What should I do?

TheOldSeaDog

I'm currently renting. Our landlord gave us 3 months notice in March as he was selling the property becuase he was getting a divorce. Due to Covid this eviction has been delayed by the government, as we have nowhere else to go. 

We have agreed with the council that we can declare as homeless now and are doing so on the 14th August and they will help us out. I have given my landlord a move out date of 14th August. I have asked him for the remainder of the months rent to be paid back, which he is refusing because he is furloughed and has 2 mortgages to pay. He says we have top pay until the end of the month. We had the deposit back a few months ago.
Do I suck it up, pay full months rent, or pay to the 24th (original move out date), pay to the 14th, or stay there, let him take me to court and drag this out for 6 months.

gwilson30019

Pay the pro-rata amount to 14th August.

Slithery

When did you give your notice to the LL?

TheOldSeaDog

Slithery said:

When did you give your notice to the LL?

He gave us a S21 in March

Slithery

That's not what I asked.

TheOldSeaDog

Slithery said:

That's not what I asked.

We don't need to give notice, we have to move out on the 24th August, in accordance with government guidelines,. Why would I give a months notice, when I've already had a section 21 giving me 3 months notice.

tom9980

TheOldSeaDog said:

Slithery said:

That's not what I asked.

We don't need to give notice, we have to move out on the 24th August, in accordance with government guidelines,. Why would I give a months notice, when I've already had a section 21 giving me 3 months notice.

That is not how it works you have to give notice in line with your rental periods of at least 1 month or leave by the date of the s21. You have no automatic right to pay pro-rata without the Landlords agreement.

TheOldSeaDog

tom9980 said:

TheOldSeaDog said:

Slithery said:

That's not what I asked.

We don't need to give notice, we have to move out on the 24th August, in accordance with government guidelines,. Why would I give a months notice, when I've already had a section 21 giving me 3 months notice.

That is not how it works you have to give notice in line with your rental periods of at least 1 month or leave by the date of the s21. You have no automatic right to pay pro-rata without the Landlords agreement.

Date of the S21 is 24rd August, so I should pay up to then. Not to the end of the month. 

greatcrested

You appear to misunderstand what a S21 Notice is, and how tenancies work.

The S21 does not end the tenancy. Indeed, a landlord cannot end a tenancy. Only a court can do that. Has the LL been to court and obtained a possession order? From what you say, it seems not. Therefore the tenancy continues.

The only other way for a tenancy to end is for the tenant to serve notice- hence Slithery's question above.

* On what exact date did you "given my landlord a move out date of 14th August."?

* and what are the exact dates of your periodic tenancy?

* I assume it is periodic - not a fixed term?

* Or, if you offered the LL an 'Early Surrender' which he agreed to, what were the terms? By the sound of it, his agreement (if any) was based on you paying the full period's rent.

greatcrested

greatcrested said:

You appear to misunderstand what a S21 Notice is, and how tenancies work.

The S21 does not end the tenancy. Indeed, a landlord cannot end a tenancy. Only a court can do that. Has the LL been to court and obtained a possession order? From what you say, it seems not. Therefore the tenancy continues.

The only other way for a tenancy to end is for the tenant to serve notice- hence Slithery's question above.

* On what exact date did you "given my landlord a move out date of 14th August."?

* and what are the exact dates of your periodic tenancy?

* I assume it is periodic - not a fixed term?

* Or, if you offered the LL an 'Early Surrender' which he agreed to, what were the terms? By the sound of it, his agreement (if any) was based on you paying the full period's rent.

Apologies. The above was the situation up till 2015.

However S40 of the Deregulation Act 2015  says:

40Repayment of rent where tenancy ends before end of a period

After section 21B of the Housing Act 1988 insert—
“21CRepayment of rent where tenancy ends before end of a period

(1)A tenant under an assured shorthold tenancy of a dwelling-house in England is entitled to a repayment of rent from the landlord where—

(a)as a result of the service of a notice under section 21 the tenancy is brought to an end before the end of a period of the tenancy,

(b)the tenant has paid rent in advance for that period, and

(c)the tenant was not in occupation of the dwelling-house for one or more whole days of that period.

(2)The amount of repayment to which a tenant is entitled under subsection (1) is to be calculated in accordance with the following formula—
* R x D/P
where—

    R is the rent paid for the final period;

    D is the number of whole days of the final period for which the tenant was not in occupation of the dwelling-house; and

    P is the number of whole days in that period.

(3)If the repayment of rent described in subsections (1) and (2) has not been made when the court makes an order for possession under section 21, the court must order the landlord to repay the amount of rent to which the tenant is entitled.