Section 21 questions for possible revenge eviction on family of 6

Section 21 questions for possible revenge eviction on family of 6

11:53 AM, 2nd December 2014, About 10 years ago 22

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I moved into my current (rented) home 4 months ago. I recently contacted the agent I rent from to report the presence of mould (as required by the agreement) and to ask for help.

The initial response was “not our problem. If you don’t like it then move”.

The next day (Saturday) a section 21 notice was delivered giving me just over 2 months notice, accompanied by a letter saying it was because of the mould issue. Not nice at this time of year.

After my initial shock and anger I have had a few days to calm down and decided that in the long term I do not want to live here any more (so attempting to patch things up does not seem worth the effort) even though I am going to have to pay again for references, etc and money is tight. I want to move, but 2 months is unlikely to be enough time to find a suitable place for a family of 6.

I believe that the S21 notice is invalid, so I may have an extra couple of months to find a new home.
However, I want to be sure of my position before doing something stupid that may affect my ability to rent a new place.

I have searched Property118 articles (and elsewhere) but have been unable to find the answer to the questions below. Can anyone provide answers, preferably with reference to law?

1. I have heard that if a notice is delivered after 5pm or on a non working day (Saturday, Sunday, Bank Holiday) then it is deemed served on the next working day.
a) is this true?
b) does it also apply if the notice is handed to the tenant?
c) does it apply if the notice is handed to someone at the property who is not named on the notice?

2. A section 21 notice requires possession AFTER a date.
a) Does this mean that the tenant can return possession at any time after that date and no longer be liable for rent etc?
b) If that is the case, then would it still apply if the notice was not completed correctly (ie could the landlord claim on the basis that HE had screwed up)?

3. I believe that if a judge says that the Section 21 notice is invalid, then
a) I have done nothing wrong by staying in the house and it should not affect my ability to rent through an agency in the future.
b) I will not have to pay any of the landlord’s costs.

Many Thanks

Ernstrevenge


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Comments

Paul Franklin

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16:08 PM, 3rd December 2014, About 10 years ago

Hi Ernst,

Fyi, this brief guide by shelter on s.21 notices may help your querey on validity of the notice.

https://england.shelter.org.uk/__data/assets/pdf_file/0009/386451/Is_your_section_21_notice_valid_Jan2014.pdf

Hope the link works!

I think your plan of action seems sensible. If you can get hold of the landlord direct then even better. Keep paying the rent and be nice. The landlord/agent shouldn't want to go to court if they can avoid it so hopefully you will be able to buy yourself enough time to find somewhere else if you keep them updated with your progress in looking for a new place.

Keep correspondence from the letting agent. If you wanted to (perhaps after you've moved) you may want to make a complaint to the property ombudsman/redress scheme about how the letting agent have treated you (?) As of October this year, all letting agents are required to belong to a redress scheme, so you could look to do that if you felt it was worthwhile.

John

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13:08 PM, 6th December 2014, About 10 years ago

I had this problem in a house of mine when i had a family of 6 kids living there (3 bed semi). They were put in by social services as they were desperate, but i soon started to have damp problems in the property.

This damp problem is actually condensation and is caused by too much water vapour being generated by the household (we all give off moisture as humans, plus we bath and cook food which all generate moisture).

My house is very well insulated and has mechanical extraction in the bath and kitchen, so this was a problem caused by the family. It turns out that their tumble dryer was not being vented to the outside and so all the moisture from the machine was being pumped into the house.

Luckily this family were re-homed to a bigger house, but it caused me problems at the time.

So if your house is well insulated and has mechanical extraction then the problem is likely to be down to drying of clothing on radiators or something like this. If you have no extractor fan in the bathroom then this can be a key source of condensation. It is often the bathrooms where you get a problem.

So do open a window when you have a shower at the least (worse at generating moisture than a bath). Then try get the landlord to install an extractor. It sounds like you want to be out of there anyway, but if you move again and have the same problem be aware what are the causes of this issue.

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