Rented property being repossessed
Discussion
My girlfriend and I signed a 6 month assured shorthold tenancy for a flat on the 20th November this year. We received a letter from a law firm about 2 weeks ago addressed to someone at our flat (funnily enough not the landlord, but someone with a name from the same part of the world as the landlord) stating that they owed over £2500 in maintenance charges for the flat.
We contacted the agents and they basically fobbed my gf off with something about it being for the whole building. I assumed that someone else in the building was in arrears and the freeholders were just trying to recover the money from anyone, either way the letting agents were completely unconcerned.
Today we received a letter from the mortgage company stating that they are applying for a warrant for possession against the property on 31/12/2010. Now this is a warrant for possession, which as far as I'm aware is the final stage of repossession, implying that this whole thing started months ago so it's fair to assume that the letting agents new or ought to have known about the possession order when letting the property.
According to the land registry the landlord has owned the property for 6 years. I thought this coupled with the fact the letting agents were 'reputable' and have 30+ offices was enough to be fairly confident things would be ok.
From what I've read, there are certain tenancies that can apply for the order not to be enforced for up to 2 months, otherwise we're out on the 14/1/2010. The only shot I think we have is if it was a buy to let mortgage or if the lender knew the flat was being rented. I am going to call the lender then the letting agents tomorrow to see what they have to say, but am I right in saying we're pretty much stuffed? What is the best approach in this situation?
We contacted the agents and they basically fobbed my gf off with something about it being for the whole building. I assumed that someone else in the building was in arrears and the freeholders were just trying to recover the money from anyone, either way the letting agents were completely unconcerned.
Today we received a letter from the mortgage company stating that they are applying for a warrant for possession against the property on 31/12/2010. Now this is a warrant for possession, which as far as I'm aware is the final stage of repossession, implying that this whole thing started months ago so it's fair to assume that the letting agents new or ought to have known about the possession order when letting the property.
According to the land registry the landlord has owned the property for 6 years. I thought this coupled with the fact the letting agents were 'reputable' and have 30+ offices was enough to be fairly confident things would be ok.
From what I've read, there are certain tenancies that can apply for the order not to be enforced for up to 2 months, otherwise we're out on the 14/1/2010. The only shot I think we have is if it was a buy to let mortgage or if the lender knew the flat was being rented. I am going to call the lender then the letting agents tomorrow to see what they have to say, but am I right in saying we're pretty much stuffed? What is the best approach in this situation?
Alex97 said:
My girlfriend and I signed a 6 month assured shorthold tenancy for a flat on the 20th November this year. We received a letter from a law firm about 2 weeks ago addressed to someone at our flat (funnily enough not the landlord, but someone with a name from the same part of the world as the landlord) stating that they owed over £2500 in maintenance charges for the flat.
We contacted the agents and they basically fobbed my gf off with something about it being for the whole building. I assumed that someone else in the building was in arrears and the freeholders were just trying to recover the money from anyone, either way the letting agents were completely unconcerned.
Today we received a letter from the mortgage company stating that they are applying for a warrant for possession against the property on 31/12/2010. Now this is a warrant for possession, which as far as I'm aware is the final stage of repossession, implying that this whole thing started months ago so it's fair to assume that the letting agents new or ought to have known about the possession order when letting the property.
According to the land registry the landlord has owned the property for 6 years. I thought this coupled with the fact the letting agents were 'reputable' and have 30+ offices was enough to be fairly confident things would be ok.
From what I've read, there are certain tenancies that can apply for the order not to be enforced for up to 2 months, otherwise we're out on the 14/1/2010. The only shot I think we have is if it was a buy to let mortgage or if the lender knew the flat was being rented. I am going to call the lender then the letting agents tomorrow to see what they have to say, but am I right in saying we're pretty much stuffed? What is the best approach in this situation?
What are you doing opening other peoples mail?We contacted the agents and they basically fobbed my gf off with something about it being for the whole building. I assumed that someone else in the building was in arrears and the freeholders were just trying to recover the money from anyone, either way the letting agents were completely unconcerned.
