A number of renting/moving questions

GarethK

Hi everyone,

Some of these points i have already mentioned on another thread but rather than crawl through that i will list it out simply.

I was given a S21 last week, no reason given, and not a problem, as i wanted to move anyway.

Firstly i tried to make contact with the landlord by phone but my calls have not been returned. Although she is within her rights to give me 2 months notice and not tell me a reason, it would be nice to know! I will be writing to her instead, with a copy of the month's notice i am now giving her, effective from tomorrow, which means i would like to be out by 15/16th Feb.

Am i liable to pay rent for the whole of Feb? I will be offering to help her find new tenants if that is what she wants, or she may just want the property back, i'm unsure, but will offer to help and co-operate.

I require a reference from previous landlords for my new property, at the moment i am not sure if i would be given a good reference! I have not messed her about and the house is in excellent order, but 6 months into the agreement we had a heated debate on reasons why a standing order was not in place instead of a DD. I'm sure most of you know that as i am not paying a business and money goes into a personal account, it has to be a SO and therefore takes 3 days to clear. This was not a problem until the 1st fell on a Saturday and it took an extra day to clear, i then got the ranting phone call. I am currently in the 8th month of rent and was not made aware of a problem until recently!

Anyway that isnt really relevant but may go some way into showing why i am cautious about given her details to a new landlord in case she gives me a bad reference, i'm sure once i have actually heard from her all will become clear and i am worrying for no reason!

Secondly, i was not given a details inventory on move in, essentially what i had was a list of all the items in the house and no mention of carpet/wall/roof condition. Two copies were signed by me, my copy has not been signed by the LL.

I am expecting no problems when it comes to check out time,i have already had the carpets cleaned and this was not mentioned as a requirement but i did it anyway to freshen it up, its a small house so the 'traffic' area was getting a little grubby although i am a perfectionist and it could be argued the house was not very clean when i started the tenancy.

However, if there are any disputes does she have any grounds for arguement considering there was not a detailed inventory?


Thanks in advance.

speedtwin

When did your contract start, how long for, when was s21 served to end when and how was it served?

If you havent got a inventory that works in your favour in the eyes of the law.

Was the deposit protected were you given the prescribed info?

Ask fora letter of referance to be given to yourselve to past on to new L/L

Lavendyr

GarethK wrote: »

I will be writing to her instead, with a copy of the month's notice i am now giving her, effective from tomorrow, which means i would like to be out by 15/16th Feb.

Am i liable to pay rent for the whole of Feb?

Your month's notice must expire at the end of a rent period (normally one month) so it depends on when your rental period ends. So if you give notice to expire two weeks after a rent day, you would still be liable for that full month until the end of that rental period. Hope that makes sense

Also, best to keep things in writing rather than phoning from here - keeps things more straightforward and allows you to have a clear paper trail of events.

GarethK wrote: »

I will be offering to help her find new tenants if that is what she wants, or she may just want the property back, i'm unsure, but will offer to help and co-operate.

You sound like a helpful tenant but she still doesn't have to tell you why she is moving you out, that is what the S21 does for landlords unfortunately.

GarethK wrote: »

we had a heated debate on reasons why a standing order was not in place instead of a DD.

That's very odd as you cannot set up a DD on this sort of transaction, it would have to be a SO - not to mention that DDs also get delayed by non-business days. It is sensible to set up your SO to take place four days before the date it has to be in the account.

She probably didn't realise either that SOs can take so much time to process - perhaps she had cashflow problems as a result of it - but it's no good reason (IMHO) to withhold a reference.

GarethK wrote: »

Secondly, i was not given a details inventory on move in, essentially what i had was a list of all the items in the house and no mention of carpet/wall/roof condition. Two copies were signed by me, my copy has not been signed by the LL.

If there is no mention of condition when you moved in, she would have difficulty proving that you had been the cause of any damage, so I would be surprised if she tried to challenge it. As mentioned already, do you have details of which scheme your deposit is protected in?

