Aibu about landlord notice/eviction

[Scared2BeHomeless]

Hi, I am single mum of 2DCs. My landlord hs notified me that he is selling the flat we are currently residing in and has given me a written notice to be out in 30 days.

I have spoken to Shelter and they advise that this is not legal and he needs to give me a Section 21 notice to evict me. I am also aware that my deposit has not been protected. I am a good tenant and there has been no arrears or dispute in the time I have been here (almost 2 years).

How do I go about telling the landlord that this notice is not valid? Council have advised that I must stay put through everything until landlord gets possesion from the court if I am to recieve help from them with housing.

Tbh, I am petrified. I have kept a cool calm demeanour throughout all contact with the LL so far, but I have a feeling he could get quite intimidating if rubbed up the wrong way. It seems he has done everything illegally.

Any advice and experiences of those who have been through similar will be gratefully recieved.

Yes, you can change the lock. Like you say, just change it back before you actually leave.

If he has taken a deposit and not protected it in a recognised scheme you are entitled to put in a claim for up to 3 times the value. He cannot serve you the legal notices as he hasn't fulfilled his legal requirements. You may well want to move out but do not do so until you have found alternative accommodation I would advise you to talk to a solicitor.

A strongly worded letter from a solicitor will get him off your back. You will be safer if you rent through a reputable agency

Plot twist - the landlord phoned and has now backed down and said that he will not sell and I can stay as long as I like. I am very wary and have arranged to meet to talk properly.

Sorry forgot to mention that he called before asking when I’d be out. I said that i would be going nowhere as he hadn’t followed legal procedure and his notice was invalid.

change the locks. keep the old ones and put back when you leave.

you have a crooked landlord and he knows it. Now you are better informed, so do you. council may not house you until he gets the bailiff which will take months even once he gets it right. with all his failings you cannot be legally evicted.

I am a non crooked landlord. we do exist. mn haters rest assured I got the triple treat from a tenant.

please.please.please get informed.

btw no smoke alarms either? and no gas safe?

jeez.

He still need to met his legal obligation over the gas certificate

Gas safety check was done yesterday. Seems he knows im on to him.

I have fire and carbon monoxide alarms - it is a new build they were put in when built (I was the first to live here).

So wait....he rang you up to ask when you'd be leaving, and when you pointed out that his notice was invalid he changed his mind about selling & said you could stay?

Hmmm.

He's up to something, OP, so be wary.

But you do need to insist on the gas certificate. It's seriously dodgy to have an unchecked boiler & he's putting you and your kids at risk by not arranging this.

Btw...I wouldn't mention anything to him about your unprotected deposit, if I were you. If you do want to stay as long as you can, then knowing he can't give you notice until he pays it back to you is extremely useful.

Oh....X post.

Yes I am very very wary. Don’t trust him one bit. Would rather talk it through face to face than be fed a load of shit. His terms and conditions of staying though was to up the rent and I laughed and refused.

Will see what happens and update in the meantime. Would rather just get out now if im honest.

Fantastic OP, but be careful. Re my exact same situation 2days ago neighbour from house next door told me she went to see our Landlord re legal stuff & her shared party wall. He told her its all on hold til a year from now, but no letter to say we can stay.

Thanks to stellarbella I've put in writing all the deposit, safety certif stuff breaches. He should have got it yesterday. No reply.