Landlord wants me to move during Fixed Term AST on Ground 1

Schwarzwald

dvenom999 said:

... The landlord asked if he could come check if everything is fine. After he arrived, he started telling me this story about how he's lost his job 8 months ago and hasn't found anything since; his father is suffering from cancer and he had to move out and move in with him and so on.

Dont get guilt tripped or emotionally blackmailed otherwise .... as hard as it sounds, but these are none of your issues. they might be true, they might not be true. in any case, not really your issue.

propertyrental

Correction to my earlier post.

Housing Act 1988 S7 says:

(6)The court shall not make an order for possession of a dwelling-house to take effect at a time when it is let on an assured fixed term tenancy unless—

(a)the ground for possession is Ground 2[F8, Ground 7A] [F9 , Ground 7B] or Ground 8 in Part I of Schedule 2 to this Act or any of the grounds in Part II of that Schedule, other than Ground 9 or Ground 16; and

(b)the terms of the tenancy make provision for it to be brought to an end on the ground in question (whether that provision takes the form of a provision for re-entry, for forfeiture, for determination by notice or otherwise).

My underlining

dvenom999

Hi @propertyrental - looking at the Housing Act 1988s7(6)(a) it seems to state:

(6) The court shall not make an order for possession of a dwelling-house to take effect at a time when it is let on an assured fixed term tenancy unless:

a. the ground for possession is Ground 2[F8, Ground 7A] [F9 , Ground 7B] or Ground 8 in Part I of Schedule 2 to this Act or any of the grounds in Part II of that Schedule, other than Ground 9 or Ground 16; and

I assume that the wording in this section implies that an order of posession may NOT be made unless it is under either Part 1 of Schedule 2 grounds, 7A or 7B OR those noted in Part II of the schedule. Therefore, as Ground 1 Part I of the schedule is not directly mentioned as a valid ground for posession during a fixed term tenancy, it may NOT be used as a valid ground for eviction.

dvenom999

(for some reason I am unable to edit my previous post)

Agreed with the underlining, however it is previously followed by the 6.a. trailing and statement i.e. IF the conditions set out in 6.a. are met AND those in 6.b, then the court may make an order for possession. However, since 6.a is not met (as grounds 1 is not directly specified as an "unless" ground), the AND in 6.b does not apply.

RAS

You've not yet got enough post history to edit your posts. One of the few occasions a little post gathering may be useful? 

housebuyer143

https://england.shelter.org.uk/professional_resources/legal/possession_and_eviction/grounds_for_possession/assured_tenancy_mandatory_grounds_for_possession#title-2

Ground 1 broken down here. Makes it sound like you would be fine even if it went to court.

propertyrental

Yup! G1 does not apply in fixed term.

Mr.Generous

I think the Landlord needs to get his/her checkbook out (if they still exist) if they want the property back. The tenant has wisely gone for 3yr tenancy for security - the landlord accepted that. I'd always be a bit nervous about allowing 3 years until I knew and trusted the tenant, but this landlord took the gamble. The Tenant took that decision because they weighed up the pro's and con's and decided to commit. The landlord should have also considered the possible need to get the property back. They didn't, so to me the only way to achieve that is by agreement - which will cost.

saajan_12

The stuff about prior notice is really a red herring - tenancy agreements will frequently include that notice in the text and even if not, when the LL could use S8G1 they can also use S21 without such notice. 

The point is really that it doesn't apply during the fixed term. OP, just point that out to the LL and that you'll be staying for the fixed term. If they continue to badger then ignore. If they really want to take it to court, let them and the judge will tell them. 

dvenom999

Hello everyone and thank you for the advice! The landlord came back to me and I informed him that we will not be leaving before the end of the fixed contract. He agreed and backed off!