Rental Flat Landlord Lock out... advise on what to do now

adviseforumthanks

HampshireH said:

Have the paid January's rent? Was it accepted?

This person has had the best part of a year to find somewhere to live did they make any effort to do so?

Yes, they did find alternative but the state of the rental market they are saying is not great and wild west and things fell through. 

No rent has been paid as they have just sorted access to get access to their things, but not moving back in if they have no defendable rights. They just want to quickly work out where they stand. 

adviseforumthanks

_Penny_Dreadful said:

Either the council is totally clueless or someone has misunderstood what they’ve said. There are four ways an AST can be ended:

1) The tenant leaves at the end of the fixed term. 

2) The tenant serves notice. 

3) By a court. 

4) Mutual surrender agreed between the landlord and tenant. 

When a tenant serves notices there’s no need for the landlord to serve notice to then apply to the court for a possession order because the tenant’s notice has already ended the tenancy. When a tenant serves valid notice to end an AST and then fails to move out after the notice period ends can be pursued by the landlord for mesne profits equivalent to the value of twice the rent under the Distress for Rent Act 1737. 

So NO defendable rights to be back in the property is confirmed. 

The place is vacant at the moment as its probably going through the conveyencing process I assume. Not sure if there is anyway to check this or its progress?

I want to give them better advise on what to do - I would say the options seem to be:

1. Communicate to the LL (email or somehow call) they are back in to get their things and send a key copy to them (risky)?
2. Just move stuff and out and change the locks back?

diystarter7

propertyrental said:

There are some ambiguities in your post so the full facts are not clear, but from what you say I disagree with other replies above:

• Eventually a date of end of Nov 2022 was provided to the LL via an email sent by the tenant

So the tenant served notice to end the tenancy. This is  valid way for a tenancy to be ended.

• Closer to the time the tenant called the LL and asked for an extension to the end of Nov 2022 date

• A couple of weeks was agreed as rent was paid until 17 Dec 2022 in anycase

• (There was no evidence of this telephone conversation)

Unfortunately if this was not confirmed in writing, this becomes a case of "I said...." "You said...." The LL could deny agreeing to an extension meaning the tenancy would end when the tenant's original notice expired: end of November.

• No Section 21 or any other notices were issued by the LL to the tenant ever

Since it was the T who served notice, no S21 is needed.

The T has no right to return since they served notice, the notice has expired, and the tenancy has ended. No rent is owed (is it still being paid?) and no right of re-entry exists.

If the T has left belongings in the property, the LL has an obligation to take care of them and allow the T to collect them. See

https://www.landlordzone.co.uk/information/abandoned-possessions/

Hi
Having read the posts here, this is the one I am with and the post is fair and honest to both the T &LL
Stuff like this post is good for the OP and helps others in a similar plight.

Thnaks