Evicted for the 2nd time in less than a year!

[EvictedAgain]

AIBU to think this is just untenable?

Lsst landlord wanted to sell but did it really sneakily insisting we allowed viewings 4 months into a one year contract. We didn’t of course so were served with a Section 21 after 6 months.

We had to take current property last August (£500 month more than last place as nowhere else available). Now been served another Section 21 as landlord is not happy that we refused to pay for a professional gardener (his mate) which wasn’t in contract, or allow him to take the toilet seat that’s been in the property. This is revenge because he was unhappy about having to fix the shower and faulty dishwasher!

We are a large family and have loads of stuff. I can’t believe we’re having to pack up and move again!

AIBU to think that LL’s shouldn’t have the power to kick people out of their homes at whim and notice should be 6 months not two months?

Was the landlord aware he or she was renting to a “large family” before you moved in?

Could you or your family have offered to do the gardening?

I love gardening. I spent a day babysitting a friend's young children (14 & 9) and showed them how to plant seeds, prune, weed, etc - all the while explaining what I knew about plants. It was a really fun day and they seemed very interested.

Apparently, they both want to be gardeners now and have discovered the possibilities of their own garden.

No we smuggled in 10 extended family members afterwards, they sleep on mattresses lined up on the floor, cos we lowlife scumbag tenants innit.

Sorry, but I would have served you a notice too. You sound like a nightmare tenant.

I’m a landlord. Your ll is an idiot. They can’t take something, which is in the inventory and the hedge is too high to expect you to cut it.

I have much shorter hedges at a couple of properties. It could be argued the tenants should maintain them - I get them cut to about 5 ft. It’s a grey area. As is, I pay to have them trimmed regularly.

That said, unfortunately they’ve decided to ask you to leave. It’s a nightmare atm for tenants. They should be treating you like an asset if you’re looking after the house well and paying promptly, not an object / annoyance.

Ok, you sound like a dick and I don’t care what happens. Bet your LL will be glad to see the back of you.

Would you be faced with eviction if you hadn't chosen to fight the battles you've fought?

Honestly - and I'm a tenant in a country where I have rights, and a lovely landlord to boot, and I do understand that you're living in a shifty overall situation - who has lost here?

I suggest it's you.

Well yes. You should have if you wanted to stay. Why do you expect things to be different? The landlord holds all the power here. If you are ever able to get a new accommodation, don't piss off the landlord or you will be out on your arse again. Tenants are ten a penny, and properties to rent are in demand. What can you do to make yourself attractive to a landlord?

You absolutely DO sound like a mug now op..... I mean, where are you going to live?

The fact remains that he can (and did) evict you - for any reason he likes.

The arena to fight the crappy legal situation tenants are in isn't individual tenants v individual landlords on issues like toilet seats and hedge trimming. It's the political arena.

I have a feeling we are getting half a story. The more OP replies, the more I see how difficult she is. Was a toilet seat really worth losing your house over?

I agree with you OP I think the landlord should pay for the gardener if he doesn't like how you've trimmed it. Re the toilet seat I would have agreed that he could change it, if it's over his budget it makes sense to replace with a standard one, though really he should have done this before you moved in.

I'm not sure if @EvictedAgain is actually getting evicted . I think maybe there has been a selection 21 issued . Which is a request for the tenant to leave . I have asked op a few times if she's going the actual eviction route or just finding another place. But she does not answer. So it's not clear at all.

On the face of it OP you're right about the toilet seat and the gardening.

BUT there are ways of going about things and you don't come across well on here, so I can quite see that you've managed to put landlords' backs up.

Unfortunately it is precarious being a tenant (we rented for many years) and you have to balance standing up for yourself with being a little bit 2 bags full sir.

OP I'm getting very confused by your timelines.
S21 cannot be issued during the period of a fixed tenancy.
So in your last place your LL wanted to sell. Issues you a S21 2 months before you were due to leave. Fine. You signed a 12 month contract anyway.
Currently, you have been there since August. So 6 months. Does this mean you signed a 6 month contract?
If you wanted to stay longer, why did you not sign a longer contract?

This is important because your AIBU is specifically about times. A periodic tenancy is 2 months notice both ways. Many other tenants appreciate the freedom to leave with short notice.

Yanbu. The English system is awful.
This. No one should have to rely on a capricious landlord for their home. A roof over your head isn't a luxury.

Ah yes, very true, @Justasking49

Her other (numerous) threads complaining about landlords in general and the posh toilet seat in particular don't mention the toilet (bidet seat actually) seat having been in the original inventory.
The toilet seat narrative has evolved somewhat over the course of the three months she's been starting threads.

Quite.
She's also said on other threads they only ever intended staying 12 months so tbf, don't know why she's kicking off that the landlord, knowing her tenancy us almost up wants to show people round.

It wasn't a toilet seat on her other threads btw.
It was a Japanese style bidet system cover.

Well where was she going after the 12 months?

I don't understand why people keep asking the OP if it's a Section 21, or she's being evicted, when she says clearly in her first post that they've been served a Section 21.

OP, can I ask, would it be too late to eat a bit of humble pie, and talk to you LL? Much as I'm sure you don't want to, could you tell them that you're sorry you got off on the wrong foot, and ask if you can you renegotiate the contract somehow, or give him his toilet seat, and agree to have the hedge done, but in the mean time, get some quotes from other gardeners to see how much getting the hedge trimmed would cost? Only to my mind, it would be better to stay put if you can, as I know someone who has just had the property they rented sold out from under them, and finding alternative accommodation right now, was an absolute nightmare. After all, the last thing you want when you say you have a big family, is for your kids to end up homeless, surely?

That’s so frustrating. I’ve been quite fortunate in that out of the 6/7 places I’ve rented over the year only 2 wanted to sell and did give sufficient notice. I am planning to move to a cheaper area in 2yrs once youngest is 18, and finally buy. It’s been a long time waiting for kids to finish school and a lot of money wasted on rent

Because an eviction warrant could take months to issue. At which point it might be another 4 months after the S21 expiry date anyway.

That aside, the only way the LL could issue a S21 is if she only signed a 6 month contract - why did she not sign 12 months if this was intending to be long-term? If the LL wanted 6 months, surely this was a hint that he wanted short term tenants or at least the ability to kick them out?

Is LL really kicking OP out because of the toilet seat or is there another reason?