Risk possibly being evicted?

[Youmeandthesea]

Not sure if this is the best thread for this question. I'm living in my current town until April next year, then will be moving for work reasons. My husband and I signed a 6 month assured shorthold lease in May, which names us and our toddler son as permitted occupants. I was pregnant at the time but not noticeably so, baby is expected in November. My husband said he did tell the letting agent that we were expecting, but apparently he forgot to tell the landlord, because when she found out I was expecting, only a few days after we had moved into the flat, she informed us that she would not be renewing our lease. She found out because my husband sent an email asking where we can keep our buggy as I am pregnant and don't want to be carrying the buggy upstairs, so clearly we were not trying to hide my pregnancy.

Fast forward a few months, we started looking for a new place in August, but have not found anything suitable for one reason or another, either over budget, too far away from work (we don't have a car), but mainly because landlords are not interested in only a 6 month lease. We've already told all the letting agents that we are only looking for 6 months, so there's no taking that info back now, it was probably a stupid thing to say.

So I emailed the landlord and asked if she would reconsider letting us stay on until we leave town in April. I said that my son hasn't done any damage to the property, and the baby won't either because she will be so young. She responded that she is more concerned about the potential noise complaints she could get because of the baby crying. The other tenants have a right to enjoy their property in peace, and if she receives one noise complaint we will be served notice. I have spoken to Shelter.org about the legal aspects of this, and it is legal for her to do this, even though the process would end up taking months and we will probably leave town in April before we actually got evicted.

We share a wall with only one neighbour, he is a nice man and so my husband had a chat with him, he said he would never complain about the baby crying. He said he can hear when our toddler cries, but he understands what it's like to raise kids. We have upstairs neighbours, but I have no way of knowing who they are because they actually live in a different building that snakes around our building. But we all have the same landlord, so complaints could come from him/her. I have never heard our upstairs neighbours, not even a footstep or a door slamming. I occasionally will hear when they get into bed at night as their bed creaks slightly. I'm hoping they can't hear us, but I have no idea. There is a shop under us so I'm not worried about that.

My question is, do we keep trying to find another place to live, just so we don't have to face the ugliness of possible eviction proceedings, or do we stay put and hope for the best? I don't want to be a nuisance to our neighbours, I'll do my best to keep the baby content of course, but she will cry there's no doubt about that. Am I being unreasonable to just want to stay here and not have the hassle of moving?

Sorry for the long post, if you've reached the end, thank you so much for reading!

I find it really discriminatory that your unborn baby is already considered a source of noise. That's discriminatory against families and children. Are you sure it's legal for your landlord to evict you on that basis? I would get some further legal advice on that.

@london2314 it does seem unfair to me too but there is a way for a landlord to evict you without having to give a reason. If we don't leave willingly the court will decide if we should be given extra time in the property. The thing is that our 6 month lease expires before the baby is born, so she has a right to just not renew our lease, she doesn't have to keep us on for any reason.

Landlord here. I think your landlord is behaving like a complete asshole.

Whilst they can serve you notice they'd be incredibly stupid. Finding good tenants is like panning for gold. If you are as good as you say then they're very shortsighted.

It's likely your lease will roll over into a periodic tenancy after 6 months meaning either of you can give notice provided the correct process is followed however I'll bet you they won't bother to evict you. They know how cumbersome the court process is, and won't want the hassle.

I'd Continue as you are, stay on the side of the neighbours and leave when you planned to. Hold your nerve.

If anyone complains about a baby crying, unless it's all day and obviously being neglected, they need to get a life. Baby's cry, end of. Your LL jumping straight to complaints sounds like they're being a dick. I'd move to get out before it potentially turns ugly.

We didn't tell LL I was pregnant and didn't tell them I was having a homebirth either. They just saw/heard a baby one day.

Also it's apparently hard for LL to evict tenants and tenants have more rights, so they say. 🙄

Landlord is only able to evict on this basis because your tenancy is coming to an end. She can’t evict because of the baby.

Why do you only want a 6m let?

I think the LL is talking rubbish and has other reasons.

@StressyDressyHeels we just want 6 months because we're moving out of the area on 1 April for work reasons. I also wondered if she could have another motive for wanting us out, like she has a friend she'd like to let it to maybe

@Treacletoots it's interesting to hear from another landlord, I'm tempted to stay on but can't help wonder if there are other ways she'd turn it ugly or stressful for us. Don't want to stress about this but also don't feel like moving obviously.

So does the tenancy end in November? If the landlord wants you to leave at the end of your fixed term they still need to serve a section 21, two months before the end of your fixed term. If not, you can stay and begin a rolling periodic tenancy, which will delay things a little for you.

