Possession hearing – Has by chance the council rep got it wrong?

Possession hearing – Has by chance the council rep got it wrong?

9:17 AM, 27th April 2022, About 2 years ago 15

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Quick question, I was at a possession hearing today, and the judge awarded in my favour with 28 days for the tenant to vacate.

The tenant was represented by a housing advisor at the local council, who stated to the judge that I had failed to send copy gas safety certs and a How to Rent guide out with the S21 notice?

The gas cert was provided at the time the AST was signed 4 years ago, and the following years were all completed within 12 months of each other, again with a copy provided to the tenant.

The How to Rent guide was also provided at the time the AST was signed.

Copies of all required documents were sent to the Court with Form N5B ( AST, Gas Certs, How to Rent etc )

I am not aware that we also need to provide further copies of the Gas certs and How to Rent guide when issuing the S21 ?

Has by chance the council rep got it wrong?

Colin


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Comments

Mike

14:59 PM, 28th April 2022, About 2 years ago

I also now get tenants to sign separately on the condition of the property, which may also falls under Inventory, but also clearly describing that there is absolutely no damp patches any where, no rising damp, all bathroom walls and tiles are clean and grout is not discoloured or stained, no sign of any kind of mould, no sign of condensation on walls or windows, or under window bays, on any internal or external walls, the entire fabric of the house is in good state of repair, condition of carpets and curtains, anything for that matter prior to them moving in, along with a video or sound recording tour with the presence of the tenant is also done in case the tenant questions the date of the video. We have got to remain one step ahead of potentially rogue tenants. Like most landlords, most tenants are also good and decent folks.

Jim

13:03 PM, 30th April 2022, About 2 years ago

My understanding is that it is hugely important to know if your tenancy agreement reverts to a CONTRACTURAL of STATUTORY periodic tenancy after the initial fixed period, if its contractual then you do not have to give the tenant updated gas cert/electrical cert/epc/How to rent in England booklet and prescribed deposit protection information along with the latest T&C's of the deposit protection scheme if they have already been issued at the beginning of the tenancy. If however your tenancy agreement reverts to a statutory periodic then all of these documents must be issued whenever there is an update to any of these documents and failure to do this will mean that you can not use a section 21 notice. If you read through your tenancy agreement it should state that that at the end of the fixed period that the tenancy will continue as either contractual or periodic and if it does not state either then by default it is a statutory periodic tenancy. This is because a periodic tenancy auto renews at each rent due period ie monthly for monthly for monthly rental period. Nearly all new tenancy paperwork will state contractual but some of the older ones still state statutory which can really cause some problems with a smart solicitor.

Mike

12:26 PM, 1st May 2022, About 2 years ago

Hi Jim, I think you meant CONTRACTUAL OR STATUTORY. (You may have used OF instead of OR)
So it is quite confusing and one can easily fall in a this legal trap.

In my agreements I have been stating that at the end of the fixed term, unless this agreement is renewed, otherwise this agreement will roll into STATUTORY PERIODIC TENANCY.

So now I am confused whether I need to give my tenants updated information on each anniversary, or just before serving a Section 21 Notice.
These wordings are quite confusing such as:
Statutory Periodic Tenancy
Or just Periodic Tenancy
None of my agreements use the word "Contractual" or Contractual periodic tenancy.
Could you please clarify. Thanks

Badger

12:49 PM, 3rd May 2022, About 2 years ago

Reply to the comment left by Mike at 01/05/2022 - 12:26
Using the "contractual" form of words saves you from being hit for the council tax if a tenant provides the council with a date ahead of what they are actually due for contractually.

Devdutt Patel

14:35 PM, 11th May 2022, About 2 years ago

I had a bad experience with a tenant . Lost a considerable sum of money. If the government wants to fish out the bad landlords then why can’t the gov have a website for bad tenants .

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