I'm being evicted!

just_a_renter

I received a phonecall telling me that I'm being served a section 21 no fault eviction in a few days

Comes as a shock as I've lived here for 15 years and never caused any problems or missed any payments

The letting agent said the landlord has had a change of circumstances and is considering selling the property. I don't believe this, because it's attached to a shop (which he also owns) that brings in serious ££££££

I googled "no fault evictions" and it turns out the king's speech a day earlier said that the government was going to introduce a ban. So, to me, this looks like the landlord trying to get ahead of that

Very upsetting. I have severe anxiety and depression, and I'm currently being assessed for autism and ADHD. I have no energy to do anything (executive dysfunction) and have difficulty even leaving the house (agoraphobia) and now I'm expected to pack-up 15 years worth of belongings and find somewhere else to live in just 2 months!

I'm on ESA (support group) and pretty poor. I haven't applied for PIP because I don't want the stress and I can *just about* manage without it because I'm frugal and my rent is cheap

The property is, to be frank, a dump. There's ZERO insulation, leaks in the roof, rats, peeling wallpaper, Windows falling out of their frames, and parts of the ceiling have fallen down. I've told him about these things but he doesn't seem to care. It's basically unfit for human habitation, but I don't complain because it's cheap and I don't want him to put the rent up

I did get the council involved years ago because he refused to deal with the rat situation and so they did. They also assessed a load of other stuff and gave him a list of fixes that he legally needed to make to bring it up to code, some of which remain unfinished to this day

More recently, he did fix a broken window (not by me) and fallen downpipe (that was in turn causing a damp problem) but it took him about 6 months to fix one and over a YEAR to fix the other, and I had to tell him multiple times. I wouldn't usually bother but the water ingress would've cost *him* a lot of money down the line, so maybe it's a retaliatory eviction? I wouldn't usually ask him to fix something more than once because I didn't want to give him an excuse to evict me

I've put down laminate flooring, new carpets (original carpet was paper thin and probably taken from another property), and PVC cladding in the bathroom (because the tiles kept falling off). My entire life is in this house. Despite the obvious flaws (holes in the ceiling, etc), I've tried to make it into a home. And now I've got 2 months to pack it all up and take it somewhere that doesn't exist. I can't afford anywhere else

So what can I do? I'm really freaking out

anselld

When the s21 arrives check if it is valid ...

    https://england.shelter.org.uk/professional_resources/legal/possession_and_eviction/section_21_validity_checker

You may consider getting the Council in again because if they were to issue an enforcement notice for repairs that would delay eviction further.  There is a fair chance they would do so if there are outstanding matters from the previous visit.

However the bottom line is that you will eventually need to move so it would probably be less stressful if you could manage to do so on your own terms, difficult as that may seem.

just_a_renter

If I haven't technically been served the S21 yet, could I report the problems (again) and get it delayed?

fatbelly

Yes

And you need to be aware that you do not have to leave just because the notice has expired. 

So you do have more than two months whatever happens with the council.

But it does look like the landlord wants his property back and so best start looking for somewhere else

Bookworm105

doubtless the LL is trying to pre-empt the change in law given you say you are paying a low rent in return for a place which the LL is not spending much money on 

until the law changes, if the S21 is valid, then the process to remove you has started and eventually you will have to move, hence it is called "no fault" 
yes you can drag it out and eventually end up in court and then have bailiffs at the door, but can you cope with that stress?
do you have a support worker who can help?
we can make suggestions on how to fight it, but at the end of the day only you can actually do the fighting.

propertyrental

You have no way of knowing the LLs circumstances, and in any case it does not really matter.

He may sell the lease to the flat and keep the shop, so that's not really relevant.

The law change in the kings speech may be a factor - I think many LLs will reconsider their business plans in light of the rule change, but in any case it will take considerable time to become law. It's inevitable that if/as property letting becomes increasingly expensive or difficult, fewer people will want to be LLs.

Historic defects in the property which have been fixed (albeit slowly) are irrelevant.

And as far as a S21 is concerned, your personal circumstances/health issues are also irrelevant, as is the length of time you've been there.

However there are plenty of potential reasons why a S21 may be invalid (see link above). In particular, current property defects that the LL has ignored/is ignoring, are relevant.

just_a_renter

propertyrental said:

You have no way of knowing the LLs circumstances, and in any case it does not really matter.

He may sell the lease to the flat and keep the shop, so that's not really relevant.

The law change in the kings speech may be a factor - I think many LLs will reconsider their business plans in light of the rule change, but in any case it will take considerable time to become law. It's inevitable that if/as property letting becomes increasingly expensive or difficult, fewer people will want to be LLs.

Historic defects in the property which have been fixed (albeit slowly) are irrelevant.

And as far as a S21 is concerned, your personal circumstances/health issues are also irrelevant, as is the length of time you've been there.

However there are plenty of potential reasons why a S21 may be invalid (see link above). In particular, current property defects that the LL has ignored/is ignoring, are relevant.

Yes, there are lots of issues that haven't been fixed. I have emails from years ago saying that they were going to fix them, but they never did. Big issues. Leaky roofs and and collapsed ceilings, windows falling out of their frames, etc. I've documented everything

just_a_renter

Bookworm105 said:

doubtless the LL is trying to pre-empt the change in law given you say you are paying a low rent in return for a place which the LL is not spending much money on 

until the law changes, if the S21 is valid, then the process to remove you has started and eventually you will have to move, hence it is called "no fault" 
yes you can drag it out and eventually end up in court and then have bailiffs at the door, but can you cope with that stress?
do you have a support worker who can help?
we can make suggestions on how to fight it, but at the end of the day only you can actually do the fighting.

I haven't actually been served the notice yet. I just got a phonecall from the letting agent telling me that it was going to be served. Could I preemptively complain about the faults again to negate it?

user1977

You can complain about faults any time you like.

Herzlos

The way it works is you are served the notice and if you don't leave at the end they start court proceedings, and at the end of that you'll be evicted.

Unfortunately the council won't help you until eviction day at the end. It does sound like you'd be much better off elsewhere, so it's best to follow the process and get the council to sort something. I'd wait until you get the actual notice and then contact Shelter and the council to get help and advice on the process.

FreeBear

propertyrental said:The law change in the kings speech may be a factor - I think many LLs will reconsider their business plans in light of the rule change, but in any case it will take considerable time to become law.

Having read some of the bullet points of the speach, yes S21 is slated to be removed. But it will be replaced with alternatives that place a greater burden on the LL in presenting a case. Quite possible that it will get watered down, and S21 just gets rebranded.