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Original poster

Need advice from Landlords please

23 replies

riverrock · 04/08/2011 23:25

I have been informed by my Next door neighbours landlord ( his tenants are causing us terrible trouble both physically & mentally ) that he is obliged to renew their contract unless we agree to put in a written complaint against them . He has admitted to wanting to get rid of them as there is a man living there illegally and causing alterations to the property without consent .

So my question is
Can landlords evict their tenants when their contract ends if they want to ? He is claiming that he cannot do this because this family has rented his property through a leasing agent and has rights to renew if they want to as long as there's no complaints .
We feel he is using our situation to get rid of these people .

TIA

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LittlePushka · 04/08/2011 23:38

It all depends what kind of tenancy it is. If it is an assured tenancy then the tenant has a statutory right of renewal but if it is an assurehed shorthold tenancy there is no security of tenure and it can be (relatively quickly) ended on or after the fixed term However, if the Tenant is in breach then the L can seek possession from a court and (very) generally if that breach is serious the court is obliged to order possession.

The "right to renew if no complaints" this sounds improbable though, I must say. However, that said I would be advising you to complain to the L to the T and to the Local Authority and to the police if you are being troubled physically and mentally.

Original poster
riverrock · 04/08/2011 23:43

Thank you Littlepushka . We were hoping that their landlord could sort things out tbh and did not want to get the police involved . Scared of the repercussions this could bring on my family . Can not leave my house at all without the children calling disgusting names and throwing stones at us & my property .

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LittlePushka · 04/08/2011 23:53

That is sad - can not the local Authority assist more discretely? Sounds like the L is a bit of a flake to me - perhaps you should not place so much reliance on the landlord to resolve the situation: in my experience, landlords usually want shot of errant tenants asap.

Tiredmumno1 · 05/08/2011 00:09

Surely once the tenancy comes to an end its up to him whether he renews, cant he just say he is thinking of selling up?

It is house so if he dont want someone to be there then that should be his decision

Tiredmumno1 · 05/08/2011 00:11

It is his house - sorry

Teaandcakeplease · 05/08/2011 08:07

Oh Riverrock this sounds so awful for you Sad Can you go into a solicitors today and actually get some advice.

Can you go and stay with someone for a week or two until it all calms down? Sad

nocake · 05/08/2011 12:52

If the tenants have sub-let and are making unauthorised alterations to the property then I would have thought that was enough to allow the landlord to evict them as they're breaking their tenancy agreement. That would certainly be enough for us to evict our tenants.

LIZS · 05/08/2011 13:01

On many standard tenancy agreements he can just give 2 months' notice after the initial period of tenure is up, without any official reason. He doesn't have to evict them formally, even if he might have grounds on subletting and damage to property, but possibly fears they will not leave otherwise and wants to make a case. If he let through agents they should be able to deal with it for him. tbh I'd keep out of it unless police/council ask you to get involved.

Original poster
riverrock · 05/08/2011 14:21

Thank you for all this advice . I rang citizens advice this morning and they have basically said the LL is trying to use our complaint as his way of getting rid of these tenants. LL wants to meet us in the morning to talk through our options . He was due to go see his house on Saturday but has now informed me that his solicitor has advised him not to .
It just doesn't make sense to me , surely he would want to see the damage to his house and then use that as his way to not renew their lease .

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nocake · 05/08/2011 14:24

It sounds like something fishy is going on. I would stay well out of it.

Original poster
riverrock · 05/08/2011 14:28

It really does seem very odd doesn't it ? I wish i could stay out of it but i also can not carry on living here beside them much longer Sad
Selling up is not an option ATM . Not one house in my area has sold since early 2009 . Just don't know what to do .

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CheerfulYank · 05/08/2011 15:52

Oh river , what a terrible situation. I don't know anything about the laws or whatever in the UK but I am so upset for you and for what's going on.

Teaandcakeplease · 05/08/2011 22:22

I feel uncomfortable about the LL using you as his scapegoat Riverrock Sad

Original poster
riverrock · 06/08/2011 16:03

Met with their LL this morning and told him we will not be signing any complaint forms . I passed on the advice that citizens advice gave me = he only has to say he wants to move back into his house and then they will have to leave when their contract is up . His answer to this was "it sounds illegal" Confused so i gave him the name & number of the woman i spoke to from CA office and asked him to talk to them and then consider this as an option .
He has changed his story twice now on being involved with an agency . At first he said he never met this tenant and his agency found her and now this morning he said he does NOT have an agency .

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LIZS · 06/08/2011 16:07

rr that may not be as contradictory as it sounds . Some ll use an agency to advertise, find tenants, do the contract and references and any inventory but then do the managing role themselves. He sounds very naive and really should take some impartial legal advice. Not sure what he hoped to gain by roping you in.

Gonzo33 · 06/08/2011 16:08

Maybe he used an agency on an "introduction" basis. This LL is either scared of giving the tenants notice or does not know his rights. Like nocake I think something dodgy is going on.

Original poster
riverrock · 06/08/2011 16:24

Thank you , in fairness to him he does seem both naive and scared of confronting his tenant as her boyfriend comes across as very aggressive . LL solicitor wants to use our complaint as his way of not renewing their lease instead of using the fact that they have damaged the property and that the BF is living there illegally .
My DH & I are now considering moving out of our home and renting it out (if possible) and finding somewhere else to rent ourselves .

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LIZS · 06/08/2011 16:32

Sounds like pretty flaky legal advice - have you heard this from the solicitor or the ll Hmm I'd have thought a letter on headed paper confirming the notice period and date of vacation would be sufficiient. He does n't need to cite any grounds or even that he wants to use it himself. However if he is too tight to employ a managing agent I doubt he is paying for legal advice - CAB is a good route to direct him along.

Original poster
riverrock · 06/08/2011 16:40

Thanks lizs

We have heard all of this from the LL himself . Although at this stage we are not sure what to believe from him . We are in Ireland . I've given him 2 phone numbers this morning for him to get advice . 1 was the woman i spoke to in the citizens advice centre and the second number was for the residential association of my area . Hopefully he will phone them and be advised on what he can do .

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Teaandcakeplease · 06/08/2011 17:28

"we will not be signing any complaint forms" Good.

Kladdkaka · 06/08/2011 18:14

Sounds to me like the landlord is scared of his tenants and wants them out, but wants to be able to lay the blame at your feet so you get any agro instead of him.

Original poster
riverrock · 06/08/2011 18:41

Thanks tea

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Original poster
riverrock · 06/08/2011 18:43

That's exactly what we think too kladdkaka

Hopefully the CA will give him the same advice they gave us .

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