Landlord getting rid of us so she can charge more rent

[Realitea]

My landlord has been acting strange since we said we couldn’t afford the rent increase due to covid putting me out of a job. Since then they’ve tried (through the agent) to get us to do all sorts of costly things to the house and garden which we aren’t contractually obliged to do
Now it’s come to a head and they’ve sacked the agent. The agent said to cancel our rent payment to them immediately as next month it will go to the landlord direct
We don’t want the landlord to run our property directly
They’re bullies and have harassed us ever since we moved in and we won’t have the agents ‘protecting’ us any more!
This is where I’m confused: the current contract ends next month. They want us to sign a new one

I know this new one will be so ‘out there’ that we won’t sign it. The rent will be much higher for a start.
So how much notice must they give us? One month from today? We won’t know about the contract unless we see it and we can’t until that day. So if we don’t sign it are we automatically without a home?
It’s an assured short hold tenancy (I think it’s in a rolling contract)

Reading comments on here, I can’t understand why anyone would become a landlord. It’s scarey the attitude some people have about screwing over landlords.

Even if she is served notice she doesn't have to leave

Yes, she does. Eventually, tenants who are served notice are made to leave. The eviction process through the courts exist for people that don’t do what they are supposed to do. The fact that people who can’t house themselves are advised by councils to go through the trauma of waiting to be turfed onto the street by bailiffs is awful, both for tenants and landlords. It’s a last resort option, it’s not what normal people who take responsibility for themselves do.

@NailsNeedDoing

Even if she is served notice she doesn't have to leave

Yes, she does. Eventually, tenants who are served notice are made to leave. The eviction process through the courts exist for people that don’t do what they are supposed to do. The fact that people who can’t house themselves are advised by councils to go through the trauma of waiting to be turfed onto the street by bailiffs is awful, both for tenants and landlords. It’s a last resort option, it’s not what normal people who take responsibility for themselves do.

Yes eventually, but if she doesn't, a rolling tenancy will ensue regardless of anyone's wishes

Hi OP, I am sorry you are going through this. assuming you are in England, there are some issues you might want to consider.. AST’s are usually not granted for longer than two years. This is usually at the request of a freeholder or a mortgage company to avoid the need for a different type of agreement which could give you more rights, but also more obligation (much like a commercial agreement - so you’d have a greater responsibility for maintaining and repairing the property). The agent had no right to suggest to you that the agreement would be longer than the 6/12 month standard agreement, it was unlikely to ever be the case.

However if you have an issue with the damp, call the environmental health at your local council. Your landlord is responsible for ensuring your property is damp and mould free and they can compel your landlord to do so. Calling them in may show you understand your rights, but do try and resolve the issue with your landlord before doing so and get everything in writing.

I am a landlord and I’d much rather continuity of a tenant on a 12month contract than periods of the property standing empty. Could you maybe try and engage via written correspondence with them? List the pros of you remaining - no council tax liability, increased insurance/no insurance for empty properties, surety of income etc? Point out what you have done to improve the property (assuming you got permission before doing the works!) then ask for a copy of the contract and state which points you object to... asking tenants to hire a digger or plant vegetables is batshit crazy however so bear in mind you may not be dealing with the most reasonable of people... however then acknowledge that you understand that they may want increased rent but also ask on what basis this would be justified. Then try and negotiate somewhere between them saving 10% on agency fees and what you can afford to pay in terms of an increase (if anything) then negotiate the terms and the length of the new contract of one you would be happy to sign. Get everything in writing and as pp have said, continue to pay and uphold your obligations, ignore the batshit requests and assert your rights before accidentally making yourself unintentionally homeless. Your CAB should also be able to offer you advice. Best of luck to you.

The contract is due to end in the Autumn

What do you mean by this? In your op, you say you’re on a rolling contract. For me a rolling contract means you haven’t got a current fixed term extension on the AST and that you are on a Periodic tenancy. But then you go on to say the contract is up in the autumn.

If you’ve signed a fixed term extension to the AST, the ll cannot increase the rent until that expires, which you indicate is in the Autumn but the ll says is in April. If you’re on a Periodic tenancy, ie no fixed term extension, and presuming you pay monthly, the ll can just give you a month’s notice. The anniversary of when the AST expired would be irrelevant. But the month’s notice is a minimum as if the ll tell you the day after the rental due date, that then becomes 2 months minus a day. As others have said above, you can dispute the section 13. And the ll can only increase the rent in any 12 months period.

The improvements you’re being asked to do are batshit and the fact that the ll has sacked the tenants indicates to me that they’re utterly clueless... and / or see you as a cash cow. They need to give you 6 months notice currently to leave but that may change at the end of March and revert to 2 months. My thought is this is unlikely. But tbc.

Have you checked what the market rate for the property is?

You talk of a damp property. It sounds as though your company has paid for a new kitchen and integrated appliances. It was very unwise to allow money to be spent on a damp property. You would have been better to have waited to buy your own property if that was on the table - or maybe you’re on an expat contract / there on a short term basis.

My take would be to find somewhere else to live and without the batshit lls. The kitchen is a sunk cost. You likely can find a nicer property without the damp issues and with a nice kitchen. It may cost you the same as your rent increase. But at least you’d be away from the ll.

It is very unusual to change kitchens in England due to the short length of tenancy agreements.

@mummyoflittledragon The LL can never just give one month’s notice. Even before additional Covid notice period this was 2 months notice.
Notice By LL can only legally be given 2 months before expiry if the fixed period. If the fixed period is in the autumn, the LL can serve notice now but it cannot have an effective date until 2 months before the end of the fixed period. At the moment it would be a six months notice period meaning the earliest tenant could be asked to vacate would be 4 months after end of fixed period.
Why would a tenant agree to a new contract when the old one is still valid.

[quote ForensicAccountant]@mummyoflittledragon The LL can never just give one month’s notice. Even before additional Covid notice period this was 2 months notice.
Notice By LL can only legally be given 2 months before expiry if the fixed period. If the fixed period is in the autumn, the LL can serve notice now but it cannot have an effective date until 2 months before the end of the fixed period. At the moment it would be a six months notice period meaning the earliest tenant could be asked to vacate would be 4 months after end of fixed period.
Why would a tenant agree to a new contract when the old one is still valid.[/quote]
One month for the rent increase - I was talking about that in this paragraph. Not notice - as I said, it’s 6 months atm in the nect.