S21 Served what now

[neil42]

Hello,

I hope someone can help me with some advice.

We have a friend staying in our house and initially she rented it for a year, but throughout the 12 months she messed us about with the rent, paying late and once even missing altogether.

In May 2011, we issued her with an S21 Notice, and she had till the 31st July to go. While serving her notice she paid on time and had the council looking for property for her.

She asked could she stay till she got a property, and then she would willingly go, and pay us on time. As she has 2 young children, we said yes, but things had to stay above board, and she had to be concentrating on finding somewhere else to live.

The last 2 months she paid late the first, and this month has only paid half. My mortgage is starting to suffer as I am ill and out of work at present.

My question is this:

Her S21 was up on July 31st, is it too late for me to go to Court to evict her under that notice, in light of what is happening or do I have to serve another S21 as we let her stay temporarily.

Thank You for any help you can give

Neil

[Carryon Regardless]

If your sure the S21 is correct and won't fail at court, they are notorious for errors which cause this, then you can use it for the repossession application.

Repossession notices have no shelf life.

Many LL's serve one at the start of tenancies and use for repossession many years later, I have myself.

As you are finding finances stretched be ready for a possible void and therefore lack of revenue, often there is expense of renovation / repairs between tenancies. The next T is an unknown there is possibility of them being worse.

I have assumed that by 'our house' you mean an additional property to the property that you live in ??

If 'our house' is in fact the property that you share with her as 'lodger' she has no rights and there is no need for court action.

[neil42]

If your sure the S21 is correct and won't fail at court, they are notorious for errors which cause this, then you can use it for the repossession application.

Repossession notices have no shelf life.

Many LL's serve one at the start of tenancies and use for repossession many years later, I have myself.

As you are finding finances stretched be ready for a possible void and therefore lack of revenue, often there is expense of renovation / repairs between tenancies. The next T is an unknown there is possibility of them being worse.

I have assumed that by 'our house' you mean an additional property to the property that you live in ??

If 'our house' is in fact the property that you share with her as 'lodger' she has no rights and there is no need for court action.

Hi and thanks for the reply.

When I was saying 'our' I was meaning me and my wife, sorry.

As far as I know and have been advised by a landlord friend, the S21 is legal. I actually bought the template form from WHSmith and filled it in, sent it recorded delivery and she acknowledged receiving it. The local Authorities have a copy also for rehousing her.

As the tenant is/was a friend (depends how things progress) and I got a very good job moving away, we rented her the house, with a Tenancy etc, but from the word go, she defaulted constantly.

I served the S21, and on the timescale running out, she got the Council Housing to ring asking can she have a few weeks as they are looking for a house for her. As she has the kids, I rang her direct, and told her she can have a while longer, but she must pay on time. She did this for 2 months, then missed, then paid part this month, so I am now going to apply for eviction.

At least I know I can use the S21 and not have to issue another, and then I am probably going to sell.

Another question, has any landlord used any speciality buyers, like companies, or individuals, to sell a property to? I am not going to use one of those 70% companies, but would have thought in the world of Internet these days, there may be Forums of the like where landlords are looking for fresh property to invest in.

Thanks again

[Carryon Regardless]

There are a shortage of investors in most areas these days,

in fact due to the reluctance of mortgage providers to provide buyers a generally in short supply. An improved employment situation nationally would likely improve their confidence.

I have had 5 flats on the market for over 2 1/2 years and can only realistically anticipate a cash buyer. Offers received aren't worth consideration.

With the Gov't efforts maybe things will pick up some but I see that as being a slow development.

I believe many are waiting for things to pick up to then sell. When they hit the market it will slow the recovery of it again.

Like most things if your price is low enough it should sell, for an investor it would have to be low.

It's difficult to suggest a best way forward but if you aim to sell for BTL your T may be an advantage, you could always repossess while a sale is in progress at buyers preference.