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?

No, but as a LL and property owner if you need to sell and the Tennant doesn't allow viewings then your only real option is to evict.
Not all LL are greedy multi-millionaires. There are legitimate reasons to sell.

Also no.idea what is "sneaky" in OPs words about asking them to allow viewings for a prospective sale? Would selling without mentioning anything, no viewings or evicting them first have been better?

Sorry but being this petty about a toilet seat probably wasn't worth it. You sound like a PITA. This is why I wouldn't want to ever be a landlord

Also it's a pain for a landlord to get another tenant so they usually only do this if they feel they have to, it sounds like there's been alot of issues so LL has probably decided to cut their losses. Most landlords go above and beyond for good tenants.

Bloody hell, this thread is depressing. OP is 'a nightmare tenant' because they do not want to pay for gardening that is not part of the original agreement and let the landlord remove a fancy loo seat which was part of the original listing. This is OP's home and when landlords accept a tenant and take their money that is the contract they enter into. Yes there are bad tenants etc and mumsnet seems to attract all the amazing landlords in the UK because they all tell us they are amazing. The rental market is a complete shitshow in the UK, loads of amateur landlords who buy cheap property and thought it was easy money and have no idea what they are doing. Costs have gone up massively and this is just being passed on to tenants. It is not sustainable.

Yet without landlords millions of people would have no where to live, including OP it seems. Some people don’t want to buy or just can’t get their shit together enough to buy somewhere. What will they do without these scum landlords?

Not all landlords are greedy. I’m a landlord, I rent my house for about £250 under the going rate for the area/house. My tenants still owe me £800 in arrears from when they lost their employment in 2019 and when they were furloughed in 2020 as we agreed they could take their time paying it (I also gave them a few months rent free during covid). Any repairs they tell me about I arrange to be done asap. In return they’ve looked after the house and I’ve had no issues with them. They’ve just given notice to leave so i’ll be selling the property because I can’t really be bothered with it as I was an accidental landlord anyway.

Many tenants don't realise how fucking lucky they are raking in benefit and getting landlords to kowtow to their needs. Try mortgaged with rising rates - that fucking sucks. And yes I have a child with an EHCP. We both work and don't come close to being able to bitch about the issues the OP does because we saved and bought with a stupid mortgage that we are about to default on. Haven't had the mine to do maintenance on the house or gardens for years.
Suck it up OP and get the hedge cut!!!

I am a LL but I'm a good LL or so my tenants tell me. I'm the Godmother to one tenant's DD. I've never had to do a section 21 and only twice in almost 18 years have my tenants not got their full deposit back. I know @Babyroobs thinks all LL's are terrible but without them we all know there is not enough social housing so many families would be in temporary accommodation or on the streets. It is not true LL buy up all the houses leaving none for families you only have to look on RM to see this is the case. The main reasons why some people can't afford to buy a house is either they don't have enough deposit, or they don't earn enough money to pass the stress test. None of which I can help. I make a profit but not an excessive one. I also provide stable and well maintained accommodation for families including at last count 19 DC and soon to be 20 when house number 11 a 2 bedroomed house is rented to a single mum who works full time with a 3 year old. I wish @Babyroobs could see I'm not the problem, but until social housing is expanded, I'm actually part of the solution. I've not sold any of my houses making families homeless which looking at this thread is a complaint from tenants.

You're an entitled 🤡 who's been kicked out because they deserve to be!

You want to live in a property and have someone else do all the daily maintenance you should be doing as part of living there 😂

You think you can refuse a landlord access to their property and wonder why you're kicked out 😂😂😂😂😂

You're precious over a TOILET SEAT that doesn't belong to you 😂😂

YOU ARE THE PROBLEM!!!

Thank you for the belly laughs! Pass on our best wishes from all of us here to your next landlord!

Exactly this, OP is an entitled 🤡

@Mementomorissons, I don't follow your logic. If all LL's put their houses on the market it doesn't mean LA's could purchase them. Look at the news LA's are going bankrupt up and down the country. Birmingham went bankrupt a few months ago they are selling off their properties, not buying them up. They had an auction last week raising millions. They will be having more auctions over the next few months to sell off more. I think Birmingham wants to raise council tax by 10 percent. I think there have been several large LA going bankrupt this year and at the end of 2023. More are teetering on the brink of bankruptcy this year. LA can't afford to buy houses. This has nothing to do with LL's. That brings us back to individuals. Governments force banks to have stress testing. That is the test to work out if a person wanting a mortgage can afford the mortgage multipliers. If they earn enough to pay the mortgage. That is even supposing tenants have deposits to buy these houses, which incidentally there are loads for sale on RM. Some have been on the market for almost a year. Swap rates determine the mortgage rates banks use for mortgages. Again nothing to do with LL's. It must be lovely to live in your simplistic bubble where anything and everything to do with housing can be blamed on LL. Blame governments who over the years have sold off housing stock and not to LL but to tenants who have bought the property cheaply from LA's.

