Question: I am living in a two bed room property on 6 months contract. However I have been more than year in this property. After six month letting agent only asked me if I wish to stay in the property further and I said yes. I haven't signed any other contract with the landlord. Recently when I tried to get hold of my landlord I was told that he is in prison and all his property has been confiscated by the state. In the mean time I have received a letter from bank asking for confirming if I am living there as a tenant. Now I am not sure where I stand as a tenant. If the property is confiscated by the state does it mean it doesn't belongs to landlord anymore even if he is paying the mortgage? Can bank ask me to leave the place as I have no further contract with my landlord?
Answer: If a tenant stays on after the end of the fixed term of his tenancy, this does not mean his tenancy has ended. The Housing Act 1988 provides for a tenancy to continue, on periodic basis (weekly or monthly depending on how the rent is paid) under the same terms and conditions as the preceding fixed term tenancy. So you are a valid tenant and have a tenancy agreement. So far as I am aware, if the landlords property has been confiscated, this will be subject to your tenancy. They will not be entitled to require you to leave unless they obtain an order for possession in the same way as the original landlord would have done. It is the same as if your landlord had sold the property to someone else. You will just have a new landlord. However I would image that the property will also still be subject to the original mortgage, in the same way as it will still be subject to your tenancy. If the mortgage company has not been paid they will be entitled to obtain an order for possession, and a tenant does not have any way to prevent this. However again, they cannot force you to go until an order for possession has been obtained from the court, and you will be informed if this is done. It might be an idea for you to take some legal advice, perhaps from a local Law Centre or Shelter Office, and they can write on your behalf to find out what the situation is.
Question: My family and I have lived in a property for a few months which has been beset with problems. We have been inconvenienced by workmen coming into the house every week to fix issues such as flea infestations and roof leaks, and I have had to take time off work to move furniture. As a result I have withheld my rent for the current month as compensation for the above, and written to the landlord explaining my reasons. They are demanding the rent and are not prepared to compensate me. I have 3 months of my shorthold tenancy to run, and don't mind if the landlord wants to serve notice. If I stick to my guns, what are the potential legal repercussions?
Answer: The only way the landlord can force you to pay the rent is by bringing proceedings in the County Court. If he does this, you can then counterclaim for damages for compensation for the inconvenience you have suffered. I would be surprised if the Judge did not award you at least some compensation from what you have said, however it is impossible to say whether this would be more or less than one months rent. If you write to the landlord saying that you are not going to pay the money and that if he sues, you will counterclaim for damages, I would be surprised if he took the matter any further, as he will not want the inconvenience of a court hearing. Just to be on the safe side however, I would suggest you keep a diary of events to prove the problems you have encountered, should this ever be necessary.
Question: I took on a new tenancy at the weekend and the work that was promised to be done to the property before we moved in has not been done. These are not minor problems, we currently do not have a functioning kitchen - the fridge, washing machine and cooker all do not work (these items are all on the inventory). We have no heating and no hot water and we have been asking for the past two weeks (when we agreed to take the property on condition that the work was done) that we have the gas safety certificate, which has still not materialised. I have paid my bond and my first months rent and we have done extensive aesthetic work to the property I do not wish to walk away from the property but the landlord is making life very difficult, what can I do??
Answer: Your landlord is in breach of contract and you are entitled to claim compensation for this. However rather than going to a lawyer, you might want to complain to the environmental health department at your local authority. They will send someone round to do a housing heath and safety inspection which I suspect this property would fail. They will then serve an improvement notice on your landlord ordering him to do the works (get a copy of the inspection report - it may be useful). You should also speak to your local Heath and Safety Executive regarding the gas certificate as they enforce the gas regulations. I am sure your landlord will not want to be prosecuted under these! However if you want anything done quickly I am afraid it will have to be legal action and claims in the court for an injunction. This can be expensive, however no landlord wants this kind of bother and often a threat of legal action with bring forth a response. If possible speak to someone in a Law Centre or Shelter office as these will not make a charge.
Question: Me and my partner moved into a house that my father had been renting for the past eight years. He has moved out but we carried on paying him part of the rent. This was done with full knowledge of the landlord. Three weeks ago we signed a pre agreement with the landlord to stay at the property, he increased the rent and asked us for a large deposit. We could not raise the large deposit but we told him that we could give him it in a couple of weeks time. Yesterday we went around to pay him this months rent but he refused to take it saying that he wanted us to leave. Today he has entered the house while we were away and changed the locks, could you please advise us.
Answer: You should go immediately to the housing advisor of your local authority and report the matter. Your landlord has committed a criminal offence. The housing advisor will contact the landlord on your behalf - if he refuses to let you back in the local authority may well decide to prosecute. You should also obtain legal advice from a solicitor (if possible at a Law Centre of Shelter Office) - as you have been paying rent with the full knowledge of the landlord you should be treated as tenants, and will be entitled to a court injunction to let you back in and to claim financial compensation. Note that a firm of solicitors which does housing law may be prepared to act for you on a no win no fee basis.
