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?

This happened to me. Told her that I'd signed a Contract for a year and she had no just cause or reason to terminate just beause her relationship had ended. We spoke to the Portection scheme our deposit went into and the Agent we rented from. They agreed. We stayed until we got sorted and made the agency aware she came in and made unauthorised visits when we where not home. And snooped about. Our neighbours told us !. Apparently she did this with previous tenants too. Agency where horrified and took her off the books afterwards.

She hadn't a leg to stand on. Tenants have rights and make sure you read your contract thoroughly. Good luck x

You cannot issue a section 21 is the middle of an AST.

Section 21 notice of seeking possessionYou can use a Section 21 notice to evict your tenants either:

• after a fixed term tenancy ends - if there’s a written contract
• during a tenancy with no fixed end date - known as a ‘periodic’ tenancy

Ignore anyone who says you can do this, they’re wrong and Shelter advised me the same.

we DO have the rights to change the locks on the understanding that we change them as we leave.

I had this like 10 years ago with an absolute arse of a LL. I checked, double checked and triple checked

nobody has any right to enter your home if you don’t want them to.

she’s showing herself as a loon, protect yourselves

it’s going to be crap, but that’s not on you.

she might like to make you a massive cash offer to move, but shrieking at you won’t work

Keeping everything in writing from now on is essential, don’t take any more calls, don’t open the door to her

email her to inform her that any direct contact with you via phone or face to face will be considered harassment and the police will be advised

Just sending strength really. Far too many dreadful landlords.

I hope she calms down.

Absolutely disgusting of course it's the tenants home when they've signed a contract and paid rent.

So basically at the end of the tenancy anyway 😂😂

Poor woman, it’s her house and she has nowhere to go. Just find somewhere else or don’t expect a good reference.

You can't do this during the fixed term. If you're a landlord it might be worth familiarising yourself with the law.

Poor woman, it’s her house and she has nowhere to go.

Because she signed a legally binding contract to allow someone else the use of her house for a set period of time, in exchange for money!

I can't imagine she won't fight but I hope that's the end of it OP.

Poor woman, it’s her house and she has nowhere to go.

Neither does OP and her DH. There's 8 months to go on this tenancy, landlady rents somewhere else for 6 months+, job done. I think it would do some landlords a world of good to be tenants from time to time - I'm a landlord, I've been a tenant.

@CovertImage 8 months early is not a joke re starting to look. Nightmare situation for renters trying to find their next house.... it could easily take that long. V sensible advice re summer months, imo.

It's also a nightmare situation for landlords tbf, re mortgage repayments. That's why lots are selling their properties as they canmot charge enough rent to cover their costs.
I'm neither a landlord or a tenant currently, my 20 something kids are renters...nightmare situation all round
Remember Trussonomics? Brief but deadly...

Poor woman, it’s her house and she has nowhere to go. Just find somewhere else or don’t expect a good reference.

I mean, she can rent?

Tough shit

Buy your own home .

She should have given you 48 hours notice before knocking on your door! That is out of order her coming like that to your door

Because it’s as easy as that.
For fuck’s sake, some of the people you get on here.

OP has given no indication she won't leave at the end of the period.

No she can't. It is the OP's home until the end of the tenancy. Yes it probably is worth the hassle.

Jesus Christ there is some utter bollocks on this thread.

I am sorry for you OP as the whole debacle sounds stressful.

I am pleased that you've changed the locks. I was wondering if the LL may have tried to enter the property in the near future to try and asert her 'authority' and push you to leave.

Good luck

I see that the thread has attracted a few hard of thinking posters.

Today has been eventful, I can't say too much but I was at work and DH who was WFH rang me this afternoon saying I think you'd better get home, landlady is trying to force entry and I've called the police.

I thought he was being dramatic but I rushed home and arrived just as two police cars were pulling up, landlady was going absolutely ballistic on the driveway, her ex partner was trying to calm her the fuck down to no avail.

The police rushed over and they tried to calm her, DH had told the emergency operator the gist what had happened and landlady talked herself into being nicked. It was awful to watch, her ex partner couldn't believe it but he was worried she might try something as he heard her during the phone call to DH yesterday.

I've never seen someone so angry.

The police will be in contact if they need anything else but they know the full story and landlady has found a new place to sleep for the night at least.

Good job we did change the locks.

I'm off to have a glass of wine.

@GuinnessBird jesus, that is not ok behaviour!!! I hope you're both ok and hope crazy landlady manages to calm down and get the help that she needs!!!

Crikey. That escalated.

@GuinnessBird that sounds absolutely horrific and incredibly scary, sorry you and your husband had to go through that I'm pleased she was arrested absolutely disgusting behaviour