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?

Yes you are being unreasonable.

You are renting, you don't own the property.

If you need to rent again be very careful what you do next. With some much competition for tenants a landlord will prefer a tenant with a clean reference.

Also clearly stated in the tenancy agreement that I only had to allow valuations and viewings in the last 2 months of the tenancy. Last August there was another 7 months of the tenancy to run.

Yes, pouting and stamping your feet seems to work well in all areas of adult life.

“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.”

@WaitingForLifeToGetEasier maybe read what you sign - ignorance is no excuse or defence here.

THE. OP. HAS. NOT. BEEN. GIVEN. OR. SERVED. NOTICE.

If I put it in capitals hopefully even the thickos is might comprehend it.

I’d follow up on the S21, OP, for your own sake. If it’s been delivered somehow, it’ll be far worse to discover this later. Ask them about it in February so even if they then issue one, you’ve got more time. It’s quite possible that they’re no longer planning to sell. 🤞

Re. The six-month break clause in your lease. That’s why we all must always read every sentence of legal documents, even if it’s a renewal.

Look after your own interests. OP, and get everything in writing from them-if you have a conversation, follow it up with an email summarizing what was agreed.

Your tenancy ends in March. If you do not leave you will be evicted. You will find it very difficult to rent without a reference or with a very bad reference saying you had to be evicted.
If you have a good record of renting for 9 years I would not destroy that.

2018 article. This is five years out of date.

@Knoblauch I'm far from thick , the op stated in one post that she may have missed a letter .
I've never rented in my life so wouldn't know this ..

Obvs didn't read the whole thread , who even ever has time for that anyways 🤷‍♀️

@WaitingForLifeToGetEasier

I'm not making any 'assumptions' about your intelligence, however I do note, from your username at least, you seem to have the idea that what you want/need etc should take priority over what your landlord/house owner wants/needs...

It comes across as if you actually expect others to prioritise you ??

Instead of 'waiting for life to get easier', what are you actually doing for yourself to make it easier ??

I hate landlords

Really, @Babyroobs? All of them?

@WaitingForLifeToGetEasier I'm a LL, and you can wait for your LL to serve S21 notice, assuming you genuinely have had no written notice up to this point. However, all you are doing is postponing the inevitable. If he wants to sell, he will sell. He won't want a void (which is probably why he hasn't issued you with an S21 yet), but if he really is a millionaire (or multi millionaire, as his wealth seems to be inflated with every post), then he can cover that.

What I don't really get is why you haven't asked the agent exactly what's going on. The LL isn't going to have changed his mind since August, so you really need to be looking elsewhere. I think it's very petty of you not to allow viewings, because - again - it's not going to change anything about whether or not you can stay in the house. You do run the risk of not being given a decent reference, as a pissed-off LL could just say you were "obstructive" (rightly or wrongly, and depending on how nice or otherwise they are).

Other than that: being a millionaire is not a crime. Owning more than one property is not a crime. Most LLs are not remotely millionaires. I am a LL because I have no pension after having to give up my job for reasons not relevant to this thread. The OP's LL could be the richest man in the world, and he would still have a right to sell his own property.

In future, OP should also make sure she actually reads a tenancy agreement before signing it. There was nothing "sneaky" about introducing a break clause; it was there for her to see in black and white, had she chosen to read what she was signing.

She's not been asked to leave.

I doubt it as so many posters have ignored all the explanations .

@ViridissimaVirga I agree that getting a good reference is really important in this tight rental market. One of my neighbours has two student rentals ( so not especially posh) and she always checks references. Having a bad one isn’t what the Op needs.

Blimey OP sounds like hard work.
Just because the landlord is wealthy doesn't mean you are entitled to try and screw him over. And as many people have said, you're cutting off your nose to spite your face because you'll end up without a reference.

OP you're getting quite nasty now. Try to be better in life.

Are you really so out of touch ? You do realize that no matter how hard some people graft, that home ownership will still be out of their reach because of stupid fucking buy to let landlords who didn't give a toss about anyone apart from making money for themselves and pushing up house prices to make them unaffordable for many. I hate them and I'm sick of people trying to defend them.

Yes there may be rights to refuse viewings, and play hard ball over paperwork, and refuse to leave until you're legally evicted and legally speaking that's your "right".

But on the other hand, if you are planning on renting again in the future, do you really want to get a reputation for being awkward and confrontational, constantly going on about how you "know your rights" and forcing your landlord to do the formal eviction?

It's like job hunting - what would you rather have on your CV as a reason to leave - negotiated an exit with prior employer, or fired?

It then becomes a rolling tenancy unless otherwise indicated. They will need to contact @WaitingForLifeToGetEasier asap section 21 this month to ensure compliance. As long as she continues to pay rent she can drag this out, court costs down to landlord. I've paid £1200 so far with a section 21. Court costs and bailiffs will cost me another £1200 minimum. Took a friend 18 months to evict drug dealers who didn't pay rent in that time. She also bore all the court costs.

Could you please explain why you think the OP must leave in March and will be evicted if she does not leave?

How is it petty not to allow viewings? I work from home, have a disabled DC at home and another one with a life threatening health condition who needs regular hospital checkups.

Why should I have to deal with appointments for viewings and have strangers coming into my HOME for the landlords benefit when it wasn't even in my tenancy agreement?!

Batshit, seriously!

Sounds like they were waiting to find a buyer before issuing the S21, given that sales typically take at least 2 months to go through. Shame they didn't explain that to you. Although, if you're refusing viewings, they're not going to get a buyer, so surprised they haven't gone ahead and issued the notice anyway. If no notice has been served at the end of the fixed term in March, it will roll over into a periodic tenancy where the landlord must still give you 2 months notice via a S21 but you only need give the Landlord 1 month. Have a chat with the agent and find out what the intentions are. The sales market is crap atm so they may give up on selling and offer to renew your contract (assuming you want to stay) so staying on the right side of them is a good plan. The lettings market is brutal at the moment with many applicants chasing few properties and rents being pushed up. It's so difficult for both tenants & landlords. Many landlords are wanting to sell up as all their costs are soaring too.

To be honest if the tenants I'm trying to get out continue to pay their rent in a timely manner they'll get a good reference because that's what landlords are interested in

OP
clearly you’ve had problems in the past with your tenancy but
your para 3
its your responsibility to check the tenancy agreement. Whether it’s convenient for you or not
Your para 4
landlord needs to issue a section 21,
Your para 5
LL doesn’t have to reduce rent to allow for viewings
Your para 6
All tenants should pay rent on time but equally LL should keep property well maintained, if the landlord is not doing this tenants should contact agency and suggest a rental reduction or do the work themselves and take the cost out of the rent. ( this usually does the job) but get agreement first.
Your para 7
irrelevant

@WaitingForLifeToGetEasier just tell the landlord May suits you more- it's unlikely they would sell and get all legal a through by May at the earliest - I would cooperate and try for a compromise even if you are peeved (as I would be if the 6 month break clause had been sneaked in without mention. ).