Section 21 of housing act

janey70

Hi my daughter and son have been served a 21 notice to leave the rented flat there in within 2months 
now I know they can do this and don’t have to give a reason but the letting agents keep making demands on her 
1 to get all carpets professionally cleaned and to provide receipts which she has to pay for herself 
2 she has to give them a months notice to move out even though there the ones evicting her ! 

She is a single mother and been in property for nearly 2 years but for last year been on a rolling contract with them 
she has no where to go she’s rang housing aid and said all they would do is help her look for another property but she hasn’t got any money to pay the thousand pound deposits most are asking for or they won’t consider her because her rent would be topped up by housing benefits ( seems a big no no with a lot of landlords here 😡) she can get a guarantor but still she’s in a catch 22 no money 
these letting agents are awful 

grumiofoundation

First things first they should check if the Section 21 is valid, there are various reasons it might not be including if deposit was not protected. Is this Eng/Wal/Sco/NI as rules vary and that will help people advise? 

Have a look at the invaluable guides provided at the top of the first page of the forum especially  Ending/renewing an AST
https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/5180214/tenancies-in-eng-wales-guides-for-landlords-and-tenants/p1

The section 21 notice does not end the tenancy only the tenants or a court can do that. It is simply notice the landlord may try and seek to regain possession. After the 2 months your daughter does not have to leave, the tenancy continues. 

1. There is no requirement to do this, even if there is a clause in the tenancy agreement to do this. She just needs to make sure the property is returned in the same condition as when she moved in (minus fair fair and tear) and TAKE PHOTOS of the condition when she moves out. Does she have a check in inventory?
2. Technically they are correct. Since the S21 notice itself does not end the tenancy if your daughter simply left she would still be liable for the rent. 

What might be sensible is to speak to the landlord (not the agents) and negotiate returning the deposit, since this may help moving to a new place, in return for your daughter giving notice to end the tenancy saving the landlord having to go to court? 

HampshireH

janey70 said:

Hi my daughter and son have been served a 21 notice to leave the rented flat there in within 2months 
now I know they can do this and don’t have to give a reason but the letting agents keep making demands on her 
1 to get all carpets professionally cleaned and to provide receipts which she has to pay for herself 

Only required if in her tenancy agreement. However she runs the risk of being charged to have them cleaned if they are in a worse condition than when she moved in.

2 she has to give them a months notice to move out even though there the ones evicting her ! 

She is a single mother and been in property for nearly 2 years but for last year been on a rolling contract with them 
she has no where to go she’s rang housing aid and said all they would do is help her look for another property but she hasn’t got any money to pay the thousand pound deposits most are asking for or they won’t consider her because her rent would be topped up by housing benefits ( seems a big no no with a lot of landlords here 😡) she can get a guarantor but still she’s in a catch 22 no money 
these letting agents are awful 

The lettings agent are just doing their job.

How much deposit does she have tied up with the property she is currently in

janey70

HampshireH said:

janey70 said:

Hi my daughter and son have been served a 21 notice to leave the rented flat there in within 2months 
now I know they can do this and don’t have to give a reason but the letting agents keep making demands on her 
1 to get all carpets professionally cleaned and to provide receipts which she has to pay for herself 

Only required if in her tenancy agreement. However she runs the risk of being charged to have them cleaned if they are in a worse condition than when she moved in.

2 she has to give them a months notice to move out even though there the ones evicting her ! 

She is a single mother and been in property for nearly 2 years but for last year been on a rolling contract with them 
she has no where to go she’s rang housing aid and said all they would do is help her look for another property but she hasn’t got any money to pay the thousand pound deposits most are asking for or they won’t consider her because her rent would be topped up by housing benefits ( seems a big no no with a lot of landlords here 😡) she can get a guarantor but still she’s in a catch 22 no money 
these letting agents are awful 

The lettings agent are just doing their job.

How much deposit does she have tied up with the property she is currently in

She has 600 pound in deposit to get back there charging her £120 to inspect the property saying it’s in her contact as they do with anything else she queries with them 
her deposit is protected as I have checked up 
apparently the landlord is selling the property and has sold it but not with her init 

chunkytfg

janey70 said:

She has 600 pound in deposit to get back there charging her £120 to inspect the property saying it’s in her contact as they do with anything else she queries with them 
her deposit is protected as I have checked up 
apparently the landlord is selling the property and has sold it but not with her init 

They wont have sold it without her in it unless she was actually out.  They may be in the process of selling it and need her out to achieve that though.  If this is the case then she has a very strong bit of leverage to get the landlord to 'help' her leave quickly and peacefully which might be enough to help get her in the next home.

silvercar

janey70 said:

HampshireH said:

janey70 said:

Hi my daughter and son have been served a 21 notice to leave the rented flat there in within 2months 
now I know they can do this and don’t have to give a reason but the letting agents keep making demands on her 
1 to get all carpets professionally cleaned and to provide receipts which she has to pay for herself 

Only required if in her tenancy agreement. However she runs the risk of being charged to have them cleaned if they are in a worse condition than when she moved in.

2 she has to give them a months notice to move out even though there the ones evicting her ! 

