UK Landlord Forum / Life

I have been given a Section 21 by my letting agent and although my name and address is correct as is their address the signature doesn't look like that of the sole Company Partner which prints his name next to it

I have compared his signature to the ones online of him signing recent official documents from the Filing History via Company Info at Gov.Uk
and while both are just squiggles they look very different

His printed name above his signature is Mr Fred Bloggs ( who knew that name actually exists!!)
There is no "pp" in front of his signature indicating that someone had signed on his behalf

His business name is Fred Bloggs Ltd and nature of business is listed as Real Estate Agencies

His trading name is Fred Bloggs Estate Agents agents although he states on his website it is a registered company
which it isn't but then it states that it is only the trading name of Fred Bloggs Ltd

On a standard DPS form they provide to Letting Agents I was given it states the letting agent as Mr Fred Bloggs
but on my Certificate of deposit protection it states the letting agent is Fred Bloggs Letting Agent

From the above my questions would be

1 Should Fred Bloggs have signed it himself and not one of his employees and if he did not
  sign it does that make Section 21 invalid

2 Does it make a difference in the name he has used above the signature and should it be legally correct
   or the one he has used with his contract with my Landlord which I don't know yet but I have
   requested this contract from letting agent to verify that Mr Fred Bloggs/Estate Agents has the authorisation by the Landlord to
   send me a Section 21

I know I am probably clutching at straws but when someone is trying to make you homeless
what do you have left to try.

Thanks for any help and advice

 



 

Quote from: arabara on July 26, 2023, 06:39:30 AM
I know I am probably clutching at straws but when someone is trying to make you homeless what do you have left to try.

Someone else will be along to answer your questions about validity.

But if it is invalid, then all that will do is to buy yourself a bit more time. An invalid Section 21 notice is not going to stop them correcting any errors and serving notice again. So unfortunately you will need to look for somewhere else to live.

If the notice is invalid, then you have two options:

1. Point out this fact now.

or

2. Stay quiet and simply do not leave on the due date; you are not obliged to. Keep paying your rent. There's nothing they do to remove you other than go to court to have you evicted. This would take many months. In addition, if you are able to successfully argue at the hearing that the Section 21 is invalid, it would set them back several more months.

Are you suggesting that there is an actual company called Fred Bloggs and it's run by a Mr Fred Bloggs, or is that an example to avoid naming the real company?

Very few documents at companies house are actually signed by anyone (for obvious reasons).
What is a "sole partner"?

I think the answer to your questions are:
1 - No. It can be signed by anyone. But if it says it's signed by Mr Fred Bloggs it needs to be signed by Mr Fred Bloggs. You probably can't PP a formal legal notice (and there would never be any need to because anyone who could PP the signature could sign the notice as themselves).

2 - Anyone that the landlord has authorised to serve notice to you can serve notice to you, so it makes no difference no.

It might be that a court thinks differently, but the notice is actually from the landlord to you, the agent is just filling in the form, so I don't think that the notice is likely to be invalid.
This is obviously only my personal opinion.
There are any number of things that can make a section 21 notice invalid, have a search for nearly legal section 21 for a flowchart.

Cheers guys for the replies and your time assisting me.Yeh Fred Bloggs only used as example but I do have an Uncle Fred Blogg on my Mothers side and also her Great Uncle was Henry Blogg the renowned Cromer Lifeboatman.

Surprising how many Bloggs there are in England.Hey even this site is a Blog!!

As a 64 year old white male I think I would be at the bottom of the waiting list for any Council/Housing Association properties

I had thought about identifying as a Great Crested Newt which is protected under English law from being removed from its habitat
and unlimited fines and a possible prison sentence can be imposed for doing so.

Seriously though a friend has offered an annex on the South Coast in November but I am just trying to delay being evicted
until then and thanks for mention of flowchart re Section 21 and long Court delays which I was not aware about

I am hoping if my Landlord knows I am eventually going in November and also can be convinced of Court delays and not spending any money taking me to Court he will not go down that route or with the possibility of the Section 21 being invalid

Does anyone know if the present Court delays also include the Accelerated Possession Order and delays involving Bailiffs afterwards

I have now seen that Court delays especially in County Courts are quite lengthy but is it possible to find out if your own County Court
has delays or would the local CAB( hard to get hold of as so busy) be able to confirm this from assisting other people.My nearest Court is in Great Yarmouth.

Have a good day everyone

Have you actually spoken to your landlord to explain your situation,and show proof that you do intend moving out in a few months? You can't know what his reaction will be if you don't communicate.It may be that  his reasons for getting the place back don't involve any urgent deadlines. You won't need a reference for your next landlord,but it would be less stressful for all concerned if it does not come down to being put out on the street. You don't give the dates on the s21? I think you can ask questions online with the CAB,in some areas they have shops or surgeries in local libraries where you can book a session.

As above.
If the notice is recent, it won't expire until September, so November is only a couple of months.
Even when there are no delays, the target time for a section 21 decision or hearing is 6-8 weeks, and, the minimum time possible for a possession order is 14 days, and the bailiffs have to give 14 days notice.

So you leaving in November might actually be a win for the landlord.
And they're way outside those time scales at the moment.

The national average for possession from claim (after the notice has expired) to bailiffs is 22 weeks.

Quote from: jpkeates on July 27, 2023, 12:10:38 PM
So you leaving in November might actually be a win for the landlord.

Indeed.

@arabara do you have any idea why the LL is serving the Section 21?

Possibilities:
- They want to sell the property?
- They want to live in it themselves?
- They want to do major repairs which are not feasible while someone is living there?
- They want to re-let it and increase the rent significantly but don't believe that's possible while you are there?
- You have annoyed them in some manner?

The reason for wanting the property back (or wanting you out) could make a big difference to how well they would negotiate an extension to November.

Quote from: arabara on July 26, 2023, 06:39:30 AMI know I am probably clutching at straws but when someone is trying to make you homeless

To be clear, though, no-one is trying to make you homeless. You are not actually their responsibility. They are just looking to take back control of their property / their asset - which happens to be your current home. The loss of that home does not necessarily mean that you become homeless... being homeless is a completely different thing... so not having this home any more should, ideally, mean you just have another home.

Well said!