Today we received a letter from the mortgage company stating that they are applying for a warrant for possession against the property on 31/12/2010. Now this is a warrant for possession, which as far as I'm aware is the final stage of repossession, implying that this whole thing started months ago so it's fair to assume that the letting agents new or ought to have known about the possession order when letting the property.
According to the land registry the landlord has owned the property for 6 years. I thought this coupled with the fact the letting agents were 'reputable' and have 30+ offices was enough to be fairly confident things would be ok.
From what I've read, there are certain tenancies that can apply for the order not to be enforced for up to 2 months, otherwise we're out on the 14/1/2010. The only shot I think we have is if it was a buy to let mortgage or if the lender knew the flat was being rented. I am going to call the lender then the letting agents tomorrow to see what they have to say, but am I right in saying we're pretty much stuffed? What is the best approach in this situation?
nobodyknows said:
Alex97 said:
My girlfriend and I signed a 6 month assured shorthold tenancy for a flat on the 20th November this year. We received a letter from a law firm about 2 weeks ago addressed to someone at our flat (funnily enough not the landlord, but someone with a name from the same part of the world as the landlord) stating that they owed over £2500 in maintenance charges for the flat.
We contacted the agents and they basically fobbed my gf off with something about it being for the whole building. I assumed that someone else in the building was in arrears and the freeholders were just trying to recover the money from anyone, either way the letting agents were completely unconcerned.
Today we received a letter from the mortgage company stating that they are applying for a warrant for possession against the property on 31/12/2010. Now this is a warrant for possession, which as far as I'm aware is the final stage of repossession, implying that this whole thing started months ago so it's fair to assume that the letting agents new or ought to have known about the possession order when letting the property.
According to the land registry the landlord has owned the property for 6 years. I thought this coupled with the fact the letting agents were 'reputable' and have 30+ offices was enough to be fairly confident things would be ok.
From what I've read, there are certain tenancies that can apply for the order not to be enforced for up to 2 months, otherwise we're out on the 14/1/2010. The only shot I think we have is if it was a buy to let mortgage or if the lender knew the flat was being rented. I am going to call the lender then the letting agents tomorrow to see what they have to say, but am I right in saying we're pretty much stuffed? What is the best approach in this situation?
What are you doing opening other peoples mail?We contacted the agents and they basically fobbed my gf off with something about it being for the whole building. I assumed that someone else in the building was in arrears and the freeholders were just trying to recover the money from anyone, either way the letting agents were completely unconcerned.
Today we received a letter from the mortgage company stating that they are applying for a warrant for possession against the property on 31/12/2010. Now this is a warrant for possession, which as far as I'm aware is the final stage of repossession, implying that this whole thing started months ago so it's fair to assume that the letting agents new or ought to have known about the possession order when letting the property.
According to the land registry the landlord has owned the property for 6 years. I thought this coupled with the fact the letting agents were 'reputable' and have 30+ offices was enough to be fairly confident things would be ok.
From what I've read, there are certain tenancies that can apply for the order not to be enforced for up to 2 months, otherwise we're out on the 14/1/2010. The only shot I think we have is if it was a buy to let mortgage or if the lender knew the flat was being rented. I am going to call the lender then the letting agents tomorrow to see what they have to say, but am I right in saying we're pretty much stuffed? What is the best approach in this situation?
Alex97 said:
nobodyknows said:
Alex97 said:
My girlfriend and I signed a 6 month assured shorthold tenancy for a flat on the 20th November this year. We received a letter from a law firm about 2 weeks ago addressed to someone at our flat (funnily enough not the landlord, but someone with a name from the same part of the world as the landlord) stating that they owed over £2500 in maintenance charges for the flat.
We contacted the agents and they basically fobbed my gf off with something about it being for the whole building. I assumed that someone else in the building was in arrears and the freeholders were just trying to recover the money from anyone, either way the letting agents were completely unconcerned.
