Hello,
Our landlord sent us an email on the 26th of June asking us to move out by Sept 27th. I still haven’t received any section 21 / form 6a from them with less than two months to go.
Should I inform them now that we will not be moving out as this seems to be an illegal eviction, or inform them on the day (27th Sept)?
Sorry to hear that. It must be a shock to find out by email rather than in person that you will need to move out.
Firstly, it’s not an “illegal eviction”. It’s particularly important not to use terminology like this when discussing the situation with the landlord. It could come across as confrontational which can escalate things and make a hard situation even more difficult.
The terms of your contract will be key here. If your tenancy agreement says that the LL can give you two months’ notice in writing and that this notice can be served by email then it’s likely that the LL has followed the proper procedure. In fact, they’ve been lenient in giving you more than the two months’ minimum (assuming you’re not in a fixed term).
I’d recommend discussing it with your LL face to face if you can as soon as possible to see if you can reach some agreement. There could be many reasons why the LL needs the property back and, currently, they don’t have to have/give any reason to you.
The LL can still issue a S21 and, if you aren’t going to comply then they will do this as soon as they find out. At that point, under current rules, you’ll have no choice but to be bound by it unless you want to dig your heels in and prolong it until bailiffs arrive. But by then, you’ll have done yourself no favours if you ever want to rent a place in the future again.
What does your contract say about notice the LL has to give?
Mutual Break Clause
9.6. The Initial Term of this tenancy agreement may be terminated by either party giving the other at least two
months’ notice in writing, such notice not to expire until at least 8 months after the start of the Term. A notice
served by the Landlord under section 21 of the Housing Act 1988 shall be sufficient notice under this clause.
The Tenant is obliged to pay rent up to and including the termination date, so if the tenancy is terminated on a
date which is not the last day of a rental period, the rent due for any incomplete rental periods will be
apportioned accordingly.
Direct from our contact. I might be wrong but I read that as an eviction before end of contract must be done via Section 21.
Would I be wrong in assuming this
Edit…further info. The first date we could be given eviction notice in 8 months after contract start date which would have been (Nov 15th to) July 15th.
Sounds like your LL may have made a mistake here. Regardless, as tatemono said, a conversation with the LL is the best way forward. If the LL isn’t open to this or just reiterates the previous notice, I’d say nothing more and await the service of the correct notice after the correct date. It is not for you to point out any faults in how the notice is served and this is more important is receiving a S21 notice. Just keep gathering your evidence of everything that has been done in contravention of your AST and LL’s mandatory obligations such as serving all correct certificates (see How To Rent Guide on gov.uk).
if I read your message correctly, your contract started on the 15th Nov 2024. Thus, the notice you’ve been given is valid if it expires after July 15th. If it was given on the 26th of June then the period will be the 15th July to the 15th of September (two months’ (i.e. periods of rent) notice). This is well after July 15th and I therefore see no reason why it’s not valid as far as the dates go. Of course I may have the dates mixed up.
However, it may not be valid in terms of how it was served. Your contract should also state that notices can be served by email somewhere. Does it?
Why are you not looking to move out? Are you intent on waiting for a court eviction? Do you realise the implications of this in terms of your future ability to get a rental property? Do you realise yoy may be liable for the Landlords costs?
If you are able to move out, then please do it for your own benefit. If the Landlord has not issued the correct notice, then the notice will be invalid, but use this time to search for a new home.
If the Landlord issues a Section 21, then you will have to go eventually, so use this opportunity of ther notice not being valid to try & move out. If you do find a new home, on the basis that the Landlords notice is invalid, serve your own leaving notice to the Landlord, as per your contract.
You are correct that the landlord would need to serve a s21 notice to evict you, but I would agree with Karl11 that it’s not in your interest to demand that as it could affect your ability to rent in future. As tatemono says, the landlords request that you leave is not an illegal eviction, its just that it carries no legal weight.
In your shoes I’d agree a realistic date with the landlord in exchange for an excellent reference and start searching in earnest.
I’d further add that there’s a reason why you should seek to find a new home sooner rather than later.
You may not be aware of the Renters’ Reform Bill which is due to become law probably in late autumn this year. Because this bill removes Section 21 no-fault eviction notices such as you are likely to receive and also introduces other changes that make letting property more onerous, many LLs are deciding to get out of the rental market by evicting their Ts via S21 notices while they can and selling up.
What this means is that the closer we get to the bill becoming law, the more Ts like you will find themselves having to look for alternative accommodation. If I were you, I would therefore consider it a priority to do this now before it becomes even more difficult to find rental accommodation in the coming months. You will give yourself a much better chance of doing this if you leave your current home with an excellent reference as David suggests.
I very much sympathise with your situation and wish you the best in finding somewhere else.
Thanks for all the advice. The landlords reason for asking us to move out in the email is that they don’t want to do the repairs we’ve been asking about since moving in (broken windows etc).
We will be moving out ofc but will go back to the landlord and ask for the bare minimum (actual notice).
Broken windows may be a category 1 or 2 health and safety hazard. In this case, if you’ve put your request for repairs in writing, the landlord would not now be able to serve a valid s21 notice under the Retaliatory Eviction legislation until the works have been completed. This may explain their informal request. That would mean that you hold all the cards and can negotiate an exit to suit you not him.
can you detail the exact repairs you’re asking for so we can see whether they constitute a hazard?
If there are some broken windows and he’s not repaired them, then I’d actually get a glazier and get them repaired myself… get a couple of quotes. The cost will be a couple of hundred at most- much less than moving.
I’d also then send the receipt to the landlord and tell them you’ll deduct the cost from the rent.
Trust me, you really don’t want to be trying to move this year. So many landlords are either being extra picky with new tenants, selling up or leaving properties empty due to RRB.
Can confirm. We’re extra picky with capital EXTRA. We would rather leave our properties empty.
I am a small time LL with only 8 properties, I am extra picky now, property owner guarantors are a minimum for me now. This renters rights bill has done the opposite for tenants. LL that cant deal with the increasing onerouse legislation are jumping off leaving the market forces to push rents up, labour business planning at its best.
what is capital EXTRA ?