late protection of tenant deposits

[alderwick83]

I am currently a tenant with a shorthold tenancy. My fixed term has lapsed and therefore I am now in a periodical tenancy. I will try and keep it short....
LL is selling property and has accepted offer she Posted a note through my door to say that I had two months notice ( dates didn't match correctly from date of letter to date for me to leave) I have no where to go so am going to have to rely on the council to get me emergency accom to buy me time to find suitable place. On visiting the council I was told that LL should have protected my deposit and that she has to re-issue correct notice ending on a rent period. LL has now put deposit in scheme and said she will get a new notice to me tomorrow.

The council have been telling me I can take her to court to sue for not protecting the deposit and also for not having gas safety cert. Am I correct in thinking that I can't do this now as she has protected it even though i have been living here for 18 months and the fixed term lapsed? The advice service at the council said I have 6 years to sue, is this correct?
Can anyone tell me the answer to my two questions? I am not usually a person to sue for anything but I am being asked to leave when I am pregnant and have a 2 year old resulting in moving into a B and B over xmas with a 4 week old baby. Obviously this is not ideal to say the least plus I have done everything I can for access purposes for purchasers still paying full rent whilst she is going to gain 40k + on the sale of her house. Bitter? A little...

[LesleyAnne]

Now that the deposit is protected, the general consensus is that suing will not achieve anything.

As for suing over the Gas Safety Certificate, again this could easily be stopped if the LL immediately arranged a safety check and the certificate was issued accordingly. Write to the LL, telling her that she is in breach of the H&S requirements for a letting property, and unless she arranges an urgent gas safety inspection, you will be taking the matter further and seeking legal advice.

However, the notice she has given you is not a notice to quit. It is notice that she is seeking possession of the poperty, and to actually get you to leave, she needs a court order. If you want to approach the council to house you, your best bet is to ignore the notice, and wait until she has gained the eviction order, as then you will be unintentionally homeless and the council will have to find you somewhere quickly - with young child/baby on the way, you would be an urgent priority, but you will still need to actually be evicted for the council to act. This delaying tactic may also lose the LL their sale, as a buyer cannot proceed whilst you are still living there.

Sit tight, continue to pay your rent and don't move, the law is on your side. She will eventually get the court order, but this can take another 6-8 weeks minimum, on top of the 2 months notice you already have to wait. Enjoy your Christmas!

[alderwick83]

thanks for your help I will go back to the council with the notice she has served me today and see what they say :-)

[Snorkerz]

Can you tell us:
What date did your last tenancy agreement begin?
How long was it for / was there an end date?
Is rent due monthly?
What expiry date is shown on the s21 (exact words)
Does the new notice include mention of section 21 of the 1988 Housing Act?
Have you had the 'prescribed information' telling you all about deposit protection and how you go about getting your deposit back? It will be a bit like this: http://www.depositprotection.com/documents/prescribed-information-template.pdf

[theartfullodger]

Landlord is probably desperate to sell with you out & "vacant possession". Place will be worth a lot more with you out, as you'l appreciate.

We'll see what the dates etc say but eventually he'll serve a valid S21.. Think you've got at least 2 choices...

a) Wait until you get evicted by court order etc.. then council may rehouse you/put you in a hostel...
b) Explain to landlord you know he wants you out & you'll go - for the right ££££. Depending on your circumstances & the house price we could be talking serious money here.. Of course the landlord may turn round and refuse..

Be aware LL does not have to give you an sort of reference - so you might want to negotiate that also..

Best wishes