Section 21 and Possession order help needed

Paul0973 · 24 May 2019 at 8:27PM

My landlords wish to vacate the house in which I am a tenant and I’m trying to ascertain how long before I have to leave.

My situation would be regarded as a Statutory Periodic Tenancy. (I didn’t ask for a tenancy agreement as I didn’t want to pay an absurd Tenancy renewal fee) and although I’ve read the tenancy guides here I’m still unsure where I stand

They originally wished to vacate last year and sent Form 6a on 15th Dec ’18 thus requiring vacation 15th Feb ’19. They changed their minds and in an email on 27th March said they would give good notice if they again wanted me to vacate. On 23rd May they emailed to say they again require me to vacate.

So I’m not sure where I stand regards: Do they have to serve another Form 6A Section 21 notice?
Do they need to seek a possession order if I cannot leave and will they be able to do it in a shorter time period for any reason?

I don’t owe any rent nor have caused any problems, they consider me a very good tenant but moving before about 4 months is going to be a total nightmare, so I really need to know what is the minimum time before a bailiff can evict me.

Help extremely appreciated.

G_M · 24 May 2019 at 8:36PM

Paul0973 wrote: »

My situation would be regarded as a Statutory Periodic Tenancy. (I didn’t ask for a tenancy agreement as I didn’t want to pay an absurd Tenancy renewal fee)
"wouldbe regarded as" or "is"?
I assume it started as a fixed term AST? 6 months? 12?
On what exact date did the fixed term expire?
Did the original contract set up a Contractual Periodic subsequent to the fixed term, or make no such arrangement?

They originally wished to me to vacate last year and sent Form 6a on 15th Dec ’18 thus requiring vacation 15th Feb ’19. They changed their minds and in an email on 27th March said they would give good notice if they again wanted me to vacate.
This email effectively cancelled the S21 Notice.

On 23rd May they emailed to say they again require me to vacate.
This would require a new S21 Notice.

So I’m not sure where I stand regards: Do they have to serve another Form 6A Section 21 notice?
Yes

Do they need to seek a possession order
Yes, after serving a new S21 and waiting 2 months.

if I cannot leave and will they be able to do it in a shorter time period for any reason?
Yes, via a S8 Notice for certain specific reasons eg rent arrears,

* Ending/renewing an AST: what happens when a fixed term ends? How can a LL or tenant end a tenancy? What is a periodic tenancy?

* Schedule 2 (17 S8 Grounds a LL can use)

Paul0973 · 24 May 2019 at 9:11PM

Hi there G_M Really appreciate the quick reply.

I'm going to say that I am under an SPT. I originally had a fixed term AST for 12 months but that ended Jan '17.

I don't think there's any arrangement subsequent to the Contractual Period, about all I could find was the sentence - 'Please note that should your contract enter into a rolling periodic tenancy your Landlord will be required to serve two months written notice from the anniversary date of the contract'

Really hope you're right about them having to serve S21 again. Thanks for the links too. I did see the Ending/Renewing page but I think I need to go through it in depth as I've missed things concerning an improper S21 - since they haven't been issuing me AST's I haven't an EPC or Gas Safety Certificate either.

Many thanks

elsien · 24 May 2019 at 9:16PM

Do you have a deposit and is it protected?

Comms69 · 24 May 2019 at 9:48PM

Paul0973 wrote: »

Hi there G_M Really appreciate the quick reply.

I'm going to say that I am under an SPT. I originally had a fixed term AST for 12 months but that ended Jan '17.

I don't think there's any arrangement subsequent to the Contractual Period, about all I could find was the sentence - 'Please note that should your contract enter into a rolling periodic tenancy your Landlord will be required to serve two months written notice from the anniversary date of the contract'

Really hope you're right about them having to serve S21 again. Thanks for the links too. I did see the Ending/Renewing page but I think I need to go through it in depth as I've missed things concerning an improper S21 - since they haven't been issuing me AST's I haven't an EPC or Gas Safety Certificate either.

Many thanks

If you did not receive a GSC BEFORE moving in; then as it currently stands; you cannot be evicted using s.21.

I believe that this is currently being appealed, but I haven't heard anything more about whether this has been successful or not.

Paul0973 · 24 May 2019 at 9:51PM

Yes and yes. I don't see foresee problems there at least.

Thanks

Paul0973 · 24 May 2019 at 10:08PM

Comms69 I just dug out some old folder and yes I was given a Gas safety record but it's only been that one time four years ago. The EPC of the property was assessed ten years ago!

Thanks for posting

wesleyad · 24 May 2019 at 10:25PM

Paul0973 wrote: »

Comms69 I just dug out some old folder and yes I was given a Gas safety record but it's only been that one time four years ago. The EPC of the property was assessed ten years ago!

Thanks for posting

EPC only needs done every ten years. I'm not sure whether an expired EPC needs renewed before a valid S21 can be issued.

Has the gas been checked each year? Gas needs done annually, if not they would need to get that up to date before issuing a S21

Kentish_Dave · 24 May 2019 at 10:48PM

There are plenty of posters here who will happily tell you how to give your landlord the runaround and frustrate their desire to re-take possession of their hose but you need to remember that sooner or later they will manage to evict you, so the probability is that you will be going.

You can be awkward, and strong it out, risking very short notice of your departure, or work with them to agree a date that works for you, have a civilized exit and leave with a nice reference.

Comms69 · 24 May 2019 at 11:45PM

Kentish_Dave wrote: »

There are plenty of posters here who will happily tell you how to give your landlord the runaround and frustrate their desire to re-take possession of their hose - it's currently the tenants house... but you need to remember that sooner or later they will manage to evict you, so the probability is that you will be going. - yes in around 6-9 months.

You can be awkward - awkward, by relying on the law? , and strong it out, risking very short notice - define very short, 28 days seems quite long to me of your departure, or work with them to agree a date that works for you, have a civilized exit and leave with a nice reference.

Yes please, can I have a reference from 'some guy' to 'another guy', saying that I am capable of paying a small amount of money everything; that would be swell thanks

[Deleted User] · 25 May 2019 at 12:59AM

Even if they sent you a S21 today, it would take at least three months for them to wait for the 2 months notice to end, get a possession order processed through court, two weeks notice automatic with that, then a bailiffs warrant, another two weeks notice. And thats if courts process these forms quickly, there can be waiting times of weeks in many courts.

The only way to speed things up would be to escalate things to the High Court. Then you can have sheriffs turn up and give you an hour to leave, but I don't know how that works exactly, I think the possession order would have to be obtained first, which you would be told about.

So it is likely you will get the four months you need as it looks like your LL will have problems even issuing a legal S21.

However, be aware that forcing things to go through court will mean the court will order you to pay for the possession order proceedings and bailiffs warrant (last time I looked it was nearly £500). In my case, the LL paid the money initially, but as part of the possession order the court ordered that I repay him within 30 days. What happens if a tenant doesn't refund the LL, I don't know exactly. Plenty of tenants seem to have LL's that don't pursue the fees. But it can happen. I agreed for the costs to be taken out of my deposit.

It might be worth phoning Shelter to check details.

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Section 21 and Possession order help needed

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