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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

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Original poster

to stay in current house even though landlord has asked us to leave? dilema

501 replies

arieschicke · 19/05/2015 17:13

I am a single parent with 3 dcs. 2 have complex sn.
2 months ago ll served me notice as he is selling the property. I have been trying to secure a private rental with no such luck.
The council have advised that when we leave we will be placed in bnb accommodation, then temporary house or flat share and then after approx 6 months we could be successful in bidding for a council property.
now my ll has sold the house and is exchanging contracts in 2 weeks. has asked me to leave by then. council have advised we will be placed in bnb. shelter have advised me to stay until the court evicts us, which means another 6'8 weeks here but the landlord could lose the sale.
I really can't decide what to do. any advice would be really appreciated.

OP posts:
StupidBloodyKindle · 20/05/2015 17:27

Yes, I have a decent tenant so you are right that I do my best for them, having had two others who wrecked my house and caused damage. That doesn't mean that I overstay my notice if and only if, I have b+b accommodation where I'll end up with my three if we all get screwed over And I am currently/have been a tenant for near on two decades so I do see both sides of it.

Newbrummie · 20/05/2015 17:29

Maybe a happy compromise is to show shelters advice to the landlord then at least he can manage the buyers expectations and nobody is shocked or too put out. At the end of the day the landlord will still be charging rent until the bitter end no matter what happens so that seems a fair course of action.

StupidBloodyKindle · 20/05/2015 17:31

I am an ex pat who has to give three months notice to my landlord, and no rights to anything in the UK on return. My decisions, my fault, my consequences. But not everything is ever as black and white as painted.

Newbrummie · 20/05/2015 17:54

I've just got back from Australia, don't worry too much about that StupidBloodyKindle, having kids sort of overrides all that. If you were a single man or woman you'd get nothing, you will be fine

listsandbudgets · 20/05/2015 18:04

Sorry if this been answered in last ten pages but where in country are you? If you're close to 7s we may be able to help

Audeca · 20/05/2015 18:05

I've only had a quick skim through this thread and so have quite possibly missed someone already saying what I'm about to.

I'm assuming he issued you a Section 21 in this and that you are in England and Wales (Scotland being different).

Was your deposit protected within 30 days of the LL (or their agent) receiving it?

Was the prescribed information presented to you within 30 days of you giving your deposit to the LL (or their agent)?

The prescribed information isn't just a receipt, phone text or single page of paper. It will be several pages long (for an example of what it might look like see here, different schemes will look different though).

If the deposit was not protected, if the deposit was protected late or if the prescribed information wasn't provided or provided late then the Section 21 notice is invalid and the LL has to start the process all over again.

A Section 21 notice isn't in itself an eviction document. It does not oblige you to vacate. It simply entitles the landlord to seek possession via a court / informs you that the LL may do that.

If the notice expires and you are still in the property then you are still the tenant.

Finally, if the sale goes through and you are still in the property and haven't been evicted by a court then the new owners become your new landlord automatically.

Personally I think the LL has been an utter idiot here. They really didn't think about the timing properly. If they lose the sale over this then it is their fault for not understanding lettings and not yours.

expatinscotland · 20/05/2015 18:22

Hope things work out for you, OP. It's a shit system.

shipinabottle · 20/05/2015 19:07

I want to state it is true you are told to stay in the house until bailiffs come otherwise you are deemed as making yourself homeless, I was in the same situation but luckily I found somewhere .
I couldn't believe it either but was told by shelter and my local housing council office that they would have no duty to house us if we left before being forcibly evicted

GymBum · 20/05/2015 19:09

Annielouise. I think you need to go back and read my posts again. Hmm. You really have misunderstood my point. I am not shocked. I am however unhappy with all LL been banded into one bracket. Which seems to happen a lot. It's similar to people banding all HBs tenants into one bracket. Eg people won't lease to them because they are seen as risky. I don't agree with that either. You will also find I have offered a solution (a house she can move into in a week) but as she hasn't come back to me I assume it's out of her area. And since I am register on our local authorities Responsible LandLord scheme you can be assured I fully understand my responsibilities to all my tenants. But, I am sure you know the law and my legal obligations a lot better than I do or maybe you can google them

annielouise · 20/05/2015 20:05

Gym, I don't need to reread your posts Hmm or Google what the law is. You didn't like the advice being given to the OP to stay put where she is (saying "some of the advise been given here is sadly starting to make me reconsider my view on HB tenants") as you don't like the idea that tenants won't get out when you as a LL give them a date. You don't seem to like or have any sympathy with the fact that sometimes they can't. I haven't misunderstood anything. If anyone was banding people into one bracket - i.e. those on HB - then it was you with that and other statements, although you've backtracked in a few posts (but not to the extent that you've said you didn't realise what the system is and yes of course the OP should stay where she is). You've patted your back a few times about offering her somewhere to stay too - a solution in your words.

A lot of the LLs on here have shared your view. Some decent ones, probably with more experience/knowledge of how things work, aren't surprised and have told the OP to stay put too, as they know that's how it works. I'm surprised at the LLs that don't, which includes you. You've jumped in a few times when anyone has said anything negative about LLs so you feel defensive about it clearly. No, not all are the same. Anyone intelligent knows that. In this case anyone putting their concerns and worries above a woman about to be homeless doesn't have my sympathy or respect. It wasn't the time or place to put your concerns about your business, as a woman with 3 kids is in a worse situation than the LL will be. It's posts like that that make people think LLs are greedy and selfish. It's heartening to hear from the ones that accept that's what she must do.

