gary29 Posted September 30, 2007 Report Share Posted September 30, 2007 Dear Readers I am suffering a slight mishaprention concerning my tennants non commitment to renew their Assured shorthold tennancy agreement. As of midnight the 30/09/07 my tennants assured shorthold expires. I have text the tennant a reminder that the tennant needs to resign the agreement to continue the tennancy. The Tennant has been resident for two years now. My tennant replied with a text stating they were unsure about resigning the agreement at present. Due to uncertainty within their employment prospects. I have stressed my legal obligation to the tennant as a responsible landlord. Furthermore rent is due on the 3rd of October. As of the 1st of October my tennants residential entitlement will have expired.I am prepared to call on the tennant today the 1st of Oct, in an attempt to get the tennant to resign. Could somone please advise me of my legal obligations at this juncture. If my tennant refuses to sign. Do I have the right to evict due to the tennancy becoming lapse. Or do I have to trawl the section 21 route? to get an eviction and subsequent repossesion. Thankyou for any feedback Gary Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Simon Dewsberry Posted October 1, 2007 Report Share Posted October 1, 2007 Whoa...... Dont PANIC ....calm down .!!!!!!!!!!!LOL ARE YOU SURE ? OR Did you mean that the T "initial fixed term" has come to an end ....meaning that now you must give T a minimum of 2months notice before you can get them out ..or.. (depending on what your ast says) the T needs to give 1 months notice.(that is IF you WANT T to leave ...do you? ) AST's do not "run out"! i was on a six month one which lasted for 9 years !! It does not sound like either party has served notice on the other in which case the tenancy will become what is known as "periodic" ...meaning that it will run until such time as one party serves notice upon the other ..... Now if T has been in situ for 2 years, chances are you will be outside of the new Deposit Protection laws ...meaning that if you issue a new ast then you will also have to "protect" T deposit immediately .....If however the ast that T is on began before 6/04/07 and you leave T on this one then you will not have to protect deposit ... Unless you are planning on changing ast Terms (rent) then the only advantage of creating a new one is that he is "tied in" to prop for a longer term (6-12 mths) ...However if T employment prospects are uncertain and you want them out then amicably have a chat with T .....they may want to leave anyway....this is not a "problem" situation as it is ...............T refusing to pay rent or refusing to leave after 2 months could be ...but there are plenty of systems in place on how to deal with this ......Have a read around on this forum and others .....where you will find wealth of generous experience happy to advise and help.....FOR FREE!!! Hope this makes sense !!! Sure you will get some advice very shortly .. Simon Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GPEL Posted October 1, 2007 Report Share Posted October 1, 2007 Taking your message at face value it sounds like you don't really understand the legislation in place pertaining to fixed and periodic agreements and in the process are likely to annoy your tenants uneccessarily. Do your homework first and then approach them. Only serve S21 if you want your property back. If not, leave as is cos the fixed tenancy will become a periodic tenancy at end of fixed term and still be under the same terms and conditions of the original agreement. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gary29 Posted October 1, 2007 Author Report Share Posted October 1, 2007 Thankyou Rodent and GPEL. So I can assume that as my AST has lapsed now it automatically reverts to a periodioc type still on the same terms as tenure, Requiring notice by either party to reposses or quit. And provided no notice is served. Rents will become due as per usual ?. In late August I gave a months notice in writing to the T their rent would be rising in Ocober due to my BTL rates changing.Honeymoon period over. The increse in my rent demmand is marginal and within 6% for a year period and only partly compensates my increasing mortgage repayments within the new periodic T period, which I have just learned the deffinition, thankyou. Over the last two years I have had T commit to signing a new AST every six months. My spent AST does not reflect the increased ammount. Which is the main reason I needed a new AST. Because my T has on previous occasions baulked at paying rent if it is not shown as an ammount on their AST contract. Stating that if it is not in the contract then T does not have to comply. The mere fact I have always announced Rent increases by letter to T seems almost secondary in T's eyes. I am satisfied that written notice has been served on T announcing rent rises commencing October. That would also be in accordance with the Council for possible increased HB payments. If neccesary. My T has previously suggested that I write them an eviction letter in order for them to approach the LA for rehousing. Suggesting I need to reposses as I intend to sell the house. Quite frankly this isnt my intention. Provided I receive rent and comply with my legal obligations as LL. Then I am not prepared to compromise my standing by lying. If T wishes to leave it is on their own terms not on mine. Unless of course I have grounds to move against T for non payment of rent or other sub ordination by T giveing me legal recourse to act against T. In which case I would have to serve a section 21 notice on T ?. Additionally T changed the lock on the front door recently without giving me proir notice. Stating the lock mechanism was damaged. However, T has failed to give me a key allowing me access under the terms of LL covenants. I am legally entitled to a key I trust?. Please confirm, my statement so I am crystal in these matters, thankyou for the support Regards gary Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Simon Dewsberry Posted October 1, 2007 Report Share Posted October 1, 2007 Getting messy ! If T wants out, then serve S21 and re-let to coincide with leaving date(sometimes helps to prssure out on time if they think some one else is going to arrive to move in ..) ...presumably T will be happy to present himself at council offices as "homeless" at this time ......the only problem you may have is that council may tell him to stay put until you actually forcibly evict him ... Simon Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matthew Posted October 1, 2007 Report Share Posted October 1, 2007 Hi Gary, Ideally the AST will state that it will become periodic after the initial fixed term making it crystal clear. See the free downloadable version on this website for wording. The question is, if it does not, does it matter legally? Can it still go on as periodic as described above? To my knowledge there are 2 ways of increasing rent: 1) signing a new tenancy agreement, or 2) Serving the correct notice. I have never done this, so I don't want to advise wrongly, but others can confirm specific details. A letter on it's own will not do. My feeling is that in the current environment a 6% increase is fair. This is worrying regarding the eviction letter requested. Many tenants stop paying rent to get evicted and then get housed by the council. The problem here is that it will probably be 3 months before you can evict them and thus you will have no rent for that period. However, I'm sure you could get into trouble doing as they asked and evicting them stating you wish to sell the property and then re-letting it. My advice (rodents advice regurgitated)is that as soon as rent is late you need to get the debt collector on them, stating that the Debt collector will charge 15% on top of the debt to the tenant and further costs for chasing the debt. In future AST add a clause stating that each day the rent is late £5 will be charged. Tenants will soon realise that the debt will increase substantially if they do not pay up on time. They are not allowed to change the lock without your prior knowledge, and the fact they have done this is worrying. If they gave you the key, then there may be truth in what they were saying, but not giving you the key would make me very concerned about their motives. I'm not sure how you approach this legally, but I'm sure GPEL can help on the legal aspect. Regards, Mat. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GPEL Posted October 1, 2007 Report Share Posted October 1, 2007 You can increase the rent using a section 13 notice, which won't need a new AST. Unfortunately, if locks are changed there's not much you can do about it if the tenant becomes difficult while still in possession, other than using diplomatic then stronger letters if no response. Go over the top and you risk accusations of harassement. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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