Eviction due for 24th July 2011

[Garreh]

Hello Everyone.

I'm new to the forum, so I thought I would say Hello First!

 

Right, this is whats been going on:

 

Just before Christmas, our letting agent, Fortmere Properties decided to introduce a £15 a month charge in addition to what we already pay on our rent because we are out of lease. (We have refused to pay this as it was not stated at all in the contract, or when the contracts were signed)

 

We've asked them multiple times to send us a 6 month lease for us to sign to continue occupying the property which they haven't done to date.

 

Another couple of things: in October 2010, Our oven broke, and it took them until THREE WEEKS ago to come and install a new one. We have also never had a Gas Safety Inspection.

 

This morning we have received a letter from Fortmere which is an eviction notice.

(Can't post a link as i've not posted 20 posts yet, so PM me for a link to the letter)

 

Just for information, we are on a "Assured Short hold Tenancy"

 

Just really need to know what to do about it, as we're all a bit concerned.

 

Thanks for taking the time to read

[citizenB]

If you want to turn your letter/document into a pdf file.. you can then post it up using the "go advanced" reply box, then manage attachments..

 

You dont need 20 posts to post documents that way

 

HTH

[mariner51]

If you had an AST whose fixed term ended just before Xmas, you are NOT out of Lease because the day after the fixed term ended your T automatically became a Periodic T (same AST conditions) and 1 month Notice.

Also I doubt what you received is an eviction notice, prob just a s21.

Sounds like LA is trying it on. Do you have LLs contact address, should be on orig AST, or does Fortmere own the property?

 

Try citizen8s method for posting Notice and letters, esp about £15 monthly surcharge, or PM me

[Ed999]

My advice is applicable only if the rented premises are entirely within England and Wales, and only if you were granted a shorthold tenancy (under which you [and your spouse/partner/children if any] had exclusive use of a seperate dwelling, which was not shared with another tenant nor with the landlord) and you were over 18 years of age when the tenancy was granted.

 

 

Shorthold tenancy

 

Under the 1988 Housing Act, unless a different type of tenancy is specifically agreed, an agreement to create a tenancy creates a shorthold tenancy.

 

It is not, strictly speaking, a fixed term tenancy; a specific termination date does not have to be agreed, and often is not even discussed, so it is often an open-ended weekly or monthly periodic tenancy, depending on whether the rent is due weekly or monthly.

 

In a shorthold tenancy, whether there is an initial fixed term is purely a matter for agreement. The statutory requirement for an initial fixed term of 6 months was abolished in 1996. A fixed term can now be any length; or there can be no fixed term.

 

 

Termination of shorthold tenancy

 

If no fixed term was agreed, or it has ended, so that there is simply a periodic tenancy, by section 21 of the 1988 Act the landlord MUST give at least 2 months notice, expiring on the last day of a rent period (but if the tenancy agreement requires a longer period of notice, the landlord must give that longer period of notice); and this notice CANNOT take effect during the first 6 months.

 

Where the common law requires a longer period of notice, the common law prevails. At common law, to end a periodic tenancy one period's notice must be given, expiring on the last day of a rent period: so if the rent is payable every 2 months, then not less than 2 months notice must be given; or if the rent is due quarterly, then at least one quarter's notice must be given; and so on.

 

Where the tenant paid a rent deposit after 5th April 2007, if that deposit has not been protected (by the landlord paying it into an official Tenancy Deposit Scheme) any section 21 notice given to the tenant is invalid, so will not end the tenancy.

 

If a valid section 21 notice is given, if the tenant has not moved out by the end of the notice period the landlord must then apply for a court order, which typically takes a further month to obtain.

 

 

Tenancy Deposit Scheme

 

If you paid a deposit, read the FAQs about the tenancy deposit scheme, under which you might be entitled to sue for compensation if the deposit has not been protected, if you were granted a shorthold tenancy -

 

- Tenancy Deposit Scheme

 

- Tenancy Deposit Protection - First High Court Decision

 

- TDS eligibility, implication of breach and legal questions answered

 

 

The Court of Appeal decided in the case of Tiensia v Vision Enterprises that if the Landlord protects or repays the deposit even as late as the day of the court hearing, or at any time before judgement (if later), the court will not be able to award the penalty of three times the amount of the deposit.

 

This was NOT overturned by the High Court decision in Potts v Densley.

 

The High Court in Potts v Densley was not bound by the Court of Appeal's earlier decision in Tiensia, because in Tiensia the landlord had protected the deposit at a time when the tenancy still existed; but the High Court in Potts nevertheless rejected the argument that the Act requires the landlord to protect the deposit before the tenancy ends [at paragraph 55 in the Judgement].

 

In Potts, the tenant might still have won, if she had raised the related point that the landlord had failed to provide her with the prescribed information pursuant to section 213(5). But she failed to do so, thus she lost the case.

 

 

 

Disrepair

 

If there is disrepair, such as a broken cooker, the tenant might be entitled in law to sue the landlord for damages (i.e. compensation).

 

Read this FAQ - Disrepairs in privately rented accommodation

Edited May 20, 2011 by Ed999

[raydetinu]

You can report the lack of gas cert to the local council.

Section 21 is notice of possesion only.

[Ed999]

You can report the lack of gas cert to the local counciL.

