Also see this appeals court judgement only handed down yesterday: http://nearlylegal.co.uk/blog/2011/05/eviscerated-now-also-drawn-and-quartered/ This further complicates the whole deposit protection legislation, and leaves anyone who has not had their deposit returned after a tenancy has ended with no recourse for the 3x the deposit compensation.

In which case the notice you have appears to be invalid. This means that should the landlord apply to the court for a possession order, you could appeal and the order would be refused. Should you wish to stay in the property for as long as possible, it is advisable to keep this information to yourself, so that the landlord has to serve another two months notice with correct dates once this notice has expired if they want to proceed to court. Just to be clear, you do NOT have to move until the court has decided to order possession, and even then this order has to be executed by bailiffs to be enforced. Of course you should also check if you deposit is protected in one of the 3 govt approved schemes (DPS, TDS or mydeposits), if not, this also invalidates any s.21 notice given until your deposit is protected correctly and a new notice served. See here for further details, and a form that checks all 3 deposit schemes: http://tenancyanswers.ucoz.com/index/my_deposit_isn_t_protected/0-4

Can you please state the date your tenancy started, confirm the length of the fixed term, and confirm if you did receive the notice on or before the date stated (18th may), as I see you only posted yesterday and say it came in the morning?

You need to put yourself on the Coventry homefinder. This is a points based system run by the council, if you are faced with impending eviction then you will be seen as a priority case and will have a chance to bid on properties each week. However, what you say at the moment is that everything is speculative. The house may not sell for a while, even if it does your tenancy continues with a new owner, and they would need to serve various notices, give you a minimum of two months warning, then court proceedings etc etc. This whole process is very long and even if the house sold tomorrow I'd estimate you could hold on in there for 6 months or so. Btw, you are under no obligation to allow any viewings at all. This may allow you more time to stay, but also may make things difficult with the current LL. Just remember the LL cannot insist on entry to YOUR home unless there is an emergency.

There is no protection for those more than 8 weeks/2 months in arrears. You say about other judgements by the same judge, when cases like this come up, the judge has NO choice but to order possession when arrears are above the 8 weeks/2 months mark. Should the judge order possession this still does not guarantee eviction. The HA would still have to enforce the order by applying for bailiffs to evict, or they may hold off on this providing the arrears are still paid back appropriately. This is an arrangement you must make with them directly. Should eviction take place, then unfortunately it will be seen as intentional homelessness, and the council are unlikely to have any duty to re-house.

How are you calculating the arrears? With no written agreement then rent is payable in arrears (not in advance) by default, and therefore May's rent wouldn't be due till the end of May for example, assuming monthly rent. Therefore, less may be owed that originally thought. If on the day the notice of intention to proceed to court was served, AND on the day of court more than 8 weeks (if rent is payable weekly) or 2 months (if rent is payable monthly) rent is owed, then the court must make a possession order. It is important that the term owed is applied correctly, rent is owed once it is even one day late. So a monthly tenant will owe 2 months rent the day after a second payment is missed. For a weekly tenancy, 8 weeks owed is the day after the 8th rent payment is missed. It appears, that should the re-payments towards the arrears be kept up until the hearing that no mandatory possession order will be granted. However, the HA may also have applied for possession on discretionary grounds in the Housing Act, and this is ultimately the opinion of the judge. It is unusual for a discretionary order to be made, as judges are wary of removing people from their homes, especially those who may be vulnerable.

Sorry, is that rent monthly, or weekly? You refer to weekly amounts in the first post.

What paperwork has been received by your relative, and do they refer to any section of any legal acts, the housing act etc? What is the total monthly rent? You should not include court costs/fees in any arrears as they are totally separate issues. Can you be more specific about when you relative moved into the property please?

Your mobile phone provider should be able to send you a printed list of text messages received from particular number, I have seen this form of evidence used in several illegal eviction/ landlord harassment cases.

I disagree, this is a county court case, it is not binding on any other court or judge, and therefore no assumptions at all can be made that might help others. I am very pleased that Mrs Foot has won, however I think the case was dependent on the cheque not being cleared by the time of the hearing. Uncleared funds do not count as paid in the courts eyes.

A tenancy with a fixed term of any longer than 3 years must be in writing, as it must be executed as a deed.

You may be entitled to compensation, but only once a court has decided so. However, no hot water is what is known as a Category 1 hazard under the Housing Health and Safety Rating System (HHSRS). This means that should you ask your local council to inspect (they do have powers over private rentals), and they find this hazard, you landlord will be advised to fix it, and may also be fined. Should he ignore the advice, the council have the powers to have the work done and then bill the landlord. Obviously this is a drastic course of action, but it does seem that you have given the LL adequate time to rectify the problem. I do echo the advice above, that you may be evicted for making this kind of complaint.

Or you could not say anything and not move, let the LL find out his mistake himself. Either way your LL isn't going to be happy that your not leaving and may want to try and cause problems with the return of your deposit.

If the contract does not stipulate that the 2nd month's payment in advance is for rent for a specific period then it is simply a deposit, and requires protection.

A deposit protection non-compliance case is not heard under the small-claims procedure, it is instead a 'part 8' claim. This means that should you lose you will be faced with your opponents legal costs. Also, the procedure in court is not as simple, and unlike small-claims, a solicitor is very highly recommended, its not the kind of legal work you DIY.