9:11 AM, 19th January 2021, About 4 years ago 27
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Landlords need to be in no doubt that tenants are being educed by councils, shelter, a wide range of no-win, no-fee ambulance chasers and now tenants unions too.
Tenants are not only shown the ‘tricks and hacks’ they can use to stop you being able to gain possession (no matter how much they haven’t paid in rent) but also (because there is money in it for all of these organisations one way or another) how to hit you the landlord with Rent Repayments Orders for a full years’ rent and various other forms of compensation claim.
This is a recent tenant education campaign issued by the Tenants Union:
During the COVID-19 crisis the government suspended section 21 evictions. Now, under pressure from the landlord lobby, they are planning on lifting this suspension. This means hundreds of thousands of tenants will now be at risk of ‘no fault’ section 21 evictions.
We need the government to end Section 21, to protect tenants from eviction, but in the here and now, there are a number of tricks a tenant can use to throw out a section 21 on procedural grounds. So when you get a Section 21 – don’t panic.
Landlords often fail to issue the notice correctly. If any of the below hold, it’s grounds for an instant throwing out of the eviction notice.
If when you paid your deposit, your landlord didn’t protect it within 30 days of your tenancy starting and inform you in writing, then they are unable to issue a section 21 eviction notice, unless they return it to you.
Additionally, if they did protect it within 30 days but didn’t give you the prescribed information then they can’t issue you an eviction until they have. Has your landlord provided you with clear info on where your deposit is held, how it is protected and how you get it back at the end of your tenancy? That information can be found here.
If you’re unsure whether it is protected, check on one of the three protection scheme’s websites or give them a ring. The three schemes are mydeposits.co.uk, depositprotection.com and tenancydepositsscheme.com.
If you live in a house of multiple occupancy (HMO) with 5 or more people not of the same family sharing bathrooms, kitchens or toilets, then the landlord needs a licence. If they don’t, they can’t issue a section 21.
Additionally – you might be living in an area where Selective Landlord Licensing has been brought in. If you have, then your landlord needs to be licensed, otherwise they can’t issue a section 21 either.
To check if your landlord is licensed, head over to your council website.
If in the previous six months before the landlord issues a section 21 notice, the council served either an improvement notice or an emergency remedial notice (for disrepair) to the landlord – then the section 21 notice is invalid.
Similarly – if you have complained in writing to the landlord about disrepair, and they failed to respond and the council served a notice to them before the possession order was served, then the notice will become invalid and your landlord won’t be able to serve a valid section 21 notice.
These defences aren’t easy to make on your own though – so we’d always recommend seeking support and advice if you think this applies!
On October 1st 2015 a new law came into force. It stipulated that at the beginning of a tenancy, a landlord has to provide the tenant with a number of essential documents. If they didn’t, then they will be unable to issue a section 21 notice. Those documents are: the ‘How to Rent’ booklet, a Gas Safety certificate, or an energy performance rating.
Check to see if you have these documents. Not having been given them could be an easy defence to a Section 21 notice!
If your tenancy began after June 1st 2019 you should be protected by the Tenant Fees Act. This outlawed certain charges by landlords and letting agents. If you have been charged any of these fees, and the landlord hasn’t refunded, then any section 21 is invalid.
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Hopefully the above give you a quick overview of the quick defences that tenants are able to make when faced by a Section 21. Our main message would be – if you get a Section 21, don’t panic. There are a number of steps you can take. If any of these don’t make sense, always reach out to organisations who are there to support you.
Says the tenants union, totally misrepresenting the power relationship between tenants who actually now old all the power and landlords who have none: “At the end of the day, if we’re to rebalance the relationship between tenants and landlords to one where tenants have power, we’re going to need to get organised. The solution is a collective one. Join a tenants union today.
Landlords you have been warned
Phil Turtle M.Sc. Compliance Director
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Olivia F.
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Sign Up11:00 AM, 20th January 2021, About 4 years ago
Reply to the comment left by DALE ROBERTS at 20/01/2021 - 09:50
I really highly doubt that. If they were so generously compliant and following the law then why is it that a lot of them are complaining In landlord forums about getting “tricked”. You’re accusing me of generalising yet at the same time making generalisations about the population of people you’re making money from. How Ironic. This is an investment and it comes with risks we are not entitled to anything. If you hate being a landlord and think tenants are scums get into another line of business. Behavior like this is only furthering the anti landlord sentiment. Why would anyone want to rent from you to begin with
JB
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Sign Up11:30 AM, 20th January 2021, About 4 years ago
When a bad tenant costs the landlord money, good tenants pay for it.
John Mac
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Sign Up12:48 PM, 20th January 2021, About 4 years ago
Reply to the comment left by DALE ROBERTS at 19/01/2021 - 18:25
Dale you have misunderstood what I said, you have to enforce the Debt Collection to have the CCJ registered aside from the actual eviction.
