Please help

[Crystal0108]

Hello I need some advice please.

we rented a property from a landlord for 6 years, everything was new when we moved in, decoratively. Fresh paint, cheap low pile carpets but new never the less.

at the end of tenancy we repainted the house for him , we paid for the carpets to be professionally cleaned and paid a company to do an end of tenancy deep clean.

we had agreed to rent another of his properties, we moved in October 2020. There were a number of repair issues in the property that upon check in the landlord agreed to fix .

The landlord tried to keep all of our deposit for old property however the dps found in our favour fully and we received our deposit back in full.

since then no repairs that were agreed have been carried out at his new property that we live in, I have chased him via email 3 times with no response.

today he has sent me an email issuing 6 months notice to quit no reason given however our AST does not end until April 2021.

Can he give notice before the initial 6 month tenancy ends?

we are really sad we have 3 children one only 5 months old , we were hoping to be here for at least 2-3 years.

we have never missed a penny rent or been an hour late.

is there anything I can do?

😧

[hybrice]

It depends if you created a new tenancy when you changed places. If so, then no he can't issue a s21 in the first 6 months and his notice is invalid. I'd call Shelter and check that, but I believe it to be correct.

I wouldn't tell him though, let him realise his mistake in 6 months and have to issue another 6 months lol

[theartfullodger]

Follow reporting repair issues to landlord & agent, keep copy, using this process. Which also tells you what to do if you get nowhere.
https://england.shelter.org.uk/housi...ivate_landlord

If unsure or you have more queries ak again here or 'phone Shelter, 0808 800 4444

Good luck

[Crystal0108]

Thank you both so much for replies. It’s been a hard year... my partner lost his job due to covid.... then I had a terrible accident and ended up in hospital for 4 months and have been left with a severe disability. The landlord doesn’t know any of this because we have dwindled our entire savings in paying the rent for the last 11 months with no income.

just feel so sad, we have done everything right , we are good tenants our rent is £1550 per month never missed it despite all we have been through and now this .

No savings for a deposit or rent upfront, no reason from landlord just personal circumstances

life feels so unfair

[Ted.E.Bear]

If the premises are different then It would have been a new tenancy.

Which would mean that the notice isn't valid, as it cannot be served within the first 4 months of the tenancy. (Assuming that the tenancy began in October).

In order to drag it out, the best thing to do would be to say nothing about it until the landlord starts possession proceedings. At that point, he will have to start again and serve a correct notice. (although the notice period may be shorter by then, who knows?).
But it's only a case of delaying it, it's going to happen at some point...

[Crystal0108]

Hi Ted

thanks for the reply. It is a new tenancy.

I don’t want to drag it out but we have a problem in that the rental stock locally and it does have to be local due to my mobility issues and schools ect is currently 0.

I feel duplicitous in waiting it out so I have replied to him stating that we are only 3 months into our ast and I feel his notice is incorrect and asking if there is any reason he feels he has do to this.

but I fear it’s a case of us asking him to come good on his repairs I can’t think of any other reason.

we are clean, honest hard working people it just doesn’t make sense

[DorothyMckenzie]

Ultimately you will be able to stay in this property for quite a few months more but obviously not as long as you may have wished - 2- 3 years. Maybe it would be better in the long run for your mental health and general well being to move out earlier ie as soon as you find a suitable property than prolonging the inevitable. To have a fresh start in a new property sooner rather than later. It is no reflection on you as a person or as a tenant that the landlord wants you to move out. They may have many reasons unrelated to you to want this. Don t overthink the reasons why. And definitely don t think it’s necessarily anything personal to you or your family. As I said there could be many things going on with the landlord s situation that will never be known.

[hybrice]

Hi Ted

thanks for the reply. It is a new tenancy.

I don’t want to drag it out but we have a problem in that the rental stock locally and it does have to be local due to my mobility issues and schools ect is currently 0.

