To refuse to leave rented property

[Boymamabee]

I’m having an ethical dilemma thanks to my husband…

I’m heavily pregnant (due a c-section next month) and we’ve been served a two month no-fault notice by our landlord (it’s all valid).

We’re struggling to find rented properties within our price range and although we’re at risk of homelessness, the council can’t guarantee temp accommodation before our notice expires. This makes my husband anxious as he says we have no right to stay in a house we don’t own and it’s unfair on the LL whose sale might fall through.

Places for the same amount of rent, or less, than we currently pay are more rural and would cost more fuel. Many of the local schools don’t have specialised facilities for kids with ASD (think rural schools with 20 students and 2 LSAs) and DS LOVES his school!

This is where it gets tricky…

We’ve been advised that if we stay with family or friends before the LL enacts a court possession order, we could be seen as making ourselves “intentionally homeless”. Likewise if we get ourselves into debt/arrears living somewhere we can’t afford.

I’ve proposed we listen to
their advice and stay put for now, but DH thinks it’s selfish and we’ll naturally find another way to make ends meet. He wants to be out before our contract ends and he feels sorry for the LL who’s going through a divorce.

AIBU?

Yes, @Kay286 that was in an early post but the OP later updated to say it has turned out otherwise:

it’s sold but the buyer wants to live here so we have to leave. We were told it would be sold with us remaining as tenants. I suppose it was always a risk.

So it’s turning into a private residence. As PP’s have said, rental properties are getting more scarce.

Haven't read the whole thread, but are you registering with local HAs? Rather than just with the council?

I'd just point out that references to future landlords do include info not only did the tenants pay on time - but other info - if you want to rent privately again I would look to leave.
Not all landlords are scum. A friend oversaw - for no fee - her father's 2 rental properties - they were his pension. As his dementia increased - he needed to sell to help pay for his care home. One tenant made this very difficult and the resulting stress on my friend was unimaginable. Fewer properties will be available to rent if renters make life so difficult.

@nobabiesyet exactly this , people can’t see beyond the word “landlord” and just picture someone with millions in the bank with 20 properties taking in loads of dosh every month . When reality this is not the case for many … but it obviously makes them feel more validated thinking this way to screw someone over rather than dealing with their own problems which are not the responsibility of anyone else !
If people behaved with this mentality in any other situation it would not be acceptable.

@Kay286 Nobody is being screwed over. We plan on leaving as soon as we find somewhere to live! What I can’t do is make my kids and I “intentionally homeless” or accept somewhere we can’t afford. I’m following a legal process. You do realise that the council help tenants find rental properties as well? If we refuse an appropriate accommodation we’ll be booted to the bottom of the list so it’s not in our interest to be fussy. What they advised us against is moving in with family or friends before our tenancy ends, or accepting somewhere we currently cannot afford (not that we’re likely to be accepted anyway as they do a full credit check).

And yes of course I’m taking into account provisions for my son.

and it’s unfair on the LL whose sale might fall through
he feels sorry for a person whose making his wife & soon to be born child homeless
wtf is wrong with him? where's his backbone?
The landlord is your opponent, not your friend, your husband should be in your corner, what a wet blanket he is😡

But the flat has been sold to someone who is going to live in it. Someone who might have saved for decades to finally afford to buy a flat. I can see you harbour hatred towards LLs but the situation changed and the person they are truly screwing over is the poor person who believes they have bought a home they can move into on a certain date. They will all lose money, including the OP, if they refuse to go.

But it's the landlords fault that they didn't first have vacant possession prior to marketing the property. It's not the tenants fault, particularly if they are following the advice of the homeless section. The notice is a 'notice of seeking possession', it does not terminate the tenancy.

who buys a flat with a sitting tenant?
usually only a landlord would, but anyway surely they knew it was an unpredictable situation?

Ultimately, none of it really makes a difference to the OP’s situation. The property is turning from a rental into a private residence so her family have to leave. Presumably the new owner knows it’s tenanted and is prepared to wait.

Her LL could have issued the S21 last autumn before he put the property on the market and they’d already be partway through the eviction process.