Today we received a letter from the mortgage company stating that they are applying for a warrant for possession against the property on 31/12/2010. Now this is a warrant for possession, which as far as I'm aware is the final stage of repossession, implying that this whole thing started months ago so it's fair to assume that the letting agents new or ought to have known about the possession order when letting the property.
According to the land registry the landlord has owned the property for 6 years. I thought this coupled with the fact the letting agents were 'reputable' and have 30+ offices was enough to be fairly confident things would be ok.
From what I've read, there are certain tenancies that can apply for the order not to be enforced for up to 2 months, otherwise we're out on the 14/1/2010. The only shot I think we have is if it was a buy to let mortgage or if the lender knew the flat was being rented. I am going to call the lender then the letting agents tomorrow to see what they have to say, but am I right in saying we're pretty much stuffed? What is the best approach in this situation?
What are you doing opening other peoples mail?We contacted the agents and they basically fobbed my gf off with something about it being for the whole building. I assumed that someone else in the building was in arrears and the freeholders were just trying to recover the money from anyone, either way the letting agents were completely unconcerned.
Today we received a letter from the mortgage company stating that they are applying for a warrant for possession against the property on 31/12/2010. Now this is a warrant for possession, which as far as I'm aware is the final stage of repossession, implying that this whole thing started months ago so it's fair to assume that the letting agents new or ought to have known about the possession order when letting the property.
According to the land registry the landlord has owned the property for 6 years. I thought this coupled with the fact the letting agents were 'reputable' and have 30+ offices was enough to be fairly confident things would be ok.
From what I've read, there are certain tenancies that can apply for the order not to be enforced for up to 2 months, otherwise we're out on the 14/1/2010. The only shot I think we have is if it was a buy to let mortgage or if the lender knew the flat was being rented. I am going to call the lender then the letting agents tomorrow to see what they have to say, but am I right in saying we're pretty much stuffed? What is the best approach in this situation?
nobodyknows said:
Alex97 said:
nobodyknows said:
Alex97 said:
My girlfriend and I signed a 6 month assured shorthold tenancy for a flat on the 20th November this year. We received a letter from a law firm about 2 weeks ago addressed to someone at our flat (funnily enough not the landlord, but someone with a name from the same part of the world as the landlord) stating that they owed over £2500 in maintenance charges for the flat.
We contacted the agents and they basically fobbed my gf off with something about it being for the whole building. I assumed that someone else in the building was in arrears and the freeholders were just trying to recover the money from anyone, either way the letting agents were completely unconcerned.
Today we received a letter from the mortgage company stating that they are applying for a warrant for possession against the property on 31/12/2010. Now this is a warrant for possession, which as far as I'm aware is the final stage of repossession, implying that this whole thing started months ago so it's fair to assume that the letting agents new or ought to have known about the possession order when letting the property.
According to the land registry the landlord has owned the property for 6 years. I thought this coupled with the fact the letting agents were 'reputable' and have 30+ offices was enough to be fairly confident things would be ok.
From what I've read, there are certain tenancies that can apply for the order not to be enforced for up to 2 months, otherwise we're out on the 14/1/2010. The only shot I think we have is if it was a buy to let mortgage or if the lender knew the flat was being rented. I am going to call the lender then the letting agents tomorrow to see what they have to say, but am I right in saying we're pretty much stuffed? What is the best approach in this situation?
What are you doing opening other peoples mail?We contacted the agents and they basically fobbed my gf off with something about it being for the whole building. I assumed that someone else in the building was in arrears and the freeholders were just trying to recover the money from anyone, either way the letting agents were completely unconcerned.
Today we received a letter from the mortgage company stating that they are applying for a warrant for possession against the property on 31/12/2010. Now this is a warrant for possession, which as far as I'm aware is the final stage of repossession, implying that this whole thing started months ago so it's fair to assume that the letting agents new or ought to have known about the possession order when letting the property.
According to the land registry the landlord has owned the property for 6 years. I thought this coupled with the fact the letting agents were 'reputable' and have 30+ offices was enough to be fairly confident things would be ok.