 

 

Am I right in thinking that there must be an ANNUAL gas safety check?

 

I don't believe this tenant has yet said that he's actually been there a full 12 months. Until he has been, there is no evident breach of the regulations, since there is still time for that check to be carried out. So it would seem to be premature to contact the Council until a full year of the tenancy has elapsed.

[mariner51]

T / LA should have at least satifsfied themselves of valid current GSC by seeing LLs copy even if T copy lost by previous T.

[Garreh]

Thanks for all the info. Yes, it was indeed a Section 21 (4) (a) Requiring Possession that was sent to us in the post by Fortmere.

 

 

Am I right in thinking that there must be an ANNUAL gas safety check?

 

You are indeed correct. One has never been performed by Fortmere or an external company contracted by Fortmere.

 

I don't believe this tenant has yet said that he's actually been there a full 12 months

 

We have been living here for 3 Years this month (Sorry, I should of said!)

 

If you want to turn your letter/document into a pdf file.. you can then post it up using the "go advanced" reply box, then manage attachments..

 

You dont need 20 posts to post documents that way

 

HTH

 

Thanks, I've done that!

 

 

I've attached a copy of the Section 21 to this post.

 

Thanks to everyone for the reply's so far! Very helpful

 

EDIT: Posted attachment in PDF so everyone can read it, Sorry!

eviction.pdf

Edited May 20, 2011 by Garreh

[The Carpet Cleaners]

Sorry that is too small to read....

[xoAmyox]

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?

[Garreh]

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?

 

Tenancy Start Date: 1st May 2008

 

Letter Arrived on: 19th May 2011

 

Thanks for the reply!

[xoAmyox]

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

[Ed999]

My advice is applicable only if the rented premises are entirely within England and Wales, and only if you were granted a shorthold tenancy (under which you [and your spouse/partner/children if any] had exclusive use of a seperate dwelling, which was not shared with another tenant nor with the landlord) and you were over 18 years of age when the tenancy was granted.

 

 

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.

 

 

Will you please post here the details of the length of the tenancy originally granted, as previously requested. However, some points, at least, seem clear.

 

 

The notice given under section 21 of the 1988 Act appears to be invalid.

 

It was received more than 2 months before the date specified in it on which the tenancy is intended to terminate; but that date does not appear to be the final day of a rent period, therefore the notice appears not to comply with the conditions in section 21.

 

The tenancy began on the 1st of the month. If the rent is payable monthly, it would be due on the 1st or 31st day of the month, depending on whether it's payable in advance or in arrear. If so, then the date specified in the section 21 notice is not the final day of a rent period.

 

 

The provisions of the Act are set out here: Housing Act 1988, section 21

 

Section 21(4) says:

 

the landlord or, in the case of joint landlords, at least one of them, has given to the tenant a notice in writing stating that, after a date specified in the notice, being the last day of a period of the tenancy and not earlier than two months after the date the notice was given, possession of the dwelling-house is required by virtue of this section

 

 

When you receive the court summons, in about 2 months time, you could probably successfully oppose the claim for possession on that basis.

Edited May 24, 2011 by Ed999

[Garreh]

Today, we've found out that Fortmere Properties have gone into administration - this is why we're being evicted...

 

As we have all planned to leave by the 24th of July anyways, We're having a bit of a pickle with our rent and what we need to do.

 

What we need to know: Do we need to pay our last months rent - Here is an extract from our contract: "Payable: By one installment of £950 due on the date of entry, namely 24th May 2008, Followed by the balancing amount of £218.61 due on the 24th June 2008 and then equal installments of £950 on the 1st of each calendar month in advance for every month of the term"

 

Does this mean that we've paid 1 month in advance and that we don't need to pay for the last month that we live here, or do we need to pay something towards it?

 

Thanks in advance!

[Ed999]

My comments apply only if the rented premises are entirely within England and Wales, and only if you were granted a shorthold tenancy (under which you [and your spouse/partner/children if any] had exclusive use of a seperate dwelling, which was not shared with another tenant nor with the landlord) and you were over 18 years of age when the tenancy was granted.

 

This posting is supplemental to the information in the forum's "sticky" threads and is NOT to be read in isolation.

 

 

Termination of tenancy

 

The section 21 notice given to you appears to be invalid. If that is the case, then YOU need to end the tenancy if you've decided you want to move out. If you move out without ending the tenancy, the rent will continue to run and you can be sued for non-payment.

 

If no fixed term was agreed, or it has ended, and there is simply a periodic tenancy with a period of one week or one month, the tenant can give one month's notice in writing to end the periodic tenancy, expiring on the last day of a rent period (but if the tenancy agreement requires a longer period of notice, the tenant must give the period of notice required by the agreement); and this notice can even end the tenancy within the first 6 months.

 

This is the MINIMUM amount of notice. There is nothing to stop you giving a longer period of notice, e.g. expiring on the 24th of July.

 

 

Amount of rent due

 

Only you can calculate the amount you have actually paid in rent, and how many months that represents.

 

Where you paid a rent deposit to the landlord or his agent at the start of the tenancy, you probably won't get it back; so if the landlord is holding the equivalent of one month's rent your best tactic is not to pay the final month's rent, when the tenancy ends, i.e. to let him take it out of the deposit.