UK Landlord Forum / Life

I moved into a a very nice house for six months. The house was up for a 12 month lease, which is what I wanted, I mean who wants to move after 6 months. I received the contract  via the inter  net. I stupidly signed without reading and sent it back to the agent.  I then realised the lease was only for 6 months! After calling the agent he told me I would for sure be given another 6 months at the end of the lease, To cut a long story short the landlord is selling the property will not give me another 6 months and wants me out on time, which is on September 19th. I can not find another home to move into for this time. I have asked the landlord to give me another month  and he says no! What will happen if I just stay and pay the rent? He did give me proper notice but the summer has been very quiet and nothing around. There is one property that would be ok but can not move in till October 31st. Any advice please!

What "proper notice" were you given by the Landlord, and when (exactly)?

Quote from: Hippogriff on September 03, 2014, 07:12:42 AM
What "proper notice" were you given by the Landlord, and when (exactly)?

I was given an official  letter  2 months before my lease expired but like I say, hardly any places around . The ones I liked had either already go or wanted me  to move in straight away

Sorry, but this does not help me.

What official letter? Just an official looking letter or what? Does it have something like "Section 21" on it, or something else? If the last day of your fixed term is the 19 Sep, what day were you served this official letter? What did it say, exactly?

We need to understand the answers to these questions to be able to assist you.

Even if you have been served a Section 21 with at least 2 months notice prior to the end of your fixed term... you do not have to move out. That is, really, not what is happening here.

To help you further you will need to provide further detail, as requested.

The way I see it, you signed a contract. You have been given two months notice, from the middle of July, you are now panicking, understandably.

None of these things are the fault of your Landlord.

Just keep trying, someone now with a tenant who can move in 2 weeks, would be VERY VERY attractive. You'll be fine, just keep looking....

I was served a letter with section 21. No its not the fault of the landlord but  I feel the estate agents  are at fault, I am a long term renter, my last place i had been for 3 years, I was given the details of this house which said min of 12 months let not 6 months i was lead to believe it was a 12 months lease i would have never taken a 6 months, I have a small daughter to think of. The landlord decided to change the amount of time he wanted to rent before he put it up for sale, the estate agent did not pass on that info and lead me to believe it was min of 12 months. Yes its my stupid fault not to read the lease which on page 5 states its a 6 months lease. Any way I am not panicking, just wanted to know what would happen if I stayed and paid my rent.  I live in a area where its dog eat dog when it comes to rented property very high rent for very small space. Today I saw a flat that I offered on but so did 8 others in one morning alone!! I am not in a good position, I am a single person who is self employed and does her own taxes so no accounts even though I earn very good money.

Just one more thought, My notice was served on July 19th, my lease ran out on August 19th but because the estate agency  did not give me the full 2 months, they added on an extra month meaning to be out on September 19th.   Someone told me , the reason the landlord will not give me an extra week, is because at the end of that week, if I am not out , they would have to serve me 2 more months notice. If that is the case, would you say they still owe me one more month? As  the notice period went over the original contract. Hope this make sense to some one in the know??  Thank You for any advice and sorry for rambling

Not really.

The contract is just now rolling, and ending after 7 months.

Although I can understand your predicament, in reality you have to move out.

Thank You boboff but after speaking with shelter uk their advice is much more to my liking!  But thanks for the input! 

So... if you have been served a Section 21 correctly... that would give you at least 2 months notice... this will be the date, for you, around 19th September.

Of course, this does not mean you have to be out of the property at the end of that. Most people do go, but many surely don't. You can dig your heels in.

After that Section 21 has expired, the Landlord then has the option of applying for possession - through the Courts - and having you evicted. They cannot do this before serving you a Section 21 and giving you that opportunity to leave.

So - if you want to remain beyond the date mentioned in the Section 21... you can do so. All that will start to happen then is that the Landlord begins the process of having you evicted.

Of course - you will not be able to remain there indefinitely... at some point people are going to turn up with tools for getting access to your property and removing you. However, you do not have to think that if you're not out by mid-September people can turn-up and throw you out immediately. The thing you do need to be aware of (and I'm sure you are) is that there is no Tenant defence to a Section 21... you can't say "no" or claim anything against the Landlord, you just have to go - eventually. You can't just stay in this "very nice house".

As you say, you did not want a 6 month tenancy, but you went and signed one. You will probably read the contracts you sign more closely in the future.

All that said... there is no reason why the Landlord selling the property even has to affect you at all... if he was able to sell with the tenancy in place.