UK Landlord Forum / Life

Tenants on 1 year contract with a 6 month break clause. S21 notice served after 6 months. Tenants due to vacate 2 days ago but they have said that they have no where to go to and will not move out. We sent email to them on that day, making it clear that we want them to vacate and to hand keys over to estate agents. Rent paid by standing order, arrived in our account; no arrears.

If we accept the rent, does this imply that we are prepared to let them stay and continue to rent from us?

If they do vacate within the month, do we have to pro-rata the time they stayed and refund what is remaining of the month's rent?

We will be applying for a court order for possession shortly.

Thank you for your help

Quote from: ckurimbokus on October 26, 2023, 09:00:55 AMIf we accept the rent, does this imply that we are prepared to let them stay and continue to rent from us?

They're entitled to stay and continue to rent from you anyway, at least until you're awarded possession by the court, and you're entitled to the rent they pay.

Thank you so much Simon, that is very helpful.

If they leave, say mid-month, do I have to refund the half of the month that they have paid for but have not stayed?

Many thanks again

Yes, you should take the rent. It does not compromise you when it comes to evicting. I don't know the exact legal position if they leave with some rent credit, but I have always refunded the difference. I suppose it depends how much aggravation they put you through, and whether they have been good tenants in the past. 

I think it's important to be realistic, though. If the tenant has "nowhere to go" today, the chances of them finding somewhere they're OK with living and moving there in a few weeks are small. I have tenants who have accepted the need to move and have taken several months, making their best efforts.

Quote from: ckurimbokus on October 26, 2023, 09:52:18 AMThank you so much Simon, that is very helpful.

...

Many thanks again

Thank you @ckurimbokus for not reacting like Gordy67, who asked a similar question to yours.

Some parts of this thread may be informative regarding your situation.

https://www.landlordforumproject.co.uk/landlord-advice-help/rejecting-rent-payments-after-lease-expiry/

It doesn't sound like the Section 21 was ignored.

The Tenant appears to be in communication with you... and is fully aware of your desires, but they aren't in a position to give you what you want (no-one should be expected to put themselves on the street - the question is whether they're trying hard enough).

So, you now follow the well-established process that's defined by the Section 21, and you absolutely accept rent while they're living there. It doesn't imply anything about how happy you are, about anything. If at some point they stop paying rent, but continue living there, you may consider a Section 8 - but that would probably complicate matters. They know you want the tenancy to end - let's hope they're looking and if you do experience a delay of, say, half-a-month then you'll be one lucky SOB.

Failing all of this 'process' stuff... if it all gets too much, and communication lines are open, you can consider crossing palms with silver at the correct point.

Thank you to everyone who took the trouble to reply, it is much appreciated.  Plenty of food for thought.  Fingers crossed that the tenants will move out (eventually, sigh!) with minimum fuss!

Have you spoken to them about what's happening and what you need to happen?

How urgent do you need the property to be vacant? A financial incentive may help them to vacate and would be less stressful than court.

The Section 21 notice, has many prerequisites that are detailed in the notes for the form.

So your first step should be to double check you fully complied with all of those.

A Tenant can string you along until you get serious, the S21 is the first part of an accelerated procedure, the next step is continue the claim in Court. However, if you fill the form out and and drop a note to the Tenant saying that you will continuing the claim in Court which will result in a fee they will be held liable for it may nudge them.

If your Tenant can be deemed as a vulnerable Tenant (including those with children) then the Council will owe them a housing duty, these days Councils require Tenants to fully exhaust the legal process, most of them, all the way to bailiffs.

No amount of a bribe will make a Tenant leave if the Council owes them a housing duty because the Council tells them that if they leave of their own accord then they are deemed intentionally homeless. So if they want social housing they have to follow the Council's directives.

On the positive side the next stage will not require a hearing now unless the Tenant specifies why they need a hearing.  With no hearing the Judge will grant the Order for Possession and provide immediate surrender because they know that the Courts are in such chaos that it will be 21 days before the Order is typed up and potentially 14 days for the Royal Mail to deliver the Order because these days they are not delivering mail unless they have a paid leaflet run or a contracted first class letter. 

Even the Bailiff letters which are supposed to be sent 2 weeks before they turn up are often not arriving in time. 

If the Tenant has any reason to believe that your S21 notice is void then they should tell you after they get the final letter before action that I mentioned above.  Although this is not obligatory it will save you losing your fee if you have failed to meet one of the prerequisites.

For example if you failed to protect the deposit or fully comply with deposit protection legislation, or if you charged a prohibited fee, these would void the S21, you would need to correct the defect and start over with a new S21 notice. 

Quote from: ckurimbokus on October 26, 2023, 09:00:55 AMTenants on 1 year contract with a 6 month break clause. S21 notice served after 6 months. Tenants due to vacate 2 days ago but they have said that they have no where to go to and will not move out. We sent email to them on that day, making it clear that we want them to vacate and to hand keys over to estate agents. Rent paid by standing order, arrived in our account; no arrears.

If we accept the rent, does this imply that we are prepared to let them stay and continue to rent from us?

If they do vacate within the month, do we have to pro-rata the time they stayed and refund what is remaining of the month's rent?

We will be applying for a court order for possession shortly.

Thank you for your help

Thank you for this, David.  We know that the tenant has no intention of moving out as she has told the letting agent that they will not be able to find a property that suits them as well as this one, and at the price so we are aware that they will drag their heels for as long as they possibly can.  I think we have covered all the requirements of the S21 and are preparing the court forms for possession and intend to post recorded delivery to the courts.

There does not appear to be anywhere that states how much and how I pay the court fee for this.  I tried calling Barnet Civil Court but after waiting 45 mins, gave up.  I emailed to ask but have not had any reply.  Supportthroughcourts.org.uk reckons that I send the form 5NB in and they will get in touch to ask for the fee (unusual as government depts tend to want £ upfront before they do anything? or am I being skeptical here?) 

Does anyone in this forum know the answer to this please?

Many thanks, all help and advice very much appreciated

The fee is £355

https://www.gov.uk/evicting-tenants/accelerated-possession-orders

If she likes the property so much maybe she can buy it!

Quote from: ckurimbokus on November 01, 2023, 10:04:59 PMThank you for this, David.  We know that the tenant has no intention of moving out as she has told the letting agent that they will not be able to find a property that suits them as well as this one, and at the price so we are aware that they will drag their heels for as long as they possibly can.  I think we have covered all the requirements of the S21 and are preparing the court forms for possession and intend to post recorded delivery to the courts.

There does not appear to be anywhere that states how much and how I pay the court fee for this.  I tried calling Barnet Civil Court but after waiting 45 mins, gave up.  I emailed to ask but have not had any reply.  Supportthroughcourts.org.uk reckons that I send the form 5NB in and they will get in touch to ask for the fee (unusual as government depts tend to want £ upfront before they do anything? or am I being skeptical here?) 

Does anyone in this forum know the answer to this please?

Many thanks, all help and advice very much appreciated

Many thanks, David!

For anyone who may be interested, the fee, like David said, is currently £355.00
You include a letter with your forms, giving them a number to call you so that they can take payment when they are ready.
Alternatively, you enclose a cheque

You also need to include at least 3 copies - 1 for the court to file, 1 for them to return to you, 1 for the tenant (depending on how many people are named on the tenancy, they each need a copy).  Copies should include everything - EPC, gas certificate etc etc.

Wish me luck!

Good luck.

I think I'd send a cheque. Otherwise it's another reason the courts could delay.