moving to a new place. That would be a cheaper alternative for the LL and give them a property to sell with vacant possession and your sister gets help with the cost of moving.