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Original poster

HELP. eviction letter.

31 replies

butterpieify · 02/02/2011 11:09

Delivered by hand just now.

"Due to a change in personal circumstances your landlord requires to take back possession of the above property, and so please find enclosed a Notice Requiring Possession which means that you must vacate the property on 9th april 2001.

Due the the circumstances your landlord is willing to release you earlier from your obligation should you find accomidation (sic) sooner that (sic) the expiry of this notice.

Yours sincerely
FOR PATTINSON RENTALS"

Errr...help! We have two kids under five, I'm not working atm for health problems (I get care DLA if that helps?), DH works full time for a low wage and we have very little in the way of savings. We are model tenants, although landlord and letting agent have been dragging their feet with repairs (eg oven still not mended that broke in spetember last year)

I really, really can't be doing with stress (and have very strong medical evidence for this). We live in a strange area (part of Sunderland) which is very divided affluence wise - we are lucky to be renting in one of the nicer areas, but there are areas that are very very deprived and unsafe - I don't mind poor areas, but we are talking stabbings, burning cars and so on.

HELP. Can anyone advise?

OP posts:
Rannaldini · 02/02/2011 11:19

what does your contract say?

i'd assume that this is in accordance with your contract for giving you notice to quit but please check.

The bottom line is that he wants possession and you will have to quit.
You have 2 months to find somewhere. Good luck.

(Curious about how you think that your health affects his taking possession of his property though?}

Tillyscoutsmum · 02/02/2011 11:21

Assuming you have an Assured Shorthold Tenancy agreement (which is the most common type), then your Landlord can give you 2 months notice for possession at any time after the tenancy end date. Is the Notice Requiring Possession as Section 21 notice ?

RealityIsKnockedUp · 02/02/2011 11:21

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

armani · 02/02/2011 11:23

oh very sorry to hear this butter :(
first things first take a deep breath and tell yourself you can cope with this.i no from personal experience how stressful it can be.

if i were you i would be heading to my local citizens advice bureo (sp?) for advice and they will advise you where you stand legally. also i would inform your local council as they might have a duty to house you.

hth x

tomhardyismydh · 02/02/2011 11:24

You can resisit but he will need to get an order from the courts to evict you, this could take much longer than the 2 months he has given you. However you really do not want to do this for stress, you will want a good refference to move on. 2 monts should be a reasonable time scale to find some where if not he is not able to through you out come april.

you need to go to the council housing dept to seek help with finding somewhere to live.

it is not as stressfull as it sounds PITA and sad to leave some where you have been happy and settle. But you cant stay there if he needs his property back.

Original poster
butterpieify · 02/02/2011 11:26

I know we have to leave, but how do we get somewhere else? They have our deposit. Two months isn't long enough to find deposit and moving fees suddenly. DD1 is registered to start school in spetember. We have spent money improving the house, buying furniture that fits and matches the general house.

OP posts:
Original poster
butterpieify · 02/02/2011 11:29

Our income only just covers our outgoings. To move in somewhere else we will need around £1000 (£600 deposit, plus fees and they usually want one months rent upfront) whilst still paying our current rent. That doesn't add up.

OP posts:
EricNorthmansMistress · 02/02/2011 11:29

It's shit when this happens. Make an appt with your local council housing dept to see whether they can assist you in finding/funding another private let. Look into applying for a crisis loan towards moving costs (get advice on how to do this, they are very specific) and do it asap so that you can appeal when if they refuse it.

Start calling around letting agents to see what's around and to give you an idea of letting fees etc. Call your current letting agent to see if they would let you take one of their properties on a reduced fee.

Remember if the worst comes to the worst you do not legally have to vacate at the end of the 2 months notice period. It's very unfair to LLs so I would not advise it unless you were absolutely stuck and had no option.

LADYBOAK · 02/02/2011 11:32

I was in your situation 2 years ago and we had to borrow money from dh's parents for the deposit.

ICannotBloodyBelieveIt · 02/02/2011 11:33

Go to local council for advice although if you want council housing, they will probably tell you they will not help until the court bailiffs come to kick you out after an eviction notice has been served. They may lend you a deposit though so you can private rent again, ask about their 'rent deposit scheme'.

tomhardyismydh · 02/02/2011 11:33

you need to talk with them to get your deposit transfered to new landlord same day as moving out and moving in. I did this and was effectivly homeless for 2 hours untill bank transfere was made, its not a problem, just parked van up and we all sat and had a very long coffee.

I think you need 1) look for somewhere, then 2) discuss the practicailities and paprerwork, between letting agents once you have found somewhere. dont over think what is going to happen along each step before you have even found somewhere. that is what will stress you out.

you can do it and you will do it, with a little bit of stress possibly but you need to manage this ok for your childrens sake.

go to the housing office.

EricNorthmansMistress · 02/02/2011 11:35

We packed up and stayed with friends and family for two months, but only one DC so much easier. Last time this happened we borrowed from credit union.