LinesThatICouldntChange · 20/05/2015 20:11

I can completely see why the 'best' course of action for the OP is to stay until evicted.
I can completely see why many LL are unwilling to take risks on tenants who are likely to be at the mercy of the council when the LL wants or needs to end the tenancy agreement.

GymBum · 20/05/2015 20:20

annie. Hilarious.. Grin You clearly haven't read or understood what I said as shown from this one sentence.. as you don't like the idea that a tenant won't get out when you as a LL give them a date. Clearly this isn't true since I have clearly stated I would never put a family in this position. I have jumped in when people have banded or sounded like they were banding all LL in one bracket. In the same way I would jump in if all HB tenants were banded into one bracket.

annielouise · 20/05/2015 20:23

That can be anyone though Lines - private and HB. In fact, full HB can be more reliable as the rent is being paid. Anyone working or self-employed can just as easily find themselves in a horrendous situation as the OP does and have to wait for eviction - losing a job, partner losing a job, illness, disability, mental health, depression, bereavement. No one can plan for a tenant being affected by these things as they hit private and HB tenants alike. As Ehric and a few others have said, no one would do what the OP is doing easily and will only do it as the last recourse. It's something LLs should be aware of and factor into the risks that come with being a LL and accept it's not personal and usually avoidable so the tenant doesn't need to be given a hard time.

annielouise · 20/05/2015 20:23

Should be usually "unavoidable", not avoidable, in that last sentence.

LinesThatICouldntChange · 20/05/2015 20:28

If LL agree That HB tenants are more reliable, then they are likely to let to them.

But at the end of the day it's up to LL to decide to whom they rent their property.

annielouise · 20/05/2015 20:32

Haha, Gym, conveniently ignoring the posts where you said you'd have to reconsider having HB tenants after people telling the OP to stay put. You yourself were banding them all together with that statement Grin. You're really clutching at straws with your backtracking.

If you were selling, which you have a right to do, yes of course you'd put a tenant in that position. If they couldn't get out after the 2 months notice and you were about to exchange you wouldn't like it if they had to stay and you had to go through the eviction notice. I doubt you'd decide not to sell and let them live there forevermore, no matter how hard you try to convince me otherwise. Maybe you'd have to sell. It's not about the selling of the property anyway. The LL has the right to do that. They must just realise it might get to the situation the OP finds herself in. If you don't get it, you don't get it.

GymBum · 20/05/2015 20:34

Annie as someone that has worked in the industry for years, it's so clear you have no idea what you are talking about. Let's agree to disagree. I think you would argue with yourself in a dark room.

AppleBarrel · 20/05/2015 20:43

It's not about who is more reliable as a person.
We couldn't get Landlord's insurance if we were letting to tenants in receipt of HB.
So if we did ever have to evict them, we wouldn't be able to reclaim the costs.
That does make it a much bigger risk, as even if you are equally likely to have to evict a private renter, at least you can be covered by insurance for that.

annielouise · 20/05/2015 20:46

Don't make me laugh Gym. You don't know what you're talking about. If you did you wouldn't have made some of the comments you have and would have known going to eviction would be standard advice for the OP, rather than expressing surprise and worry.

It takes two to argue so pot calling the kettle black. Only thing, I know what I'm talking about and you so don't. You can't explain and refuse to address anything I've said regarding your comments on HB tenants, because you can't.

Anyway, agreed let's leave it there. You've already tried to make the thread about you once with your earlier jitters about letting to HB tenants in the future and as I said before the OP's situation is the priority, not a LL's worries about getting tenants out, as the gravity of the OP's situation supersedes anything that will affect the LL. Try putting yourself and your DD in the OP's shoes and decide what you'd do then.

GymBum · 20/05/2015 20:49

Annieare you a LL? I am guessing you aren't

LinesThatICouldntChange · 20/05/2015 20:51

Good point applebarrel

tobysmum77 · 20/05/2015 21:04

OP it's pretty simple you have a choice between your children's welfare and potentially pissing your landlord off. Not a difficult decision to make.

Hope it works out for you Thanks

When are the government going to do something about the housing crisis? Sad

annielouise · 20/05/2015 21:05

If I was Gym, I'd give the OP the same advice as it's the right advice - quite clearly by asking you don't agree. The OP has more of a moral duty towards her kids and doing the best thing by them than towards the LL. It's unfortunate but that's how it goes sometimes. It's unavoidable and if I was renting to her I would realise that.

orangutanhihio · 20/05/2015 21:12

Of course you should move out. The landlord may need that sale to repay debts etc, feed their children or anything else.

No wonder social tenants get a bad name, the council has offered to house you Hmm

LinesThatICouldntChange · 20/05/2015 21:13

I think most people are in agreement here. As a tenant, we'd put our children first. As a LL, we would take the lowest risk option- and as applebarrel pointed out, the insurance factor is likely to be a big factor in the risk calculation

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