Advice on how to make eviction as smooth as possible for 'good' tenants

diggingdude

Ask the council if they are interested in buying the flat?? 

GDB2222

gettingtheresometime said:

If they're on this council scheme then is there a process (other than having to go through the eviction process) for situations like this?

It may depend on which council it is, but my local council have a scheme, and I don't think that there are many strings attached.

sheramber

 There  is another thread where someone was trying to buy a house rented out under the same council scheme.

the tenants want another council house so have not moved out.

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/6296713/tenants-wont-leave-property-were-buying#latest

deannagone

elsien said:

7sefton said:

elsien said:

Could they go back to the council and speak to the housing officer about support to get another property on the same scheme as yours? 

Yes that's what they will do, but because there's such high demand the council will tell them to sit tight in my flat until the last possible moment (i.e. bailiffs). 

I thought that the demand was for people  hoping for council properties, rather than private rentals such as yours? 
Or is  it now both?

A few years ago, housing law was changed so that a council can resolve their duty to provide housing for those in need (assessed because of vulnerabilities like disability or having a child) through finding them a private rental rather than social housing.  This was done because of the short supply of social housing.  However the private rental does not even have to be in the same borough.  The tenant does not have any choice.  The council says "we have a property for you, sorry its 100 miles away (and the rent is cheaper than it is here), this will mean you are off our housing register as we have fulfilled our duty to house you.., bye bye". The tenant can only appeal this decision after moving.., maybe because moving out of the area disrupts a job or schooling for vulnerable children.  But the family still has to go.

The family may want social housing, this does not mean they will get social housing.  And while waiting for Housing to fulfil their obligations they could very easily be placed in a one room hostel, and could be there for years.  This is another reason the council tries to find a private rental if no social housing is available.  Emergency Housing is VERY expensive.

There is a limited amount a LL wishing to sell can do to reduce a tenants stress.  A lot of the stress is caused by the council gatekeeping (telling lies, giving false advice, telling the family they will have no duty to house them when they actually do to try and reduce the amount of people on their Housing Register.  They know full well a lot of people will find their own accommodation rather than go into emergency housing (could be a one room hostel, could be a B&B, could be a hotel and they could be moved with a day's notice from one place to another).  You can try and not add to their stress by not insisting on decorating whilst they are waiting for the council to decide what they will do, by understanding that the circumstances that meant they looked for social housing have not changed and expecting them to just move out.  I see people on here not getting that if you are on benefits, with the shortage of properties even up for private rental, not everyone can find a property when a LL/LA hears they are in receipt of beneftis.  They prefer working people as they can cherry pick who they select as tenants.  They may not have a guarantor etc.

I speaking from experience of some of this although I was fortunate to be in a borough that did not use private rentals to house people in need at the time.  I believe this has changed now.  

davilown

What ever you do, just make sure you start the process off correctly - a s21 that is correct is always a bonus.
is the deposit protected? Have you competed the gas safety and electrical checks etc? If not, any s21 you issue will get kicked out so you’d need to restart the process 

sheramber

A friend is in such a rental. Due to her health she required a bungalow and the council had none available but offered her the private rental through them.

london21

Just read your tenancy agreement to see what the requirements are.

You might need to give them 6 months’ notice.

Eviction can be stressful and long but isn’t always the case.

Start the process and go from there.

MaryNB

london21 said:

Just read your tenancy agreement to see what the requirements are.

You might need to give them 6 months’ notice.

Eviction can be stressful and long but isn’t always the case.

Start the process and go from there.

S21 notice periods are standard and not subject to tenancy agreement clauses. The S21 notice period was 2 months before covid, 6 months for a while during the pandemic, later reduced to 4 months, and reverts to the standard 2 months from today. 

Mac_70_

Talk to them and tell them that you need your flat back. If they don't play ball, then just start the process correctly, not much else you can do if you want your flat back.

Gavin83

lookstraightahead said:

Slithery said:

Offer them a cash incentive to leave early, if they make things difficult it could take you years to evict them.

I don't understand this. How much cash would you ask for to move out of your home? 

The op knows there's a process. The op knows it will take time.

Where do you expect the tenants to go with a bit of cash in their pockets? 

Op, whilst you don't want to get overly involved in their situation, hopefully they have the same morals as you and you can work together.

I don’t know why you keep raising this point, ultimately everyone has a price. For the landlord it’s really a case of finding out what this price is and whether it’s worth paying this or just going through the eviction process.

I expect for most tenants if they’re offered enough to pay a new deposit, pay for removals plus a few months rent they’d certainly consider it. In the long run it would certainly save you money.

There are of course circumstances where they’ve no choice regardless of the sum but this is the exception rather than the norm. If they can afford a private rental now it’s generally reasonable to assume they can afford another.