Landlord not following legal notice?

AJM1984

Hey all,

I'm really sorry to be a bother but I'm very much struggling at the moment and I'm looking to anywhere I can for support and advice.

My Landlord has decided to sell up this year. That's completely understandable and I've been very accommodating with viewings, EA visits etc. I wish it wasn't happening, but here we are.... I'm in the process of trying to buy a house (very rushed, I might add) but so far it's been going on for nearly 3 months; a lot of hiccups on the seller's behalf and, while the end was in sight, I'm pretty sure it's all about to fall through next week. Much to my dismay and rising blood pressure.

My Landlord has suddenly announced that an offer has been accepted on the house I'm in now and she wants me out on the 1st of July. This doesn't sound right. All I've had is a basic WhatsApp message saying "I'll send you the paperwork soon. But you cant be out later than July 1st. Seven weeks is generous. " - I'm on a periodic/monthly AST, fixed term ended in 2012. 
My monthly term also doesn't run from the 1st of the month to the end of. I moved in mid month, so my rent is paid mid month in advance. Example: Paid on the 15th, term ends on the 14th. I'm reading things about 'Break Clauses' but the legalese is beyond my comprehension. Sadly. 

Can she really push me out by the 1st of July? That's not enough time for me to restart the house buying process. I'm starting to feel really unwell with all this. 

Sorry if I'm in the wrong section... Thank you for reading. 

lincroft1710

Only 2 entities can end a tenancy, the tenant and a court. Your landlord cannot force you to leave

pramsay13

As above a landlord can't force you to move, so you can dictate the timescales. 
If you want you can sit tight and continue paying rent until you are ready to move, or until the landlord serves the correct notice and gets a court order to evict you. 
Alternatively you could ask for some money that would allow you to move early, maybe to another rental for a few months until your own house is ready. 

Brie

Is all of your tenancy documentation up to date (gas certificate, proof of deposit etc)?  And following that has a S21 been issued?  If you were to sit tight waiting for your house purchase you likely have at least 6 months on your side.

propertyrental

Assuming this is England (it appears to be) the LL must

1) serve you a S21 Notice giving 2 clear calendar months notice (so if served tomorrow 11/5/24 that expires 10/7/24)

2) then either you can serve your own (valid!) notice and leave when that expires or you can mutually agree an end date (in writing!) and surrender your tenancy on that date, or you can stay and

3) the LL then has to apply to court for possession. This can take a few months. There's a risk you might have to pay his court costs though

AJM1984

Brie said:

Is all of your tenancy documentation up to date (gas certificate, proof of deposit etc)?  And following that has a S21 been issued?  If you were to sit tight waiting for your house purchase you likely have at least 6 months on your side.

As far as I know, information is all up to date! Was given proof of deposit security in 2011. Gas certificates yearly. (An amendment to my original post though. My fixed term ended in 2012, not 2017! Apologies!)

No Section 21. Just the proposal of some paperwork to arrive next week. My Tenancy Agreement states I need to be given a Section 21 and 2 months notice. July 1st is not fitting in with my monthly term timelines, so I'm wondering if she knows something I don't? It definitely says something in a Break Clause about ending during a term before a certain date but not during the fixed term. The wording is baffling me.

It says I can end my tenancy with one month's written notice but that it must match the end of my monthly term. I'm assuming this means the 14th of a month is the last day I can give notice to be out the following month by the 14th. But the Landlord seems to be doing something else and picking the 1st of a month instead?

Just to add as well, we've never paid a penny late, all the EA involved with their sale/visitations have said the Landlord is lucky to have us because we're fantastic tenants.... So, I can't be looking at a Section 8, surely?

AJM1984

propertyrental said:

Assuming this is England (it appears to be) the LL must

1) serve you a S21 Notice giving 2 clear calendar months notice (so if served tomorrow 11/5/24 that expires 10/7/24)

2) then either you can serve your own (valid!) notice and leave when that expires or you can mutually agree an end date (in writing!) and surrender your tenancy on that date, or you can stay and

3) the LL then has to apply to court for possession. This can take a few months. There's a risk you might have to pay his court costs though

Sorry, yes, I'm in England. 

AJM1984

I can't find anything about reimbursement if my tenancy is forcefully ended before a full month has occurred either. If I pay a full month on June 15th as normal but she wants me out on July 1st, how do I know I'll get some money back... Oh goodness, this feels unnecessarily complicated.

