Landlord evicting us

[Mummyof2asd]

Hi I have renting in a property for 5 years the land lord has told us we have to be out by February as he is selling. I’m a carer for my two autistic children, my husband and Is self employed but doesn’t earn a great wage, we are on universal credits. My son after a year out of school and severe anxiety got into a Sen school a few months ago and he is like a different childhood been doing so well, I’m so scared he will have to leave his school. This property was with a private landlord a friend of a friend . so the rent was really cheap. We can’t afford to rent on one wage, plus estate agents will not accept just my husband‘s wage as income. Would I be entitled to help from the council? I just don’t no what to do so worried. My other son was due to start the same Sen school in September feel so gutted it was such a fight to get them in.Their both autistic and on DLA high rate care . Any advise would be great. I suffer from anxiety and this is making me really really anxious and worried. Obviously renting you have to expect this but just been such a hard couple of years with my child’s diagnosis and constant fights for school. My child have a lot of needs they do not sleep so I don’t sleep I can’t even think straight atm, they are very pound, meltdowns , throw things been lucky with neighbours that they understand this as we aren’t the quietest
a neighbours so imagining being in a flat with my two ASD children terrifies me as of how pound they can be when stimming ect or melt downs . Feel so drained and clueless what to do, feel I have let my child down so much but not providing them a home if their own . Sorry if this don’t make sense or for spelling and grammar. Writing this through tears I’m just so fearful .

Awful to hear, even more so at this time of year. Please contact your local council and explain the situation. Also it might be worth calling Shelter for some advice https://england.shelter.org.uk/

Edit: Here is a link to Shelter's advice page https://england.shelter.org.uk/housing_advice

All the best X

Please contact Shelter. They will probably advise you to stay beyond your notice period and wait it out. The council is unlikely to house you until the point that bailiffs are involved, and at the moment it's taking about six months to reach that point.

I'm afraid that I was a landlord on the other side of this situation. I had no choice but to sell my late parent's rental property to pay the debts they'd left behind. I felt awful about it, but I had no option. I was warned by the agent and on landlord forums, that the tenants would be unlikely to leave. That if they sought advice anywhere, they'd be told not to go until bailiffs were involved, and that I wasn't to expect them to leave for at least six months.
As it turned out, they did leave. But I was very fortunate.

You are likely another "victim" of the Renters Bill... lots of small landlords deciding to quit. Doubly unfortunate if you pay under market rent, as even if they did sell it with a sitting tenant the rent will likely increase.

Your first step... make sure the landlord has done all their paperwork correctly. If they haven't, it buys you extra time.

My Db’s landlord sold up in fear as well.

Very unfortunately it seems that you should not vacate until forced in order to obtain help from the council.

Terrible situation.

Don't worry about your language and grammar. We know what you are talking about.

You need to call Shelter. The best time to get them without waiting half an hour for them to answer is 8.01am, the minute the lines open. Make notes of everything they tell you because they will tell you how to behave so the council rehome you. Ask them for advice on how NOT to get a flat because of your children's needs.

Has your LL issued a Section 21 notice to you? The eviction process cannot begin until he has. If he has only verbally told you, do not tell him he is doing it wrong because this will buy you a bit more time.

Per a PP it takes a long time to evict someone, but I believe 6 months is quick, and it is more like a year at the moment. You absolutely do not have to leave two months after they have given you notice. He needs to go to court and, I believe get bailiffs round (someone correct me if I am wrong) and the council have to rehome you. But, councils are extremely particular about what they consider to be "homeless" so, please take notes on your shelter call, then at the end of the call, say "please can I repeat back to you what you have told me."

You children will be able to stay in their schools. If it is too far to walk then because they have an ehcp the council will have to provide a bus pass or school transport for you. (unless they are 16-18).

Ask if they could consider selling it with a sitting tenant, its worth a ask. LA will have to provide taxis if its out of 6 miles radius, my son goes to a sen school and there are kids doing a hour long taxi journey to school so you should be fine in that regards.

as to council, contact them. But they will tell you stay put till the baliffs come otherwise your making yourself intentionally homeless.

Your LL should serve you a legal notice, an S21. He must give you 2 months notice at least.
The S21 is an invitation to leave. My tenants did not leave, the S21 ran out so I had to serve it again. They still didn’t leave so finally I had to get an eviction specialist involved.

That can take weeks to go to court because the courts are choka-block with a back log.

I was charging below market rent so my tenants (of 9 years) had been spoiled a bit and were horrified to find out what market prices are. They eventually found somewhere before court date but it took a year to do that.

If your LL says he needs to sell, so be it, but he must do that. Not kick you out and then re-let.

Dont panic! Contact your local housing authority, rental agents and Shelter. Do your research about what your rights are. Be proactive, don’t waste time, get yourself out there. Talk to everyone you know about what’s happening. It’s who you know not what you know half the time.

Sadly this govt are not interested in helping small landlords. They want corporate landlords so they can claim more tax. Lloyds Bank and John Lewis (I’ve heard) are the UK’s biggest landlord.