This is what happens when landlords get out of the business and a property is sold to private owners. One less rental property available.

@Thesharkradar I imagine it’ll happen more and more as landlords exit the market. Not everyone’s in a chain and I suppose they can wait.

Are you still in Junior school or something?

Lots of people need to rent. They need people to own properties to rent

Where are all the ex-tenants going to live if landlords all sell up?

Do enlighten me. 🤔

Utter bollocks. The OP can legally stay in the property up until the court has issued a possession order and right up to the date that the order becomes enforceable.

But presumably they haven’t bought it with a sitting tenant - that’s why the current owner is trying to get the tenants out.

the tenant is in the premises, therefore they are a sitting tenant, therefore the purchaser has bought a property for which they cannot have vacant possession

@Boymamabee
you dont have to obey the landlord, you have to do what's in your best interest, the LL has messed up trying to sell the place while you're still in it, you can use thier mistake to give you extra leverage.
Your husband is pathetic

@LakieLady and no landlord will touch her ever again. You have a contract to rent a property, your landlord tells you they are not renewing your contract and gives you the statutory notice to leave, you leave ... advising otherwise gives renters a bad reputation and is one of the reasons why people with shorter term empty properties don't let them. (I'm planning on going travelling for a year but will probably not let the house for this reason)

Look for housing in your price range

the tenant is in the premises, therefore they are a sitting tenant, therefore the purchaser has bought a property for which they cannot have vacant possession

No one has bought the property. Someone has had an offer accepted and a sale is in process. Buying with sitting tenants means you accept there is an existing lease and that the tenants will remain in the property at least until that lease ends. The fact that the current owner has served a Section 21 and is attempting to get the OP and her family out suggests that the offer is conditional on vacant possession - otherwise why would he bother?

@Thesharkradar You're absolutely right, the new owner won’t complete the sale until the tenants leave. But it makes no difference, if this buyer pulls out, the landlord will continue with the eviction process and find another buyer.

Unless the buyer is another landlord, the OP’s family will have to leave in a few months.

I’ve read the first two pages and had to stop as it was getting upsetting seeing people who simply can’t afford to move onto another rented property being demonised.

OP, (and everyone advising incorrectly): remember that the only people who can end a tenancy are the tenants by giving notice, or the courts. If you’re able to move out at the end of the landlords notice period, good for you.

Tenants are not ‘bad’ people because they overstay the landlords notice period and follow the councils guidance to stay put if they have no other choice. The whole system is broken.

You're right about it varying a lot between areas.

My council, the neighbouring council and one just over the border in the next county lease properties from private landlords for homeless families. They are handed over to the council in good condition and the council then becomes responsible for the maintenance for the duration of the lease.

They also have several large houses that have been converted into flats for temporary accommodation for homeless families. Most homeless families here spend a max of two weeks in B&B before they can move on.

But if the council accept a duty, she may never have to look for privately rented property ever again.

Any decent landlord understands the law of landlord and tenant, they know their rights and responsibilities, they understand that the tenant is, legally, quite within their rights to await a court order. They understand that it is a notice of seeking possession and is the first stage in obtaining possession, they understand that attempting to make the tenant leave without going through the correct legal process may well cause them to be taken to court themselves for various offences. If the tenant wants to find alternative accommodation then fine, but they don't have to until the possession order is obtained. And even then, only the court bailiffs can legally remove the tenant from the property.

@LakieLady Yes, the best case scenario would be for the OP to been given good council accommodation.

What I find ironic though is that some people seem to abhor private landlords and then further hate them when they get out of the business!

If keeping your DS in his current school is the most important thing and you’re currently looking at two bed places, start looking for one beds. They’ll be cheaper and you’ll hopefully find something in the area you need.

Your son can have the bedroom and you, your husband, and the baby can sleep in the living area. It’s far from ideal but it will get you your top priority, and then you can move when your son is ready to move on to secondary or you find a better alternative.

Please don't move to a 1 bed without discussing it with the housing department. You may well be found to have worsened your circumstances, by deliberately overcrowding, and you may find that you are not awarded any priority.