UK Landlord Forum / Life

Hi everyone. I need a bit of advice. So my husband passed away which he used to be the landlord,now the flat is in my name and I need to get rid of the tenant. I don't live in UK but I still have an uk address from his relatives . The flat is rented trough the Croydon council but they are paying the rent not the tenant. I have served the section 21 notice to the tenant and to the council as well by email and my mistake was I have sent to the tenant the booklet after I served the section 21 notice which makes invalid. Mind you my husband asked the council via email for the booklet but they never gave it. So the council said is invalid. Now I have to serve again the section 21. The other thing is we never had deposit scheme rent because nobody mentioned anything and maybe because the council is paying the rent and is guarantee rent . I just want to make sure I have all the paperwork before I serve the section 21. . By the sound it I might need to go to the court (council keep repeating if the tenant is not going by expiry date I have to go to court and bailiffs ). Also can I fill in form my overseas address?. Many thanks.
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If Croydon council are the people renting the property from you, the actual occupant of the property is nothing to do with you (and is probably a tenant of the council).

You can't use a section 21 notice to evict them (or the council) because that type of notice is for a particular type of tenancy, and this isn't the right sort.

You would be advised to get legal representation locally, because the notice needed will depend on the wording of the tenancy agreement with the council, and, if you don't do it right, you might find that the tenancy with the council ends and the occupants become your tenants, and that might make them very difficult to remove at all.
It might even prove to be impossible.

Thank you for your quick reply. The croydon council advised me to serve section 21 notice by email to the tenant and a copy to them with 3 months notice . (I have done this before in 2019 but never asked about prescribed documents and they rehoused the tenant very easily). The tenancy agreement is on roll over now, the croydon council still pay me the rent and they will pay me till the day the tenant will move out and they advised me to go to court and bailiff if the tenant is not going by expiry date also they advised the tenant to remain in the property till court order and after they going to rehouse the tenant. But I think I will take a legal advice for not mistaken again. Thank you.

I am a little confused about who the tenant is - it will be the person named on the tenancy agreement as The Tenant.
It seems very odd for the council to be advising you on evicting the tenant and advising the tenant to stay put.

Yes the tenant is the person named in a tenancy agreement which been signed by my husband the landlord, the tenant and the croydon council. And yes the croydon council told me to use the court possession and bailiff to evict the tenant is all in emails. Thank you

Croydon council have had lots of different schemes, over the years.  I would say that they provided deposit scheme monies for your husbnd the landlord.  I don't think council provides much else the onus is on the landlord.  They certainly won't rehouse a tenant without a Possession Order and an eviction.

Yes the rent is under Guarantee Rent Scheme. The good part is they are paying the rent till the tenant is moving. They give incentive at time of sign up non refundble. And yes they already told me by email if she is not living by expiry date of notice I have to use court possession and bailiffs. So they already plans this. Anyway I hired a firm wich they checke all documents before the section 21 notice will be served to make sure I'm not doing the same mistake. Thank you.