Evicting tennants with section 21 notice

Jasonf900

Hi all,

I have recently inhertied a house which I want to move into, howere there are 2 tennents living in the property.

They started out as lodges living with my dad but he got sick and he moved out a coupe of years ago leaving them both there alone. During this time my dad was paying the bills and they were still renting thier rooms as normal but 6 months ago my dad wanted them to have the bills in thier own name and have the essiantlly rent the house as tennants.

They have both been there for years (around 2012 and 2005 bewteen them) and there is no formal agreement. my problem is they the told me they would both move out at the start of the 2020, however the are now saying march. I don't want this dynamic to go on indefinatley so I would like to the get ball rolling.

I have read that I can serve them a section 21 notice but this requires thhem to have a copy of gas safe cert etc, wwhich has not been done due to the informal handling of the whole thing due to them being his friends simply renting rooms from him.

Will this be a problem as they have been living there before 2015 as lodgers which is when the requirement was introduced.

They are currently paying rent however it is only 500 pounds which does not cover the rent of my small flat so i am not ganing anything.

Is there anyway I can get them out?

Socajam

Offer them two months rent to each to move out before March and see what they say.
Yes, it's a lot of money, but sometimes you have to try and rid yourself of problems which could escalate.
If they agree I would get it in writing.
Make sure to pay by cheque, no cash whatsoever.

gary83

Worth bearing in mind that even if the paperwork was all correct, and you’d ticked all the boxes to correctly initiate the section 21 process (which you obviously haven’t) that process would give the tenants two months notice to leave, if they didn’t leave at the end of the two months you’d have to go to court and start the process of evicting them, it’s not a quick fix, even if you had the correct documentation, (gas safety certificates, protected any deposits etc) it’s highly unlikely that they’d be out by March.

[Deleted User]

Jasonf900 wrote: »

Hi all,

I have recently inhertied a house which I want to move into, howere there are 2 tennents living in the property.

They started out as lodges living with my dad but he got sick and he moved out a coupe of years ago leaving them both there alone. During this time my dad was paying the bills and they were still renting thier rooms as normal but 6 months ago my dad wanted them to have the bills in thier own name and have the essiantlly rent the house as tennants.

They have both been there for years (around 2012 and 2005 bewteen them) and there is no formal agreement. my problem is they the told me they would both move out at the start of the 2020, however the are now saying march. I don't want this dynamic to go on indefinatley so I would like to the get ball rolling.

I have read that I can serve them a section 21 notice but this requires thhem to have a copy of gas safe cert etc, wwhich has not been done due to the informal handling of the whole thing due to them being his friends simply renting rooms from him.

Will this be a problem as they have been living there before 2015 as lodgers which is when the requirement was introduced.

They are currently paying rent however it is only 500 pounds which does not cover the rent of my small flat so i am not ganing anything.

Is there anyway I can get them out?

There's more than just a gas safety certificate required (and it's a requirement with lodgers to have one as well) in order to issue a valid Section 21. I think your best bet would be to negotiate a surrender of the tenancy, in writing of course, even if that means bunging the tenants a few quid to sweeten the deal.

Our resident guru G_M has written a guide to Ending and Renewing an AST which you might find useful.

lookstraightahead

They've been there a while maybe they have nowhere else to go - you are asking them to leave their home it takes a while to sort things out.

lookstraightahead

Also if they can only afford well below current market rent they don't have many options but to stay as long as they possibly can.

pinkshoes

Could you not move into your dad’s room so they become lodgers again?

Or did they sign a tenancy agreement to rent the whole house?

macman

There is no such thing as an 'informal tenancy'. There is either a tenancy or there is not, and once they began paying rent and your dad moved out, a legal tenancy was created, whether in writing or verbal makes no difference. From that point he and you have failed to comply with the many legal responsibilities required of a landlord, so an S21 is not valid until such time as you regularise the tenancy.
As others have intimated, it all depends how clued up your tenants are. If they are aware that they can sue for up to 3 times the value of the deposit if you failed to protect it, and that non-supply of a GSC is a serious criminal offence, then they hold all the cards and can name their own terms. If not, you'll simply have to negotiate an acceptable deal with them.
Them asking until March to vacate is not unreasonable, as they would be entitled to 8 weeks minimum under an S21 anyway. I suggest all dealing with them from now on is done formally in writing (not phone, text etc).

G_M

pinkshoes wrote: »

Could you not move into your dad’s room so they become lodgers again?

Or did they sign a tenancy agreement to rent the whole house?

Whether they signed an agreement or not, they are now tenants, with exclusive occupation. They could refuse the OP access. Indeed, moving in without their consent could be seen as harassment or attempt to impose an illegal eviction.

Protection from Eviction Act 1977 S1(3) & S2


Of course, if they agree to OP moving in, and to a completely new arrangement (written lodger licence), that might be different, but it's a high risk strategy which in any case they'd be unlikely to agree to.

What exact date did they become tenants? The date dad moved out leaving them with exclusive occupation?

* 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?

As for S21, see:

S21 checklist (Is a S21 valid?)

Comms69

Jasonf900 wrote: »

Hi all,

I have recently inhertied a house which I want to move into, howere there are 2 tennents living in the property.

They started out as lodges living with my dad but he got sick and he moved out a coupe of years ago leaving them both there alone. During this time my dad was paying the bills and they were still renting thier rooms as normal but 6 months ago my dad wanted them to have the bills in thier own name and have the essiantlly rent the house as tennants.

They have both been there for years (around 2012 and 2005 bewteen them) and there is no formal agreement. my problem is they the told me they would both move out at the start of the 2020, however the are now saying march. I don't want this dynamic to go on indefinatley so I would like to the get ball rolling.

I have read that I can serve them a section 21 notice but this requires thhem to have a copy of gas safe cert etc, wwhich has not been done due to the informal handling of the whole thing due to them being his friends simply renting rooms from him.

Will this be a problem as they have been living there before 2015 as lodgers which is when the requirement was introduced.

They are currently paying rent however it is only 500 pounds which does not cover the rent of my small flat so i am not ganing anything.

Is there anyway I can get them out?

Pay them to leave. Formal eviction (which may fail given that there will have been mistakes made - it's almost certain) would take atleast 6 months, I suspect it would actually be closer to 12, given the issues you will likely encounter

Retired_Mortgage_Adviser

OP, with regard to the gas safety checks and certificate, get one done asap if you haven't already.

Read this thread with reference to an LL's gas safety obligations https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/5169411/no-gas-safe-cert-for-6-years-tenant-threatening-legal-action&page=6#102

With regard to the eviction, if you can't get the tenants to agree to surrender the tenancy, I would strongly suggest that you at least consider engaging the services of eviction specialists. Yes, it will cost you but on the whole might be the quickest way to get this resolved given that you are new to the legal process of eviction, where you have to ensure that paperwork and process is meticulously completed and followed. Any minor errors or omissions could set you back both in time and money.