I wouldn't worry too much to be honest, you sound like a good tenant.

GarethK

speedtwin wrote: »

When did your contract start, how long for, when was s21 served to end when and how was it served?

If you havent got a inventory that works in your favour in the eyes of the law.

Was the deposit protected were you given the prescribed info?

Ask fora letter of referance to be given to yourselve to past on to new L/L

Thanks for the advice!

Didnt think of asking for the reference to be sent to me first and then forwarded on, i suppose if i dont like the content i could always amend it!;)

My deposit was protected as i moved in May 1st, the 6 month ASHT finished in October, i was asked to sign for another 6 months but i intended to move before May of this year so said i would continue of a periodic agreement, i then got the S21 on the 9th Jan, to expire on the 31st March.

Gareth

GarethK

Lavendyr wrote: »

Your month's notice must expire at the end of a rent period (normally one month) so it depends on when your rental period ends. So if you give notice to expire two weeks after a rent day, you would still be liable for that full month until the end of that rental period. Hope that makes sense
Also, best to keep things in writing rather than phoning from here - keeps things more straightforward and allows you to have a clear paper trail of events.
You sound like a helpful tenant but she still doesn't have to tell you why she is moving you out, that is what the S21 does for landlords unfortunately.

Makes sense to me. I've handed in the notice today to the LA, and a letter to the landlord will follow with a request for a reference to be sent as acknowledgement.

That's very odd as you cannot set up a DD on this sort of transaction, it would have to be a SO - not to mention that DDs also get delayed by non-business days. It is sensible to set up your SO to take place four days before the date it has to be in the account.

She probably didn't realise either that SOs can take so much time to process - perhaps she had cashflow problems as a result of it - but it's no good reason (IMHO) to withhold a reference.

I must have told her at least twice that this was the case and she insisted i was doing something wrong. No offence to her but i was warned by her ex-husband that she was not to be messed with!

If there is no mention of condition when you moved in, she would have difficulty proving that you had been the cause of any damage, so I would be surprised if she tried to challenge it. As mentioned already, do you have details of which scheme your deposit is protected in?

I wouldn't worry too much to be honest, you sound like a good tenant.

Thanks for that. She wont like my smug face when it comes to inspection time thats for sure. Just cant wait to be out of here. Having no shower, no garden and only one bedroom, no storage space and no GSH all adds up to a depressing experience.

Gareth

GarethK

Less than a week before we move out now!

Would it be a good idea to draw up a document once the property has been inspected and deposit agreed to be returned? Something like 'I ''Landlord' have inspected the property and found it to be in good order allowing for fair wear and tear and agree to return the damage deposit in full within 10 days of this letter Signed 'Landlord' signed 'Tenant' ''?

Gareth

clutton_2

great idea

GarethK

It was just to cover my back. The property is being inspected on Sunday and will be in excellent order, and i'm sure there wont be any problems, BUT there is always that niggle in the back of my mind she will turn around and make something up. My father will also be there as a witness as he was also the guarantor.

Gareth

subjecttocontract

Lavendyr posted:
Your month's notice must expire at the end of a rent period (normally one month) so it depends on when your rental period ends. So if you give notice to expire two weeks after a rent day, you would still be liable for that full month until the end of that rental period. Hope that makes sense

I don't believe that is correct.

Certainly the landlords notice of 2 months must expire on a rent day but I have NEVER seen legislation that requires a tenants 1 month notice to end on a rent day. Perhaps you could provide us with a link to the legislation that shows this to be a legal requirement ?

I've never been able to find it !

speedtwin

subjecttocontract wrote: »

I don't believe that is correct.

Certainly the landlords notice of 2 months must expire on a rent day !

Not correct. Two months notice given via section 21 during a fixed tern but ending outside the fixed tern does not have to end on a rent day

clutton_2

during the fixed term - notice must coincide with the rent day - once into periodic, it does not have to.