Ending Contract - 6 Month Contract

dranzer01

Can the landlord end the AST contract if the rent hasn't surpassed and/or is greater than two months worth of rent? 

A landlord is saying they want to end the tenancy due to rent arrears. Rent arrears are no where near the two month window and/or greater. So can he still/choose to end it?

Slithery

Possibly.

The LL can serve an S8 for rent arrears but it's up to the judge to decide on whether or not to evict.

Robbo66

Landlord can serve you a section 21 provided it doesnt expire within a fixed term period. if you are on a 6 month contract then he could serve 2 months notice in month 4 or 2 months notice in month 10 to coincide with the end of the fixed term. If however your agreement has gone periodic then he can serve 2 months notice at any time.

he can also use a section 8 with grounds 10, 11 & 12 but theses are discretionary and/or Ground 8 which is a mandatory ground for possession. To use ground 8 you must be at least 2 rental payments (2 x rental periods does not equate to 2 months) in arrears at time of servings and on day of hearing.

dranzer01

I moved in february , tenancy ends August - So the email came today for the tenancy to end end of August (due to rent arrears - which Im/have been contesting)

newsgroupmonkey_

In which case then sadly, unless there's something actually wrong with the S21, it's valid.

Doesn't of course mean you have to move out..... but I'd start looking.

saajan_12

dranzer01 said:

Can the landlord end the AST contract if the rent hasn't surpassed and/or is greater than two months worth of rent? 

A landlord is saying they want to end the tenancy due to rent arrears. Rent arrears are no where near the two month window and/or greater. So can he still/choose to end it?

dranzer01 said:

I moved in february , tenancy ends August - So the email came today for the tenancy to end end of August (due to rent arrears - which Im/have been contesting)

They can get the court to end the tenancy by
a. Section 8 ground 10/11 notice for any rent arrears -> served anytime, but its up to the judge's discretion whether the arrears are severe enough to grant possession.
b. Section 21 notice without reason -> served after first 4 months and expiring at / after the end of the fixed term. That's a mandatory term, so the judge has to grant possession if everything's done correctly. If they informally gave a reason stating rent arrears, its irrelevant as no reason is even necessary. 

canaldumidi

Just to add to the above good advice, here are the various Grounds that can be used for rent arrears (G8 (mandatory), G10 & G11 (at judge's discretion):

Schedule 2 (17 S8 Grounds a LL can use)

For the avoidance of doubt, the landlord cannot end the tenancy. He can only serve a S21 and/or S8 and then ask a court to end the tenancy.

See also

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?

dranzer01

I started my tenancy 25th february 2022 and the agency sent me an email on 19th june 2022 informing me of notice / section 21.... So that in itself is invalid as its not past 4 month window

canaldumidi

dranzer01 said:

I started my tenancy 25th february 2022 and the agency sent me an email on 19th june 2022 informing me of notice / section 21.... So that in itself is invalid as its not past 4 month window

Yes.

Assuming it was a S21 Notice, and assuming the tenancy agreement says notices can be served on you by email (not very common), then it's still invalid as served within the first 4 months.

dranzer01

She basically 'pre-warned' me via email she was going to serve notice of a section 21 (and then she wrote 'to follow by post' and took a screenshot of the envelope)

canaldumidi

dranzer01 said:

She basically 'pre-warned' me via email she was going to serve notice of a section 21 (and then she wrote 'to follow by post' and took a screenshot of the envelope)

drip drip drip...

So you've not had a S21.If/when it comes by post, if it is served on/after 25th June then (from the date point of view) it will be valid.

Can the landlord end the AST contract if the rent hasn't surpassed and/or is greater than two months worth of rent?

A S21 does not need any reason so the rent arrears are irrelevant.

A landlord is saying they want to end the tenancy due to rent arrears.

If that is the case, a S8 Notice would be more relevant. Though a sensible landlord would serve both.

Rent arrears are no where near the two month window

The 2 months arrears applies only to S8 ground 8. If arrears are less the LL can use S8 grounds 10 and/or 11. See

Schedule 2 (17 S8 Grounds a LL can use)