Question: If a tenants annual contract has not been renewed and the tenant is now in breach of previous contract how much notice for eviction must the landlord give?
Answer: Assuming that the tenancy is an assured shorthold tenancy (which most are) the best thing to do is to serve a notice under section 21. This must give at least two months notice but must expire on the last day of a ‘period of the tenancy’. So if the fixed term ended on the 6 of the month, then the term (assuming the tenant paid rent monthly) will run from the 7 to the 6 of the month and the notice must end on the fist 6 of the month two months after the date of service of the notice. If your tenant is in breach of contract, technically there may be other ‘bad tenant’ grounds for possession you could use. The notice to serve for these is a section 8 notice, and the notice period is not less than two weeks. However these ground for possession can prove problematic and expensive in practice, unless you are using the serious rent arrears ground (two months or more). Note that all these notice are available for annual Landlord-Law members to use free of charge on the Landlord-Law web-site at www.landlordlaw.co.uk, together with notes on their use, and covering letters.
Question: Within our tenancy agreement it reads "notice is hereby given that possession might be recovered under Ground 1, schedule 2 of the housing act 1988 is applicable. That is, that the landlord used to live in the property as main home" - can the landlord give notice during a fixed term to get property back early? Landlord has to return from abroad due to unforeseen circumstances. Mrs S, Midlands
Answer: Ground 1 is a legal ground allowing a landlord to recover possession of a property as of right on the basis that he previously lived in it as his own home, or that he intends to live in it. However the landlord cannot use this ground to end the fixed term early, it can only be used after the fixed term has come to an end. The only way he can end the fixed term early is if there is a valid break clause in the tenancy agreement. If your tenancy agreement does not contain a break clause, then you cannot be evicted (at least until your tenancy ends) and your landlord will have to find somewhere else to live.
Question: Recently, I found a house I liked for rent and I gave landlord 200GBP deposit to secure it. We have not entered into any agreement yet. After few days of giving the deposit, when I called the landlord he is telling to pay the rent right from the date I saw the house, which is not logical. What are my options now? We have not entered into any agreement yet & he is telling me to pay from the day I "saw" the house.
Answer: Your landlord is only entitled to charge rent for the time you are entitled to live in the property, which is from the start date of the tenancy. He certainly is not entitled to charge rent from the date you viewed the house! Any attempt to force you to do this could be construed as harassment which is a criminal offence. If the landlord continues with these demands I would suggest you complain about him to your local authority housing advice service. You could also consider speaking to your local Trading Standards office.
Question: I have recently arranged to take a flat through an agency. I have not signed an agreement yet but I have a Holding Note/Receipt Reservation with an agreed moving in date, and have paid 150 pounds deposit. I have now been informed that the previous tenant has not vacated and so I am not sure where I stand. Is the agent/landlord bound to find me alternative accommodation?
Answer: This is one reason why it is unwise for landlords to agree a new tenancy before the existing tenant has moved out. Strictly speaking the landlord is in breach of contract. However as it can take up to five months or more to evict a tenant, unless you are pretty sure that your landlord is going to be able to get the property back quickly, it might be best to look around for somewhere else permanent to live, rather than move into temporary accommodation, even if the landlord is able to provide this. As he is unable to honour the agreed moving in date, he cannot expect you to wait until he can gain access. Any additional expenses incurred by you as a result of the landlords breach of contract should be paid by the landlord.
Question: What can I do as my tenant has been served a section 21 legally on May 22nd and most recently a section 8, which is due to expire this Friday. What is the next step legally if the tenant still refuses to leave the property?
Answer: If the tenant fails to vacate after a notice of possession has been served and the term given in the notice has expired, the landlord’s next step is to issue proceedings for possession in the County Court. It is a criminal office to seek to evict a tenant other than via a court order. As you have served a section 21 notice, probably the best course of action would be to bring proceedings under the (so called) accelerated procedure. Landlord-Law members can purchase our online kit if they wish to deal with this themselves rather than using solicitors, or can instruct us to bring proceedings for a fixed fee. For more information see the Landlord-Law site at www.landlordlaw.co.uk.
Question: At the commencement of the assured shorthold tenancy, which started in March 2006, a guarantor provided a written agreement to guarantee the rent. The guarantor now wishes to withdrawal their guarantee of the rent. Now that rent is owed! can the guarantor do this?
Answer: No, the guarantor is bound by the terms of the guarantee document signed. There would be little point in having a guarantee if the guarantor could withdraw at will!
Ten new Q & A from solicitor Tessa Shepperson are loaded up every two weeks on the Landlord-Law site. Questions from both landlords and tenants are regularly answered - for more information visit Landlord-law here http://www.landlordlaw.co.uk/qa.ihtml?id=4&catparid=4&step=6. .