From what I've read, there are certain tenancies that can apply for the order not to be enforced for up to 2 months, otherwise we're out on the 14/1/2010. The only shot I think we have is if it was a buy to let mortgage or if the lender knew the flat was being rented. I am going to call the lender then the letting agents tomorrow to see what they have to say, but am I right in saying we're pretty much stuffed? What is the best approach in this situation?
[edit] And it was a from a firm of solicitors and we didn't want bailiffs coming round and taking our stuff (funny eh?).
Edited by Alex97 on Monday 20th December 20:51
nobodyknows said:
Alex97 said:
nobodyknows said:
Alex97 said:
My girlfriend and I signed a 6 month assured shorthold tenancy for a flat on the 20th November this year. We received a letter from a law firm about 2 weeks ago addressed to someone at our flat (funnily enough not the landlord, but someone with a name from the same part of the world as the landlord) stating that they owed over £2500 in maintenance charges for the flat.
We contacted the agents and they basically fobbed my gf off with something about it being for the whole building. I assumed that someone else in the building was in arrears and the freeholders were just trying to recover the money from anyone, either way the letting agents were completely unconcerned.
Today we received a letter from the mortgage company stating that they are applying for a warrant for possession against the property on 31/12/2010. Now this is a warrant for possession, which as far as I'm aware is the final stage of repossession, implying that this whole thing started months ago so it's fair to assume that the letting agents new or ought to have known about the possession order when letting the property.
According to the land registry the landlord has owned the property for 6 years. I thought this coupled with the fact the letting agents were 'reputable' and have 30+ offices was enough to be fairly confident things would be ok.
From what I've read, there are certain tenancies that can apply for the order not to be enforced for up to 2 months, otherwise we're out on the 14/1/2010. The only shot I think we have is if it was a buy to let mortgage or if the lender knew the flat was being rented. I am going to call the lender then the letting agents tomorrow to see what they have to say, but am I right in saying we're pretty much stuffed? What is the best approach in this situation?
What are you doing opening other peoples mail?We contacted the agents and they basically fobbed my gf off with something about it being for the whole building. I assumed that someone else in the building was in arrears and the freeholders were just trying to recover the money from anyone, either way the letting agents were completely unconcerned.
Today we received a letter from the mortgage company stating that they are applying for a warrant for possession against the property on 31/12/2010. Now this is a warrant for possession, which as far as I'm aware is the final stage of repossession, implying that this whole thing started months ago so it's fair to assume that the letting agents new or ought to have known about the possession order when letting the property.
According to the land registry the landlord has owned the property for 6 years. I thought this coupled with the fact the letting agents were 'reputable' and have 30+ offices was enough to be fairly confident things would be ok.
From what I've read, there are certain tenancies that can apply for the order not to be enforced for up to 2 months, otherwise we're out on the 14/1/2010. The only shot I think we have is if it was a buy to let mortgage or if the lender knew the flat was being rented. I am going to call the lender then the letting agents tomorrow to see what they have to say, but am I right in saying we're pretty much stuffed? What is the best approach in this situation?
I would be telling the agent they need to find you some flats to view this week, with a view to you moving into one ASAP, even better get on their website, see what they have available. They need to transfer your deposit to the new place and you wont be paying any fees. You want to pay the same rent as you are now, if that means you end up in a nicer property because thats all they have available then thats their problem.
Start politely and explain the situation, if they don't play ball play every card - they lied/fobbed off your girlfriend, obviously are not fully aware who owns this flat or their stability, which has ended up with you being more or less homeless at Christmas/in cold weather etc.
Certainly not the service you expected of such a reputable company etc.
Hopefully they'll have something else you can move to in short order!
Start politely and explain the situation, if they don't play ball play every card - they lied/fobbed off your girlfriend, obviously are not fully aware who owns this flat or their stability, which has ended up with you being more or less homeless at Christmas/in cold weather etc.
Certainly not the service you expected of such a reputable company etc.
Hopefully they'll have something else you can move to in short order!
