landlord wants to evict

joesab

hi
just hoping for some advice as me and my partner are at the end of our tethers with things over the last few months. In brief, we rent a terraced house. Always paid rent on tme until last year when my partner lost her job and a month later I lost mine, Partner is four and a half months pregnant.
Unable to find full time work, Ive managed to get a 16 hr a week job and so has my partner (hers starts in March. My hours should increase in March)
Now the landlord want to evict us because in the gap between my partner losing her job and me losing mine we built up some rent arrears, approx £400 (we did advise the landlord we were having problems and at the time he said no prob as long as the arrears get paid) From the date I lost my job we have been awarded housing benefit but for the arrears I have offerd to pay £40 a week to clear the debt (which is an absolute stretch, my family were going to help with it).
However , the landlord is not accepting this as he has decided to sell the house. He has someone viewing it on Friday and will be serving an eviction notice next week. We dont know how much notice we will get as when we first rented the house it was via an agent - we didnt pay a deposit as parents were guarantors and for the last year, the landlord has been managing it himself so as far as I know we dont have a tenancy agreement.
We have no bond to reclaim from him as we didnt pay one. We have a 9 year old child.
Partner is constantly in tears as it seems to be one thing after another and now looks like we are going to be on the streets or in a hostel! Family cant put us up as her parents live abroad and mine have no room.
The landlord is suddenly being really hostile. The property has needed repairs for ages and we have voiced concerns whihc he has ignored but now he is marketing it, he wants access to do the repairs we have been asking for.
Sorry to go on, my questions are;
1 - I have offered to pay the rent arrears in installments but he wont take it as he wants it all ASAP. Can he take me to court? I have offered more than I can afford but my family will help. They are unable to pay it in one go and I dont want to get a loan to pay it off .
2 - he wants to bring a viewer round on Friday. How much notice is he obliged to give us? My partners family are coming over this Friday (timing! of all weekends, eh?) and we dont particularly want them all to know whats happening
3 -i dont think we have a tenancy agreement. He has never had any complaints about us. We have decorated to a nice standard, the property is very clean and tidy.
4- There are some issues but they are of the landlords making , such as a leak from the boiler in the loft causing a damp patch on the landing. The property is damp - when we get up in the morning there are slug trails on the carpets. We have told him countless times but until now he hasnt bothered.
5 - the most worrying issue is that we dont have a bond and deposit for another house. We are on the list for housing association property but we arent a priority until we are evicted so i have no idea what to do . We have a house full of furniture and belongings, a cat and a dog - so just turn up at the housing association and say 'okay, we 're evicted now...'

Guest101

joesab wrote: »

hi
just hoping for some advice as me and my partner are at the end of our tethers with things over the last few months. In brief, we rent a terraced house. Always paid rent on tme until last year when my partner lost her job and a month later I lost mine, Partner is four and a half months pregnant. - Just to be clear, all of this is irrelevant for the purposes of your LL relationship, legally speaking.
Unable to find full time work, Ive managed to get a 16 hr a week job and so has my partner (hers starts in March. My hours should increase in March) - Are you claiming your entitled benefits?
Now the landlord want to evict us because in the gap between my partner losing her job and me losing mine we built up some rent arrears, approx £400 (we did advise the landlord we were having problems and at the time he said no prob as long as the arrears get paid) - How many months rent is £400? From the date I lost my job we have been awarded housing benefit but for the arrears I have offerd to pay £40 a week to clear the debt (which is an absolute stretch, my family were going to help with it). - Have you actually paid any of this?
However , the landlord is not accepting this as he has decided to sell the house. He has someone viewing it on Friday and will be serving an eviction notice next week. - Great, notice is 2 months, then court, then bailiffs. So you'll be evicted in 3-4 months. We dont know how much notice we will get as when we first rented the house it was via an agent - totally irrelevant. - we didnt pay a deposit as parents were guarantors and for the last year, the landlord has been managing it himself so as far as I know we dont have a tenancy agreement. - You do.
We have no bond to reclaim from him as we didnt pay one. We have a 9 year old child. - So the council will house you when he evicts you.
Partner is constantly in tears as it seems to be one thing after another and now looks like we are going to be on the streets or in a hostel! Family cant put us up as her parents live abroad and mine have no room.
The landlord is suddenly being really hostile. - So change the locks. The property has needed repairs for ages and we have voiced concerns whihc he has ignored but now he is marketing it, he wants access to do the repairs we have been asking for.
Sorry to go on, my questions are;
1 - I have offered to pay the rent arrears in installments but he wont take it as he wants it all ASAP. Can he take me to court? - Of course. But i can take you to court, or my mate bill can. Doesn't mean anything. I have offered more than I can afford but my family will help. They are unable to pay it in one go and I dont want to get a loan to pay it off . - You owe £400, you accept you owe it. Him going to court wont change any of that.
2 - he wants to bring a viewer round on Friday. How much notice is he obliged to give us? - Usually 24hrs. But you can always say no. My partners family are coming over this Friday (timing! of all weekends, eh?) and we dont particularly want them all to know whats happening - So tell the LL he cannot come in. Then change the locks.
3 -i dont think we have a tenancy agreement. He has never had any complaints about us. We have decorated to a nice standard, the property is very clean and tidy. - You do.
4- There are some issues but they are of the landlords making , such as a leak from the boiler in the loft causing a damp patch on the landing. The property is damp - when we get up in the morning there are slug trails on the carpets. We have told him countless times but until now he hasnt bothered. - Have you got an address in the UK for the LL?
5 - the most worrying issue is that we dont have a bond and deposit for another house. We are on the list for housing association property but we arent a priority until we are evicted so i have no idea what to do . We have a house full of furniture and belongings, a cat and a dog - so just turn up at the housing association and say 'okay, we 're evicted now...'

