Faced eviction, can't cope

[LoveMeBunnees]

After 26 yrs, my private landlord wants me out few days before xmas (Section 21 issued 22nd October). I have pets since I cannot have children. I don't have anywhere else to go & my elderly parents don't have room cos they sleep separately in their 2 bed house. C.A.B told me to stay put & landlord has to go court to get an order which could take months. But I'm scared of bailiffs knocking on my door even if I've been paying rent every month without fail, not one month was late/missing. Trouble is, I've stripped most wallpaper off in every room, got new stuff, new flooring, new wallpaper, paint, carpet for stairs - all ready to put down after New Year, most rooms are a mess with everything getting moved around. I don't know where to start to get sorted & leave my home, the list is long & horrendous. I don't have any friends, I'm the only child & can't ask my parents as they're in their 80's (I'm 53). Where do I start, what should I do to get moving along? Thought of moving is filling me with dread. Any info please. I'm getting rid of stuff to charity shops so that's for starters.

if you can find private accommodation by all means do, the LA help is not a fast process.

as someone who has been through this process 18-24 months ago, the PPs saying stay put are right if you need assistance from the council.

if you leave at the end of your s21 the council will consider it 'making yourself intentionally homeless' as have no duty to help you. their advice will be stay put.

when the council agree they have a duty to help you, you may get placed in temp accom(hotel/b&b) type thing, at this point you will be classed as homeless, they then have up to 56 days to find you more secure temp acomm, i ended up in a bedsit, at this point you will be able to apply for the LA housing they have available, if its anything like mine, its a bidding system, however being homeless and in temp will put you in the highest priority.

bailiffs will not turn up at the end of the s21. the landlord will have to apply to court, and youd have plenty of notice if it ever came to this. im talking roughly another 6 months after the end of the s21

all in all my timescale was like this
jan s21 ended in march
june another s21 ended in sept (he had to give me another as they only have so many months to apply to court after the s21 notice
nov went to b+b was there 12 days
nov went into bedsit
april approved for my house on the council bidding system
july moved in (had to wait as it had to have a refurb)

I presume the tenant can't just not move and suddenly the landlord will throw their hand in the air and think my bad the tenant can stay forever we will just ignore the fact we want use of the house, sure stay till the end but wouldn't it just delay the inevitable

instead of sticking your head in the sand if you move now you can control more where you live if you get forcibly evicted I presume you won't be moving into a palace with your pets, if you care about the pets wouldn't it be better to settle them in calmly into a place you have chosen?

Re. The redecorating , new flooring etc. Presumably you spoke to your landlord before undertaking such a major job so they’ll understand that you now won’t be completing it. Just tell them that you’ll be returning all the materials and they can prepare the house for sale when you leave.

I agree with the advice to speak to Shelter. At 53, you’re’ll already be eligible for some “retirement” housing and more options when you’re 55. It’s a huge shock but you’ll get through this. 💐

Of my god
she's not being advised to stay where she is as a first choice! Have you even read any of the thread? The only reason to stay put is if she physically can't find anywhere to move to, and with the state of private renting in 2025 that's very possible. Nobody would advise her to choose to be evicted and enter the council homeless accommodation system as a preference 🙄

Uh no. That was late 80s, not 90s!

Absolutely not a landlord and never would be but it is their property. It is a rental agreement for a fee and within that there is a notice period in which the landlord can get their property vacated. Provided the landlord has given the appropriate notice then the tenant has to move. It is ridiculous saying she should just stay. It doesn’t matter if it has been a month of rent or 50 years they don’t own the property and the landlord hasn’t been doing them a favour by renting it to them and the tennant hasn’t been doing the landlord a favour by paying the rent on time and living there. It is a mutual agreement and she no longer has their agreement to continue the contract.

It happened to us a month before Christmas when my husband was a full time student. Do you know what we did? We moved! With four weeks notice.

But you're wrong about the notice period. A section 21 notice is not a notice period to leave the property. Legally it is not, and every proper landlord knows this. Nobody signs a contract agreeing to vacate within 8 weeks after receiving section 21 notice because that's not the law. You may have chosen to leave at the end of the notice period but that was your own choice, not an obligation either legally or morally. There's a reason tenancy law protects tenants in this, because homes are essential and 8 weeks is not a reasonable timeframe for many people to find and move to a new home. A section 21 is just notice that the landlord intends to seek possession at an unspecified future date.