I wish you luck OP and I’m sorry you’re in this unsettled and worrying situation. I hope 2026 will work out OK for you and your family.

Thanks so much for all advice, I know the council are going to say stay until I’m evicted I really don’t want to do that to the landlord honestly his such a nice man and it’s not his fault he is selling because of the landlord taxes and regulations it’s not his fault at all but what choice do I have . I feel embarrassed to stay if I’m honest and a shitty person but wtf do I do . I don’t understand why there advise is to do that it’s so wrong .

If councils didn’t advise tenants to stay until the legal process is exhausted they would be inundated with people needing housing. There simply aren’t enough council properties.

If this is the case unfortunately all you can do is keep looking for private lets. The council will say your making yourself homeless and will not help.
The markets aren’t that great and starting to stagger so he might struggle to sell it straight away, and give you both some breathing room.

I understand and feel for you that you like him, but consider this:

Do you think house prices in this country would be so high and homes so horrifically expensive to rent if there weren't hundreds of thousands of LLs with lots of excess cash buying up all the properties to rent and pushing up house prices? For many, the value of their homes will have doubled or tripled by the time they retire, and they will have a very comfortable and well off retirement, thank you very much.

So, you can feel sorry for him as much as you like, but they ARE part of the problem. Perhaps think about that if you are getting pangs of guilt?

I am not a LL hater btw. It's a disgrace that so many people can only afford to not be on their arses broke in retirement if they have not slung a ton into a private pension or built up a small property empire or both.

You won’t be a shitty person if you stay until evicted. It’s the system that is shitty not the people who have to work within the system.

Please don't feel bad about staying. Any landlord trying to sell at the moment will expect their tenants to stay. I was amazed that mine actually left by the date on the section 21 notice. The vast majority of tenants stay, and every bit of advice I had agents and landlords was to expect mine to stay.

Explain to your landlord* that you can't leave because you'll be homeless without council help, and that you've been advised to remain until the council can house you.

*Shelter will advise you as to when you should tell him that you're not going.

Seriously, speaking as (until very recently) a landlord, I wouldn't blame you for staying.

An EA will rent a property to you. You have evidence of secure income and a track record of paying rent.
start contacting them and viewing property. It may take a while. It may happen quickly. In which case with the good terms you are on with the landlord, almost certainly be able to give a short notice given the circumstances. He can get it for sale sooner and works for everyone involved.

have you got a tenancy agreement and a protected deposit? How did they advise you are being evicted?

Will I be able to get somewhere being on benefits as every estate agency I spoke to literally in polite words told us they will always choose the person over us who is not on benefits . We do have a tenancy agreement but he has informed us via text message. Text my husband said really sorry but we need to sell up. We are only in one wage as I’m a carer and the children do get DLA it I don’t think that is count as income if needs be I would spend it on rent but I don’t think it works like that .

so he has not evicted you properly at all so under these circs you are not legally evicted

So your landlord hasn’t actually served a section 21 notice? So his notice is invalid.

Also, are you sure he has taken all the steps he needed to do to ensure the tenancy complies with the housing act? Did he give you the following -

• copy of AST Agreement
• evidence of protection of deposit
• prescribed information
• T&C of deposit scheme
• Right to Rent booklet
• copies of certificates for gas safety, EIPC, EPC
• and are these certificates up to date (gas safety yearly, EIPC every 5 years, EPC every 10 years)

If any of the above have not been complied with, even a served section 21 notice would not be valid. Also check whether your LA requires landlords to be licensed; if so has he applied for this.

Read up on the Shelter website and then call them for clarification and advice. Also make a CAB appointment. Call the DPS (or whatever scheme holds your deposit) to check that your landlord has complied with all legal requirements. Keep a record and a paper trail of everything.

Bottom line: a notice given by text, and/or a section 21 notice that does not meet legal requirements, are not valid.

Also, AFAIK, estate agents are not allowed to discriminate against benefit recipients.

So he has to give us a letter of eviction? Before we can even think of going to the council ect, I’m not expecting a council house or anything like that but I thought they would maybe help us find a place to rent my worse fear would be in a hostel or something with my ASD kids they would not cope with that at all. I know there’s no chance of a council house, all I’m after is help. It’s just a scary time to make matters worse I have a dog that is my son’s best friend. He doesn’t socialise with children and this dog really helps his meltdown and mental health.

@Enrichetta i know they can’t discriminate against benefits but many of them still do .

Agents can't. Landlords can.

Whilst a good idea this is probably unlikely to happen if the rent paid is below market price.

Im back to say you must do your research about your rights.

Your LL must have protected your deposit by law. He should have issued you with a certificate to prove it.

If there are certain non compliance things hes overlooked it will take him ages to get you out.

Read everything you can about what landlords by law are supposed to do. There are severe penalties for not obeying the law.

housinghub.campaign.gov.uk/renting-is-changing/