Crafty_ said:
I would be telling the agent they need to find you some flats to view this week, with a view to you moving into one ASAP, even better get on their website, see what they have available. They need to transfer your deposit to the new place and you wont be paying any fees. You want to pay the same rent as you are now, if that means you end up in a nicer property because thats all they have available then thats their problem.
Start politely and explain the situation, if they don't play ball play every card - they lied/fobbed off your girlfriend, obviously are not fully aware who owns this flat or their stability, which has ended up with you being more or less homeless at Christmas/in cold weather etc.
Certainly not the service you expected of such a reputable company etc.
Hopefully they'll have something else you can move to in short order!
I'm not one to defend LAs but on this occasion I must be missing something. How could the LA have known that the service charges on the flat were in arrears?Start politely and explain the situation, if they don't play ball play every card - they lied/fobbed off your girlfriend, obviously are not fully aware who owns this flat or their stability, which has ended up with you being more or less homeless at Christmas/in cold weather etc.
Certainly not the service you expected of such a reputable company etc.
Hopefully they'll have something else you can move to in short order!
davidjpowell said:
I'm not sure that that piece of legislation is in force yet but do check. Your rights depend on whether you are an authorised or unauthorised tenant. If you are an unauthorised tenant (subject to that legislation not being in force) then you technically have no rights as against the lender. This does not affect your rights against the landlord for breach of contract (eviction being a breach of the implied term of peaceful enjoyment).If you are an authorised tenant (ie you are there with the knowledge of the lender) then you do have rights, they have to terminate the contract in accordance with the law (they could not do so under an AST within the first 6 months).
Its difficult to suggest what to do without full knowledge of your circumstances but you have a couple of options if you are an unauthorised tenant:
1. Contact the lender and suggest that they appoint an LPA receiver. They will be able to do so under the terms of the mortgage which effectively allows them to step into the shows of the borrower/landlord and collect rent to pay the mortgage. It depends on who the lender is, the level of arrears, the monthly mortgage payment and the monthly rent amongst other things as to whether they will do so.
2. Make an application to suspend/stay the warrant of eviction (I think this costs £35.00). Technically the court has no power to do so if you are an unauthorised tenant but depending on which court and which judge in that court you may get a couple of extra weeks.
3. Contact the landlord and get him to address this issue with the lender (I realise this may not happen but you can try) and tell the landlord that if he does not you will take action for breach of contract.
OP what stage are proceedings at? You should have received a notice to tenants that a possession hearing is taking place under (I think!) Civil Procedure Rule 55.10 - is that the notice you have received? If so and the possession hearing has not taken place yet you will still have probably 6-8 weeks before anything happens.
Once a possession order has been granted the lender must apply for a warrant which will take 2-4 weeks depending on how busy the court baliff is before an actual eviction date is set.
NB if I am wrong and that legislation is in force ignore all I say and simply make an application to suspend the warrant under those provisions.
More info here - says came into force 1 October 2010
http://www.communities.gov.uk/documents/housing/pd...
http://www.communities.gov.uk/documents/housing/pd...
davidjpowell said:
More info here - says came into force 1 October 2010
http://www.communities.gov.uk/documents/housing/pd...
Yep spot on, just checked with a property lawyer friend who confirmed the same. OP get down to the CAB if you need free advice, they are actually fairly good in this area.http://www.communities.gov.uk/documents/housing/pd...
The Dwelling Houses (Execution of Possession Orders by Mortgagees) Regulations 2010, came into force on 1st October 2010, the same requires that the mortgagee gives notice t the time they apply for a Warrant of Execution to instruct the County Court bailiff to enforce a possession order. When doing so they must also send a notice to the property by first class post or by hand delivery or personal service addressed either to the tenant in their own name or to “The Tenant or Occupier”. The form of this notice is set out in detail and it specifies all the details of the Court who will be dealing with the matter and the details of the mortgagee who is seeking possession. It also spells out the tenant’s new rights under the Act to ask for a stay of 2 months in the execution of the warrant and the process by which this is to be done.
