Know your rights if you rent your home

THE Queen’s Speech has given a glimmer of hope to renters as a new housing bill will create a fairer and safer system for everyone.

The promise to scrap controversial Section 21 eviction notices, which allow landlords to ditch tenants for no reason and with little notice, will bring a huge sigh of relief.

Charities have been campaigning for years to get this stopped. Losing a private tenancy is one of the biggest causes of homelessness in England.

It’s increasingly vital as the cost-of-living crisis could push more private renters to the brink.

A Section 21 eviction notice is called a no-fault notice because the landlord does not have to give a reason for evicting their tenants, and renters are given just two months to leave their home.

The Government first promised to scrap this unfair form of eviction three years ago, yet since then nearly 230,000 private renters in England have been handed a no-fault eviction notice by their landlord .

That’s a private renter being handed a formal notice to leave every seven minutes.

The Government must get this sorted and introduce the new Renters Reform Bill, scrapping no-fault evictions – and it must do it NOW.

Millions of private renters are living in limbo, never able to truly settle in case their landlord kicks them out on a whim. Every minute the Government delays, sees more families at risk of ending up on the street.

Polly Neate, chief executive of Shelter, said: “Every seven minutes another private renter is slapped with a no-fault eviction notice. This means that their landlord can turf them out of their home for no reason with just eight weeks’ notice.

“Our emergency helpline is tirelessly supporting renters who are scrambling around trying to find another home after being served this grossly unfair notice. But soaring living costs mean many are struggling to stump up the cash for a house move they don’t want to make.

“Private renters have had a rotten deal for years. In the Queen’s Speech, the Government showed it has listened to renters by committing to introduce a Renters Reform

Bill that will scrap unfair Section 21 no-fault evictions. Now, it needs to get the job done as every minute wasted puts another renter at risk.”

How to deal with an unexpected eviction notice

Until the Government gets its act together and finally bans Section 21 no-fault evictions, there are some important things to understand about this no-fault notice and what your options are if you are worried you and your family could end up homeless.

We’ve teamed up with Chris Moore, housing adviser on Shelter’s emergency helpline, for his advice on what rights private renters in England have if they are served a Section 21 notice:

1

First check if your Section 21 eviction notice is valid. If it isn’t, legally you do not have to leave your home.

To be valid, the notice should be on a Form 6a and it should provide two months’ notice from the date that your landlord gives it to you.

Other common reasons why a notice is invalid include:

■ If your deposit is not protected in a scheme, it was protected late, or your landlord hasn’t given you written information about the scheme.

■ If your tenancy started or was renewed on or after October 1, 2015, your landlord must have given you current copies of the following three documents for the notice to be valid: the gas safety certificate, energy performance certificate (EPC) and the Government’s How To Rent guide.

2

If you and your family have nowhere else to live, don’t move out until you are evicted through the courts.

Your tenancy continues if you stay after the end of the Section 21 notice period, until you either agree to leave voluntarily or are evicted through the legal process.

It’s usually better to stay until you’ve found somewhere to live – ask the council for help if you need it. Let your landlord or letting agent know if you intend to stay past the end of the notice.

3

Even if you’ve been served notice, keep paying your rent. Bear in mind that you’re in a tenancy agreement and still need to hand over your money.

If you decide you want to move out before the notice date, make sure you end the tenancy correctly as you’re still responsible for rent until the tenancy ends.

If you want to move out after getting a Section 21 notice, try to agree a date with your landlord and put this in writing.

If you can’t agree a date, then you will need to serve a valid notice to quit. If you’re not sure what to write, you can find an example at shelter.org.uk.

‘‘ Many are struggling to stump up cash for a move they don’t want

4

You still have rights if you’ve been served a Section 21 eviction notice.

If you decide to stay until the bailiffs give you a date you must leave by, you can ask for repairs. You will need to allow your landlord reasonable access to your home to carry them out.

Check your most recent tenancy agreement to see if you need to allow access for other reasons, such as viewings by future tenants.

Any access to the property must be with your permission and at a reasonable time.

5

If you are worried you could end up homeless, contact your local council straight away as it might be able to negotiate with your landlord to stop, or delay, your eviction.

It might also be able to help you find somewhere else to live.

Families with children who become homeless should be classed as having priority needs and they will qualify for emergency housing.

Shelter provides free, expert help via shelter.org.uk/get_help or call 0808 800 4444.