Desperately in need of advice re landlord

[PropertyUndecided]

i posted previously about our LL dragging Lessing is one year after offering/agreeing for us to buy the property we’ve rented. We’ve waited patiently for a year as he said he’d some legal issues he needed to sort out.

We communicated with him last week and he told us the legal issues were nearly sorted out now.

Our current 12 month agreement has less than a month to expire. We’ve always renewed on the day when it’s ended and assumed he’d do the same this year, but including a break clause because we’re about to buy the property.

Well today, he’s come back to us and given us one month to find a new place to move to. Apparently there’s been a legal complication and the property being tenanted means he can’t move forward.

There’s no way we’ll be able to find a property and move over a decade of our lives into in 4weeks.

I never thought I’d be in this position ( with renting, there’s always a chance, I guess ) but we need more time.
He’s emailed that he will instruct his cousin to come over and collect the keys on the day the months falls on.

What do we do? How do we stay put until we’ve found a place for us and our DC? I’m trying very hard to hide the stress from them and I hope it doesn’t show!

I’ve read that he’d have to go to court to remove us and that could take months. I just need the time.

We’re searching very hard to try and find a place to buy.
Any advice or resources would be much appreciated.

I’ll contact shelter too for advice over the weekend.

If you are in UK, he needs to give you a section 21 in writing
I believe there is a certain timescale for this, so that you are given the appropriate notice to leave

Ask him for this ?

He needs to give you 2 months notice legally and if you don’t leave after the 2 months that he would need to to start the court process which can take months. I would try and find something as soon as possible as you don’t want it hanging over you but don’t let them bully you out. I would contact Shelter to get on board with you.

Is he selling the property to you still?
What does your contract say about a notice period?

Oh no, thats not how it works! Time to read up about tenancy law, because your landlord is trying to pull a fast one.

He has to give you 2 months notice (which must be a Section 21 notice dated the day before a rent day). The fact that your tenancy is in its last month is irrelevant to the notice period. At the end of the fixed term, your tenancy automatically becomes periodic.

Also, AFAIK, in order for a Section 21 notice to be valid, the landlord has to have complied with the legal requirements governing the tenancy. These include:

Giving you the How to Rent Guide at the start of the tenancy.

Safety certificates for both gas and electricity; gas needs to be done every year, electricity every 5 years to be valid.
Also a valid EPC (needs to be done every 10 years).
If any of these have lapsed, he is in deep doodoo and you can sue him.

If he has taken a deposit, it has to have been protected within 30 days, either via a government approved scheme or via insurance. Again, there is important paperwork associated with this.

HTH

Thank you so much everyone. I knew I’d find help here.

Please speak to Shelter he can't give you one months notice

@FlowerArranger Interestingly, just out of interest, I checked on the safety of our deposit s few weeks ago and it was non-existent. It’s stated on the contract that it’s in a deposit scheme but it isn’t.

He’d behind on a lot of the previous stuff.
I arranged for an EPC cert to be done when we were appointed a solicitor for the house purchase over a year ago so that’s the only condition he’s met amongst them.

Regarding whether he’s selling the property, he tells that he is but him wanting us to move out ‘temporarily’ due to his ‘legal complications’ leads to me to believe he’s trying to pull a fast one on us.

I just want some security for my children. We’ve stayed here for over a decade and treated this place like our home because he made us promises that this place was as good as sold to us. It’s been a matter of days ( from one week to the next) and now he’s dropped this news.
It’s his house so he bis choice, I suppose but we just need some time.

Contact the DPS about the fact that he has not protected your deposit, and the lack of safety certificates. They are usually very helpful and should be able to advise.

Also talk to Shelter and/or CAB. I hope you can sue him. Good luck!

Depending how he’s contacted you, I’d respond “thanks for the heads up that you’re planning on issuing a section 21, obviously once that’s received we can proceed from there”.

Once he’s aware of the issues when he comes to look into issuing a section 21 he may well stick on the sale route instead!

Your tenancy doesn’t just end at the end of a fixed term, it becomes a monthly rolling tenancy, which is exactly what you want if you’re looking to either buy or move, so I’d strongly recommend you don’t sign a new tenancy either!

If your LL did not protect your deposit, any section 21 notice will be invalid:

england.shelter.org.uk/housing_advice/eviction/section_21_eviction/how_to_check_a_section_21_notice_is_valid

How to file a defence
A tenant who wants to defend the claim for possession must send a defence within 14 days of receiving the claim documents.[18]
The tenant should use:
form N11B for a claim under the accelerated procedure
form N11R for a standard possession claim
Form N11B asks the tenant a series of questions to confirm whether the information the landlord provided is correct. For example, whether the deposit was protected, or the date the tenancy began.
Form N11R asks more general questions, including about rent arrears, that may not be relevant to whether possession is granted.
The tenant can submit additional legal arguments on a separate document headed with the parties' names and the claim number, clearly marked as an additional defence.
The tenant should submit a witness statement explaining their side of the case if there is a dispute about the facts of the case.

england.shelter.org.uk/professional_resources/legal/possession_and_eviction/possession_process_for_rented_property/section_21_possession_process

You are in a strong position, @PropertyUndecided, but do talk to Shelter, CAB, DPS for advice on how best to proceed.

Aside from the section 21 notice being invalidated because he hasn't secured the deposit in one of the schemes he may also be facing fines, up to 3 times the amount of deposit. And registering the deposit late may not be enough to avoid those fines. stokespartners.co.uk/penalties-for-landlord-failing-to-secure-tenants-deposit/