Impossible s21 eviction
Discussion
Anyone got any ideas on the following situation?
I will need to be a big vague so apologies.
Parents rented a house out to a family a number of years ago.
Parents are now elderly and want to sell the house as they are tidying their estate up and no longer physically able to do land lord stuff.
They started the process to s21 and market the house, tenant was fully aware. This was rejected several times and ended up in court where the tenant was given 12 months extra.
12 months have now passed and it went back to court and the court has said that the tenant can remain in the property due to kids and that the tenant has been unable to find anywhere else. The local authority are saying they have no houses suitable. So court has basically said they can stay indefinitely.
Is there anything else they can do? From the sounds of it the tenant is going to be staying forever?
I will need to be a big vague so apologies.
Parents rented a house out to a family a number of years ago.
Parents are now elderly and want to sell the house as they are tidying their estate up and no longer physically able to do land lord stuff.
They started the process to s21 and market the house, tenant was fully aware. This was rejected several times and ended up in court where the tenant was given 12 months extra.
12 months have now passed and it went back to court and the court has said that the tenant can remain in the property due to kids and that the tenant has been unable to find anywhere else. The local authority are saying they have no houses suitable. So court has basically said they can stay indefinitely.
Is there anything else they can do? From the sounds of it the tenant is going to be staying forever?
Start again.
Do it via Section 8 stating you are selling. You must sell, or at least market the property and won’t be able to let it again for 12 months minimum. Make sure all paperwork is in order first. It’ll take you a few months to get to the point where you go to court again, so may as well follow the new rules. It will be to your advantage, as the court must give you possession as long as everything is in order.
I’d suggest getting a solicitor, or a different one as this hasn’t worked out how you want. Also, make sure all your paperwork is in order. Deposit lodged correctly, all gas safety certs in order, right to rent booklet given, electrical check completed every five years and so on.
If you haven’t done any of this then you’ll have to give them a new tenancy to have any hope of ever evicting them. That will be rolling from the outset, but you won’t be able to evict or serve notice inside the first 12 months.
Do it via Section 8 stating you are selling. You must sell, or at least market the property and won’t be able to let it again for 12 months minimum. Make sure all paperwork is in order first. It’ll take you a few months to get to the point where you go to court again, so may as well follow the new rules. It will be to your advantage, as the court must give you possession as long as everything is in order.
I’d suggest getting a solicitor, or a different one as this hasn’t worked out how you want. Also, make sure all your paperwork is in order. Deposit lodged correctly, all gas safety certs in order, right to rent booklet given, electrical check completed every five years and so on.
If you haven’t done any of this then you’ll have to give them a new tenancy to have any hope of ever evicting them. That will be rolling from the outset, but you won’t be able to evict or serve notice inside the first 12 months.
The new rules come into effect on 1st May this year - https://thebla.co.uk/evict-tenants-to-sell-a-house...
Opapayer said:
Start again.
If you haven t done any of this then you ll have to give them a new tenancy to have any hope of ever evicting them. That will be rolling from the outset, but you won t be able to evict or serve notice inside the first 12 months.
Now why would the OP need to give a tenant/s a new tenancy, when the OP/landlord want to bring to an end the tenant/s tenancy. Have you ever completed a served a Claim form for possession of a property, form N5b ?If you haven t done any of this then you ll have to give them a new tenancy to have any hope of ever evicting them. That will be rolling from the outset, but you won t be able to evict or serve notice inside the first 12 months.
OP over the past eighteen months I have served five Section 21 (6a) Notices, with every one being successful without a court hearing, there must therefore be exceptional reasons/s why you were not successful.
Wings said:
Opapayer said:
Start again.
If you haven t done any of this then you ll have to give them a new tenancy to have any hope of ever evicting them. That will be rolling from the outset, but you won t be able to evict or serve notice inside the first 12 months.
Now why would the OP need to give a tenant/s a new tenancy, when the OP/landlord want to bring to an end the tenant/s tenancy. Have you ever completed a served a Claim form for possession of a property, form N5b ?If you haven t done any of this then you ll have to give them a new tenancy to have any hope of ever evicting them. That will be rolling from the outset, but you won t be able to evict or serve notice inside the first 12 months.
OP over the past eighteen months I have served five Section 21 (6a) Notices, with every one being successful without a court hearing, there must therefore be exceptional reasons/s why you were not successful.
