Serving a Section 21 Notice and the Tenancy Deposit Scheme

Myci85

Most councils are very up on the legalities around s21 and if the tenants are looking for a council house, they'll be advised to stay in their current home until a judge ends the tenancy... by the sounds of it, if they don't accept the deposit return, that won't ever happen. If they voluntarily move out, they are unlikely to get council help as there just aren't enough houses and they won't be deemed a priority if they've moved out of a perfectly good home. 

FlorayG

E201 said:

theartfullodger said:

Get some education or training?  

There's no requirement for a landlord to take any deposit - you can always sue tenant for unpaid rent or damage....

  When I wrote to them giving 2 months notice (as on our AST) they asked me to issue them with a Section 21 as they applied to the council as a potential homeless case.
I wish I had protected the deposit in the first 30 days - just a careless mistake on my part. Our AST runs from March 2023 to March 2026 with a break clause allowing for 2 months notice.

Here's the situation; you issue a S21 ( which you can't, but if you could); the tenant refuses to move out because the council told them they HAVE to refuse it; you end up going to court to evict them which takes months. The tenant is supposed to pay costs but if they don't have the money then what can you do?
Are you sure the break clause is on both sides? Because there's no point in an AST if it doesn't give the tenant any security. Break clauses are usually only on the tenants side so check it
In your case I would either
a) sell with tenant in situ or 
b) offer the tenant a substantial cash payment to move out

Alderbank

E201 said:

I’

It looks like I won’t be able to evict them using section 21 and therefore unable to sell the property. The tenancy agreement runs until April 2026. Will I still be unable to evict them at that point? 

As pointed out above, you will still be unable to evict them at that point. Note also that the Government seems to be planning to remove s21 so by April 2026 so-called 'no fault' evictions might be a thing of the past for everyone. They are already banned here in Scotland.

I am interested that you say ...therefore unable to sell the property.

Why is that? I assume since you are looking at s21 rather than s8 that your tenant is up-to-date with the rent, and many landlords are happy to buy and sell tenanted properties.

The new buyer, provided of course that he does everything strictly by the book, would not be in your situation about s21. Are there any landlords already in your family? Might they be interested in a business deal?

RHemmings

Alderbank said:

The new buyer, provided of course that he does everything strictly by the book, would not be in your situation about s21. Are there any landlords already in your family? Might they be interested in a business deal?

Can two landlords with the same problem solve their problems by selling their houses to each other? Yes, I know there are costs involved in selling and buying. 

newsgroupmonkey_

Alderbank said:

E201 said:

I’

It looks like I won’t be able to evict them using section 21 and therefore unable to sell the property. The tenancy agreement runs until April 2026. Will I still be unable to evict them at that point? 

As pointed out above, you will still be unable to evict them at that point. Note also that the Government seems to be planning to remove s21 so by April 2026 so-called 'no fault' evictions might be a thing of the past for everyone. They are already banned here in Scotland.

I am interested that you say ...therefore unable to sell the property.

Why is that? I assume since you are looking at s21 rather than s8 that your tenant is up-to-date with the rent, and many landlords are happy to buy and sell tenanted properties.

The new buyer, provided of course that he does everything strictly by the book, would not be in your situation about s21. Are there any landlords already in your family? Might they be interested in a business deal?

That's not quite true. If they remove S21 for no reason, it still means there are 2 scenarios where an S21 is still valid:
Landlord moves in
Landlord sells property.

This is very much the case in Scotland.

saajan_12

E201 said:

Thank you for this. So, if I return the deposit now or say on Monday then receive it back from the tenant I can then put it in the tenancy deposit scheme and all is right and proper? 

No, at this stage its not worth trying to get the deposit back. Not to mention that the tenant has no need to comply, they paid it as agreed and if you return it early that's on you. 

E201 said:

theartfullodger said:

Get some education or training?  

There's no requirement for a landlord to take any deposit - you can always sue tenant for unpaid rent or damage....

I'm kind of looking to get out of the buy to let market after 20 years so I don't think I can do any training at this stage. The tenants have been very good with the rent payments and to be honest have been very good overall over the last 8 years.  When I wrote to them giving 2 months notice (as on our AST) they asked me to issue them with a Section 21 as they applied to the council as a potential homeless case. I wish I had protected the deposit in the first 30 days - just a careless mistake on my part. Our AST runs from March 2023 to March 2026 with a break clause allowing for 2 months notice.

Option 1: Sell to another landlord with tenant in situ. You may restrict your market a little and the deposit situation may mean they offer somewhat less, but you should be able to get out.
Option 2: Explain to the tenant that you need to return the deposit to serve the S21 and re-ask for their details. Return the deposit, serve the S21, wait through the court process. (Since they're somewhat on board with a S21 they might be willing, though of course they may be clued up and trying to block you).