To NOT leave rented house when I said I would?

[WaitingForLifeToGetEasier]

Been in current rented house for 9 years. Landlord is a company with 30+ properties.

Tenancy is generally renewed every year as LL puts rent up.

Last year, less than 6 months into our latest year long tenancy agreement, an estate agent contacted me out of the blue saying he'd been instructed to sell the property so I needed to agree to a time for them to value and take photos as well for viewings.

I was shocked as LL has not said anything and it transpired that the letting agent has added a 6 month break clause into the tenancy agreement. There had never been one In previous agreements and I wasn't made aware.

I made it clear i was not going to allow anyone in the property until the end of the agreement and if the landlord wanted to sell, I'd leave at that time.

Tenancy is up in early March. I had expected to get a Section 21 in early January but nothing.

We have been looking but properties are either not available anymore or agent doesn't get back to us so have not found a property yet. Rents seem to have gone up £3-400 a month which is going to be impossible.

Not sure if LL is just expecting us to leave or what but I am not intending to leave in early March and will stay as long as possible - await section 21 etc.

AIBU?

That has happened in a group I’m on. A local (thankfully now ex) LL wrote to another Ll when he discovered they had lined up a new rental place after giving him notice.

One of his comments was that they hung “heavy wet, bright coloured, towels on the washing line”.

if anyone ever has a moan about a troublesome tenant they inevitably get asked “but do they hang towels on the washing line?

So enlighten me on what exactly is different.

The fact they want her to move out, the fact she agreed to leave, or that they forgot to send the docs?

Yet another hopeless comparison. Squatting in residential properties is a criminal offence, and the police can be called to arrest the squatters. Unless your police are staggeringly inefficient that won't normally require you to spend 4 weeks in a hotel.

The difference is the OP is smart enough to stay out until she has a written agreement that she needs to leave. Making sure

1. She’s not liable for rent after she leaves, and
2. She, if necessary, can approach the LA housing team to show she isn’t intentionally making herself homeless

*stay put

She has made no agreement to leave or been served written notice. For all we know the ll decided not to sell, maybe he knows ops situation and sold some others from his portfolio instead. Sit tight op and see what comes, either a notice or tenancy renewal will be through soon anyway.

Well for a start you said “we agree a moving out date”

whereas the op said “I said I wasn't allowing access but would try to move out by end of contract (this March). Nothing more said.”

Two very different things.

Seems you know better than the experts.

Last time I checked, you need to fill out an IPO, send off to county court, and finally issue to the squatters. In the meantime they get to exercise their legal rights to stay. Just like the OP.

I think it may be a good opportunity to never trait ‘giving your word’ when moving out a property.

The reason being that, if you have a verbal agreement to leave on 10th March, with no written notice either side, what could happen is

• You move out, paying a new deposit and first months rent on a new property
• The old LL calls you on your old rent payment date asking where the money is
• You say “Er I moved out”. But can’t prove it
• You’re liable for rental costs. Because a court will see it as someone can decide to leave the property whenever they wish but are still legally liable for the rental payments. This would be how they’d see you. You’d never be able to prove you were instructed to leave.

Youve gotta be insanely careful as there will be EAs and LLs who pull this shit relying on good people who don’t check out their rights properly

Not if they enter a normal occupied residential property that they did not have permission to enter.

The site you linked too appears more linked to ex tenants turning into squatters or vacant properties. Not the same as someone on holiday.

That’s for business premises.

In 2012 it became illegal for squatters to squat in residential premises. The police remove squatters on those circumstances immediately.

You need to realise there ARE experts in this thread (and it isn’t you).

Either way, the fact is that OP knows they want her out and is just using the loophole to stay longer. Why hasn't she called them to check if original agreement is going ahead?

What loophole is she using?! The loophole that she hasn’t actually been asked to leave?

If she hasn’t been served a s21 it would be a wasted phone call to ask them if she needs to move.

If they want op to leave then they should have been in contact more recently than August

No normal EA would leave it like this. LL has probably decided not to sell after all and they haven't bothered to inform op

Why is the onus on her?

They want to make changes the onus is on them to send the details.

Well yeah, it would be if she was phoning to see whether she has to move. I'd be calling to see if they were expecting me to move. Otherwise might be rudely awoken the next day by a workman etc trundling in the front door. 😂

If they were expecting her to move they’d have done the very basic bread and butter action of issuing a s21.

Why would anyone book workmen when they haven’t taken repossession of the property? If that happened I’d tell them to go away, they’re not coming in then I’d go back to bed.

There are no costs associated with a S21. It used to be quite common to issue them at the start of a tenancy!

I ignored one a few years ago. Landlord didn't want me out, I didn't want to leave. I can confirm my credit record is perfectly fine.

I mean, just imagine if there were a way to know for sure whether they were expecting her to move out. It'd make things so much easier.

Indeed it would! Hence exactly what a s21 is for. It leaves no room for doubt.

Yes, you would indeed think they’d have been in contact with a tenant who said they’d try and move out to find out if indeed they had been successful in finding another place… You really would.

Especially if they’d actually like her to do so.

Why would anyone book workmen when they haven’t taken repossession of the property?

You're probably right. It'd the first time in human history where somebody has forgotten to send the official docs to follow up a conversation.

If only there were a legal process of letting a tenant know you expect them to leave the property 🤣 someone should tweet the PM about this idea

@WaitingForLifeToGetEasier

“He's worth at least £50 million (in news). House has increased by £150k since we moved in and we've paid £140k in rent. Nice little earner huh!“

That’s why it lays to buy rather then rent, quite an expensive lesson learned