Covid - Am I protected from being evicted without an official tenancy?

mrkat

Slithery said:

Did you actually give notice that you were going to leave then or just agree to the landlords demand? Does your tenancy agreement state that email is a valid method of communication for serving notice?

We never gave notice, reading over emails I can see that he confirmed we could stay past moveout. We have been agreeing to demands and have just said in email that we are trying our best to find somewhere.
Slithery said:

Perfectly legal, changing the locks will in no way void your contract. In most cases you don't need to change the entire lock just swap out the barrel for a different one - usually less than a tenner from your local DIY store and 2 minutes of your time with a screwdriver. You can swap it back again when you leave. Youtube has loads of videos showing how to do it. Anyway, how will your LL know that you've changed them unless he tries to enter your home illegally?

Good point! Ok will have a look at youtube, thanks:)

mrkat

RAS said:

Did you ever give notice to the address given in your contract for the serving of notices, in the prescribed manner? Does your contract even specifically mention email as a form of communication?
Or did he advise you that you had to leave and you agree to do so unaware of your legal rights?

Exactly what was in the email exchange?

With regarding the locks, that is an old red herring. Of course you can change the locks. You must however return the house with the old locks in situ. As Slippery says, mainly you just need to change the barrels at a tenner a time, replace when you leave and you then take your new ones to secure your next tenancy.

Have just PM'd you
He sent the s21 notice by post as well as email but it's all invalid anyway. We just read the shorthold tenancy and even a lot is missing on there eg gas & electricity inspection dates. 

Grumpy_chap

What is the LL doing to assist you in finding a new place to live?
There may be some practical measures the LL or LA can do, but the LL should really be lubricating the gears, if you get my drift...

moneysavinghero

Perfectly legal to change the locks.

Of course the LL could try and take you to court for breach of contract. Would go something like this.

Court: What losses have you incurred?
LL: Err well i wanted to go into the property to perform an illegal eviction and i wasn't able to because the pesky tenant changed the locks. So can you make them give me lots of money pretty please???
Court: Case dismissed

mrkat

Grumpy_chap said:

What is the LL doing to assist you in finding a new place to live?
There may be some practical measures the LL or LA can do, but the LL should really be lubricating the gears, if you get my drift...

He's asked the estate agent to keep an eye out (they currently have only 2 rental properties on their books!) and the new buyer is apparently also looking out for places for us as he knows the area. I just don't understand why the estate agents haven't told him that we'd have problems or that evicting us is not within the law.

mrkat

moneysavinghero said:

Perfectly legal to change the locks.

Of course the LL could try and take you to court for breach of contract. Would go something like this.

Court: What losses have you incurred?
LL: Err well i wanted to go into the property to perform an illegal eviction and i wasn't able to because the pesky tenant changed the locks. So can you make them give me lots of money pretty please???
Court: Case dismissed

Lol! 
We've bought new locks and looking at youtube, I can't believe how easy they are to change. 

macman

mrkat said:

macman said:

There is no such thing as an 'official/unofficial tenancy'. You either have a legal tenancy, or you do not. If the S21 is invalid, then the LL must start again and re-serve you with 4 months notice as of tomorrow. Then maybe another 8 to 12 months at least if you decline to move out until a possession order is obtained. So I can't imagine what makes you think you could be 'homeless in two weeks'?

Hopefully it won't come to this, I don't think we're going to say it's invalid as we've been on good terms with him and don't want to make things nasty. It's just good to know that legally he can't evict us if we can't find anywhere else to live. Thanks for your help

I didn't say he couldn't evict you if you 'have nowhere else to live'. That is irrelevant to the eviction process. What I said was that you have many months, possibly more than a year, before he could possibly obtain and enforce a possession order. 
Given his ignoral/ignorance of the required notice period and generally aggressive attitude, I would certainly not be offering him advance advice that the S21 already served is invalid. Let him get and pay for his own legal advice. Wait for the notice to expire, wait for him to go to court and apply for a possession order and then simply point out to the judge that the legally required notice at the time was not given. His application will be thrown out and he'll need to start again and serve a valid S21. This will gain you at least two extra months to find somewhere, and probably a lot longer, depending on the backlog in court.

Grumpy_chap

mrkat said:

Grumpy_chap said:

What is the LL doing to assist you in finding a new place to live?
There may be some practical measures the LL or LA can do, but the LL should really be lubricating the gears, if you get my drift...

He's asked the estate agent to keep an eye out (they currently have only 2 rental properties on their books!) and the new buyer is apparently also looking out for places for us as he knows the area. I just don't understand why the estate agents haven't told him that we'd have problems or that evicting us is not within the law.

Yes, some "assistance" maybe, but what lubrication as the LL applied?