When Your Landlord Tells You To Leave Or Seeks Legal Possession
There is a world of difference between mutual agreement to leave units and the formal use of possession proceedings. There is also a limit to what I can explain here because the range of circumstances is vast. However, always understand that all assured shorthold tenancies have available, by their very design, a ‘no fault’ basis for landlords to claim back their property via the courts, so long as they comply with certain rules and so long as either your initial fixed term has expired or a minimum of six months has elapsed from the start of the tenancy.There are a few common reasons why things don’t work out to create a long term, enduring tenancy.
When This Can Happen
Where serious breaches of tenancies arise, landlords/agents have a perfect right to ask courts to terminate tenancies. This can happen at any time – for serious breaches. In circumstances that are serious, landlords will simply use another element of the law, other than their ‘no fault’ rights – often referred to as a Section 8.
Court forms will duly arrive through your letterbox. Gone are the days when tenants could pretty much cause mayhem, tenant behaviour is expected to be reasonable – at all times. I have included a list of the legal reasons (known as Grounds) that your landlord/agent may apply to court for at the end of this Lesson. I have also included the timescales that the courts can use if you are making a significant nuisance of yourself.
Your protections under the assured shorthold legislation are limited to the fixed term and even the fixed term doesn’t allow you to breach the lease, say by not paying rent or causing damage. Beyond that fixed term (or six months for periodic tenancies), with no breaches at all, your landlord enjoys the legal ‘no fault’ right to possession – and courts will grant them that, so long as they applied using the correct procedures.
How Long A Written Notice Period Must My Landlord/Agent Give Me?
It depends entirely on the circumstances – please check out the end of Lesson list. There you will see that some tenancy breaches are so serious that landlords/agents can ask for possession fairly quickly and on very short notice.
However the main reason that landlords use assured shortholds is simply that, if they give two months’ written notice and cite their Section 21 rights, courts will give them possession without a hitch. This is the reason why most tenancies limp through their first few months. Using other Grounds for possession can cost more financially and has no guarantee of success. Landlords/agents who are experiencing
problems with tenants from an early stage are likely to serve notice formally four months into the fixed term, meaning that they can apply to court immediately the fixed term/six months protection has ended if they’re using their guaranteed rights.
If All This Sounds A Bit Harsh
You have to bear in mind the scale of the investment that your landlord has had to make. Though the overwhelming majority of tenants try to get things right, a significant minority reap chaos and havoc. You’ve smiled at the anecdotes about the washing machine, the puppy, the landlord’s entire stock of furniture being sold, been shocked by the tale of the coffee grounds and cigarette ends – but I’m afraid these are landlord realities. Well here’s another – I could fill a whole book with nothing but anecdotes. Unfortunately they’re too common not to have some safeguards against.
Home Truths
If your fixed term is coming towards a close, so long as you are being given the statutory two months’ written notification, you will not get a different decision from the court however long you wish to pursue the matter. The landlord/agent is legally entitled to require possession and is exercising their automatic and guaranteed right (under something called a Section 21 of the Housing Act 1988, which will be mentioned in the written notice).
If you
had a fixed term tenancy and this ended some time ago, the landlord can exercise this right at any time (again with two months’ notice). The six months protection you enjoyed started at the beginning of your original tenancy. S/he can also apply later than the fixed term on a wider range of other grounds – some of which get him/her possession faster.