Ending a Rental Contract

[Im a BusyBee]

we have a couple of properties that we rent out, and have had for several years. One of our tennants at the moment is the tennant from hell and we need to give him his notice to leave. Its the first time ever that we have had to do this and i want to be sure i word it correctly, can anyone help me with some wording please. thank you.

[Buenchico]

Your tenant probably has an assured shorthold tenancy (either 'fixed-term' or 'periodic'). This means that you can serve a Section 21 possession notice at any time. You don't have to state any reason for serving the notice but you do have to give the tenant a minimum of two month's notice to quit.

Download this form, fill in the blanks, make a copy and hand the original to the tenant:
http://www.landlordzone.co.uk/pdf/Section21Not ice.pdf

Chris

PS: Merry Christmas!

[Im a BusyBee]

thanks once again for your advice....am i right in assuming that i can serve this notice 2 months prior to the end of the contract, so that the tennants are to leave when the initial contract period is up??

And a very Merry Christmas to you too!

[Im a BusyBee]

sorry another question Buenchico....what does it mean on Section 21 where it says ".........a court must make an order for possession if the landlord has given notice........."??

thanks once again.

[dantheman123]

I used to rent a flat out and when I wanted the tenant to leave I just asked him and he went. Your tenant may just go if asked and not necessarily stretch things out to the maximum time that the law allows. Start off by just telling him he has to leave.

[Buenchico]

(2-part post):

Hello again.

Second bit first: When a landlord has served a notice for possession, the tenant should leave when the notice expires. However, if the tenant decides to 'sit tight', when the notice expires, you can't immediately evict him. You have to apply to a court for an eviction order. The wording on the form is a warning to the tenant that, as long as the notice has been properly served, a court would be obliged to issue an eviction order. (Don't worry too much about it. Most tenants move out without the landlord having to to seek an eviction order).

If the tenant has a 'contractual periodic' tenancy (i.e. a 'rolling' tenancy with no fixed termination date), you can serve a Section 21 notice at any time, as long as the expiry date is at least two months beyond the date on which the notice is served.

[Buenchico]

However, if the tenant has a 'fixed term' tenancy (i.e. one which specifies a termination date), you can serve a Section 21notice at any time but the expiry date must be:
(a) at or beyond the scheduled date for the termination of the tenancy ;
(b) at least two months after the date on which the notice is served ; and
(c) at least 6 months after the commencement of the original tenancy agreement.

In certain circumstances (where the tenant has broken the tenancy agreement, e.g. by not paying rent), some, or all, of those conditions might not apply. (If a tenant decided to 'sit tight', a court would automatically grant an eviction order as long as those three conditions were met. Otherwise, you'd have to show that the relevant special circumstances applied).

For an authoritative statement, see Section 6 of this document:
http://www.communities.gov.uk/pub/899/Assureda ndassuredshortholdtenanciesAguideforlandlords_ id1151899.pdf

Chris