I feel duplicitous in waiting it out so I have replied to him stating that we are only 3 months into our ast and I feel his notice is incorrect and asking if there is any reason he feels he has do to this.

but I fear it’s a case of us asking him to come good on his repairs I can’t think of any other reason.

we are clean, honest hard working people it just doesn’t make sense

Don't feel duplicitous, he's evicting you in retaliation. And the muppet isn't even doing that right.

My advice:
- Don't say anything about the invalid notice to quit, if he takes it Court then raise it as your defence (Landlord issued s21 notice within the first 4 months of a tenancy, making it invalid)
- Check that he protected your deposit within 28 days of the tenancy
- Check that you were provided all legal paperwork, GSC, ESC, EPC etc

Call Shelter or CAB for advice, as others have said this won't end anything but it will buy you 6-8 months, during which you can find an alternative. And if he cocked up the S21 notice he may also have made other procedural errors that would entitle you to compensation.

Don't stop paying your rent though, whatever the reason - that will make it much easier for them and much worse for you.

[jpkeates]

If the landlord wants you to leave, it's likely that they'll succeed eventually.
But it's not that easy to remove a tenant - even without making daft mistakes about the timing of the notice - taking someone to court is stressful.

So, I'd (as above) not feel duplicitous in not telling the landlord the notice is invalid (they'd just wais a few weeks and issue another one anyway).
Use the time to find somewhere else to live - without a ticking clock pushing you to take somewhere not as suitable but available now.
Then you can hopefully negotiate a suitable end to the relationship.

[DPT57]

I agree that its not in your interest to respond. Wait for the courts to tell him that his notice is invalid, which should be in about 10 months time. He would then have to serve you a new notice, so you shouldn't have to leave for over a year.

[theartfullodger]

So sorry to read your story. Are you getting all the benefits you should? Go to gov.uk benefit calculators and see what they suggest.

I agree with advice above

[Crystal0108]

Hello All,
thanks so much for all of your replies. Unfortunately I guess I had told the landlord that I felt his notice was incorrect, he checked and found he can’t issue notice until 4 months into AST so has told me ignore the email but that he will be issuing a new notice on 2 weeks time and my new eviction date will be the 15/8.

the same exact date I am due to give birth!

have been looking everyday but so far 0 properties to rent within 3 mile radius! Will continue the search!

I asked him why he said it’s not of my business.

will keep paying the rent although at £1550 a month it does stick in the craw.

although I’m disabled I don’t seek or receive benefits as I work full time and have a good salary.

feel so low and scared but just got to keep looking and pray something comes up I’m just so sad that I can’t seem to give my children security over their heads because rents so high I can’t save for our own place and then this happens only 3 and a bit months into a huge and stressful move.

also so far I’ve received no documentation just purely emails between him and I.

[jpkeates]

As long as they keep sending the notice by email, it's likely to keep being invalid.
A landlord's notice has to be in a specific format and they have to be able to prove it was delivered, which is next to impossible to do via email.

What does the tenancy agreement say about notices?

[MdeB]

As long as they keep sending the notice by email, it's likely to keep being invalid.

I agree with this.

[MdeB]

he will be issuing a new notice on 2 weeks time and my new eviction date will be the 15/8.

1. He is wrong about the eviction date. A S21 notice is not an eviction notice; it is a notice that the LL wants his property back after a specified date. But the law says the T is entitled to remain in the property after that date until the LL obtains a court order for possession and that order is executed.
   Obviously you don't want it to go as far as eviction, but that is what the law allows.
   Also you would become liable for LL's costs of going to court (if the notice is valid) and for the eviction.
2. The landlord is required to give you at least 6 months notice now (2 months in normal circumstances), and that notice starts from the date you are deemed to have received the notice (2 working days after posting first class, I believe), so you need to check the post date on the envelope and keep it as evidence if you have not received correct notice period.
3. Can you tell us the date the tenancy started?
4. As jpkeates has said, it is likely that giving notice by email is not valid.
   Talk to Shelter about it if next notice is by email.

Do come back if you want advice when your LL next serves notice on you.

And a word of advice: Never Ever do your opponent's legal work for him.