Short term assured tenancy - landlord notice period

Landlord Discussion
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Hi,

I have rented my flat out to a guy from 9 Aug to 9 Feb

What notice period do I need to give him as I will be moving back here then.

Are there any gotchyas?

Thanks a mill for any replies - I’m a newbie.

John

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The notice period should be specified in the tenancy agreement that you signed with your tenant.

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You will not be able to guarantee that the property will be available for you to move into on your return. If the tenant leaves after notice then great, but if they refuse, it will take you many months to evict them through the courts. Thats also assuming you can serve a valid notice. Check here:

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Can I not issue a Section 8: Grounds 1 (I’m coming back to live there) notice?

Else the tenant is already is breach of a couple of clauses in the contract.

Penultimately can I amend the tenancy agreement to stipulate that the tenant will vacate on 9th Feb and signed by both parties.

Will this suffice?

Thanks a mill - panicking a bit here

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Also, if I am having the tenancy agreement redrafted, is there a better type so that the tenant has the move out unless the lease is renewed?

Thanks a mill,
John

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You have to serve an advance notice that you have lived there and may return in the future in order to use ground 1, but whethef its s8g1 or s21, yhe notice doesnt end the tenancy and court delays mean you would be waiting several months if they dont move out.

A note signing away their legal right to due process would be of no effect and unenforceable in a court.

It sounds like youre wandering into property letting without the necessarily legal knowledge and I thknk you could get your fingers burnt.

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Hi David,

Indeed you are correct. I walked into this drunk - literally.

My options don’t seem amazing. The relationship is friendly but definitely need him out by the 9th Feb.

I used an Assured tenancy which is one my ex fiancée somewhat nefariously used to get me to buy the Property and then let her live there. Because of severe mental health issues she was evicted (on request of my fiancée) prior to the end date on the assured tenancy.

My brother moved in and I used the tenancy agreement as a template (mistake)

My brother moved out in Jan this year and I moved back in until 9th Aug this year as I am spending time travelling and with my girlfriend from New Zealand. It was always the intention he would move out on the 9th Feb.

Would it be possible to agreeably with him draft a new tenancy (not assured) and get both parties to re-sign?

Alternatively there are 3 other highly plausible/concrete things

  1. He is already in breach of the tenancy agreement (all bills are still in my name and should have been changed over to his immediately). I have paid these bills from my own pocket

  2. I need to have somewhere to live (I won’t if he doesn’t move out - I lose money on our arrangement anyhow so I would be in trouble

  3. If he doesn’t move out I will need to see the flat so I can buy somewhere to live

I would prefer to play things out amicably rather than serve an eviction notice but can I achieve that where both parties recognise an error in the agreement used and that a standard one will replace this.

You are indeed right - I walked into this blind, blind drunk and am worried now about my options or where to seek legal advice.

Thanks again so much,
John

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If your tenant (not sure if that is your brother? Or someone else?) has agreed to move out amicably then why bother signing a new agreement? Unless you don’t trust them to do so? As David pointed out, that doesn’t necessarily end the tenancy anyway.

With regards to your 3 points:

  1. I’m not sure why you couldn’t move the bills over into the tenant’s name yourself? You just need to let the utility companies know the date your tenant moved in and show them the copy of the tenancy agreement as proof if they ask (they usually don’t). The bills are the responsibility of the tenant (usually they are - this should be stated in the contract). Fortunately utility bills are also permitted fees that can be deducted from the deposit, if they paid one.

  2. That is unfortunate but you making a loss on the arrangement or your own living requirements won’t have a bearing on the eviction process.

  3. Your requirement or wish to sell the property still requires you to follow the eviction process. This will impact your ability to sell, and if you wish to sell with tenant in-situ, this will impact the price you want to achieve.

Best case scenario is for the tenant to agree to leave as per your original arrangement. Having a good relationship with the tenant will make things much easier. Otherwise this has the potential to get very messy and costly.

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As Mita says, the landllord is responsible for notifying the utilities and CT and closing their accounts, otherwise they remain liable for any bills

Using an old template was a bad idea, but unless there is something absolutely terrible in there, there is little point in replacing it now. Tenancy law always applies anyway as it trumps the contract.

As to whether there is a non assured type of tensncy you could use, the answer is no. Anything else would be considered by the courts as a sham.

You are going to have to face the fact that if he doesnt move out when you want him to, you will have to find somewhere else to live until you can evict him, which may take a long time if you havent served on him the prescribed information required in law, (eg EPC, GSC etc).

If he does leave, dont ever be tempted to let it again unless you use a good agent or are prepared to learn the business.

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Thank you both so much.

I’ll reflect on this. It’s not my brother. It’s a handy man that was doing refurbs (cash in hand), lived in a hostel and I thought I’d help him out of the system. He’s fraudulently receiving disability benefits including a very nice car but I’d prefer to leave on amicable grounds.

When I served a section 8 notice saying I was moving to live there that worked fine altho the tenant then had been committed.

Thank you so so so much for your help. I was an idiot dishing out a tenancy I didn’t understand.

Is it worth getting legal advice on this or just hope he goes amicably?

Previously I served an eviction notice to the tenant prior to the tenancy period and the council had no problem with this and it never saw the courts that I was aware of. She was a danger to neighbours, the public and police so this may have changed things.

Thanks again,
John

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Get legal help if he refuses to leave after the notice expires. I might try negotiation first though, given what you know about him.

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Hi David,

That’s exactly what I’ll do. I’ll get legal advice. Try to cordial mechanisms first and hopefully they’ll work. If not I have leverage which I really really don’t want to use given my reason to help him in the first place was to get him on the right side of the tracks.

Thanks again - your advice has been exceptionally valuable. I really appreciate it.

Thanks,
John

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