Evictions take time.


Wait until you get notice served, clear down the debt to under one month's rent.

elsien

Some councils offer a bond deposit scheme - that might be worth a look for your area. It'll be on the housing bit of the council website if they do one.

pmlindyloo

Before we try to help in detail can you please tell us:

Did you have a written tenancy agreement when you first rented through the letting agent?

When did your tenancy start (according to the original agreement) and when did it end?

Don't worry about not having a current written tenancy agreement. By virtue of living in the property and paying rent you have a tenancy. We just need to check the dates to see what kind of tenancy you have and how much notice the landlord needs to give you. So some dates please!

As regards the rent arrears it is also important to know how much rent you pay each month. From the figures it does appear that you do not owe 2 months rent so if I am correct and you are now on a periodic tenancy (month to month) then the landlord will have to give you 2 months' notice. BUT we need the above details to clarify.

If you are on a periodic tenancy and do not have two months of rent arrears then the landlord does not have to give you a reason to seek possession. But that is just what it is - a notice to seek possession. (A section 21) He/she would have to go to court to get an eviction notice so you have some time yet.

Rent arrears
Since you are claiming housing benefit you can apply for a discretionary housing payment to cover the arrears - form from the council. (you might want to wait until you get the possession notice as this will give the application greater weight)

However, this does not help with the future when the LL gets a court eviction notice.

You can visit the council and explain what is happening. What happens next depends on your council. It is possible that you would be offered temporary accommodation (you will meet the homeless criteria when you receive your court eviction notice). It is possible that you will be helped to find other private accommodation and they will offer a Deposit Bond Scheme where they guarantee to pay the LL any damages incurred during the tenancy. There may be other help available.

As regards visits. Negotiation is the key. In theory you do not have to allow potential buyers through the door. You could change the locks to prevent this happening and then change them back again when you move out. Or you could just suggest days and times when it is convenient for you.

You should make arrangements to allow the landlord to do repairs. Annoying that these weren't done before (there is a procedure to follow in cases like this but too late now) but no good looking back.

Since you have never given a deposit then the cost of fixing damp issues etc can not be taken from any money. Later the landlord could present you with a bill for these so cover yourself by keeping any correspondence when you notified the landlord of these problems and take some pictures before the work begins.

It does seem unlikely that the LL would do this (you haven't mentioned that he is going to charge you) but you never know!

RAS

Read deannatrois' long threads https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/5346549

Took 3-4 months to evict her.

AnotherJoe

All this is why I am glad I got out of being a landlord, albeit it was in a very small way. And gives me a wry smile when I see all these posts about "I dont have any money how can I buy a house for BTL"

dancingfairy

He's said he will serve notice next week. It doesn't mean he will, or that it will be correct. It's pretty easy to get wrong so you may have more time than you think.
Hopefully you are able to come back and answer some of the questions asked re dates etc.
You need to try and get your ducks in a row too. Have a look on your councils website, call them or visit to find out about making a homeless application. At the moment you haven't been served notice, been to court or got a date for bailiffs so from a councils point of view you are far from being homeless at this stage. They should tell you though how to get the ball rolling.
Df

G_M

* Ending/renewing an AST: what happens when a fixed term ends? How can a LL or tenant end a tenancy? What is a periodic tenancy?

joesab

Thanks - just on a quick break a work but
1 - we have been there since 2010, the agreement was with the then letting agent. I'm not sure we had a written agreement with the agent - I think we may have but probably disposed of it once the owner of the house took over last year and we have nt got a new agreement from him
2 - its no more than two months rent owed
3 - I have attempted to pay some of the arrears but he wont have my payments , is just stamping his feet saying he wants all of it.
4 - I am working tomorrow but partner is going to the council to see if we qualify for the deposit bond mentioned above. As we are in arrears I am concerned that they could say we have intentionally made ourselves homeless but as I said I have tried to offer the money in installlments of £40 a week.

Have to go back to work sorry if Ive missed anything I will be home about midnight so will revisit the thread
Thanks

theartfullodger

On the 2010 agreement, who is named as landlord?? Unlikely to be the agent ..

It continues, same terms, month-by-month. You still have a tenancy

Why not send him through the post a cheque (take copy 1st) with what you can afford. Then carry on...If he chooses not to cash them that's his problem..

How do you pay rent?? If cash, do you get a receipt?

dancingfairy

O.k so you have a tenancy but you don't have any way of proving the terms and conditions / dates etc.
This will make it harder to argue against any notice ( for example if the landlord gets his dates wrong) as you can't prove it.
You say the landlord took over last year? Do you have anything in writing regarding this? I'm assuming he took over collecting the rent instead of you paying it to an agency but that he has been the landlord all along ( ie the property hasn't been sold between landlords during the time you've been there)?
I'm a little confused by the landlord refusing to accept the rent arrears. Surely you'd just set up an extra payment from your bank each week/ month for the arrears?
Df