Possible mis-sold tenancy?

markb1_2

We took out a new tenancy in late August last year for a 3 bedroom house (family home). The initial tenancy agreement was for 9 months. When we questioned the initial 9 month contract as opposed to the usual 6 month initial period, the agent told us it was because the landlady wanted to give the new tenants a proper chance to settle in to the place, and were advised (verbally by the agent) that after the initial 9 month contract there would either be a new fixed term contract or a rolling monthly contract. However, quite shockingly, we have now received a Section 21 notice to quit at the end of the 9 month contract. When we viewed the property, we made it explicitly clear that we were looking for a long term let where we could make a home and would not have taken this property if we knew it was a finite 9 month tenancy. We have also recently learned from a nearby resident that the landlady always intended to return to the property for the summer, so there was never any intention of renewing/extending the tenancy. So we feel that we were misled and mis-sold this tenancy. My question is, is there anything we can do about this, as we entered the contract based on false information?

nicmyles

I would doubt it, because the terms of your tenancy have been/are being fulfilled. You would struggle to prove that the landlady's plans hadn't simply changed.

penners324

What will the landlady do if you don't move out at the end of the AST?

Court action to evict you could take 12 months....

propertyrental

You signed a 9 month fixed term which gave you 9 months security.

Thereafter

* you are/were free to remain on a periodic (rolling) tenancy until either you or a court ends the tenancy

* the LL is/was free to serve a S21 and then apply to a court to end the tenancy.

Had you wanted security for longer than the 9 months, you should have tried to negotiate a 1 year, 2 year, or 3 year fixed term.

_Penny_Dreadful

markb1_2 said:

We took out a new tenancy in late August last year for a 3 bedroom house (family home). The initial tenancy agreement was for 9 months. When we questioned the initial 9 month contract as opposed to the usual 6 month initial period, the agent told us it was because the landlady wanted to give the new tenants a proper chance to settle in to the place, and were advised (verbally by the agent) that after the initial 9 month contract there would either be a new fixed term contract or a rolling monthly contract. However, quite shockingly, we have now received a Section 21 notice to quit at the end of the 9 month contract. When we viewed the property, we made it explicitly clear that we were looking for a long term let where we could make a home and would not have taken this property if we knew it was a finite 9 month tenancy. We have also recently learned from a nearby resident that the landlady always intended to return to the property for the summer, so there was never any intention of renewing/extending the tenancy. So we feel that we were misled and mis-sold this tenancy. My question is, is there anything we can do about this, as we entered the contract based on false information?

Is there anything you can do?  Yes and no.

One of the problems with renting in England's private rental market is that long term isn't really long term, as in it is unusual to be offered a fixed term longer than 12 months at a time.

You have a 9 month fixed term contract and the landlord is free to issue a Section 21 as long as the notice period does not end during the fixed term and at least 4 months have passed since the tenancy started.  Note that a Section 21 is not a notice to quit, it is notice that your landlord might go to court to get a possession order.  There is nothing you can do to compel the landlord to offer you a new fixed term contract.

As the Section 21 notice does not end the tenancy, that can only be done by you (the tenant) or a court, should you remain in the property following the end of the fixed term you will automatically start a periodic tenancy, there is nothing the landlord can do to prevent that from happening.  Plenty of things can invalidate a Section 21 notice so you can check the validity of yours using the link below.

https://nearlylegal.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/s21updatedOctober21.pdf

Even if your Section 21 is valid it can take months to legally evict a tenant.  First, there's going to court for the possession order which can take a few months, then there's appointing country court bailiffs to enforce the order so that buys you more time in the property.  If you were to go for social housing you would probably need to take it all the way to bailiffs.  Keep in mind though that the landlord can seek to recover the court and bailiff fees from you if they are successful in court.

Should you drag out the eviction if there is a valid Section 21?  That I leave up to you.  I wouldn't go making my family homeless at the end of May just to be out by the end of the notice period but I would start looking around for a new home.  Perhaps the landlord is devious or perhaps the letting agent took it upon themselves to tell a porky pie to encourage you to move in.  Who knows and whatever you were told at the time is all he-said-she-said without anything in writing.

km1500

agree with all of the above but just to say that should you not go at the end of the tenancy but decide to fight it then you may well be able to stay in the property longer but are unlikly  to get a reference from the landlord which means that your will find it extremely difficult to find a landlord who will let you rent your next property

Alderbank

km1500 said:

agree with all of the above but just to say that should you not go at the end of the tenancy but decide to fight it then you may well be able to stay in the property longer but are unlikly  to get a reference from the landlord which means that your will find it extremely difficult to find a landlord who will let you rent your next property

If your landlord is trying to get you to move out what possible motivation would she have for making it extremely difficult for another landlord to rent to you?

Gavin83

Alderbank said:

km1500 said:

agree with all of the above but just to say that should you not go at the end of the tenancy but decide to fight it then you may well be able to stay in the property longer but are unlikly  to get a reference from the landlord which means that your will find it extremely difficult to find a landlord who will let you rent your next property

If your landlord is trying to get you to move out what possible motivation would she have for making it extremely difficult for another landlord to rent to you?

If you drag it out to the point where they have to employ bailiffs to evict you then the lack of reference really doesn't matter to the landlord anymore. You're out regardless. Before that point it makes complete sense they'd do anything to make your departure easier though.

km1500

my point was their landlord issues a section 21 and the tenants decide to stay and  ignore it until a court order is produced

somewhere down the line the court grants the eviction and the tenant then has to leave

they then apply for a new tenancy somewhere and the new landlord asks for a reference from their old landlord before accepting them

guess what happens

theartfullodger

The point of Thatcher's Section 21 is that it permits a landlord to evict tenant for NO REASON AT ALL.  Tells you a lot about her party.

However that depends on s21 being valid and there's a lot of paperwork to get right by landlord - see 
https://nearlylegal.co.uk/section-21-flowchart/

& see..
https://england.shelter.org.uk/professional_resources/legal/possession_and_eviction/notices_in_possession_proceedings/what_makes_a_section_21_notice_invalid

MarkB check your s21 and let us know if you think it is valid.

Good luck & best wishes...

km1500

I would take slight issue with 'no reason at all' -  the reason often is that the initial fixed term period agreed by both parties at the beginning of the contract has ended.