RHemmings

AJM1984 said:

My Landlord has decided to sell up this year. That's completely understandable and I've been very accommodating with viewings, EA visits etc. I wish it wasn't happening, but here we are.... I'm in the process of trying to buy a house (very rushed, I might add) but so far it's been going on for nearly 3 months; a lot of hiccups on the seller's behalf and, while the end was in sight, I'm pretty sure it's all about to fall through next week. Much to my dismay and rising blood pressure.

My Landlord has suddenly announced that an offer has been accepted on the house I'm in now and she wants me out on the 1st of July. This doesn't sound right. All I've had is a basic WhatsApp message saying "I'll send you the paperwork soon. But you cant be out later than July 1st. Seven weeks is generous. " - I'm on a periodic/monthly AST, fixed term ended in 2012.

LOL at the bolded bit. The law takes an entirely different view. 

pramsay13 said:

As above a landlord can't force you to move, so you can dictate the timescales. 
If you want you can sit tight and continue paying rent until you are ready to move, or until the landlord serves the correct notice and gets a court order to evict you. 
Alternatively you could ask for some money that would allow you to move early, maybe to another rental for a few months until your own house is ready. 

Deffo try this. You can tell your landlord the legal situation, and then suggest that they pay for your additional costs if they want you to leave earlier than legally required. You might have a good negotiating position if the LL has signed a contract giving vacant possession before they are legally able to obtain that. But, this far off it's likely that contracts have not been exchanged. 

I might also consider changing the locks in case the LL is either ignorant of, or prepared to ignore, the law. 

pinkshoes

AJM1984 said:

I can't find anything about reimbursement if my tenancy is forcefully ended before a full month has occurred either. If I pay a full month on June 15th as normal but she wants me out on July 1st, how do I know I'll get some money back... Oh goodness, this feels unnecessarily complicated.

Your tenancy cannot be forcefully ended.

The LL needs to issue a S21 eviction notice, and even then you don't have to move out if you don't have anywhere to go.

I'd perhaps see if you can play this to your advantage and write to your LL:

"Dear LL. Thank you for letting me know that you have accepted an offer on the property. Unfortunately I'm not in a position to move out at the moment, as the house I'm purchasing is ongoing, and will not be completed with the 7 weeks that you would like me to move out by. I understand that should you issue an S21, you can request that I move out in 2 calendar months time (so 10th July if S21 is received tomorrow) but again if am not in a position to move out, I will not be able to do this. However, as I appreciate that you have a deadline, then if you are willing to return my deposit in full along with an additional £2000 to cover the cost of me having to move twice, I will vacate the property by your requested date and find alternative temporary accommodation."

You might want to delay sending that to buy more time until an S21 would expire. 

AJM1984

RHemmings said:

AJM1984 said:

My Landlord has decided to sell up this year. That's completely understandable and I've been very accommodating with viewings, EA visits etc. I wish it wasn't happening, but here we are.... I'm in the process of trying to buy a house (very rushed, I might add) but so far it's been going on for nearly 3 months; a lot of hiccups on the seller's behalf and, while the end was in sight, I'm pretty sure it's all about to fall through next week. Much to my dismay and rising blood pressure.

My Landlord has suddenly announced that an offer has been accepted on the house I'm in now and she wants me out on the 1st of July. This doesn't sound right. All I've had is a basic WhatsApp message saying "I'll send you the paperwork soon. But you cant be out later than July 1st. Seven weeks is generous. " - I'm on a periodic/monthly AST, fixed term ended in 2012.

LOL at the bolded bit. The law takes an entirely different view. 

pramsay13 said:

As above a landlord can't force you to move, so you can dictate the timescales. 
If you want you can sit tight and continue paying rent until you are ready to move, or until the landlord serves the correct notice and gets a court order to evict you. 
Alternatively you could ask for some money that would allow you to move early, maybe to another rental for a few months until your own house is ready. 

Deffo try this. You can tell your landlord the legal situation, and then suggest that they pay for your additional costs if they want you to leave earlier than legally required. You might have a good negotiating position if the LL has signed a contract giving vacant possession before they are legally able to obtain that. But, this far off it's likely that contracts have not been exchanged. 

I might also consider changing the locks in case the LL is either ignorant of, or prepared to ignore, the law. 

She only accepted an offer 6 days ago and the house is still online and not listed as STC or Under Offer. She wants it gone before her mortgage rates go up at the end of the year. She does also have a habit of entering the garden whenever she likes, it's entirely enclosed but she squeezes through a gap at the back of a fence when we're away, so I don't know if her ignorance may extend to her entering the house.