Tenants requesting a court order!

[Emily2586]

Hi everyone,

I would really be grateful for some advice. I have a property in England which I would like to move back to. I have given the notice on time and gave my tenants 3 months to find alternative accommodation. The three months have now passed and the tenants have come back to me saying they can not find any place to rent because of their low income and is saying they would like me to start a court order so they could give a letter to the council so that they could assist them.

I wasn't expecting them to do this as I had given three months notice and I had some to them if this wasn't enough time they could let me know and it could be extended slightly to give them time to find something. I was under the impression they were finding a place to rent all this time.

The tenants have been in the property for 10 years and I have no experience of about the legal proceedings in this case. I myself have kids and need to move into this property as I am currently staying with my parents until the tenants move out and I am worried that court proceedings could cost a lot.

Could someone please kindly give any advice of what I could do.

I don't usually have much sympathy for landlords, but they do have the right to have their property back with a suitable notice period, which it seems the OP has given. If they have been paying a very low rent all that time, clearly they do not want /or are unable to find a new rental at the same amount. Therefore they wish the council to house them, or to stay in the property against the OP's wishes.
OP you have been extremely lax by the sound of things, 'accidental landlord' or not, and yes you need to get professional or legal advice to sort this, and good luck with it.

I actually don’t know the answer to this question and I can’t find it on Google but could the deposit not be protected retrospectively that’s usually the case in most legal situations that the moment it is uncovered is a mistake it’s rectified and that tends to resolve the matter should it come in front of a judge.

It should be in a dps and without it, you can't serve a legal section 21.

That is likely something the tenants know. So any notice you gave them, is invalid. You’ll need to return the deposit immediately, while they’re still there, and reissue the section 21. Plus they can apply for the deposit fine of x3, automatic if it wasn’t protected in the timeframe or if it wasn’t completed properly with proper info and documents delivered.

Actually, they don’t, according to the law.

I wouldn't even guarantee the op is the actual landlord. Following the drip feed about her sister I suspect the actual landlords are the parents and the op is just managing it. Without knowing the ins and outs about ownership and whose mortgage it actually is then other than talk to a solicitor nothing anyone says is worth it.

I dont have an issue with people who own property. I have been a landlord myself but I agree here - OP should not be a landlord and has no idea what they are doing. The whole thing is a mess and it could end up costing them a lot of money

I don't usually have much sympathy for landlords, but they do have the right to have their property back with a suitable notice period, which it seems the OP has given.

No, this one doesn’t as they didn’t protect the deposit. They now must return the deposit, request another and protect it, then they can issue the notice

could the deposit not be protected retrospectively that’s usually the case in most legal situations that the moment it is uncovered is a mistake it’s rectified and that tends to resolve the matter should it come in front of a judge

Nope! It’s on tenancy agreements. The LL will be fined a minimum of 3 times the deposit for not protecting it. They need to return it before they can issue notice.

Deposits paid before 6 April 2012

Different time limits applied before this date.

Your landlord does not have to protect your deposit if you paid it before 6 April 2007 and either:

you never had a fixed term tenancy

the fixed term ended before that date

But they must protect or return your deposit if they want to end your tenancy with a section 21 eviction notice.

In all other cases, your deposit must have been protected by a certain date:

Date you paid your deposit Latest date for protection
Between 6 April 2007 and 5 April 2012 6 May 2012
Before 6 April 2007 - if you signed a new contract after this date 6 May 2012
Before 6 April 2007 - if your fixed term ended after this date and you have not signed a new contract since.

I think it’s time to stop guessing and leave it to the solicitors.

@WahineToa The three times the deposit fine is never guaranteed, that is the maximum that can be served so please stop wetting your knickers in excitement at the OP’s expense.

Given the circumstances a judge is highly likely to not fine them at all if they can prove they did everything in their power once the mistake was discovered.

@Emily2586 can the tenants actually prove that they ever sent you a deposit in the first place ? Personally I would ask them for evidence that they sent you were deposit before you start admitting to deposits that you personally have never laid eyes on and perhaps if anybody did ask you if a deposit was paid you could quite legitimately say that you don’t know because you don’t.

🤣🤣🤣🤣
nothing is ever mandatory when it gets in front of a judge. That’s why we have them so they can use their discretion.

You really should stop talking @HiveBee because you have zero clue and are giving the LL the worst advice.

nothing is ever mandatory when it gets in front of a judge.

Wrong again. 10 years they’ve been there. You’re clueless

You need a solicitor, no way out of this without one I'm afraid.

My advice has been that she needs to take legal advice because as I said previously I don’t know what the fact are, unlike you who seems to think you are indeed Rumpole of the Bailey and yet here you are on mumsnet at 11am telling people to piss off. I think we’ve all got the measure of you.

.

Are you the legal owner and named on the mortgage? It sounds like your sister owns it but you manage it & pay the mortgage or maybe I've misread.

I would contact a local Lettings Agent for advice in the first instance, as they can give you advice on the Deposit etc, and issue the appropriate section notice for you and it would be far cheaper than a solicitor.

It is awful for Landlords when Tenants behave like this, but sadly, in defence of the Tenants, the council won't house them until they are actually homeless. That is where the system falls down. If the Tenant takes a section 21 notice to the council they should be put into the system at that point, but the councils won't do anything until they are convicted which causes stress and bad feelings for everyone.

It just proves though that you don't need to be nice to Tenants and keep the rent low just because they pay the rent on time, because they aren't being nice to you now. If you ever find yourself being a Landlord in the future, put the rent up regularly so that you have enough to cover the mortgage, pay HMRC, pay repairs and put some aside to cover things like this.

Really? That’s the deal when you’re a tenant.

If they managed to stay in the same rental for 10 years and not have the rent put up that’s a bloody good deal. And I say that as someone who rented for 10 years (and was forced to leave several properties after the owners decided to sell up) and as someone who has never been a landlord myself.

@Emily2586
A lot of harsh answers here, but it was expected , as landlords are seen here as scum of the earth. Landlord is person, who actually owns the property. Join association of landlords, www.nrla.org.uk, costs £75 per year, has its own free helpline for members. A lot of helpful, legal advice.
Raise the rent asap.
Good luck.

Totally agree.

OP needs her property back for her own family and gave plenty of notice. I hate how councils are happy to shit all over good landlords and their finances by allowing these things to drag on like this at such great costs to landlords.

Yes, there are shitty landlords. But there are also good ones. And this is awful for people in the OP's position.

And ftr, no, I'm not a landlord. I have rented plenty of properties in the past, from both good and bad landlords. And I don't think this is right.

They must be in an enviable position if they can afford to give a house away to avoid the IHT on it!

Plus they've saved themselves a big headache, by the sound of it.