UK Landlord Forum / Life

Hi all,
First time poster here.

I was issued with a section 21 notice back in January this year, dated 22nd January with a date to leave of the 26th March and have heard nothing from the landlord since then. Fast forward to this week and I have just received a claim for Possession (accelerated procedure) dated 27th July. I have done some reading up on the law and it states that proceedings must start within 6 months from the date of the section 21. Is this definitely correct and if so, do I put this on the defence forms?

We also have an issue with the deposit in that we have lived at the property for over 5 years and the deposit was protected at the time we moved in correctly, however 2 years ago, the landlord sold the property to the current landlord and the deposit has never been re-protected or the prescribed information re-issued, so it still shows as the old landlord on the portal. The deposit is in the custodial scheme so my understanding is the new landlord should've created an account with mydeposits (who hold the deposit) and transferred this over from the old landlord to himself (or at least his conveyancer should have) and the prescribed information re-issued.
Now I have done some reading up on this and this appears to fall in the case of Sebastiampillai v Parr;

https://www.kdllaw.com/legal-updates/tenancy-deposits-re-visited-what-about-when-the-property-is-sold

From what I have said, do you believe this to be the case regarding the deposit? The Prescribed Info given as part of the claim form clearly shows the old landlords details too.
Assuming this is correct, do I need to put this information down on the defence forms?


Regarding the defence forms, I have rang numerous local solicitors and everyone I've rang has said they don't have capacity, so I'm going to have to complete this myself I think, but on the basis of what I have advised, do you believe this would generate a court hearing and not allow him possession via the accelerated route?

Thanks for any advice that may be given.

A possession claim must be started within six month's of a section 21 notice being served on you. It doesn't matter what the date on the notice is, the date you were served with the notice is what matters. But let's assume it was the 22nd for now. But if the documentation you received was from the court (which it should have been), the chances are that the claim was made several days previously, which is quite possibly within the deadline.
But you should certainly put it on the defence forms - you're no worse of if it turns out to be valid.

The purchaser of the property was obliged to protect the deposit and provide you with the prescribed information within 30 days of the completion. If they didn't do that, the section 21 isn't valid and so you should definitely put this on the defence form.

There is a "sticky" thread in the Landlord part of this forum, which contains a complete checklist of other things to check to see if a section 21 is valid or not.

Three things to consider.
Firstly, both of the issues you have raised here can be fixed. When you serve the defence, the landlord would be advised to serve the Prescribed Information and another s21 notice and more quickly make a possession claim. You should decide whether or not you want to mention the prescribed information issue in the defence and raise it in the hearing itself. That's a gamble, because, strictly speaking, the judge doesn't have to allow new defences to be raised. But they almost always do. If that works, you would gain a few more months.

Secondly, that also applies to anything else that you find. You don't have to use all of your ammunition at once. You can save issues for a repeat attempt.

Lastly, did the landlord serve notices (that may refer to "section 3" or "section 48") advising you that they were your new landlord and giving you their name and address (and if it's not in England or Wales, another address in England or Wales where they can be contacted)? If not, they're possibly not your landlord, and can't serve notice. That's a bit of a stretch though. Because you've presumably being rent to someone and there's obviously a tenancy.

More importantly, there are very few circumstances that cannot be corrected, which means that your landlord will eventually succeed in a possession claim. So you have to consider if the effort and stress are worth what is likely to simply be a delay (albeit possibly quite a long one). Is there a background to this, because it's not normal to serve a s21 for no reason and it's not normal to wait a long time when one expires to make a possession claim.

Thank you for responding, I really appreciate it.

It's a long post so I appreciate it may be a too long didn't read post.

