When can i serve notice to quit ?

[jane8]

Hi

tenants at the house I rent out have only paid half their rent this month, told me it was a payroll issue, but this morning gave me a form from the council asking me to confirm their tenancy, their AST ran out in February, when they took on the tenency I was specific that I didn't take housing benefit.

I would like them to leave, so I need to seve notice, I've got the form section 21 from whsmith, their next rent due date is 28th april, can i serve the notice now for two months time or do the 2 months have to start from the date their next rent is due, ie the 28th ? Plus can i/should I refuse to fill out the council forms ? Are yhey going to put me in a worse position for getting my house back quickly ?

Got to give them the forms by Tuesday so i'm stuck for getting advice from solicitor as everything shut for easter, feeling very confused and worried. would appreciate any advice.

thanks

[Chestnut]

Serve the Section 21 now. My understanding is that you can serve 2 months notice for any termination date after the AST 6 months has expired. Even if wrong, you only have a few weeks to lose.

And why should you fill in the Council forms if you don't wish to confirm continuation of the tenancy?

Read all the paperwork carefully, make your intentions clear in writing to the tenant, and keep in control!

[jane8]

Serve the Section 21 now. My understanding is that you can serve 2 months notice for any termination date after the AST 6 months has expired. Even if wrong, you only have a few weeks to lose.

And why should you fill in the Council forms if you don't wish to confirm continuation of the tenancy?

Read all the paperwork carefully, make your intentions clear in writing to the tenant, and keep in control!

Thanks Chestnut,

Somewhere else on the forum somebody had said the leaving date had to be a day before their rent is due, if I gave them notice now for two months it would be two weeks before rent due on that date, but in total they'd have had two months and two weeks notice, or can the leaving date be two months from the date i give the notice,do I have to have proof I gave the notice in case they deny it later ?

sorry to be so detailed, but I'm pretty sure once i give notice they're not going to pay any rent at all so want to minimise losses, plus i get the feeling they've done this before, have read so much about notices not being valid if done incorrectly or is that more to do with section 8 notices ?

[snorkerz]

Hi

tenants at the house I rent out have only paid half their rent this month, told me it was a payroll issue, but this morning gave me a form from the council asking me to confirm their tenancy, their AST ran out in February, when they took on the tenency I was specific that I didn't take housing benefit.

I would like them to leave, so I need to seve notice, I've got the form section 21 from whsmith, their next rent due date is 28th april, can i serve the notice now for two months time or do the 2 months have to start from the date their next rent is due, ie the 28th ? Plus can i/should I refuse to fill out the council forms ? Are yhey going to put me in a worse position for getting my house back quickly ?

Got to give them the forms by Tuesday so i'm stuck for getting advice from solicitor as everything shut for easter, feeling very confused and worried. would appreciate any advice.

thanks

Rent due date is irrelevant - once the AST is over, you have to serve the s21 to expire on the last day of a tenancy period. Was the last date of their fixed term the 27th February? In that case, your s21 needs to be served before 28th April and have an expiry date of "AFTER 27th June 2010". The date is vital, if it is wrong, the court will not allow the possession and you will have to serve 2 months notice again.

The s21 would only be valid if any protectable deposit was protected (and prescribed information given) BEFORE the s21 was issued.

There is no obligation on the tenant to leave on 27th June. Their tenancy would be perfectly legal if they were still there on the 28th. However, on the 28th you would be able to commence court procedings. This will take 4/6 weeks to get a possession order, and that order will give the tenants 2 weeks to leave (up to 6 weeks in extreme circumstances). If the tenant does not leave when ordered, you can not do it yourself - you need to organise court bailiffs.

If you don't give the council their forms then tenants housing benefit will be delayed - thus less rent will be paid to you. Housing Benefit will not affect your s21 process.

[Chestnut]

Normally a tenant is paying rent in advance, hence a normal termination date would need be the day before the next rent is due, because the tenant would have been expected to pay up until that date.

But you state that your tenant has only paid half their rent for this month, so you could give two months notice either immediately or from the date the tenant has paid up to. Either way state in your letter the total outstanding rent due up to the termination date of your notice, and how you worked it out.

If your tenant is in financial or employment difficulties, it would be helpful to come to a reasonable and amicable compromise over rent due and termination date without increasing their difficulties and upsetting your relationship at the end of the tenancy.

For proof of service, preferably deliver the notice by hand with a witness or send by recorded delivery. Keep a copy of everything you send.

[Trenners]

Hi,

If you do not fill in the forms from the Council then you are making a very very very BIG error. If your tenants are claiming benefits and you don't help them complete the forms then the Council will never, ever, put their claim into payment which means they will not have funds to pay your rent. Your tenants only have a finite time to provide this information. Once that date has passed - their benefit claim will not be backdated (no matter how much you or they protest).

So, you will need to get over yourself re: DSS tenants, get those forms completed, so that the tenants can claim their benefits and pay your rent, and - at the same time - serve a valid Section 21 notice.

If you don't then you will probably lose over £1500 in rent and you will only have yourself to blame.

Mark

[jane8]

Rent due date is irrelevant - once the AST is over, you have to serve the s21 to expire on the last day of a tenancy period. Was the last date of their fixed term the 27th February? In that case, your s21 needs to be served before 28th April and have an expiry date of "AFTER 27th June 2010". The date is vital, if it is wrong, the court will not allow the possession and you will have to serve 2 months notice again.

The s21 would only be valid if any protectable deposit was protected (and prescribed information given) BEFORE the s21 was issued.

There is no obligation on the tenant to leave on 27th June. Their tenancy would be perfectly legal if they were still there on the 28th. However, on the 28th you would be able to commence court procedings. This will take 4/6 weeks to get a possession order, and that order will give the tenants 2 weeks to leave (up to 6 weeks in extreme circumstances). If the tenant does not leave when ordered, you can not do it yourself - you need to organise court bailiffs.

If you don't give the council their forms then tenants housing benefit will be delayed - thus less rent will be paid to you. Housing Benefit will not affect your s21 process.

Thanks for that,

their ast tenancy started on the 28th Sept, therefore does it end on the 28th of March and the notice to vacate, if issued now 5th April, be to vacate by the 27th or 28th of June ?

Also there was no deposit, but they paid rent two months in advance so at each payment they were always 2 months in hand, they've only paid half this month so if they paid me nothing more on leaving they would owe me a month and a halfs rent. I'm more concerned with getting the house back to live in myself than chasing them for more money.

Thanks .

[jamest]

Thanks for that,

their ast tenancy started on the 28th Sept, therefore does it end on the 28th of March and the notice to vacate, if issued now 5th April, be to vacate by the 27th or 28th of June ?

Also there was no deposit, but they paid rent two months in advance so at each payment they were always 2 months in hand, they've only paid half this month so if they paid me nothing more on leaving they would owe me a month and a halfs rent. I'm more concerned with getting the house back to live in myself than chasing them for more money.

Thanks .

Your notice should say 'after 27th June', however you have led yourself into a bigger problem, any S21(1)(b)you have served or intend to serve is invalid since you have not protected the month's deposit you hold, that's right, deposit. Taking two months in advance does not work if you keep taking another month every month after that, if it looks like a deposit and smells like a deposit, then it is a deposit. You could be liable for a 3x penalty payment to your tenant if he gets wind of it, and there are plenty of people who will advise him to do so. Get it protected now and then re-issue your notice.