UK Landlord Forum / Life

Any advice would be most welcome. I rented a house with my partner 8 years ago; an AST became periodic. We had a good relationship with our landlord.
On January 17th he served section 21; asking us to leave by 15th April. We were buying a property but completion was expected 15th June and a week for slippage. We appeared to have a mutual agreement but this all changed when he visited the property. He misused a visit to assess decorating by grilling my partner about 'what if' your house purchase falls through. My partner said we would not make ourself homeless and this was reason enough for them to take legal action.
On 30th April he completed form N5B, the accelerated procedure. We did not contest repossession but asked we be allowed, if necessary, to stay until 29th June. On 6th June  the district judge ruled that we give the landlord possession "on or before 29th June" and also that we pay their costs (£434.50) by that date.
We vacated the property on 23rd June and invited the landlord to do the checkout. He told us he was away until 30th June. We then asked him to teturn the excess rent paid from 23rd June to 4th July. He now says that we did not give one months notice and he will keep the rent.
Please can I have some idea of whether we can get this rent back? Would we have to use the small claims court? Have there been similar legal cases that I can quote?

The law's on your side.
It's Section 21c of the Housing Act 1988 (which is here).

That makes it clear that the money has to be refunded and gives the formula to be used.

There's meant to be a mechanism to allow the court issuing the possession order to order the landlord to make the payment in section 3, but in practice that's not usable.

Because you surrendered the property on 23rd, which the landlord has presumable accepted, that's when the tenancy ends, so you could simply sue the landlord through the small claims court for the money. If you threaten that, I'd hope the landlord would see sense.

Otherwise it's a bit of a mess (for the landlord and you). The landlord can't end the tenancy without using bailiffs, so if they won't agree that you've surrendered, the tenancy hasn't actually ended. And I'd imagine that that doesn't suit anyone.

Many thanks for your help 

JPK is right but his allegation that he did not have notice is absurd.

The Court gave him notice, it ordered it.

You can also use the Tenant Fees Act (2019)

Landlords like this cut their nose off to spite their face, he could have just had a nice friendly agreement for you to leave on 29th June, instead he wasted his money and alienated you.

Such awipes often make a mistake in protecting your deposit within 30 days and/or failing to provide you with the prescribed information regarding the deposit.  So having pissed you off you check your paperwork and find that they can be liable for between 1x and 3x the deposit for each tenancy.

You can't use the Part7 small claims track unless there is a substantial dispute of the facts and it is not in your interest to do so even if you could.

What the Landlord needs is a very strong letter before action informing them that they are in breach of legislation and if they do not return your monies within 7 days you will instruct Solicitors to take them to Court in 14 days without further notice on the part8 track.

When you win they will be forced to pay your legal fees and they may be fined up to £5000 if this is their first breach and up to £30,000 if this is not their first breach.

You can make a letter before action double up as a settlement offer.

Quote from: Pollaw289 on June 27, 2024, 11:23:02 AMAny advice would be most welcome. I rented a house with my partner 8 years ago; an AST became periodic. We had a good relationship with our landlord.
On January 17th he served section 21; asking us to leave by 15th April. We were buying a property but completion was expected 15th June and a week for slippage. We appeared to have a mutual agreement but this all changed when he visited the property. He misused a visit to assess decorating by grilling my partner about 'what if' your house purchase falls through. My partner said we would not make ourself homeless and this was reason enough for them to take legal action.
On 30th April he completed form N5B, the accelerated procedure. We did not contest repossession but asked we be allowed, if necessary, to stay until 29th June. On 6th June  the district judge ruled that we give the landlord possession "on or before 29th June" and also that we pay their costs (£434.50) by that date.
We vacated the property on 23rd June and invited the landlord to do the checkout. He told us he was away until 30th June. We then asked him to teturn the excess rent paid from 23rd June to 4th July. He now says that we did not give one months notice and he will keep the rent.
Please can I have some idea of whether we can get this rent back? Would we have to use the small claims court? Have there been similar legal cases that I can quote?

Quote from: David on June 29, 2024, 04:50:08 PMJPK is right but his allegation that he did not have notice is absurd.

The Court gave him notice, it ordered it.

A court can't give notice in a tenancy. The court awarded a possession order, which is not the same thing. That can be used to instruct bailiffs, who will then end the tenancy. Until that happens, the tenancy continues (and can do so for up to six years).

One of the essential aspects of notice to actually end a lease is that it is clear and unambiguous. Anyone reading it (but specifically the landlord and tenant) must be able to determine the date on which it is intended that the lease should end. That is not possible with an order for possession, which simply has a date after which the next stage in the process can happen.

That's also why Housing Act 1988 s21c(3) makes no sense, because at the point that "the court makes an order for possession under section 21" it cannot possibly know "the amount of rent to which the tenant is entitled"

Given that you vacated the property before the agreed date and the landlord is now claiming the lack of one month's notice, it seems he is trying to hold onto the excess rent unfairly. Here's what I think:

Since the court ordered you to vacate by 29th June, you technically didn't need to give additional notice since you complied with the court's order. The excess rent paid should be refunded to you from the day you vacated, which is the 23rd June, up until the 4th July.

If the landlord is refusing to return this money, you might have to take it to the small claims court. Before doing that, it's a good idea to send a formal letter to the landlord requesting the refund, explaining that you complied with the court order, and outlining the amount you are claiming back. This might prompt him to reconsider without needing to escalate it further.

As for legal cases, you might not find one that matches your exact scenario, but the principle of fairness and compliance with court orders should be in your favor. The fact that the judge's order stipulated a date and you left by then should hold weight.

It might also help to contact Citizens Advice or another tenant support organization. They could offer more detailed advice and support through the process.

I know this is an added stress you don't need, but stay persistent. It's your right to get that excess rent back.

Quote from: havens on July 13, 2024, 03:42:42 PMyou might have to take it to the small claims court. Before doing that, it's a good idea to send a formal letter to the landlord requesting the refund, explaining that you complied with the court order, and outlining the amount you are claiming back.

It's not just a good idea, it's now a requirement for making a legal claim against someone in the small claims track.

That track is pretty forgiving because it's aimed at non-legal people, so not doing it isn't necessarily fatal to a claim, but you are meant to do it.