Been given notice :-( help

kimplus8

I am in absolute pieces. My letting agent just called me to say my landlady will be serving me with notice. She said it was nothing to do with me or how I am as a tenant but she need the house back due to a change in family circumstances.
I am beyond gutted as I just decorated and we are so settled here.
How the hell am I gonna find somewhere in 3 months that will take on me and 8 kids??
The council have said I essentially have to wait for a section 21 and for eviction proceedings to begin before they will consider me to have a housing need.
This has come at possibly the worst timing with my son due to be born any day now.
Any help or advice will be appreciated.
many thanks
K+8

agrinnall

I fear that your housing needs may become a secondary topic as the thread progresses...

Rain_Shadow

agrinnall wrote: »

I fear that your housing needs may become a secondary topic as the thread progresses...

:rotfl::rotfl::rotfl:


I think it's a certainty.

Pixie5740

You and your children won't end up homeless. Either the council will re-house you or you will find somewhere suitable by yourself. With that in mind your focus just now just needs to be on your health and the health of your newborn son when he arrives.

Your landlady wants the property back and providing she has crossed all the t's and dotted all the i's there's no defense against a correctly issued Section 21. You might be able to buy yourself some time but ultimately you will be moving.

If your landlady wants the property back as her personal circumstances have changed she might be willing to be flexible with you giving notice and willing to supply a glowing reference to your future landlord. She might even be amenable to returning your deposit early if it means you leaving before court and bailiffs.

Get the letting agent on side too so that they keep you in the loop if/when any suitable properties come on there books.

kimplus8

Pixie5740 wrote: »

You and your children won't end up homeless. Either the council will re-house you or you will find somewhere suitable by yourself. With that in mind your focus just now just needs to be on your health and the health of your newborn son when he arrives.

Your landlady wants the property back and providing she has crossed all the t's and dotted all the i's there's no defense against a correctly issued Section 21. You might be able to buy yourself some time but ultimately you will be moving.

If your landlady wants the property back as her personal circumstances have changed she might be willing to be flexible with you giving notice and willing to supply a glowing reference to your future landlord. She might even be amenable to returning your deposit early if it means you leaving before court and bailiffs.

Get the letting agent on side too so that they keep you in the loop if/when any suitable properties come on there books.

Its basically because her daughter needs the house, she has split with her husband and needs the property for herself and her children.
The landlady is happy to give me an immaculate reference, I paid 6 months in advance when I started the tenancy, always paid rent on time, decorated and made improvements to the property.
I'm now worried if she has to take me to court etc to evict me she will keep my deposit, I paid a huge deposit because I'm a single parent with lots of children and didn't have a guarantor.
It took me 6 months to find a landlord that would take me and the kids after having one completely mess me around and keep all my fees etc. I lost £400 in the process. I also have a terrible credit history from my very messy separation from STBExH.
I'm hoping that with a good reference and the fact I am willing to pay a larger deposit I can find somewhere but after calling 6 letting agents so far it doesn't look hopeful.
Thanks for your reply.

fairy_lights

If you've only been informed by the letting agent then you might end up with more time than you expect, if it takes the landlady a while to sort out the S21.

silvercar

I'm now worried if she has to take me to court etc to evict me she will keep my deposit,....

If the deposit was protected then any dispute will be heard by the adjudicators of the scheme and you will get all back less any damage you have caused.

If the deposit wasn't properly protected then the section 21 is invalid and you can stay put!

Either way the landlord can't retain the deposit for no reason.

kimplus8

silvercar wrote: »

If the deposit was protected then any dispute will be heard by the adjudicators of the scheme and you will get all back less any damage you have caused.

If the deposit wasn't properly protected then the section 21 is invalid and you can stay put!

Either way the landlord can't retain the deposit for no reason.

That puts my mind at ease, thanks Silvercar.

kimplus8

Gleeful wrote: »

While I get that you're outraged at a single mother of eight, I've seen this posters other posts and she's already had her fair share of people sharing their opinions towards this on here. So I would save your energy.

Thanks Gleeful. I actually didn't get that this is what they were all hinting at, it went over my head. Its fine, if people don't think I'm deserving of their help because of the number of children I have then that says more about their character than mine.:D

System

The life of a renter - harsh. The landlady's "investment" means a life of insecurity for some.......sad face.

Lily-Rose_3

mrlegend123 wrote: »

The life of a renter - harsh. The landlady's "investment" means a life of insecurity for some.......sad face.

Certainly is true for many in private rent.

I did hear that the government were going to bring measures in place that stopped landlords just booting people out because they feel like it - or they 'need the property back... ' Can't remember exactly what it was about, but it was something like they must offer 3 year tenancies, and the next 3 years has to be signed 6 months before the end, so the tenants have a lot of security. Of course, the landlord would have to be better protected too; like they should be able to boot out tenants who don't look after the place, and/or don't pay their rent, much sooner than they are able to now.

But yeah, there needs to be more security for tenants in private let, and a better repairs service. Too many reluctant landlords can't afford to do repairs, as they are often paying a high mortgage on the property, and too many landlords who have lots of properties and are only in it for the money, don't care enough to maintain the properties.

Going back to landlords booting people out just because they can; on a documentary I saw a while back, a landlord owned 3 properties in a small cul de sac (ugly tiny new build, built around 2009.) They all had single mums in them, and the rent was £450-ish a month. He figured he could get virtually double that by letting the council use it for emergency housing.

So he issued each tenant with an S21 at the end of their tenancy, instead of renewing the tenancy. THAT kind of practice needs to be stopped. It's peoples lives they are messing with.

Shame there isn't enough social housing to go around, but sadly there isn't. I hope the OP finds somewhere nice soon.