The OP needs to immediately by recorded post contact the mortgagees, informing the same of his status, re tenancy enclosing a copy of his AST. Also, unless already known, contact either the LL/LA to find out what scheme his Deposit is protected/registered under the Deposit Protection Scheme under the Housing Act 2004.
The OP needs to immediately by recorded post contact the mortgagees, informing the same of his status, re tenancy enclosing a copy of his AST. Also, unless already known, contact either the LL/LA to find out what scheme his Deposit is protected/registered under the Deposit Protection Scheme under the Housing Act 2004.
I had this EXACT thing happen to me, the court date was the 20th January 2009 IIRC and to be honest nothing happened. I did however find no clear advice on what was the right thing to do or what my rights were.
So i refused to pay the rent on the basis that my tenancy was not being protected as guaranteed by the AST contract, got a notice saying I was going to the county court for non payment of rent and then the LA rung me up and asked would I like to move out by the end of the week, and in return they would forgive all the outstanding rent and return my deposit.
This I did and the flat was repossessed about 3 months later, which means it took about 6 months from the initial possession hearing.
The LA was completely useless, their position was that as soon as the possession order was enforced the AST was null and void.
So i refused to pay the rent on the basis that my tenancy was not being protected as guaranteed by the AST contract, got a notice saying I was going to the county court for non payment of rent and then the LA rung me up and asked would I like to move out by the end of the week, and in return they would forgive all the outstanding rent and return my deposit.
This I did and the flat was repossessed about 3 months later, which means it took about 6 months from the initial possession hearing.
The LA was completely useless, their position was that as soon as the possession order was enforced the AST was null and void.
Silver said:
Crafty_ said:
I would be telling the agent they need to find you some flats to view this week, with a view to you moving into one ASAP, even better get on their website, see what they have available. They need to transfer your deposit to the new place and you wont be paying any fees. You want to pay the same rent as you are now, if that means you end up in a nicer property because thats all they have available then thats their problem.
Start politely and explain the situation, if they don't play ball play every card - they lied/fobbed off your girlfriend, obviously are not fully aware who owns this flat or their stability, which has ended up with you being more or less homeless at Christmas/in cold weather etc.
Certainly not the service you expected of such a reputable company etc.
Hopefully they'll have something else you can move to in short order!
I'm not one to defend LAs but on this occasion I must be missing something. How could the LA have known that the service charges on the flat were in arrears?Start politely and explain the situation, if they don't play ball play every card - they lied/fobbed off your girlfriend, obviously are not fully aware who owns this flat or their stability, which has ended up with you being more or less homeless at Christmas/in cold weather etc.
Certainly not the service you expected of such a reputable company etc.
Hopefully they'll have something else you can move to in short order!
This happens quite a bit. When I bought my BTL a few places I viewed were ex-BTL's where the Landlord was collecting rent, but not paying the Mortgage, hence were repo's.
98elise said:
Silver said:
Crafty_ said:
I would be telling the agent they need to find you some flats to view this week, with a view to you moving into one ASAP, even better get on their website, see what they have available. They need to transfer your deposit to the new place and you wont be paying any fees. You want to pay the same rent as you are now, if that means you end up in a nicer property because thats all they have available then thats their problem.
Start politely and explain the situation, if they don't play ball play every card - they lied/fobbed off your girlfriend, obviously are not fully aware who owns this flat or their stability, which has ended up with you being more or less homeless at Christmas/in cold weather etc.
Certainly not the service you expected of such a reputable company etc.
Hopefully they'll have something else you can move to in short order!
I'm not one to defend LAs but on this occasion I must be missing something. How could the LA have known that the service charges on the flat were in arrears?Start politely and explain the situation, if they don't play ball play every card - they lied/fobbed off your girlfriend, obviously are not fully aware who owns this flat or their stability, which has ended up with you being more or less homeless at Christmas/in cold weather etc.
Certainly not the service you expected of such a reputable company etc.
Hopefully they'll have something else you can move to in short order!
This happens quite a bit. When I bought my BTL a few places I viewed were ex-BTL's where the Landlord was collecting rent, but not paying the Mortgage, hence were repo's.