@StressyDressyHeels yes it ends in November, she hasn't given us any formal notice, only asked on the phone and email that we leave at the end of the lease

She said she would consider keeping us on a month to month contract, but would serve notice if she received one noise complaint, day or night. And then we would have to leave immediately. That's when I spoke to Shelter and they informed me about the notice period and that we wouldn't have to leave immediately. She said she strongly suggests finding somehwhere more suitable and suggests widening our search for a new place. So is she trying to make me think she is doing me a favour by letting us stay on?

She is bullshitting, she can't just turn you out into the street, there will be a minimum amount of notice. I would tell her you will be staying on and if she has a problem she can contact you if that arises. Then I would probably still keep looking for other places. She has put you in such a shitty position!

Stay where you are. Go on the month to month contract. If she gets a noise complaint and tries to evict it will take months. You’re in a good position as you are definitely leaving town in April so a judge may very well not issue an order to evict you before then.

Also- I hope her next tenant shits under the floorboards:

Honestly, just stop looking and stay put unto April. If she receives a complaint in December, she still has to give you two months notice, which will take you up to February. You ignore that date and she has to take you to court to evict you, which can easily take another couple of months. She's getting her rent, you don't have the hassle of moving twice in six months.

Thanks so much for the advice everyone, really appreciate it.

@JoxerGoesToStuttgart hahaha, me too!!

What an absolute dick your landlord is.

Does she know if you dragged it out to the bailiff stage it will cost her hundreds of pounds to evict you?

Does she know if you decided to stop paying rent during all this it could cost her thousands of pounds? Not saying you would do this of course!!! But she is being very very stupid.

On that note if you need to drag things out, check if she has done everything by the book before she hands you notice. For example if right to rent, gas safety and deposit protection has not got the correct paperwork, as soon as she takes you to court (after the 2 months notice is up) the judge will throw if out immediately and tell her to fuck off, get her paperwork in order, and reapply for a new court date.

Did she take a deposit and was this placed in one of the correct deposit protection schemes within a certain number of days? If not the courts will allow you up to 3X your deposit back.

Oh, and tell me where you live and your leaving date, and I’ll get my cat to shit under your floorboards, while playing heavy metal music.

On that note if you need to drag things out, check if she has done everything by the book before she hands you notice.

But don’t tell her at any point that you have done these checks or if she hasn’t done any of them properly. Don’t give her the heads up that she needs to get something changed before giving notice. Let her find out in court. It gives you more time.

Yes Joker! Very important comment!

Dig out your paperwork from when you moved in. And you can contact the deposit agencies directly to ask if they have your deposit if I recall correctly.

Here's how to check if your deposit has been handled correctly. Good luck with the pregnancy and move. Hang in there! england.shelter.org.uk/housing_advice/tenancy_deposits/check_if_your_tenancy_deposit_is_protected

Check your emails for anything from a deposit protection service. My last two tenancies have both used a deposit protection scheme that emailed me with a link to register and create a login for access to my deposit protection information.

@Youmeandthesea

You are in something of a cleft stick. The landlord can serve 2 months notice and after the 6-month statutory "tenancy" is over can apply to the court [if you do not leave voluntarily at the end] under the provisions of "Section 21". You will need to go to court [of course] as if you do not then possession will simply be granted. The problem is that if you go down the "court" route no landlord in his right mind would give you a reference for a new tenancy. The only slight "advantage" of the court route is that ultimately the High Court bailiffs will rock up [without notice] and give you an hour to vacate the premises. At that point the local council will probably decide that you are homeless and will put you into a B&B. I think that I saw that the landlord is prepared to extend the tenancy [at will] on a month-to-month basis which is quite normal. Again he cannot simply evict you but needs to give the 2-months notice and - if needed - go to court.

It sounds the best way forward with effort being made to find a more sensible solution. Best wishes to you

Fucking hell, what is wrong with her

OK. So first things first. Check your tenancy agreement. That will confirm if your tenancy rolls on to a periodic tenancy, which is where you can end it by giving a period of notice or your landlord can also do so, the minimum for them is 2 months by law.

She can't just turf you out at the end of the fixed term unless your contract explicitly states it does not roll on to a periodic tenancy but I suspect it would be incredibly hard to convince a judge that was reasonable, so symantics really.

As others have said, if she hasn't served you with the gas safety certificate, epc, right to rent booklet and protected your deposit in one of the registered schemes then she won't be granted an eviction under section 21, I. E. The no fault grounds and would have to use another fault ground which it sounds like they can't. I. E. You're not defaulting on rent, damaging the property etc

So. I advise you to stay put. There's realistically very little a landlord can do to force you out that won't end up costing them more than its worth in money and effort. Keep paying your rent on time and enjoy your new baby, when they arrive.