Tenancy advice please

searchlight123

My step daughter and her friend rent a 2 bed flat in East London. It is a privately owned high rise block of at least 100 flats all owned by one company. They pay around £1600pm between them.

They have been there for 3 years and their current 12 month tenancy expires in April 2022. My step daughter is hoping to purchase a flat imminently but realistically it will not go thru by April so what are their options to stay put until they want to move out (say around June/July). They have asked for a rolling contract but this has been refused and the owners will only offer a  new12 month tenancy.

I believe there is currently a 2 month notice period on both sides.

Any advice would be welcome as they feel uneasy about staying there after the tenancy expires.

Many thanks.

m0bov

They do nothing and it rolls onto a month perodic contract anyway, the owners cannot stop that. Politely decline the 12 month contract. Even if they do an S21, it will take up to a year before it goes to court anyway by which time you will be long gone.

canaldumidi

Read:

Post 4: 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?

saajan_12

tonygold said:

My step daughter and her friend rent a 2 bed flat in Stratford, London. It is a privately owned high rise block of at least 100 flats all owned by one company. They pay around £1600pm between them.

They have been there for 3 years and their current 12 month tenancy expires in April 2022. - no it doesn't. The fixed term expires in April, but the tenancy automatically continues as a periodic. 
My step daughter is hoping to purchase a flat imminently but realistically it will not go thru by April so what are their options to stay put until they want to move out (say around June/July). They have asked for a rolling contract but this has been refused and the owners will only offer a  new12 month tenancy. - the owner literally can't refuse, it happens automatically the day after the fixed term expires. This could either be a CPT if it says what happens after the 12 months in the last contract they had, or a SPT if it doesn't. 

I believe there is currently a 2 month notice period on both sides. -please confirm the wording, and whether this is what happens either 
- before the end of the fixed term ("break clause")
- at the end of the fixed term
- after the end of the fixed term (CPT or SPT)

Any advice would be welcome as they feel uneasy about staying there after the tenancy expires. - I would too. Luckily the tenancy isn't expiring in April, its just a min term. 

Many thanks.

See in line. Their tenancy isn't ending in April, its just their fixed term. Unless the tenants agree to it, the tenancy won't end until the LL serves valid notice AND a court serves a possession order. Until then, they have every right to stay and keep paying rent. Worst case they might have some court costs, which are small, and only if the LL actually follows through on evicting them. That would be silly though, its usually just empty threats. 

pinkshoes

What does the friend want to do? Are they going to become the lodger of your step daughter in the property she is purchasing?

If not, does she have another friend that could take over from your step daughter on the tenancy?

In the mean time, just do nothing as the tenancy will automatically become periodic.

searchlight123

pinkshoes said:

What does the friend want to do? Are they going to become the lodger of your step daughter in the property she is purchasing?

If not, does she have another friend that could take over from your step daughter on the tenancy?

In the mean time, just do nothing as the tenancy will automatically become periodic.

my daughter's friend will find a 1 bed rental for herself.
many thanks for all the advice on here it is much appreciated. But girls being girls they do not want to do anything that may cause them stress in the future if they stay on without a new tenancy agreement by way of receiving letters or pressures from the owners wanting them to move out. I have tried to explain to them that this is not an issue and it is how the law works but it's not something they want to do. I suppose it could also lead to a bad reference for my daughter's friend when she tries to rent elsewhere in the future if she were to refuse a new tenancy agreement and they simply stayed put until they wanted to leave?

PRAISETHESUN

tonygold said:

pinkshoes said:

What does the friend want to do? Are they going to become the lodger of your step daughter in the property she is purchasing?

If not, does she have another friend that could take over from your step daughter on the tenancy?

In the mean time, just do nothing as the tenancy will automatically become periodic.

my daughter's friend will find a 1 bed rental for herself.
many thanks for all the advice on here it is much appreciated. But girls being girls they do not want to do anything that may cause them stress in the future if they stay on without a new tenancy agreement by way of receiving letters or pressures from the owners wanting them to move out. I have tried to explain to them that this is not an issue and it is how the law works but it's not something they want to do. I suppose it could also lead to a bad reference for my daughter's friend when she tries to rent elsewhere in the future if she were to refuse a new tenancy agreement and they simply stayed put until they wanted to leave?

The LL would be silly to provide a bad reference if that was the case - without a good tenancy reference they would be unlikely to rent elsewhere, which means they will have to stay where they are (which the LL doesn't want!).

As above, tenants have lots of right protected by law. The tenant usually holds most of the balance of power in these situations. It'd be worth consulting the exact wording of the TA, as that is what dictates most of what happens here, but as it stands there is nothing to LL can do to force them to sign a new agreement if they don't want to. If they plan to buy in the next few months just wait until they exchange (and a completion date is decided) and only then give notice to end the tenancy - they will be long gone before it ever gets anywhere near a courtroom.

hazyjo

tonygold said:

pinkshoes said:

What does the friend want to do? Are they going to become the lodger of your step daughter in the property she is purchasing?

If not, does she have another friend that could take over from your step daughter on the tenancy?

In the mean time, just do nothing as the tenancy will automatically become periodic.

my daughter's friend will find a 1 bed rental for herself.
many thanks for all the advice on here it is much appreciated. But girls being girls they do not want to do anything that may cause them stress in the future if they stay on without a new tenancy agreement by way of receiving letters or pressures from the owners wanting them to move out. I have tried to explain to them that this is not an issue and it is how the law works but it's not something they want to do. I suppose it could also lead to a bad reference for my daughter's friend when she tries to rent elsewhere in the future if she were to refuse a new tenancy agreement and they simply stayed put until they wanted to leave?

They've been given the wrong info if that's their concern.

They will still be on a totally legal tenancy. The landlord cannot insist on them signing up for a set period, their tenancy IS continuing on a periodic basis. Why on earth would it lead to a bad reference? I literally can't think of something they might say unless they completely lie! They ARE still on a tenancy agreement, they won't be claiming squatters' rights or anything!

Slithery

tonygold said:

many thanks for all the advice on here it is much appreciated. But girls being girls they do not want to do anything that may cause them stress in the future if they stay on without a new tenancy agreement by way of receiving letters or pressures from the owners wanting them to move out

What does their sex have to do with anything?

They have a legal tenancy until either they decide to give notice or a court orders them to leave. 'Letters' or 'pressure' are meaningless...

Murphybear

Reference.  The landlord may legally refuse to give a reference.  If he does then it must be truthful.  

We used to ask 2 questions.  

Firstly, was the rent always paid and on time and secondly, would you rent to this tenant again.