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?

Some of this is proper 70’s style landlording, it’s interesting that people have no clue about the law

So, if OP hasn't been asked to leave....what prompted her to say she would?

I'm a bit confused. 🤔

Try reading the OPs posts rather than just the thread title.

it’ll help with the confusion

I'm a bit confused

Yes, we can see that.

EA told OP “LL wants to sell and would like you to hold viewings”
OP replied “Nah not doing that you can wait til I’m out in March, I’ll try to be out”.

EA hung up. Never once followed it up.

OP has not been served a s21 therefore has not formally been asked to leave.

The informal sort-of-agreement doesn’t even come close to cutting the mustard.

A s21 (or s8) is the ONLY way to properly ask a tenant to leave. Literally the only way.

She has not been asked to leave.

And would be a fool to seeing as she’d be liable for rent afterwards if she did.

So, there's actually no issue here.

OP hasn't been asked to leave. She can just stay for another few years.

Well if she signs a contract lasting another few years, then yes.

If she doesn’t, or isn’t asked, she’s on a monthly rolling contract.

Either way LLs have to go down the correct routes and not book a kitchen refit based on a random conversation 5 months ago with absolutely no paperwork or follow up

I mean, it's quite clear that OP brought this on herself by telling them she'd move out when they aren't actually asking. 🤷‍♀️

Yes, she can potentially indefinitely.

If neither she nor the LL issue notice then it rolls on. And on. And on.

No loopholes or bizarre comparisons required

OMG are you not reading these replies.

What exactly has OP brought on herself? The fact she hasn’t been asked to leave a property she doesn’t wanna leave 😂

OP, you haven’t lost your job either. You’ve brought that on yourself you have!

I mean, the effort at twisting is vaguely impressive at least

God it’s like having a conversation with my bloody mother. Doesn’t listen, makes her own rules up and ignores it when people explain things clearly.

I mean 10/10 for effort and perseverance!

I’m off to write my tenants a bad reference.

Ive just realised that they’re sat in my property just living there… CF’s!

I mean just because they have a tenancy that I’ve made no efforts to end doesn’t mean they can just go ahead and live there indefinitely. Ffs.

I know!

I mean they may as well be next to you in bed for the intrusiveness this is!

Have you considered calling 101?

I still think OP would be stupid to not check this.

The landlordzone.co.uk forum advises: 'Use ordinary 1st class post (and get & retain a certificate of posting from the post office). The notice is 'deemed' served on the 2nd business day after the date of posting, and it doesn't matter whether it was ever actually delivered or opened.'

'It's "service" of the notice that matters, not if it was "received" (so if dog ate it.. he never bothered to pick it off mat - doesn't matter).'

If the above is true, it may be the case that a valid notice has already been served, even if OP somehow hasn't received it. I'd not want to leave this to chance as she can presumably be unceremoniously turfed out on the day.

In fact, with all the recent mail strikes I would absolutely not be trusting my fate to Royal Mail. It sounds like it'll be considered served if LL has proof of sending.

Wow OP you’re making this really personal and it’s just going to eat you up, it’s not going to help you make any kind of sound judgment. Do what if LL is rich, it’s one of the reasons he has been able to let you have below market rates. Letting a good tenant stay is in his best interest but it’s also in yours so he was doing you a favour, even if it was a reciprocal one.

Another question, you say you’ve been there nine years… that means your contract has been renewed every year? That’s usually done with at least two months notice, have you been contacted about a renewal yet?

Because if you haven’t, and that’s different to usual, then it sounds like they’re expecting the tenancy to end as you say you agreed.

I honestly can’t fathom why they haven’t given you a S21.

If I were you I would just contact them and say you’ve heard nothing what’s going on. The problem is as soon as they realise they’ll issue a S21 anyway so you might as well take control of the situation and get on with it, unless of course he’s no longer going to sell in which case you want a renewal and some peace of mind.

@Patineur
This isn't a question of OP going back on her word. She was simply asked by an estate agent for access for viewings several months ago

the title of the thread is AIBU To NOT leave rented house when I said I would? … there is absolutely nothing ambiguous in that at all. She’s actually asked if SIBU to go back on her word!

Why haven't you contacted them since August to find out what is going on?

OP - there's a lot of strange advice on here.

Contact SHELTER - they will tell you exactly what to do.

england.shelter.org.uk/get_help

england.shelter.org.uk/housing_advice

And, go over to MSE - they have a lot of knowledgable people on their housing section.

forums.moneysavingexpert.com/categories/house-buying-renting-selling

*Why haven't you contacted them since August to find out what is going on?
*
Because it's not OPs responsibility to do that.

I can't believe this discussion is still going on. Another analogy, as some seem to like them.
Your manager in a job you like which pays a, decent wage,mentions to you verbally tomorrow that the company is planning to make your role redundant from August. You say verbally that you'll try to find a new job by August. You then hear nothing further from anyone about redundancy - there is no official notification, no consultation period, no further mention of it at all. You get to the end of June, you haven't found a new job, do you?

• decide to walk out in August without handing in your notice, because you'd verbally said you would

-decide to keep working past August because you've not been made redundant after all

LL doesn’t just prove he has sent it, he has to prove his tenant has received it. Which is why it’s the done thing to post it recorded or film yourself posting it through the letterbox. Otherwise it’s perfectly valid to claim you never received your s21.

I honestly can’t fathom why they haven’t given you a S21

Because they don’t want her to leave, obviously.

2 months notice on a renewal is nonsense.