How much time, on average, for the landlord to evict me?

MobileSaver

stranglekelp said:

MobileSaver said:

stranglekelp said:

he will go to court and this notice will always fail due to the lack of the GSC?

You do need to be aware that there are of course risks for you in following this approach quite apart from the simple if unlikely one of you being mistaken and a valid GSC existing.

Courts frown upon litigants trying to ambush their opponent. If you let this get all the way to court without informing the LL beforehand why you are not leaving (i.e. that the S21 is invalid) then you run the risk of "winning" the case but having costs awarded against you.

Admittedly the costs won't be huge (court fees, travel costs, loss of earnings etc.) and it's a small risk but they are completely avoidable by the simple expediency of giving the LL reasonable notice.

The reason why I am not leaving is that I currently don't have anywhere to go and I am not required to leave until I am able to do so, simple as and the landlord has been told that clearly, it's not being hidden from him.

I am not sure where you got that idea from but you are completely wrong. If/when a valid S21 is issued and a court grants possession then you will be required to leave whether you have somewhere else to go to or not.

So if that's what you've told your landlord then you are the one mistaken and you are the one that will look foolish in court. Turning up in court and saying "Oh yes, I knew the defence I initially gave was nonsense, the real reason I am not required to leave is because the S21 is invalid due to a missing GSC" is ambushing the other side and that's something courts generally frown upon.

stranglekelp said:

Any such costs are going to be lower than a month or two of increased rent anyway, so I see no major risk there.

Maybe, maybe not. The point is that if you act reasonably with the LL and the courts then you minimise the risk and the costs but if you want to go into the process with an attitude then knock yourself out...

deannagone

MobileSaver do you have evidence that a defendent (like the OP) can still have to pay costs if they defend against a Possession Order by informing the court the S21 is invalid without telling the LL it is first? I thought it was up to the LL to make sure their case is correct.  The defendent surely has no obligation to tell the LL they don't know what they are doing.  I can't see a judge chastising a defendent for not doing so by awarding costs against them etc?   

I wasn't aware loss of earnings could be claimed for?  I thought it couldn't.  Again, can you give more information on this point?

MobileSaver

deannagone said:

MobileSaver do you have evidence that a defendent (like the OP) can still have to pay costs if they defend against a Possession Order by informing the court the S21 is invalid without telling the LL it is first? I thought it was up to the LL to make sure their case is correct.  The defendent surely has no obligation to tell the LL they don't know what they are doing.  I can't see a judge chastising a defendent for not doing so by awarding costs against them etc?   

I wasn't aware loss of earnings could be claimed for?  I thought it couldn't.  Again, can you give more information on this point?

I think you're missing the point. Awarding costs is generally at the discretion of the court so the point is that if a tenant acts unreasonably then they are more likely to have costs awarded against them.

The tenant has an obligation to file a defence in advance - if that defence filed is the obviously false "I am not required to leave until I am able to do so" instead of "the S21 is invalid" and the tenant displays the same attitude in court as they have here then the risk is the court find them to be acting unreasonably.

Loss of earnings was just an example of what could be claimed but yes if someone has to attend "Small Claims" court then they can claim travel costs and loss of earnings for attending. For the avoidance of doubt I wasn't suggesting these costs are routinely awarded (although litigant-in-person costs often are) just that they can be if the court sees fit.

As I said previously it is a small risk but it is a risk nonetheless that can be almost completely avoided simply by acting in a reasonable manner.

stranglekelp

So, updates.

Landlord asked for an inspection before us leaving on 15/04. Advised the landlord of dates when he can have an inspection, but that it will serve little purpose as we are not leaving and that he will still have to do an inspection before we actually vacate, however he is still welcome to do one if he wants to. No reply for several days.

He then calls saying if I sign a new contract he will void the S21 notice. I have advised same as I did before and he said that he is experiencing financial pressure due to his new mortgage. Not sure why he would tell me that, as that would only give me more leverage, but hey.

I have now asked him to only contact me as he progresses the S21 proceedings or if he wants to facilitate an inspection, so we will see how that goes.

I have gone through the very first tenancy (2018) and at the time of signing I have been given the contract, the EPC rating and the TDS certificate. This TDS certificate however does not appear to be valid when I check it online as it cannot find my details on the certificate number provided? I don't know whether a new one would be generated as he may have had to "re-protect" when I renewed the tenancy in January, 2022.

No gas safety certificate given at the time and a new one wasn't provided when gas safety check was done in 2019.

When I renewed my tenancy in January, 2022 I was only given the new contract, nothing else. I am assuming he should have given me the new TDS certificate, the EPC, the guide book and a new gas safety certificate? Not sure what the landlord is planning, but as it stands the clock is not yet ticking.

In other news, a property I offered under asking on in December, but was refused, appears to have collapsed and the estate agent is asking if I am still interested. A lot of things happening at once, this will be an interesting spring / summer!

macman

Lack of an EICR will invalidate the S21. Lack of  an GSC is a criminal offence, if you choose to report it: potentially a £6k fine and 6m in prison. Failure to protect the deposit: you can sue for up to 3 x the deposit, and you will win-there is no defence to this.
Your LL really is a hapless amateur.

ArbitraryRandom

stranglekelp said:

So, updates.

Landlord asked for an inspection before us leaving on 15/04. Advised the landlord of dates when he can have an inspection, but that it will serve little purpose as we are not leaving and that he will still have to do an inspection before we actually vacate, however he is still welcome to do one if he wants to. No reply for several days.

Could be he intends to have a GSC carried out? Remember that he will need to issue a new S21 after giving you the GCS (it can't be backdated).

I have gone through the very first tenancy (2018) and at the time of signing I have been given the contract, the EPC rating and the TDS certificate. This TDS certificate however does not appear to be valid when I check it online as it cannot find my details on the certificate number provided? I don't know whether a new one would be generated as he may have had to "re-protect" when I renewed the tenancy in January, 2022.

No, it's not a requirement to inform TDS when a tenancy is renewed; only if the amount of the deposit or rent changes, or if the tenancy ends. If you are having trouble you can contact them using the details here: https://www.tenancydepositscheme.com/learn-more/information-tds-lounge/contact-us/ A few years ago I needed to contact them to query something and they were very helpful. 

No gas safety certificate given at the time and a new one wasn't provided when gas safety check was done in 2019.

I think Maman already gave you this link? If you think it's appropriate you should include it with your defence if things get that far: https://www.shoosmiths.co.uk/insights/articles/gas-safety-certificate-must-be-provided-before-start-of-residential-tenancy 

Some comments from me

EDIT: I was just thinking, if you're not SURE about if a GCS was issued (or any other proscribed documentation) then it wouldn't be lying to say you believe it wasn't as you don't recall receiving it and it's not with the other documentation which you filed at the time. The onus would then be on your LL to provide a copy (there should have been three copies, one for you, one for the inspectors records and one for the landlord). You can't be expected to prove a negative.