Tillyscoutsmum · 02/02/2011 11:35

Do you have a good relationship with your LLD/Letting agents ? They may be willing to let you offset the deposit against your last month's rent (they are not obliged to at all but if they sent someone round to do an inspection and could see the property had been improved etc., they may be willing to do it). Its worth speaking to them

In the meantime, get an appointment with your local council housing dept as soon as possible and get ringing round letting agents to look an alternative properties

veritythebrave · 02/02/2011 11:39

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

tomhardyismydh · 02/02/2011 11:40

the problem with finding letting places is sometimes you dont always find something availible in 2 months, you tend to have to wait and keep looking and find somewhere nearer the actual date. that can be worry, but if he is letting you out before that helps and you will have grace after if he needs to get an eviction order that takes a few months. I would not go along with staying put though.

mrssonic · 02/02/2011 11:40

agree with Tillyscoutsmum - see if there is some flexibility with the deposit. Best idea is to be calm and co operative while giving some detail of your circumstances without getting emotional.

LIZS · 02/02/2011 11:41

Sorry it sounds perfectly sound legally :( . Can you ask the same agency to help you find somewhere and negotiate the deposit/costs. Otherwise you could ask the Council to house you but it may mean you have to go into b and b temporarily and have limited choice of area :( Agree there may be an emergency fund to loan you a deposit/month's rent for a private rental until yours' comes through. CAB woudl know or the Council advice centre Remember your final payment would be due March 9th, so you'd have a month's worth in hand by April.

ambarth · 02/02/2011 12:24

shelter here

Look at the above webpage it has everything you need to know including an advice line and where you can get local advice.

ambarth · 02/02/2011 12:27

Sorry to hear this. Beat of luck finding somewhere else. As you are homeless through no fault of your own the council will have a legal duty to house you. Although it may be a B@B as there are long waiting lists for council homes. Having a disability will probable make you a high priority though.

xxx Sad

freshmint · 02/02/2011 12:29

READ THIS PLEASE

If the NOSPA is signed by the letting company, it is invalid. It needs to be signed by the landlord.

This will only buy you time. Write to the court and the landlord/letting agent pointing out that they have sent an invalid notice. They will have to serve a new one, signed by the landlord, which will also have to give you two clear months notice. You may want to wait until you get notice that they have applied for a possession order to buy yourself a bit more time. Don't wait for a court date because if they are only seeking possession (and not eg payment of late rent) there won't be on, the judge will just look at the papers but any letter from you pointing out the invalidity of the notice will be on the file and he/she will see it.

But basically you need to start saving for a deposit and looking for somewhere else. Sorry.

freshmint · 02/02/2011 12:30

there won't be ONE (ie a hearing)

llbeanj · 02/02/2011 12:31

the CAB should know about this sort of thing.

section 21 notices can be tricky things, if they get it wrong then it isn't valid and they have to serve another one, which could add another two months, but they will get it right sooner or later and it may be better to leave on good terms.

is the tenancy still for a fixed term, or did that period end without a new contract?
if it is fixed, when does it end?
or is it weekly what day does it start? or is it monthly? what date is it for?

www.letlink.co.uk/letting-factsheets/factsheets/factsheet-21-section-21-notice-requiring-possession-of-an-assured-shorthold-tenancy.html

Original poster
butterpieify · 03/02/2011 11:23

Hmmm, this might seem mad, but (bear with me, complex family circs could make this possible) how would I find out how much it would be likely to sell for?

The landlords son tells us they are selling as they can't keep up with the mortgage payments - if they were willing to take an offer slightly below the average price in the area (bearing in mind we know the boiler needs replacing, it has a massive range oven that might as well be a cast iron cupboard as hasn't worked properly for at least four year, they wouldn't have the hassle of finding a buyer and it sounds - reading between the lines of what the son is saying - like they are on the verge of repossession) then we might be able to get a mortgage on this house.

In the last hour, word has got out on the street that we are having to leave and we have had two neighbours round to ask if they can help in any way. They like having us here, some of them saw DH grow up round here. His parents still live a few doors away.

Also, there is another issue, regarding a chimney (big metal thing, height of a man) that has fallen down in the wind and is now rolling about on the roof about to smash either our skylight or the neighbours, letting agent is passing the buck to landlord, landlord is passing it back. WIBU to just ring a man to come and take it down and take it off the rent, as it is actually dangerous? The chimney was part of an attempt to make the oven work (this time it has been broken since september) so it isn't actually doing anything, apart from making a huge danger to anyone in the dormas or the gardens.

OP posts:
tomhardyismydh · 03/02/2011 17:18

dont want to piss on your fire or anything but from what you said earlier I think you will struggle to get a mortgage at the moment, you said you would find it hard to get the deposit for rental and your family employment circumstances dont look like you could get much of a mortgage.

worth seeking financial advice though.

LIZS · 03/02/2011 17:27

You cannot withhold rent I'm afraid. It will only make your position weaker. The agent has an obligation to sort it out and they can deduct the cost from the next rental payment before passing it on to the ll or the ll may claim on insurance (or from the person who installed it) - either way not your concern as long as it is done. If they won't accept this ask the council housing office for advice. Have you called the council anyway yet, or Shelter ? Agree if you have no savings you won't get any reasonable sort of mortgage, sorry, you need a good deposit, credit history and reliable income.