Challenging no fault eviction

[Bloop]

I could do with some advice re. my landlord who served my family notice in May, giving us 6 months to be out by 7th November. Initially she wanted to sell to capitalise on the market bidding wars etc. I offered to buy at a mutually agreed amount as we are just about at the point where we can afford to buy - small deposit in place etc. She turned this offer down and then told me they had decided not to sell afterall but if we wanted to stay on we would need to pay market rates that she felt were at least £900 pcm for her property. That’s a £150 rise.

At that point my heckles started raising and I pointed out to her that much better houses were being rented out for less in the local area. I also told her what is wrong with the house - mould in kids bedroom, paper peeling off the walls in dining room, radiator not working in annex that also has mould and a rotten back door - they have literally done nothing to maintain the house since we moved in 2 years ago. I offered to stay in situ while repairs were made so we had a bit more time to buy a house. She said no, as she felt it wouldn’t be in the renovator’s best interests to have a family under their feet if there was so much work that needed doing. So I said at that point fair enough, we’ll try and vacate by the given date.

Fast forward a month and we still haven’t found anywhere that’s suitable, I messaged her asking for more time as a good will gesture as we have paid full rent with no arrears and have been good tenants, and once again she reiterated that she wanted us out by the 7th November.

I’d like to know how long it will likely take for  her to get possession, and also how likely am I to get a result on the mould situation? I’m considering legal advice, esp as we told the agents about it on the first inspection pre pandemic, they took pics and literally did nothing about it. My daughter has an inhaler since moving in here and I’ve noticed my lung health being significantly worse too.

 

[skrillex]

Sit tight and wait for a suitable property to become available. 

Your landlord sounds too cheap to pay for court fees and bailiffs so I reckon nothing will come of the section 21.

[Bloop]

Thanks, that's what I think too. I'm def going down the route of legal action against the condition of the house as well as I think on the whole we have had the p*** well and truly taken out of us.

Funnily enough a suitable house came up this weekend - putting an offer in as we speak

[Flopsy]

Hope it goes well for you.

The courts are reporting a huge backlog of cases so it could be slow for her to get a ruling and a baliff to get you out. Likewise any action you want to take could be slow as well.

The mould is not going to be grounds to challenge her eviction in my experience. I have never been to court over it or had a lawyer agree to take a case. It could be done through small claims may be but I have no idea how that process is running at the moment.

What it could possibly  be useful for is it your local council could get involved. That is if you want to claim a revenge eviction (your situation /history sounds complicated) or get proof for a separate action. 

The council needs to assess your home and serve on the LL an improvement notice. I am not sure if you will meet all the criteria though for the revenge eviction part.

More info here

https://england.shelter.org.uk/housing_advice/repairs/revenge_eviction_if_you_ask_for_repairs

It may pay to get someone to check the validity of the 21 notice she has served.  Some notices may have expired during the Covid eviction ban.

My experience us that there is usually wiggle room between having the notice served and the actual eviction. During our 2nd to last eviction we had somewhere to move to but the date the property was available from was after the 21 notice ended.

We made the LLs lawyer aware and he agreed that it was not worth going to court. The LL was all for starting the court process but their lawyer didn't think they would get a hearing in time and even if they did quibbling over a few weeks would be seen as unreasonable.

Edited October 17, 2021 by Flopsy

[Bloop]

That’s great advice Fopsey, thanks so much. It does feel a bit like a revenge eviction because I pointed out the issues with the house and it was from that point she started getting frosty. Shame you don’t think the mould issue has legs - there’s nothing I’d love more than hit her where it hurts (her wallet) with a small claim.

Fingers crossed the offer I’ve put in for a house will be accepted over the next few days and I’ll be able to tell her we’re buying a house and will be out of her hair as soon as we can - eviction or no eviction. If not I’ll definitely have another look at the section 21 and make sure it is in order.