Mate called me all upset like. She had a bit of a breakdown after Christmas, now sorting herself out. Just been given notice to quit her flat on 21st June due to rent arrears. She believes she can clear all the arrears by middle of May and that thereafter there will be no issue with paying rent. Can she fight the eviction if she’s up to date on rent? She doesn’t want to move. She’s in England.

If its a standard AST then legally no. But a discussion with the landlord is the way to go.

Landlord may have alternative plans for the flat however if they just have concerns re prompt payment then plead the case offer a defined timtable to bring it up to date and stick to it. They should accept this.

Find a post by steve austin and click on his name / links for good advice.

I doubt it quite honestly. Its a simple contract totally loaded onto the landlords side. I would have thought her best hope was to tell the landlord (not the agent) and to ask for mercy. If she can clear the arrears then it might be worth it for the landlord to keep her to save the hassle of finding a new tenant

What TJ said

What Junkyard said.

Maybe she should go to the CAB for advice.

hmm the above negatives are simply untrue.

If its an AST then there are some inalienable facts that the landlord cannot contract out of, and the tenants rights are pretty solid:

1) if she is outside the contractual period or near the end of the contractual period the landlord can give 2 months notice (doesn’t need a reason) . IMPORTANTLY the notice must be given on or before the anniversary of the rent payment or tenancy date date. So in this case my assumption is that she moved in and pays rent on the 22nd, so the landlord gave her notice on the 21st/22nd april?
If it was after that date the notice is invalid. Ignore it, say nothing the court will throw it out before she is ever called, he will have to start again. Time has been bought.

2) If the notice is correct then she still doesn’t have to leave, she can just stay then the landlord will have to apply for a possession order, and then an eviction order. More time is bought here. But in court the landlord will probably shoot himself in the foot by saying this is all because she is/was in arrears, the judge will ask if she was an Ok tenant otherwise and if she sorts out the arrears he might try and make the LL be more reasonable, if she wants to stay.

3) If it is still inside the contractual period then the only notice he can give is related to her arrears and will still end up in a court case with the usual possesion/eviction order procedure. BUT crucially she has to be more than 3 months in arrears otherwise the case again will likley be thrown out before the hearing stage. If this is the case then just stay whithin less than 3 months arrears and then the landlord will have to use the method above

My experience of this is that even if the landlord does everything right, if the tenant is reasonably up to date and the landlord does not have a very compelling reason to take the property back (like the tenant is being criminal, or wrecking the house or some other extreme cases) no judge will make her homeless if she has not found alternative accommodation, so any possession and eviction order will be limited by her ability to move. Most likely when his lawyers appraise him of this he may well back down before pissing loads of money away. (Of course this depends on her having the balls to sit tight and fight.)

My advise would be to get a lawyer (she may qualify for LA) or CAB and push back a bit.

PS I’m a landlord and have been on the other end of this conversation..

easy there people!!!

it depends what kind of notice she has been issued. Sction 8, ground 8 (rent arrears)is a mandatory ground and it may mean she has to move out, BUT if she clears the arrears in full, or reduces the arrears to below two months the landlord will not be able to apply to court successfully. Ground 10 and 11 are discretionary grounds ands its up to the court.
section 21 is a mandatory ground and there is no defence

tell your friend to contact Shelter 08088004444 for free correct housing advice.

i love reading some of the incorrect bobbins people post on here about housing law. 😀

SA you saying mine is bobbins?

(EDIT I may well have been wrong about the 3 months thing seem like your saying 2, I defer to you my bad memory, but this and the rest is from my experience as an LL)

its not far off, but it is very biased and slightly interjected with personal opionion, and a bit sweeping.

ie there are many notices that can be served within the fixed term, you state ” If it is still inside the contractual period then the only notice he can give is related to her arrears and will still end up in a court case with the usual possesion/eviction order procedure. BUT crucially she has to be more than 3 months in arrears otherwise the case again will likley be thrown out before the hearing stage. If this is the case then just stay whithin less than 3 months arrears and then the landlord will have to use the method above”

which is wrong.

it matters little. i get paid to be 100% correct 😛

I stand by my advise. A discussion with the landlord is the way to go – its in no ones interest to get in to a fight.

yeah I see your point, there are other notices he could give but this was related to the fact she was in arrears so that why I went that way but this (corrections underlined) is true is it not?

will still end up in a court case with the usual possesion/eviction order procedure. BUT crucially she has to be more than 32 months in arrears otherwise the case again will likley be thrown out before the hearing stage. If this is the case then just stay whithin less than 32 months arrears and then the landlord will have to use the method above or find some other reason to serve notice”

My point was that she has quite a bit in her armoury to defend agaisnt this and my experience of landlords (my mates ) is that they eff it up often.

BIAS? What towards the tenant, which was my intention, but not biased towards the LL..

slightly interjected with personal opionion, and a bit sweeping.

hello this is toys19 on stw, I am sweeping and opinionated..

Thanks for the help so far. I just checked with her – she pays rent on the 1st. She was served a section 21 yesterday, the 27th, but it’s dated the 21st? Arrears are less than 2 months.

Means nothing to me, may make things clear to those who know.

I had advised her to call CAB, she’s been on hold to shelter for ages this morning, not spoken to anyone yet.

if its section 21 mandatory grounds then it has to be two months, are you sure the tenancy agreement isn’t dated from the 21st?

Anyway he has to prove he has served notice on or before so its possible this notice might be invalid if she didn’t get served till yesterday the 27th. How was it served?

Eitherway SA is right fone shelter and they will ammo her up for the fight.

toys19 i know you are trying to help, its that advice shouldn’t be opinionated ime. but then again this is STW….

Idave. if its a section 21 and she did not receive it then she can fill in the denfence form stating that she was not given two months notice up to the court then, but it can be a lot more complicated. she will need to see someone face to face to get advice. this isn’t something she can resolve over the phone.

ime, if a landlord is serving notices. sooner or later a tenant is best served looking for somewhere else as its inevtiable they will have to move at some point

its that advice shouldn’t be opinionated

fair enough. thats going to be difficult for me..

if a landlord is serving notices. sooner or later a tenant is best served looking for somewhere else as its inevtiable they will have to move at some point

agreed

Steve-Austin – Member

easy there people!!!

TandemJeremy – Member

Find a post by steve austin and click on his name / links for good advice.

Steve-Austin – Member

easy there people!!!

Dobbo – Member

Maybe she should go to the CAB for advice.

I might as well do mine in as well. 8)

Wow as a member of the RICS, I do seem to remember the first lesson of do not give out any advice without written terms of business as you will not be covered by insurance.

Seek professional advice, and don’t forget you will have to pay.

I’ve acted for landlords in this situation who have lost thousands and said hundreds more to get rid of non paying tenants. Try telling them the contract is simple and loaded in their favour 🙄

Seek professional advice, and don’t forget you will have to pay.

absolute conkers. plenty of free professional advice out there. even if you are not eligible for free advice, there are still plenty of free resources for advice on this kind of issue.

I’ve acted for landlords in this situation who have lost thousands and said hundreds more to get rid of non paying tenants. Try telling them the contract is simple and loaded in their favour

You are right, the law is not weighted in anyones favour, and if anything its more weighted in a tenants as the landlord has to comply with the law and the tenant only has to look for mistakes in the landlords actions and understanding of the law.

Steve compared with the situation in the 80s? Then tenants had real rights, now they can be evicted for no reason( so long as the landlord jumps thru a few easy hoops)

I think its a disgrace that yo cannot get long secure leases anymore