She is a single mother and been in property for nearly 2 years but for last year been on a rolling contract with them 
she has no where to go she’s rang housing aid and said all they would do is help her look for another property but she hasn’t got any money to pay the thousand pound deposits most are asking for or they won’t consider her because her rent would be topped up by housing benefits ( seems a big no no with a lot of landlords here 😡) she can get a guarantor but still she’s in a catch 22 no money 
these letting agents are awful 

The lettings agent are just doing their job.

How much deposit does she have tied up with the property she is currently in

She has 600 pound in deposit to get back there charging her £120 to inspect the property saying it’s in her contact as they do with anything else she queries with them 
her deposit is protected as I have checked up 
apparently the landlord is selling the property and has sold it but not with her init 

She can dispute anything she likes with the tenancy deposit protection service, including the £120 charge if she wants. 
Some local authorities offer a deposit bond scheme to help people who don't have deposits. Could she move in with you until she has her deposit back, so at least she can offer something?

grumiofoundation

chunkytfg said:

janey70 said:

She has 600 pound in deposit to get back there charging her £120 to inspect the property saying it’s in her contact as they do with anything else she queries with them 
her deposit is protected as I have checked up 
apparently the landlord is selling the property and has sold it but not with her init 

They wont have sold it without her in it unless she was actually out.  They may be in the process of selling it and need her out to achieve that though.  If this is the case then she has a very strong bit of leverage to get the landlord to 'help' her leave quickly and peacefully which might be enough to help get her in the next home.

Is the £120 fee actually in her contract - if not the agents aren't allowed to charge this. They are allowed to charge fees if they are in the contract up to 31st May 2020. 
https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/tenant-fees-act

Agree fully the commenter above -  if the landlord is selling the property she has good chance of the landlord agreeing to 'help' her leave, return of deposit, waiving last months rent etc (assuming the landlord is sensible of course...). 

janey70

grumiofoundation said:

chunkytfg said:

janey70 said:

She has 600 pound in deposit to get back there charging her £120 to inspect the property saying it’s in her contact as they do with anything else she queries with them 
her deposit is protected as I have checked up 
apparently the landlord is selling the property and has sold it but not with her init 

They wont have sold it without her in it unless she was actually out.  They may be in the process of selling it and need her out to achieve that though.  If this is the case then she has a very strong bit of leverage to get the landlord to 'help' her leave quickly and peacefully which might be enough to help get her in the next home.

Is the £120 fee actually in her contract - if not the agents aren't allowed to charge this. They are allowed to charge fees if they are in the contract up to 31st May 2020. 
https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/tenant-fees-act

Agree fully the commenter above -  if the landlord is selling the property she has good chance of the landlord agreeing to 'help' her leave, return of deposit, waiving last months rent etc (assuming the landlord is sensible of course...). 

Because her original contract started may 18 then looks like she still has to pay it from what I read as it was June 19 all changes happened where they can no longer charge all the extra fees 
the landlord did email her asking if there was anything he could do to get her out quicker than the original 8 weeks but by this time the letting agent had already been on the phone to her wanting a date for her to move out and reminded her she had to give them a months notice even though they were evicting her 
So my daughter said to him the agents had already agreed a date and he wasn’t aware they hadn’t told him 
he also said he wasn’t bothered about carpets being cleaned as the buyer is intending to update all the property 
but agents are still insisting on carpets being cleaned 

HampshireH

janey70 said:

grumiofoundation said:

chunkytfg said:

janey70 said:

She has 600 pound in deposit to get back there charging her £120 to inspect the property saying it’s in her contact as they do with anything else she queries with them 
her deposit is protected as I have checked up 
apparently the landlord is selling the property and has sold it but not with her init 

They wont have sold it without her in it unless she was actually out.  They may be in the process of selling it and need her out to achieve that though.  If this is the case then she has a very strong bit of leverage to get the landlord to 'help' her leave quickly and peacefully which might be enough to help get her in the next home.

Is the £120 fee actually in her contract - if not the agents aren't allowed to charge this. They are allowed to charge fees if they are in the contract up to 31st May 2020. 
https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/tenant-fees-act

Agree fully the commenter above -  if the landlord is selling the property she has good chance of the landlord agreeing to 'help' her leave, return of deposit, waiving last months rent etc (assuming the landlord is sensible of course...). 

Because her original contract started may 18 then looks like she still has to pay it from what I read as it was June 19 all changes happened where they can no longer charge all the extra fees 
the landlord did email her asking if there was anything he could do to get her out quicker than the original 8 weeks but by this time the letting agent had already been on the phone to her wanting a date for her to move out and reminded her she had to give them a months notice even though they were evicting her 
So my daughter said to him the agents had already agreed a date and he wasn’t aware they hadn’t told him 
he also said he wasn’t bothered about carpets being cleaned as the buyer is intending to update all the property 
but agents are still insisting on carpets being cleaned 

If that's true I would go back to the landlord and ask him to pop an email together with that info in it.

The agency should be working for the landlord. The fact its being sold is effectively sold as seen at the time of advertising.

Go back to the landlord. Explain the pressure being put on and the cost implication to leave within the timescale they require.

See what they can do for her.