I rent a flat for a distant family member who could not rent for herself. The lease is in my name and I sublet, with the landlord’x permission and understanding but against the term of the lease itself in that it forbids subletting. I wish to give my tenant notice to quit. How do I go about it?
Assuming that this is the family member’s only or main home, then she almost certainly has an AST. Did you provide a tenancy agreement to her? Did you take a deposit? Did you serve her with the other prescribed documents? Is there gas in the property and if so is there a gas certificate? Is there any disrepair? If you want to serve a s21 no fault notice then all of these things are critical.
David,
Thank you.
It is the tenant’s home and has been for around 10 years.
No deposit.
The heating is gas but via a communal system, I don’t think there is a supply to the property.
I expect the landlord is up to date with the regulations and certificates.
The tenant has a copy of my agreement.
The rent is paid in full from my account by standing order.
As a landlord, you are required to serve all the documents on YOUR tenant.
I assume this relative wont just leave if you ask her to. If she doesnt have anywhere to go, then she may go to the Council, who will tell her to wait until you get a court order and bailiffs. In that case you should probably go to an eviction company as I dont think youll manage this yourself.
Giving her a copy of your tenancy agreement doesnt cover your sub-tenants tenancy. It will effectively be an undocumented tenancy, which means that you wont be able to use the accelerated s21 procedure and there would be a court hearing. The other prescribed documents can be served late, but the sticking point might be the gas certificate. I think there was a case a few years ago where a flat had heating from a communal gas boiler in the same building. I cant recall the outcome and whether a certificate was required to be served. You should check with the building management whether they still have a copy of the CP12 gas safety cert from the period when your tenant first moved in.