"If your tenancy is coming to an end and you find yourself on the wrong end of a no-fault eviction, it’s important to check if it is valid"
The cost of living crisis is affecting everyone, heaping pressure on buyers, renters, and landlords alike. As such, the latest reports show that a growing number of landlords are attempting to cut their losses, sell up and move on to other things. But where does that leave their tenants?
For renters facing this, it can be a worrying time. However, tenants do have rights, as Adam explains.
Adam says: “You have the right to see out the original lease if your landlord is selling. Your tenancy carries on despite the ownership of the property changing and the new owner must allow you to continue living in the property until your fixed term ends.
“But if you’re tenancy is coming to an end and you find yourself on the wrong end of a no-fault eviction, it’s important to check if it is valid.
“Landlords must give you a section 21 notice via a 6A form. This a legal document which states that the landlord is seeking possession of a property let on an assured shorthold tenancy. It cannot be issued during the first four months of your original tenancy, and critically, you must also be given at least two months’ notice to vacate.
“Deposits cannot be more than five weeks’ rent, and this must have been placed in a scheme to ensure it’s protected at the time – usually within 30 days of your most recent contract start date.
He adds: “Landlords must also not have charged any prohibited fees when you took out your tenancy. These include fees for things such as gathering references and administration fees.
“All renters should also receive valid copies of the government’s how-to-rent guide, an EPC certificate and a gas safety certificate, and without any of the above, the notice does not stand.
“If you live in a house of multiple occupancy, common in large cities, your landlord is held to even stricter rules and must either have a licence from the council or hold a temporary exemption certificate.
“With mortgage rates on the rise squeezing how profitable it is to be a landlord, so-called “revenge evictions” could be an increasing danger, despite being banned. The latest figures suggest that those who filed a complaint to either their landlord, letting agent or local council in the last three years were 159% more likely to be handed an eviction notice than those who didn’t.
“A no-fault eviction notice is invalid if it is dated within six months following a complaint to your council about repairs, they gave your landlord either an emergency works notice or an improvement notice. The section 21 notice may also be invalid if you got it after writing to your landlord about repairs or bad conditions and the council then gives your landlord an improvement or emergency works notice.
Adam concludes: “If section 21 is invalid, due to any of the above reasons, you have the right to stay. As such, your tenancy will continue until you either voluntarily leave or are evicted through legal means.
“If the notice is valid, and you need help, there are plenty of places you can turn to. The Citizen’s Advice Bureau, Shelter and Generation Rent are great resources, while your local council could also help you find a new property.”
