Being evicted before completion

CardiffCrank

ProDave said:

What a stupid landlord.  He knows you will be leaving soon and leaving amicably.  If that were me I would just have let it roll to a periodic tenancy and await you the tenant giving your notice when you have a completion date.

Instead, the idiot wants to evict you.  Just what does he hope to gain?  He won't get you out sooner as already explained, he will just incur extra costs and will have soured what was probably a good relationship before he did that.

What a plonker.

Sit tight, proceed with your purchase and leave when you are ready.  I guess the only upside of this is no need now to give notice, just leave on your completion day.

You should still give notice, as far as I know.

ProDave

sidneyvic said:

It's not the landlord, it's the letting agent cashing in. getting paid to issue a 12 month AST, getting paid to issue a section 21 etc etc.
They have to screw whatever they can out of gullible landlords now they can't screw tenants as easily.
If I was the op I would write directly to the landlord explaining their intentions and that as is their right they will not be leaving when section 21 expires. 

If the letting agent did that to my tenant without asking me, I would be livid, and they would not be my letting agent any more.

Slithery

CardiffCrank said:

You should still give notice, as far as I know

Correct. 

GDB2222

Slithery said:

CardiffCrank said:

You should still give notice, as far as I know

Correct. 

Agreed, but don’t give notice until you have exchanged contracts on your purchase.

If the landlord, foolishly, issues possession proceedings, you would be liable for a few hundred pounds of costs, ie the court fees and a small fixed fee for the solicitor. The LL will have more costs that cannot be claimed from you. So, I suggest that you contact your landlord direct, and explain your situation, as it’s not in either side's interests to issue proceedings. 

Apollo1988

Thank you for all the advice.

So as I understand it, we tell them we are going to stay beyond the 29th May, obviously continue to pay our rent, and give them the 1 months notice in our contract to leave once completed.

If they decided to go through the courts it would take 6-18 months, and we would only be liable for some court costs if they did go down that route? They wouldn’t be able to withhold our deposit on leaving?

saajan_12

Apollo1988 said:

Thank you for all the advice.

So as I understand it, we tell them we are going to stay beyond the 29th May, - can do, don't have to
obviously continue to pay our rent, and give them the 1 months notice in our contract to leave once completed. - what exactly does the reference to '1 month notice' in your contract say? It could be restrictive on certain dates the month must end on, or apply for a break clause instead of a periodic tenancy after the fixed term.. 

If they decided to go through the courts it would take 6-18 months, - I wouldn't treat 6 months as a minimum timeframe.. That rule of thumb often counts the S21 notice period and is based on covid related backlogs.. However different courts are at various stages of clearing up the backlog, I've heard of cases where they're down to a matter of weeks. As a lower estimate, there's a possibility of a court date in 3 weeks, possession order expiring in 4 weeks, and if escalated to high court bailiffs then bailiffs in 2 weeks.. All in 2 months post 29May. 
and we would only be liable for some court costs if they did go down that route? They wouldn’t be able to withhold our deposit on leaving? - well what part? You wouldn't be liable for the repeat court costs if they got the S21 paperwork wrong, but you would be liable for the full court fees.  

Your next steps are likely the same, ie keep pushing on your purchase and stay put beyond 29th May, serving notice once you exchange. However I've added some comments above to clarify some points, as its potentially not AS relaxed as you suggest. 

Apollo1988

Thanks for the speedy response!

GDB2222

The court fees depend on the precise route adopted by the LL legal team, but around £350. So-called Fixed Commencement Fees (a contribution to the LL's legal fees) will be under £100. So, a total payable by the tenant of around £400-450.

In contrast, it's likely to cost the LL well over £1000.

So, it's zany for the LL to issue eviction proceedings in these circumstances. It just costs both of you money, and it achieves nothing.

Further details here: https://becket-chambers.co.uk/2021/04/30/a-guide-to-costs-in-possession-proceedings/

I suggest that the OP has a pleasant chat with the LL, and asks (nicely) to be allowed to stay on an extra month or two until his purchase completes. Say you'll cooperate with viewings, etc.



You'll need to give the correct notice to end your periodic tenancy, which automatically commences when the fixed term ends. Do that after exchanging contracts. There are details on the Shelter website:

https://england.shelter.org.uk/professional_resources/legal/renting/how_a_tenant_can_end_a_tenancy/tenant_ends_an_assured_or_assured_shorthold_tenancy#:~:text=A tenant can end a periodic tenancy by giving valid,tenancy if this is longer.

There's also a 'sticky' on this forum, which is more detailed, and hopefully someone will provide a link to it. 

Slithery

GDB2222 said:

There's also a 'sticky' on this forum, which is more detailed, and hopefully someone will provide a link to it.

Here you go...

Ending/renewing an AST

nyermen

Courts are so backlocked, a S21 tenant who is in good standing will be low on the priority list.  Plenty of S8 priority cases to hear first.

You'll hopefully have exchanged & given notice way before then.