Please help - Notice served during fixed term (Housing Act 1988) Section 21(1)(b)

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I would really appreciate your help on my situation.

I have currently been issued with "Notice served during fixed term (Housing Act 1988) Section 21(1)(b)". However, my tenancy does not officially end until December 3 2004 and, the landlord requires posession by November 1 2004.

Firstly, I will find it very difficult to obtain another flat before this time, and I am worried that if I dont, he could physically remove me from my home - can he do this?

What could he do if I was unable to find accomodation before then and, had no choice but to stay here until I find something more appropriate - even though my tenancy has expired?

PS I read somewhere that the landlord must personally issue me with this reposession order or, have it delivered by recorded delivery. Well he has done neither, i simply found it on my passage floor when I returned from shopping today - is it still enforced?.

-- Margaret Sloan (j0nshann0w@aol.com), July 12, 2004

Answers

Margaret, your landlord cannot physically remove you without a court order. (Even with a court order he would have to call the police to physically remove you.) It is a criminal offence and if he should try to do so call the police. He will need a possession order to evict you and you will have plenty of time to deal with this because there would be a hearing. Possession proceedings do not happen over night so it would take him a while to get the order. Take the notice you have received and your tenancy agreement to your local Citizens Advice they give excellent advice on housing matters.

-- James (jgr@jamesroy.f2s.com), July 12, 2004.

Section 21 Notice Requiring Possession of an Assured Shorthold Tenancy

(The Housing Act 1988)

Under the Housing Act 1988, a landlord who has granted an assured shorthold tenancy has a legal right to get his property back at the end of the tenancy. In order to invoke this right, he is required to follow the correct legal procedure which includes service of a notice (under section 21 of the Housing Act 1988) on his tenant. Section 21 is divided into subsections with different rules applying to notice served during the fixed term of a tenancy and notice for possession that is served during a statutory periodic tenancy.

Fixed Term Tenancies: Section 21 of the Housing Act 1988 requires that the landlord provides tenants of an Assured Shorthold Tenancy (AST) with a minimum of two months’ notice in writing that he/she wants possession of the property. Extra days should be added if the notice is to be sent by post as the two months starts when the tenant receives the notice.

The notice must be served before possession action can be started. In the case of joint landlords the notice can be given by any one of them. Possession under this section cannot take place during the initial six months of the original tenancy. The provisions in section 21(1)(b) apply to fixed term tenancies. They state:

Without prejudice to any right of the landlord under an assured shorthold tenancy to recover possession of the dwelling-house let on the tenancy in accordance with Chapter I above, on or after the coming to an end of an assured shorthold tenancy which was a fixed- term tenancy, a court shall make an order for possession of the dwelling-house if it is satisfied-

a) that the assured shorthold tenancy has come to an end and no further assured tenancy (whether shorthold or not) is for the time being in existence, other than a statutory periodic tenancy: and

b) the landlord, or in the case of joint landlords, at least one of them has given to the tenant not less than two months' notice stating that he requires possession of the dwelling-house.

Notice under this subsection can be served on a tenant at any time during the fixed term of the tenancy (but not before the fixed term begins) provided that the tenant receives a minimum of two months’ notice. This is the case even if the two months notice ends after the tenancy agreement has expired. For example, if notice requiring possession is served on the last day of the tenancy agreement, the tenant does not have to give up possession of the dwelling-house until at least two months after the date that the notice was served.

The notice should be dated in accordance with the provisions above. Also, a notice should not be dated to expire on or before the last day of the tenancy as this would be invalid. For example, where the tenancy was due to expire on December 31st, then the section 21 notice could be served on or before October 31st, and the notice dated to expire ‘after December 31st’.

-- justask (justask@btinternet.com), July 13, 2004.


Thank you both for your responses, I am going to see my nearest CAB place soon to see about this and, to see if the repossession notice is even valid for not following the correct protocol.

Thank you again

Margaret

-- Margaret Sloan (j0nshann0w@aol.com), July 13, 2004.


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