I’m still slightly gobsmacked at the extensive upgrades that the OP is in the middle of making. Surely the landlord was aware that she was replacing flooring, for example? Tbh, I think it’s the landlord’s responsibility to pay for new flooring and why would they agree to all this when they were about to issue a S21?

I’ve never had such a long term tenancy so have never done work in a rented property. Does anyone know what typically happens re. replacing flooring? Surely the LL pays for it?

You absolutely made it sound like she should not leave in December when you started with the capital letters shouting DO NOT LEAVE etc

IF the LL is asked to replace flooring and/or it is not adequate then the LL is liable but if a Tenant just deecides to then the LL is under no obligation to pay for it and is within their rights to withold some or all of the deposit
If OP has been there for so long the Deposit may not be in a protected scheme so its harder to get it returned

Yes, because she has nowhere to leave to, as she said in her OP, but she also said she's scared of bailiffs turning up so implying she would leave even without anywhere suitable to go to. In those circumstances no of course she should not leave. That doesn't mean stay there until you get evicted without trying to find somewhere on your own! And if you read the sentences following my 'do NOT leave' you'd have read all the things I suggested she do to help herself find somewhere to live. Did you not bother reading that bit?

So essentially blackmail the landlord, then ask for a decent reference?
Yes I can see that going great!

With the new Rental Act coming up very soon,many people might be in your situation OP (with basically Landlords just deciding its not a viable business anymore so selling up). I would be worried about relying on Temporary Accommodation etc as tje pressure on these services could potentially be a lot higher.

But it does mean Landlords won't be able to say no pets which might be inyour favour. But rentsmight be a lot higher.

Adding to the chorus of if you can’t find a place, don’t leave.

Purely because the council will tell you to stay and that in their eyes “you are intentionally making yourself homeless” if you leave, which exempts them from helping you.

The landlord won't be allowed to deduct a penny after 20+ years.

Common sense landlords will absolutely give a decent reference to get a decent tenant out if the only issue is they are struggling to find another rental. Decent landlords understand the challenges and also understand pragmatism and that it makes no sense to block a tenant getting a new rental if you want them to leave. It's not blackmail, it's business

Remind me, why people in council houses should give up their tenancies and go into private rents again?

It’s very effective
I recommend

When this happened to me I was terrified of the bailiffs situation too. I had constant images of us being turfed out and all the neighbours out in the street watching us.

If this happened to me again I would be stoic throughout because I know the process, but YANBU to feel how you do. It’s all the unknowns, the shock of losing your home, the reality of the state of housing, etc. When I got my section21 I spent about 3 days just feeling numb and could barely function.

You will feel a bit better when you’ve processed it a bit. Then it’s a case of making to do lists and following them. The first thing I would do is contact the housing department at the council to let them know what’s happening. They will call you in for a meeting at some point.

I’m a landlord, asking me to pay all that, and removal costs, whilst also providing a decent reference?
Not a chance in hell!
And is is NOT business, it’s blackmail.

Please stop giving advice that is incorrect.
I don’t know where you are getting information from but it is not correct that a tenant has to move when a landlord gives notice.
Only a court or a tenant can end the contract.
It might be useful if you actually have a look at the regulations surrounding such matters before giving out false information.

And if they do?
A lengthy legal battle which OP may not be up for
I had a Tenant with a 26 year Tenancy who lost £500 of his deposit of £800 due to damage he caused with negligence (not saying OP is negligent)
I am not a Landlord by the way and I would have tried to argue for the Tenant but as the LL held the Deposit himself and the Tenant didn't want to fight it there wasn't much we could do.

@Hoppinggreen Thanks for the explanation. I had no idea that a tenant could replace flooring and strip wallpaper without speaking to the landlord, I just assumed that you had to get their permission before doing that.

If the landlord didn’t know that the work was in progress, I suppose that the OP will just have to let them know now and return the materials so she’s not even more out of pocket. What a mess.

No they do not have to leave until a court instructs or the tenant wishes to leave.
Stop giving out duff information.

No one is blackmailing anyone to do anything.
Anyone in business knows they are one off or unexpected costs associated with running a business.