Lucky??? Paying over the odds rent for shoddy accommodation so that landlords can line their retirement pots. Ok!

Well unfortunately if you don't give in to landlords demand a S21 is usually on the way.. don't make it right but that's just reality

You must be able to see from ops responses that it wouldn't matter who they rented from, they would still find something to teach the big bad landlord a lesson. Fine if you're in a position to deal with the fallout and have somewhere else to go. Lots of things can be negotiated but it's a bit foolish to keep doing the same thing and jeopardising the roof over your own families heads when you already know the odds are stacked against you and you can't win because the landlord will just serve notice. Most people would learn the first time that perhaps their strategy isn't working out too well, but to then start being difficult again over a toilet seat? Is that really worth getting evicted for? If you're on some crusade to teach big bad landlords a lesson it's probably a more responsible idea to do it while you're single rather than keep dragging your whole family through it when you already know the outcome. I can guarantee even in the next property op will find another principle to argue the toss over then wonder why they get served notice again. Landlords are not going to want tenants who put themselves over as difficult and troublesome, they aren't worth the hassle and when the landlord holds all the cards a toilet seat probably isn't a hill worth dying on.

Our council is on the edge council tax went up 10% last year another 10% this year. Friend working for a Housing association says their government pot of money to buy has been reduced so they're lucky if they'll buy half a dozen houses this year. Our neighbouring councils are in the same boat. They're reducing their bin collections to monthly.

The electric bin wagons we've had to buy are 250k each. The pensions are a huge burden as is social care.

Those Birmingham sales housing wise will be bought by god knows who from overseas landlords who will be unaccountable.

It's really worrying.

But is it really a point worth losing your home for? It was only after refusing that the landlord served notice halfway through the term because they saw the tenant as difficult.

Landlords don't build houses do they? Someone would live there if you didn't own it.

The point is the Landlord let them know that they were breaching the terms of the tenancy by not maintaining the garden and recommended a professional they could use if they weren't able or willing to correct this breach themselves. It is quite usual for there to be a term in an AST that the tenant is responsible for the upkeep of the garden and for a landlord to ask that they rectify on inspections. If the tenant can't do it then one option is for them to pay to have it done. Their choice but it is their responsibility.

Perhaps if the tenant has the same attitude that they don't have to comply with the terms of the tenancy that is why they are being served a s21 notice while the landlord still can use this procedure.

Someone clearly can't read.

OP did do the maintenance, the landlord wants her to pay his gardener friend instead.

Why should she be forced to pay someone, if the landlord wants it done he should pay.

It wasn't in the contract that OP has to hire someone...

Unless the contract stipulates professional hedge maintenance, they were not "breaching the terms" of anything. A tenancy agreement is a legally binding document, not an opt in opt out add bits as it suits.

Unfortunately the op comes across as someone who I'd rather not have as a tenant. If I could i would love to ask an omnipotent being if the landlord only required a professional when he saw the hit and miss result of the hedge trimming. In my experience landlords (and sellers!) normally give you the gardener's name etc during the contract process.
It would be great if landlords selling up meant more or less expensive housing but I'm with other posters that the real result would be companies buying them up.

It is illegal for a landlord to insist that a tenant pays for services. The landlord cannot do this, even if it’s in the tenancy agreement (because the law supersedes this). If anyone has a landlord who insists on this, report them to Trading Standards.

If the tenancy agreement says that they need to maintain the garden the tenant needs to maintain it. She admits she hasn't properly. The landlord has suggested they could use a professional. The tenant has chosen not to. Which she is, as you say, within her rights to do. However she still therefore remains in breach of her tenancy having chosen not to do it properly herself or pay a professional to rectify it.

The landlord within accordance with the tenancy and statutory law has served a s21 notice giving her notice to leave. I agree the tenant can't opt out of that either.

Perhaps if she hadn't breached the tenancy and sorted out the issue the landlord might not have given notice or perhaps he still might have exercised his legal rights to give notice.

I don't think she should be forced to pay his friend, but if she's doing a terrible job at it, then I can see why he want a professional. This is also why some people will pay a professional cleaner as many people aren't up to the task (which sounds like it was the case in this instance)