Landlady wants the house back

[GuinnessBird]

Our landlady knocked on our door this morning, she's split up with her partner and wants her house back but we signed a contract in February this year for a twelve month lease.

We've never missed a rent payment and the house is immaculate so there’s no reason she can give other than that she wants the house back.

Where do we stand? Can she ask us to leave before February next year?

'She's just screamed you need to get out of my fucking house and DH calmly said it might be your fucking house but we have a contract to fucking live here until February.'

Call the the police next time she turns up. Do not engage with her.

Do you use an agency or is this direct?

This is exactly what I'd do.

You're going to have to leave at some point, there is no point cutting your nose off to spite your face- make it work for you.

Has the LL been this unstable/volatile in the past OP?

And this is why it's not worth renting out your home if you move in with a partner. It can go tits up and then you're screwed.

Id empathise with the LL however stand your ground, she’s facing homelessness plus the breakdown of her relationship, it’s quite a lot for someone to go through however not your concern.

Agree with your husband and change the locks.

I’d also be emailing the LL that any communication will be from email now and for her now to contact you regarding possession of the property until the rental agreement is ended.

Hi OP, how distressing for you.... Wrt. your contract, I'm a landlady and have been renting a flat out for 14 years. In our contracts, it says the Tenant should be able to live in peace so she shouldn't be harassing you in this way and in fact is likely to be breaking her side of the contract.

Sigh, I think you'll find, @PrincessofWellies, if you read my posts, the advice about the law I gave her is correct and when OP posted further information about contract/landlord in response to MY questions to clarify the position, I changed my response.

Check for any clauses on your AST, but usually, the Landlord cannot issue a Section 21 until there are only two months left of your fixed term.

There may be a get out early clause in the AST, but even if there is, she still needs to give you a Section 21 which gives you two months notice.

Really poor form from your Landlady and doesn't sound like she knows the laws that she should for being a Landlady!

At least if you find somewhere else before February, you won't have to pay any penalties for leaving before your fixed term ends.

It's important to note that only a court or a tenant can end a tenancy, so you could in theory stay after the date on the Section 21, however, this is not recommended as if the Landlady takes you to court to evict, then you'll have to pay the court fees and future Landlords will often avoid taking on any tenants who have been evicted through the courts. So it's really not worth the risk.

The LL can surely use the money she gets from renting her property to rent somewhere herself until feb so I think it’s quite a stretch to say she is facing homelessness, and presuming (appreciate this is an assumption but on the basis she is good enough with finances having been in the position to buy a house in the first place) she would have enough in savings from previous earnings on renting her property to be able to stay in a budget hotel/bnb for a couple of weeks while she finds somewhere suitable to rent.

My God, how stressful is that?! That’s the last thing you need when you’re just trying to enjoy your home (rented or not).

Seems like she’ll make things hell for you but stick to your guns, well done for speaking with Shelter already

Is is legal to change the locks if it isn't your own property?

Isn't that breaking a tenancy agreement?

I am a LL (but not a Property lawyer)
To the best of my knowledge from what you have said she cannot force you to leave before the end of the fixed term ie February.

This is very basic and she should know that, if she doesn't it is not your issue, she will have to get her own legal advice which should tell her this.

You have the right to quiet enjoyment, so if she harasses you keep detailled notes and contact Shelter again. You could also write a Cease and Desist email if need be.

Please do not change the locks as most tenancy agreements do not allow this without written permission of the landlord. If you are concerned about her accessing the property, put in temporary bolts and be prepared to remove and make good when you leave.

Abide by the terms of the tenancy (as you are doing) and you can ignore the hysterics.

The Landlord absolutely cannot uproot the OP mid tenancy especially when there’s no break clause in the contract. I’d love to know how that’s incorrect advice..

But how would she know the locks have been changed unless she is illegally trying to access the property?

Can you get (or do you have) a ring doorbell? It does sound like she is going to cause trouble so she may damage things and pretend it’s you that’s done it, just so she can get her house back. Or she pays you a substantial amount of money to move out!

hoophoophooray ·

The point is changing the locks without written permission will quite likely breach the tenancy agreement. which could give the frustrated irate LL an opportunity to force Op out.

That's what I thought {Not a landlord, but a couple of friends have rental properties and they need access {Arranged} to do maintenance, gas safety stuff &c.

Please contact the local authority tomorrow, they should have a designated officer who can advise you and the landlord about harassment and the penalty of trying to carry out an illegal eviction. You need to ensure that there is a paper trail about all of this in case there are any legal repercussions for the landlord. If there is any further problem tonight, see if your local authority has an out of hours service to give advice, particularly to the landlord. We always phoned the police control room, explained that an illegal eviction might take place and obtain a reference number that the tenant could quote. The tenant would phone the police if anything further happened and they would attend to ensure nothing illegal took place. It might have just been action to prevent a breach of the peace but it did work. Don't be afraid to contact the police if you feel scared or threatened.

This has happened to us a couple of times. It’s awful. The last house we were in was beautiful and we had been told it was ours for three years. It was unfurnished, so we’d spent money buying furniture and making it feel like home. After 9 months they wanted to sell (we would have bought it if we could have). We stayed on until the year had passed but it wasn’t nice being there after we’d been told we needed to go. You’re completely within your rights to stay but I’d be looking elsewhere so you can settle again.

Depends on what type of tenancy you have. Mine is an assured short hold so the landlord can give me 8 weeks notice at any time. No reason necessary.

Apologies. Just RTFT fully and seen my comment is redundant. Sorry to hear landlord is going barmy, I would change the locks and not be afraid to call police if necessary.

LL can stay in an extended length air b&b, family, lodge somewhere etc.

Best of luck.

No, it's 2 calendar months, not 8 weeks and the 2 months can't expire prior to the end of the fixed term.

i have no advice but just wanted to say how sorry I am that you are going through this. It’s really not fair.

Nope. 2 months notice before the contract ends. Not the same thing.

From what I can gather the contract we have all signed is not the contract that the landlady thought we were signing

I’m going to use that excuse every time I want to get out of a contract..