Also. Might be worth considering that the OP has been to court and the court allowed the tenant to stay for another 12 months, which has expired. Is the original Section 21 now timed out? There’s every chance the tenant would defend an N5B, as they have already successfully defended their position previously. We don’t know if the tenant has a valid defence to an N5B, but being granted an extra 12 months in a property because the tenant has children as the only reason seems to be a stretch.
There is more info required to know the correct route. I was giving a high level view based on some (well educated) assumptions. I don’t think the OP has the necessary paperwork in place to pursue the eviction successfully.
Simpo Two said:
Rather than watch a scrap develop, I'd just point out that Wings knows his stuff and helped me get rid of a problem tenant many years ago.
I’m not saying he doesn’t. A huge amount changes in Q2 this year. None of us know what’s going to exactly happen as a new law tends to flex as it’s implemented. The government legislates, the judiciary interprets. We can all theorise about how the RRA will be implemented, but until it happens then it’s guesswork. What we do know is that a huge amount of what we used to know won’t apply anymore. Being in the OP’s position at this point in the year is not a good place to be. Without knowing the details in depth it’s all guesswork and quoting Accelerated Possession as some sort of cure-all is a bit presumptive.
I'm a landlord, and I have well established agent in the field who does all the work for me.
S21 no longer applies from April, s8 is the new route you can apply.
No longer short hold tendency anymore, it is being replaced by rolling contract.
I have increased the rent from end of February to recover the cost of selective licence plus the additional yearly increase. But the tenants are not happy, so they served a notice to vacat the property by end of march.
I am well happy that they are leaving, so, now i can able to sell the empty property easily.
S21 no longer applies from April, s8 is the new route you can apply.
No longer short hold tendency anymore, it is being replaced by rolling contract.
I have increased the rent from end of February to recover the cost of selective licence plus the additional yearly increase. But the tenants are not happy, so they served a notice to vacat the property by end of march.
I am well happy that they are leaving, so, now i can able to sell the empty property easily.
ac.cobra said:
If you want your tenants to leave the property, the policy you can apply is to increase the rent by over the market value, so the tenants feel unjust.
That's what happened in my case.
Happy days for me.
Which is illegal under the new Renters Rights Act. Rents are limited to the market rate, which must be able to be evidenced if requested. Tenants also have the right to appeal any increase they believe exceeds the market rate via a tribunal. That's what happened in my case.
Happy days for me.
Not the best advice given on this thread.
Could the landlord sell at auction with sitting tenants? How much of a difference in asking price is there? If the owners are elderly it might just be worth it to reduce the stress and anxiety and get a much quicker cash return. I'm not a landlord so I obviously don't know the law around selling with tenants in situ.
I hope they mange to get the tenants out.
I’m so glad I m getting out of the property management business. Getting my last tenant out of the house was an absolute nightmare and these new laws will make everything in the tenants favour. It s an absolute nightmare for landlords. There s absolutely no benefit to renting out a property in this day and age.
I’m so glad I m getting out of the property management business. Getting my last tenant out of the house was an absolute nightmare and these new laws will make everything in the tenants favour. It s an absolute nightmare for landlords. There s absolutely no benefit to renting out a property in this day and age.
W124Bob said:
Could the landlord sell at auction with sitting tenants?
This is an option, but my gut feeling is the price would be 50k less - which is a lot of money to throw down the drain because someone is refusing to be reasonable. I dont really want to go into specifics but I will update when we see what happens in the next few months. Thanks to everyone who replied - I will pass this all on.This seems like an ideal scenario for a cash for keys settlement.
Find out what the tenants would accept to break the tenancy and pay them off. But I would suggest that some sort of escrow would be prudent so they don't take the money and change their minds. Perhaps with the option for the solicitor holding the escrow to pay a new landlord a deposit and moving company.
Sometimes you just have to take the approach that hurts you more to reach the right outcome. If your parents really want out then it has to be a no brainer.
Find out what the tenants would accept to break the tenancy and pay them off. But I would suggest that some sort of escrow would be prudent so they don't take the money and change their minds. Perhaps with the option for the solicitor holding the escrow to pay a new landlord a deposit and moving company.
Sometimes you just have to take the approach that hurts you more to reach the right outcome. If your parents really want out then it has to be a no brainer.
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