Improvement Notice Received After a Section 21 Notice Was Issued

househelp_2

Hello,

My tenant has been renting since 1996, paying the same rent £313 for my 3-bed semi.

I'm now in a situation where I can't travel the distance to maintain the property and look after it properly, and the no-fault evictions are going to be stopped, so I thought it was better to move on.

I issued a Section 21 through Landlord Action, after some discussion with the tenant.

After receiving the notice, the tenant asked me to do some repairs, through the council, which I had done.

And then after that, I've now received an improvement notice for a LOT of repairs from the health and safety department of the council.

The say: new guttering, new central heating, new windows, gutters, soffits and facias, new kitchen and new bathroom and a lot more.

and I have 3 months to get the work done.

So now I have 2 questions: is my Section 21 notice now invalid and will I have to start from the beginning again when the work is done?

How can the man possibly expect to live in the house with all the work going on around him? Do I ask him to move out? Or say nothing and expect him to cope?

and the 3rd question: I will have to put the rent up when the work is done, is that legal/ or feasible?

Thank you very much.

Mr.Generous

£313 for a three bed? You think you're doing the tenant a favor leaving the rent that low. Firstly they are doing everything they can to stop you selling up - not at all grateful for the cut price rent where I feel they should probably just accept it's time to move on.

 Secondly they won't be able to afford anywhere else, because like most people they will have got used to living within their means and spend the rest of income elsewhere. Roughly how much is a 3 bed to rent in that location? I rent out several (very nice) 1 bed houses for a lot more in the North West. A three bed round here is about £800+ - I've a good long term tenant paying £715 but it's going up soon - leaving the rent too low creates an expectation it will never rise.

 Join a landlords forum and get some proper advice re the section 21 validity and make sure the gas and electric checks are up to date. I don't know when deposit bond schemes came in but I'd guess long after your tenancy agreement started, but if you took a bond check that too. I know a few years ago you could take a bigger deposit, I remember taking a double deposit once from a tenant - good job too.

Best of luck with it.

RHemmings

Mr.Generous said:

£313 for a three bed? You think you're doing the tenant a favor leaving the rent that low. Firstly they are doing everything they can to stop you selling up - not at all grateful for the cut price rent where I feel they should probably just accept it's time to move on.

 Secondly they won't be able to afford anywhere else, because like most people they will have got used to living within their means and spend the rest of income elsewhere. Roughly how much is a 3 bed to rent in that location? I rent out several (very nice) 1 bed houses for a lot more in the North West. A three bed round here is about £800+ - I've a good long term tenant paying £715 but it's going up soon - leaving the rent too low creates an expectation it will never rise.

 Join a landlords forum and get some proper advice re the section 21 validity and make sure the gas and electric checks are up to date. I don't know when deposit bond schemes came in but I'd guess long after your tenancy agreement started, but if you took a bond check that too. I know a few years ago you could take a bigger deposit, I remember taking a double deposit once from a tenant - good job too.

Best of luck with it.

I was in a similar situation as a tenant, paying under market rent for a three bed semi. Though, not as low as £313 p/m. My landlord put the rent up once. They eventually decided to fully refurbish the property, but I offered them an increased but still under market rent. And, they paused the refurbishment for a number of years. However, eventually they had to plan to replace all the electrics (which I was always concerned about). They offered for us to move out during the replacing the electrics and then move back in again. However, we decided to move out. Now I'm paying full market rent for a more impressive property, and that's why I'm so eager to buy now. 

Speaking as a past tenant in an underpriced rental property, I was fully aware that the rent was cheap and would have been amenable to discussions on it. And, reasonable. Not all tenants in underpriced properties would be incapable of moving somewhere else. 

_Penny_Dreadful

househelp_2 said:

Hello,

My tenant has been renting since 1996, paying the same rent £313 for my 3-bed semi.

I'm now in a situation where I can't travel the distance to maintain the property and look after it properly, and the no-fault evictions are going to be stopped, so I thought it was better to move on.

I issued a Section 21 through Landlord Action, after some discussion with the tenant.

After receiving the notice, the tenant asked me to do some repairs, through the council, which I had done.

And then after that, I've now received an improvement notice for a LOT of repairs from the health and safety department of the council.

The say: new guttering, new central heating, new windows, gutters, soffits and facias, new kitchen and new bathroom and a lot more.

and I have 3 months to get the work done.

So now I have 2 questions: is my Section 21 notice now invalid and will I have to start from the beginning again when the work is done?

How can the man possibly expect to live in the house with all the work going on around him? Do I ask him to move out? Or say nothing and expect him to cope?

and the 3rd question: I will have to put the rent up when the work is done, is that legal/ or feasible?