DALE ROBERTS
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Sign Up15:31 PM, 20th January 2021, About 4 years ago
I generally refuse to engage with anyone who resorts to ad hominem. I find it contemptuous and infra dig.
Are you a tenant trolling? Your hostility is very transparent.
But for purposes of further clarity, which you seem resistant to accept, tenants are able to use "every trick in the book" because UK law permits it. If it didn't my tenant would not have been able to delay her eviction by 6 months by spuriously claiming inter alia : harassment (I live in South Africa and the unit was managed at arms length by an agent, dilapidations (there were none) and instant ill health. My legal representative attended court three times on my behalf without the tenant providing any supporting documentation to her counter claims. The Judge finally set a final hearing instructing the tenant to supply confirmation of her claims and she conveniently did not appear. The Judge permitted her 6 months rent free accommodation in my unit after I had already served a Section 8 for 2 months unpaid rental. She pocketed over GBP20 000 in arrears and you assume I made money out of her? Add my destroyed unit and legal costs to that debt and you may comprehend what good landlords are subject to. This article discusses very cogently the valid "tricks" tenants have at their disposal and I submitted a corroborating experience. Are landlords entitled to anything? My response would be a resounding and definitive yes. I am entitled to expect a tenant to pay for the roof over her head, I am entitled to expect the tenant to treat my property with respect, I am entitled to expect courtesy, I am entitled to expect appreciation for providing a standard of living the tenant would not otherwise be able to afford.
But thank you for your contributions in cementing my decision to exit the BTL market which has provided housing for tenants in several homes for over 10 years.
DALE ROBERTS
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Sign Up15:35 PM, 20th January 2021, About 4 years ago
Reply to the comment left by John Mac at 20/01/2021 - 12:48
Thank you John. But as far as I am aware an eviction IS an enforcement hence my determination to have the CCJ registered by the Court. And I succeeded.
Olivia F.
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Sign Up19:39 PM, 20th January 2021, About 4 years ago
Reply to the comment left by DALE ROBERTS at 20/01/2021 - 15:31No my family has been managing our building blocks for over 40 years. Just because I’m not on your side doesn’t make me a troll. Wishful thinking on your end. UK law also permits landlords to get away with subpar housing as long as it doesn’t kill the tenant. Good luck with your next business venture ! FYI your lease agreement doesn’t state that you have to be appreciated for anything sounds like you’re in the wrong business if you want all this praise.
Paul Shears
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Sign Up20:29 PM, 20th January 2021, About 4 years ago
Reply to the comment left by DALE ROBERTS at 20/01/2021 - 15:31
"I am entitled to expect appreciation for providing a standard of living the tenant would not otherwise be able to afford."
Agreed. If I don't get that, then I have the wrong tenant as far as I am concerned.
It's not all about money. It's about quality of life, and the human element of mutual appreciation is an essential component of that.
John Mac
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Sign Up10:42 AM, 21st January 2021, About 4 years ago
Reply to the comment left by DALE ROBERTS at 20/01/2021 - 15:35
Dale a Possession Order is not a CCJ its separate from the Money order which you have to ask the Judge for AND then enforce it in order to register the CCJ against the Tenants neme.
DALE ROBERTS
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Sign Up11:57 AM, 21st January 2021, About 4 years ago
John, I can only relay my own experience and it does not correlate to your advice as much as I appreciate your efforts in correcting me. And I reiterate my saga in the hope of assisting other landlords who may find themselves in the same predicament. After the eviction I wrote to the Registry office to ascertain whether the CCJ had been uploaded against the tenant and this was the response I received :
"Judgments can only be registered upon notification from the court direct.
Having checked our records, I cannot find any trace of receiving notification from the court to add the above to the public Register. I can only advise that you contact the court direct to see if it is possible to Register the judgment."
My legal representative and I wrote to the Court directly requesting this and herewith the response from the Court :
"The Court can confirm Judgement has been entered as requested."
I forwarded another email to the Registry for confirmation and received this response :
"Having checked our records, I can confirm that we received notification from the court on the 8th June 2018 and the above judgment is now showing as unsatisfied on the public Register.
At the same time, we advised the credit reference agencies who receive details of county court judgments so that they can update their files."
I am biding my time before enforcing this CCJ as I want to be sure it can be paid. The tenant was a wily, seasoned professional well versed in "tricking" landlords and agents and Councils alike.
Possibly because I am South African, and we are renowned for being somewhat unruly, I approached this matter contrary to the usual resignation/acceptance displayed by landlords.
I also managed to stop the tenant's benefits payments after her eviction once I was aware that she was claiming them on a fraudulent basis - information she had not disclosed during her tenancy to either me or the Council.
A bad tenant will fleece anybody without compunction if she is able to cheat without retribution.
I'm not a woman to accept that.
Paul Shears
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Sign Up12:15 PM, 21st January 2021, About 4 years ago
Reply to the comment left by DALE ROBERTS at 21/01/2021 - 11:57
Good on you. 🙂