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Legal matters

Any legal bods...tenancy..notice to quit

16 replies

cittigirl · 15/02/2018 17:49

Asking on a friends behalf. Tenant in friends flat....only paid rent on time once since agreement signed. Over 6 months. Usually around 1 or 2 weeks late. This month, only paid half the rent. I don't want a landlord bashing thread....suffice to say he has spent the money on 'unnecessary' stuff. Friend knows this this.

Tenant given 2 months notice to quit & has assured he will pay what's owing immediately and set up a s.o....was told to do this several times.

My question is.....if he's been given notice but landlord let's him stay on the understanding he pays all the rent on time, can the notice stay in force and should he default he has to leave without another 2 months notice? Iykwim. Tia

For anyone wishing to landlord bash...please save it. Friend is and always has been more than fair and reasonable.

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cittigirl · 15/02/2018 17:52

Bad punctuation. If tenant defaults can the rolling notice stand....e.g. if he defaults after 2 months he has to leave asap?? Friend doesn't want to have to serve notice every 2 months iykwim

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cittigirl · 15/02/2018 19:01
Smile
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Bitchywaitress · 16/02/2018 03:00

Has he issued a section 21?

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Bitchywaitress · 16/02/2018 03:05

Or a section 8?

IIRC section 21 lasts 6 months, section 8 longer.

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cittigirl · 16/02/2018 06:56

I'm not sure....but what does that mean exactly? Thank you

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eurochick · 16/02/2018 07:11

Is the friend also living there? If so the "tenant" could be a lodger.

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walkingdowntheboulevard · 16/02/2018 07:25

A section 21 is the legal route to eviction. It is incredibly difficult to ask a tenant to leave just by sending a letter, they can ignore it. The law is on the tenants side here. Your friend needs urgent legal advice. I doubt this will end well.

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cittigirl · 16/02/2018 07:31

No the friend isn't living there.

The tenant has been given notice by the management company who deals with the tenancy so all above board and the proper notice used. Hand delivered. They have received it.

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Bitchywaitress · 16/02/2018 10:19

If it's been done properly by the management company they will be able to advise. Hopefully they have done all the paperwork correctly.

A section 21 is issued for any reason to get the property back. A section 8 is issued when the tenant has broken the terms of the lease. Once these documents have been delivered the tennant should hopefully leave by the end of the notice period. Unfortunately not all do, so in this case formal eviction proceedings can start, and the tenant can be taken to court.

Please tell your friend to get proper advice. There are also some very helpful people on the Landlord Zone forums. Any wrong move by your friend could add weeks onto the process. Hope they get things resolved quickly!

I would not advise that they leave the notice in place in the hope that the tenant starts paying his rent properly. Get them out as soon as possible and get someone more reliable in.

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cittigirl · 16/02/2018 14:53

Thank you. I will let them know. Afaik this is the first time in 20+ years of renting that they've had this problem so I think they count themselves lucky.

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specialsubject · 17/02/2018 10:09

Neither sec 21 nor sec 8 are notice to quit. They are notice of legal action if tenant does not leave.

Tell friend to start next stage on expiry of notice. Use section 21 as tenant can't game play with that. Rent is likely to stop anyway, tenant might as well as that doesn't effect eviction. Go through court ( hope all correct paperwork is evidenced) then bailiff. Can be up to a year if London. Make sure council know tenant is in default so they don't take him on.

Do nothing and all friend will be doing is providing free housing forever.

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cittigirl · 17/02/2018 21:45

Thank you specialsubject.....hope it doesn't go that far!

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specialsubject · 17/02/2018 22:00

Hope not... But if tenant is after council accommodation they will be told to sit it out. That's why rent default needs to be advised to the council as that means ' voluntarily homeless'.

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PersianCatLady · 19/02/2018 19:08

Your friend needs top get proper legal advice but this tenant sounds like more trouble than they are worth.

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specialsubject · 20/02/2018 11:30

All legal advice on this is the same. Landlords can't end tenancies, only courts and bailiffs can. What is needed is a specialist eviction firm because any mistake in the paperwork and it is more delay and more cost, while housing the tenant for free.

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cittigirl · 20/02/2018 17:28

The managing agent has given the statutory notice of 2 months. Hopefully the tenant will move at the end of the notice. If not then yes it'll have to go to court or whatever the next step is.

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