Thank you very much.

Following the Nearly Legal section 21 checker the section 21 could be invalid. Has the tenant ever requested repairs in writing? 

 https://nearlylegal.co.uk/section-21-flowchart/

Does the improvement notice contain category 1 or 2 hazards? 

For now I think you have to focus on the improvement notice rather than the section 21. If you don’t comply with the improvement notice the local authority can impose a penalty of up to £30,000 and the tenant could apply for a rent repayment order. 

theartfullodger

£313 a week or a month?

Pleased to hear council being proactive. 'umbly suggest you deal with council in a helpful, responsive and prompt manner.

Good guidance on Shelter's website on improvement notices etc.

As a landlord who until earlier this year had rented property over 1,000 mile round trip, 10 hour each way away understand the issues in managing from a distance.  In my experience it takes time and more money than normal.  

Best regards.

propertyrental

Provided the tenant has followed the correct process ie first reporting repairing issues to you properly, and then, assuming you ignored the request, applying to the council, then the council enforcement notice will invalidate the 21.

The Deregulation Act 2015 (S33)

Your landlord cannot use the section 21 notice to evict you as long as all these things have happened:
you complained to your landlord about your housing conditions before the section 21
your landlord did not properly deal with your complaint within 14 days
you then complained to the council's environmental health team about the problem
the council gave your landlord an improvement or emergency works notice

https://england.shelter.org.uk/housing_advice/repairs/revenge_eviction_if_you_ask_for_repairs

If the above process was not followed, I believe the S21 will be valid - but courts can be unpredictable......

As for the rent, see

Post 5: Rent increases: when & how can rent be increased?

Grumpy_chap

househelp_2 said:

My tenant has been renting since 1996, paying the same rent £313 for my 3-bed semi.

Why has the rent not been increased in nearly 30 years?
Rents vary for different parts of the country but, assuming the £313 was market-rent back in 1996, it must be massively below market rent now.

I guess the tenant has got very familiar with the comfortable position they are in and simply does not want it to be changed.

househelp_2 said:

After receiving the notice, the tenant asked me to do some repairs, through the council, which I had done.

Ordinarily, the tenant should make first request for repairs to the LL (or Agent) and request for improvement works should be last resort.  Given how Council resources are always very challenged, I would be surprised if the Council was willing to step in if the request had not been made to the LL first by the tenant and unsuccessful.  

househelp_2 said:

And then after that, I've now received an improvement notice for a LOT of repairs from the health and safety department of the council.

The say: new guttering, new central heating, new windows, gutters, soffits and facias, new kitchen and new bathroom and a lot more.

and I have 3 months to get the work done.

I am not knowledgeable on how Council improvement notices operate but what exactly does the notice say?
It is just, a lot of those items mentioned seem to be far more, as an uninformed lay-person, than I would expect the Council to be able to say.  
AIUI, the Council can only assess habitability and safety and that is all done against a fairly low benchmark if the standard and speed of repairs to Housing Association stock is anything to go by.  In fact, the law says it is a low baseline:

"make sure that rented houses and flats are ‘fit for human habitation’, which means that they are safe, healthy and free from things that could cause serious harm."
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/homes-fitness-for-human-habitation-act-2018/guide-for-tenants-homes-fitness-for-human-habitation-act-2018

Let's consider the requirement for "new central heating":

A property should have a heating system that is safe and performs adequately to maintain a temperature level. It is quite a low baseline:
https://www.cover4insurance.com/news/heating-what-are-the-legal-requirements-for-landlords

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/how-to-rent-a-safe-home/how-to-rent-a-safe-home

So, does the Council say "fit new central heating"?
OR, does the report give a list of defects and / or deficiencies in the central heating?
Have the necessary annual safety inspections been carried out?

It may well be possible that the Council assessment list lots of things, but they could be resolved easily and, possibly, even by the tenant acting in a tenant like manner.
You have not mentioned what type of heating is installed but, assume it is gas central heating.  If the report said something like "radiators on upstairs floor do not warm up", that could be resolved through something as simple as bleeding the system.

Is it possible that you have seen the report and extrapolated expensive conclusions?

One assumes that the tenant is not expecting to live in a palace for the rate of £313 per month.

Ratkin007

Was you aware the Council was going out to inspect the property? Did they serve notification under section 239 of the Housing Act 2004. Sounds like a short time period for a lot of work. Have you done any works over the years, do you feel the improvement notice is justified? Communicate with the Council, especially if you feel you cannot meet the timeline. As has been pointed out, failure to do the works couldcresult in a civil penalty notice up to £30k. If you feel the works are not warranted, the notice should give you information on how to appeal.