Was served a 21(4)(a)

jander

Hi everyone. I was served a 21(4)(a) dated the 5th of January, with a target date of 31st of March. We are currently on a periodic tenancy, as our landlord in December 2014 when asked for a new 12month AST, fobbed us off with some excuse about the cost of drafting up such a contract; more the fool us for believing him but that's life.

Obviously, once we where past the initial shock we started registering our interest with estate agents around the area, but things are not looking good so far, in terms of availability AND affordability.

What I'd like to know is:

a) Are the dates in the notice correct? Our rent is due on the 28th
b) If we are not able to find something at the end of the notice period, given that we have two children, 8 yo and 13month old to take care of, can we ask for an extension? If one is not granted, can we ask the courts to intervene?

Thank you everyone for your valuable input.

BitterAndTwisted

a) Your landlord has given you more than two rental-periods notice, so the S21 appears to be valid.

b) The S21 does not end your tenancy. Only you giving your own one rental-period's notice (in writing) or a court can end your tenancy.

By the time the 31st of March comes around your landlord will then need to apply to the court for a possession order. Courts are generally quite busy, so your landlord may not be able to secure a court-date for some weeks after 31st of March.

Note: your landlord can not formally agree to extend your notice or that would invalidate the S21 and require another to be seved giving you yet another two rental-period's notice, so do not rely on that.

Once the landlord has secured a possession order, you could decide to sit tight until they have applied to the court to have court-appointed bailiffs to come and remove you. This could take another few weeks if you're lucky.

I reckon you could still be in the property at least until April/May.

In the meantime a suitable property could become available for you to move into.

kinger101

Why did you want an AST if you were on a periodic?

jander

kinger101 wrote: »

Why did you want an AST if you were on a periodic?

We were not on a periodic initially. When the AST expired last November we asked for a new 12 month AST.

G_M

Read

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?)

* did you pay a deposit and is it registered?
* What are your tenancy periods (may not be same as rent payment date)?

The LL is a fool to have served a S21 (4)(a). He could have used a S21 (1)(b) with at least 2 calender months notice.

If your tenancy periods are 28th to 27th ( rent day is 28th) then tenancy must end on 27th of month. So "target date of 31st of March." might be a problem for the LL.

kinger101

jander wrote: »

We were not on a periodic initially. When the AST expired last November we asked for a new 12 month AST.

OK, but by doing nothing, you were then on a periodic tenancy by default. Why did you ask for an AST in preference to defaulting onto a periodic tenancy?

If this was a mistake, and you wanted to stay in the property for the foreseeable future, perhaps you could clarify this with the LL.

In could understand why he wouldn't want a new AST, or to have to write new contracts every 6-12 months. If everything else is going smoothly, periodic is usually the best for both tenant and LL.

jander

kinger101 wrote: »

OK, but by doing nothing, you were then on a periodic tenancy by default. Why did you ask for an AST in preference to defaulting onto a periodic tenancy?

If this was a mistake, and you wanted to stay in the property for the foreseeable future, perhaps you could clarify this with the LL.

In could understand why he wouldn't want a new AST, or to have to write new contracts every 6-12 months. If everything else is going smoothly, periodic is usually the best for both tenant and LL.

From the beginning of the tenancy, the understanding was that this was going to be a very long term let. They wanted long term tenants and we where it. So when the initial 12 month AST expired, we asked the LL for a new one. He gave us some sob story about how expensive it was to have the management agent draft a new one so we let the matter drop. That was late December and the notice was then served early January, so draw your own conclusions.

I disagree about periodic. We want to stay long term, not have to move with two kids every 12 months or so, stability is crucial.

G_M

A 'periodic' (strictly a Statutory Periodic Tenancy) IS an AST (Assured Shorthold Tenancy).

But I doubt this matters - if the LL declined to issue a new fixed term in December, and a month later served a S21 it seems pretty clear the LL want the property back (for whatever reason).

Tenant must accept this. Yes, contesting the S21 and /or forcing the LL to apply to court after the notice period (and/or awaiting bailiffs) can delay the process, but the tenant will eventually have to leave and should strt to plan accordingly.

jander

G_M wrote: »

A 'periodic' (strictly a Statutory Periodic Tenancy) IS an AST (Assured Shorthold Tenancy).

But I doubt this matters - if the LL declined to issue a new fixed term in December, and a month later served a S21 it seems pretty clear the LL want the property back (for whatever reason).

Tenant must accept this. Yes, contesting the S21 and /or forcing the LL to apply to court after the notice period (and/or awaiting bailiffs) can delay the process, but the tenant will eventually have to leave and should strt to plan accordingly.

We have already started looking. However the London rental market is insane and we have no family in this country whatsoever. So if worse comes to worse, it's useful to know our options.

jander

G_M wrote: »

Read

* did you pay a deposit and is it registered?
* What are your tenancy periods (may not be same as rent payment date)?

The LL is a fool to have served a S21 (4)(a). He could have used a S21 (1)(b) with at least 2 calender months notice.

If your tenancy periods are 27th to 28th ( rent day is 28th) then tenancy must end on 27th of month. So "[/SIZE][/FONT][/COLOR]target date of 31st of March." might be a problem for the LL.

Thank you. I did pay a deposit and it is registered. You're correct about the tenancy periods, even though the rent is due on the 28th, the actual tenancy date is the 1st.

G_M

jander wrote: »

Thank you. I did pay a deposit and it is registered. You're correct about the tenancy periods, even though the rent is due on the 28th, the actual tenancy date is the 1st.

So S21 expiry date of 31st is correct if periods run from first to last day of each month.

If deposit is registerd AND you received the 'Prescribed Information ' within 30 days of paying, then, again, the S21 is valid.