Section 21 eviction notice

Houndog6105

Just after some advice tonight before i ring shelter tomorrow 

It's more for peace of mind i guess 
We have rented the property we currently live in for 3 years now and it was a 12 month contract but then it just became a continuous contract i think as we or the landlord never got back in touch again regarding the contract 

Anyway this morning we received a letter saying we need to be out the property by march as the landlord is moving back to the country and wants the house back 

My question is surely we need more time and are we within our right to stay past the march deadline as we now need to find a new property which is difficult in our current area and we also have two young children at schools in this area

I'd like to point out that we have never missed a month's rent since living here

The contract is an assured shorthold tenancy agreement and it does say that they only need to give the 2 months notice. Could we stay legally though past them 2 months? 

theartfullodger

Thanks to Thatcher's 1988 , housing act a landlord requires NO REASON AT ALL to issue a section 21 notice. None.  There's an election coming.....

S21  notices are NOT eviction notices.  They are a notice indicating the landlord may (or may not) apply to court to evict.

Many (many) are invalid. (Check by googling "nearly legal section 21".

An s21 , even if valid (many ain't) does not end the tenancy nor compel tenant to leave. Only a court can do them.  So yes, you may stay.

A prudent landlord may wish to "encourage" you (££££££...) to go...

Artful: Landlord since 2000

km1500

yes it is legal to issue one

if you dig your heels in the landlord has to go to court. 

this gives you more time - the downside being you won't get a reference and thus when you apply for your next rental you won't be able to supply one

theartfullodger

A sensible landlord is more likely to provide excellent references etc etc to get you out...... But being sensible is not required to be a landlord.

RAS

This is notice that if you do not leave "by march", the LL could start court proceedings to evict you.

If they have got all their ducks in a row, might be 4-6 months to achieve that. It's worth reading the list of 80 reasons an S21 could be invalid. Some render an S21 invalid, others might slow down the process.

Don't alert the LL to any problems until you get court papers. And don't send them a list they can rectify in one go.

Meantime read your contract and check the incoming inventory. How much notice do you need to give if you find somewhere? 

doodling

Hi,

An AST can only be ended by you or a court.  Note that the landlord isn't in that list of two.

If you have been issued with a valid S21 then when it gets to court, the court has very little discretion and will therefore order the end of the tenancy.  (And you will end up paying the court costs of ~£300).

If your landlord wants the property back then eventually he will get it so plan on moving soon.

You will have:
- The two months S21 notice 
- The time it takes for the case to be heard in court (probably at least a further couple of months depending on how busy they are).
- Any grace time the court gives you (probably measured in days)
- The time it takes for the landlord to instruct bailiffs to forcibly evict you if you let it go that far (depends how busy the bailiffs are).

In addition, if the S21 is invalid for any reason then you can defend the eviction in court and the landlord will have to reissue the S21 and the process starts again (i.e
 another 4 month delay).  Someone may be along shortly with a link to a checklist which allows you to check if a S21 is valid.

Can I just check that it is actually a S21 that has been issued and not something under S8?  Repossession under section 8 (ground 1) could be used if the landlord is moving back in and you were notified at the start of the tenancy that the landlord might want to do that - in that case the validity of a S21 might not be a relevant point.

propertyrental

What date was he S21 acually  'served' on you?

What service date was on the S21?

What (exact) does the S21 show as the expiry date?

Now use this flowchart to see if the S21 is valid:

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

Houndog6105

Thank you for the comments 
Would any of this effect my credit report? So going to court and so on

Also by me not leaving in march and making my landlord take it to court would this then negatively effect me on getting a good reference from them even if i continue to pay my rent up until the day the court possibly instructs me to leave 

Houndog6105

doodling said:

Hi,

An AST can only be ended by you or a court.  Note that the landlord isn't in that list of two.

If you have been issued with a valid S21 then when it gets to court, the court has very little discretion and will therefore order the end of the tenancy.  (And you will end up paying the court costs of ~£300).

If your landlord wants the property back then eventually he will get it so plan on moving soon.

You will have:
- The two months S21 notice 
- The time it takes for the case to be heard in court (probably at least a further couple of months depending on how busy they are).
- Any grace time the court gives you (probably measured in days)
- The time it takes for the landlord to instruct bailiffs to forcibly evict you if you let it go that far (depends how busy the bailiffs are).

In addition, if the S21 is invalid for any reason then you can defend the eviction in court and the landlord will have to reissue the S21 and the process starts again (i.e
 another 4 month delay).  Someone may be along shortly with a link to a checklist which allows you to check if a S21 is valid.

Can I just check that it is actually a S21 that has been issued and not something under S8?  Repossession under section 8 (ground 1) could be used if the landlord is moving back in and you were notified at the start of the tenancy that the landlord might want to do that - in that case the validity of a S21 might not be a relevant point.

doodling said:

Hi,

An AST can only be ended by you or a court.  Note that the landlord isn't in that list of two.

If you have been issued with a valid S21 then when it gets to court, the court has very little discretion and will therefore order the end of the tenancy.  (And you will end up paying the court costs of ~£300).

If your landlord wants the property back then eventually he will get it so plan on moving soon.

You will have:
- The two months S21 notice 
- The time it takes for the case to be heard in court (probably at least a further couple of months depending on how busy they are).
- Any grace time the court gives you (probably measured in days)
- The time it takes for the landlord to instruct bailiffs to forcibly evict you if you let it go that far (depends how busy the bailiffs are).

In addition, if the S21 is invalid for any reason then you can defend the eviction in court and the landlord will have to reissue the S21 and the process starts again (i.e
 another 4 month delay).  Someone may be along shortly with a link to a checklist which allows you to check if a S21 is valid.

Can I just check that it is actually a S21 that has been issued and not something under S8?  Repossession under section 8 (ground 1) could be used if the landlord is moving back in and you were notified at the start of the tenancy that the landlord might want to do that - in that case the validity of a S21 might not be a relevant point.

No it's not a section 8 doodling 

RAS

This isn't a consumer credit issue, not least as you will continue paying your rent as normal. If the LL tries to refuse the rent, put it aside in a separate account and you can end any application for eviction for non-payment by demanding they accept full payment.

gletley

In all honesty, you really don't want to go to court, you need to find somewhere quickly, even if it means moving again at a much later date. My friend took the advise on digging in her heals, she was married with two children. She faced court costs, was evicted and then couldn't find anywhere else to live because of her actions, no landlord want's to take on a tenant who has been proven difficult to remove. She ended up borrowing off her parents and buying an old caravan and living in it and moving from site to site every 21 days. Eventually the council found her a house due to her son suffering from the damp, but not anywhere near the school. Spend every waking moment searching for somewhere, in the papers, boards in shops, letting agents, even on facebook, please don't put yourself in the legal system, it will probably come back to bite you and could effect more than just renting, just like it did to my friend.