Probably best if I give some background info for you.
So we started renting in may 2019 for 12 months, it became periodic after that and then in April 2021 we took out a 2 year renewal with the previous landlord. During the period from May 2020 to the renewal, it was moved from one letting agent to another (managed property). Pretty much within 6 months, the landlord wanted to sell, we couldn't afford to buy so it was put on the market with sitting tenants. Multiple sales fell through and it was eventually purchased through an auction in December 2022.
The letting agents remained in situ and everything remained as it was, the letting agents only told us it was sold via a phone call and that was it (no section 3 or 48 notices). In March 2023, we were told the landlord wanted to evict us and after hassle from the landlord, the letting agents stopped managing the property and he took it over directly and the letting agents provided bank details for the rent to be paid to following this. All through last summer he was offering us money to leave (he said he wants to move in, i dont personally believe that), then asked about a new tenancy agreement (through new agents but nothing materialised and so it was still with him directly) then in January the section 21 came. We have heard absolutely nothing off him since, rent has been paid in full every month.

Onto what you've said, so regarding the 6 month rule, the service date is marked as the 24th, so I see what you mean, they are likely to have started proceedings just before then, is there anyway I can find that out?

Regarding the deposit, that was my understanding too, so in effect it's not a valid section 21 and should be thrown out?
The only issue is if I don't raise these things on the defence, because it's accelerated, he would win by default wouldn't he i.e I need to offer some form of defence and the 6 month aspect may not be enough to stop possession or generate a hearing, so I need to use my ammunition now?

One other issue I have noted is that they have put the tenancy start date from when we renewed with the old landlord which was April 2021 (2 year renewal) and the actual tenancy started in 2019, is that something worth putting down too? They have only supplied the new tenancy, which is still the latest one, but different to the first one - not sure how much of a show stopper that is?

Onto your other points, I knew about the section 3/48 as mentioned further up in my post, would that also be something I should use in defence as it would bring into question if it's a valid s21 as well, given he isn't officially notified me he's my landlord yet?

In a nutshell, we appreciate we are going to have to move soon and we are actively looking, but ideally I want to stall this as long as possible, as we may be in a position to buy in 6ish months time and my worry is, because it's accelerated, will it really need a hearing to quash the s21?

In sort of reverse order:

If you offer a defence that's anything other than mad, there has to be a hearing and you'll have to attend to prevent the court awarding a possession order by default. And that's pretty final.

Yes, you should definitely use the s3/s48 in your defence. The landlord has not not notified you of the assignment of the interest in the property (s3 Landlord and Tenant Act 1985) which is a summary offence and you could request the court to make such a judgement. The landlord has also not given you an address in England or Wales where notices can be served (s48 Landlord and Tenant Act 1987). Technically that means you can withhold rent until they do, but don't do that. As a completely separate point, because you have not received either notice, you assert that the notice is not valid because the person described as the landlord on the notice is not yet, formally, the landlord. That last point probably won't wash.

The tenancy start date is not correct, which is also worth pointing out. Courts aren't hyper fussy, but don't (generally) like evicting tenants and do expect landlords to try and make the effort to get things right.

The deposit issue is fatal to this s21 notice. And I take your point about using the ammunition. If all you want is a delay, go for it. The courts system is in complete disarray, so make sure you do everything at the last minute. It might take 2 or three months for there to even be a hearing. You'll be unlucky not to get the time you need.

Glad to help. Us Brummies (honorary in my case) have to stick together.

You are an absolute superstar and I really appreciate the help from a fellow brummie!!

In terms of the defence form then, I'm guessing I should add the info about the s3/s48 notices in the any other information section, as I don't think there is anywhere to dispute he is my landlord as such on the document itself?

Thanks again for your help though!!

Yes. The other information is where it sounds right.
I've never seen a defence form for a possession claim, so I'm guessing a bit.

Anything else, the forum is always here.

You're entitled to representation on the day of the hearing, but don't rely on it.

Thank you so much!!

I don't know how much you can save up in 6 months.

But it feels like you could be knocking on an open door as to having your palms crossed with silver (enough to accelerate(!) your purchase plans with an injection of cash, the concept of which the Landlord already seems willing to be open to paying.

I suppose there's £X and £Y values - what you need and what the Landlord is willing to offer. They could be the same number and a clean break (especially with the Deposit angle) could be made for all involved... all it will take is to get around a table with a genuine desire to resolve the issue at-hand. No need for Courts, claims, delays, costs... just needs people to be grown-up and a bit pragmatic.

It's a quid pro quo and is so easy when compared to the alternative stuff mentioned in here.