I think I’m being evicted unfairly

Hi Corinne

I suggest you bypass your agent and communicate directly with your landlord. Explain your predicament and see what he has to say.

A section 21 notice does not have to be delivered by special or recorded delivery. This is because some people refuse to sign for letters of this nature. All that is required is evidence of service. This can be in the form of a witness or a "proof of posting certificate" issued at a Post Office. I am not sure about service by email and it would be interesting to hear from any landlords who have experienced a Court accepting service on this basis, especially if an receipt was generated.

One other thing to note is that your landlord will need to apply to the Courts to get you evicted if you don't leave when at the end of the notice period. In other words, they can't just throw you out on 30th Nov even if the notice was correctly served. The problem with this, if you decide to force your landlord to go to Court, is when you approach another landlord or letting agency and they request a reference from your existing landlord.
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hi thanks Mark
the landlord is a big company and i would not know how to contact them directly. there are loads of departments and when contacting the property dpt , they will redirect me to the agency touchstone.
do all landlords request references ? it is worse than going for a job interview ! i would have done nothing wrong , only expecting to be treated fairly and to receive paperwork in the post.
anything else you can suggest ? wait for the notice and then go to court. if this goes to court, would us the tenants allowed to go and represent ourselves ?
also the flat has always had serious issue, ie damp in the kitchen toilets and bedroom. we mentioned it when we mooved in back in 2007 and did a schedule or condition and this was never addressed so you can imagine the state after 7 years.
is the landlord not liable for all repairs and health and safety ? they also want to stop the lease as the flat has a major issue with Subsidence and they know that this is probably dangerous and the fact that they never looked into it when we mooved in. they are now fed up with all demands and probably why they are stopping the lease as it would cost a fair bit to redo it all.
is that something that would help us in court too ?
thanks

Reply to the comment left by "corinne fitzgerald" at "20/10/2014 - 11:51":

Hi Corinne

GOOD Landlords and their agents who let well maintained properties are obviously a lot more choosy about the tenants they have their keys over to so in answer to your question; YES they do take references.

Likewise, dodgy landlords who let badly maintained properties which are mouldy, draughty, often dangerous flea pits tend not to be quite so bothered about references. You might get lucky and find a clueless landlord with a nice property but if they are that clueless you can expect problems later on down the line.

Sadly it would appear that your existing landlord falls into the latter category.

You can, of course, represent yourself in Court. You would also be well advised to talk to Citizens Advice.
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You could request a written reference from the agent straight away to help speed things up looking for another flat, then if you overstay you have the good reference already. You could print off the email conversation you've had explaining you didn't get section 21, you could show this to any potential landlord to explain why you've had to stay past your notice, so long as you can show you're paying rent despite what's going on they should be understanding of your situation. The fact you've been in your current flat for 7 years will be in your favour, most landlords prefer long term tenants.

Reply to the comment left by "corinne fitzgerald" at "20/10/2014 - 11:51":

Don't cut your nose off to spite your face. You probably made a bad choice 7 years ago choosing this Landlord and this property. You now need to move on. Whether the s21 was served properly or not doesn't really matter as ultimately you will be leaving anyway. And if you are not happy there then you will be a winner moving onto something better anyway.

So think about how easy it will be moving on with a simple positive reference versus a negative one that needs to be explained with a complicated story about court cases etc. Most Landlords will prefer the simple straightforward references in my opinion.

Good landlords will market themselves and their property as positively as possible. And tenants looking for nice properties need to market themselves as positively as possible as well. So we're looking for sensible people, non smokers, non pet owners, stable income, stable relationships, with good references etc. I guess it's like one of those Venn diagrams from school - if they like what you are offering and you like what they are offering you'll both want to wrap this deal up there and then. If only one side is happy then you don't get the deal.

Just my own humble opinion.

Reply to the comment left by "Steve Gracey" at "29/10/2014 - 12:47":

Thanks Steve.

my only problem is that i was paying a reduced rent as originally that flat was a company flat through work. So i cannot come up with two months deposit/rent on the actual market so hence me asking them for another month which has been refused.
also this landlord is not transparent, telling me nothing until the last minute, lying about everything and wanting me to moove when it suits them after 7 years in this flat and actually 18 years of renting with them! of course i will be happy with another landlord that will provide proper care and will be straight. well hopefully

Reply to the comment left by "corinne fitzgerald" at "29/10/2014 - 13:31":

hi

can anyone let me know if i need to receive documentation on my protected deposit every year ? i had the paperwork given to me 7 years ago with my tenancy agreement but nothing since. i have a shorthold agrement. is there anything else that the landlord needs to advise me about the deposit on a regular basis?
thanks

Reply to the comment left by "corinne fitzgerald" at "07/11/2014 - 12:09":

You can check whether your deposit is still protected by contacting the tenancy deposit protection provider named in your original paperwork.
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