Yes, as a reputable business with an interest in good customer relations they should help the OP as much as they can, but I think that's as far as it goes.
SC7 said:
nobodyknows said:
Alex97 said:
nobodyknows said:
Alex97 said:
My girlfriend and I signed a 6 month assured shorthold tenancy for a flat on the 20th November this year. We received a letter from a law firm about 2 weeks ago addressed to someone at our flat (funnily enough not the landlord, but someone with a name from the same part of the world as the landlord) stating that they owed over £2500 in maintenance charges for the flat.
We contacted the agents and they basically fobbed my gf off with something about it being for the whole building. I assumed that someone else in the building was in arrears and the freeholders were just trying to recover the money from anyone, either way the letting agents were completely unconcerned.
Today we received a letter from the mortgage company stating that they are applying for a warrant for possession against the property on 31/12/2010. Now this is a warrant for possession, which as far as I'm aware is the final stage of repossession, implying that this whole thing started months ago so it's fair to assume that the letting agents new or ought to have known about the possession order when letting the property.
According to the land registry the landlord has owned the property for 6 years. I thought this coupled with the fact the letting agents were 'reputable' and have 30+ offices was enough to be fairly confident things would be ok.
From what I've read, there are certain tenancies that can apply for the order not to be enforced for up to 2 months, otherwise we're out on the 14/1/2010. The only shot I think we have is if it was a buy to let mortgage or if the lender knew the flat was being rented. I am going to call the lender then the letting agents tomorrow to see what they have to say, but am I right in saying we're pretty much stuffed? What is the best approach in this situation?
What are you doing opening other peoples mail?We contacted the agents and they basically fobbed my gf off with something about it being for the whole building. I assumed that someone else in the building was in arrears and the freeholders were just trying to recover the money from anyone, either way the letting agents were completely unconcerned.
Today we received a letter from the mortgage company stating that they are applying for a warrant for possession against the property on 31/12/2010. Now this is a warrant for possession, which as far as I'm aware is the final stage of repossession, implying that this whole thing started months ago so it's fair to assume that the letting agents new or ought to have known about the possession order when letting the property.
According to the land registry the landlord has owned the property for 6 years. I thought this coupled with the fact the letting agents were 'reputable' and have 30+ offices was enough to be fairly confident things would be ok.
From what I've read, there are certain tenancies that can apply for the order not to be enforced for up to 2 months, otherwise we're out on the 14/1/2010. The only shot I think we have is if it was a buy to let mortgage or if the lender knew the flat was being rented. I am going to call the lender then the letting agents tomorrow to see what they have to say, but am I right in saying we're pretty much stuffed? What is the best approach in this situation?
To the OP: If the mortgage was in place before you began your tenancy, the mortgagee must give you two months' notice to quit under Section 8 of the Housing Act 1988.
Zod said:
To the OP: If the mortgage was in place before you began your tenancy, the mortgagee must give you two months' notice to quit under Section 8 of the Housing Act 1988.
Nothing to do with a Section 8 Notice, this is between the mortgagees and the LL, and as i posted earlier, and i post again" "The Dwelling Houses (Execution of Possession Orders by Mortgagees) Regulations 2010, came into force on 1st October 2010, the same requires that the mortgagee gives notice t the time they apply for a Warrant of Execution to instruct the County Court bailiff to enforce a possession order. When doing so they must also send a notice to the property by first class post or by hand delivery or personal service addressed either to the tenant in their own name or to “The Tenant or Occupier”. The form of this notice is set out in detail and it specifies all the details of the Court who will be dealing with the matter and the details of the mortgagee who is seeking possession. It also spells out the tenant’s new rights under the Act to ask for a stay of 2 months in the execution of the warrant and the process by which this is to be done" end.
The very reason was the above Act was drafted was to protect the tenant, since the government, mortgagees, the courts etc. etc. ALL recognised in part that residential mortgages were being obtained fraudently on BTL properties, that rental payments did not always cover the repayments on the mortgages etc.
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