To recap, in part one we’ve seen that (probably) Usha can ask Rob and Helen to leave by giving them two months’ notice, which to be enforceable in a court must expire on a rent day. If you’ve just missed the rent day, this could mean having to give almost three months’ notice in order to get possession of your property.
However, perhaps Usha doesn’t want the property back – is she prepared to keep it empty for them, so one or both of them can return to it? Will she be happy for Rob’s mother Ursula to stay there for a long period, to nurse him when he’s out of hospital, and to look after Henry? As a landlord, will she want to ‘take sides’ and ask one of them to leave, whilst allowing the other to stay? What are her options?
OPTION 1 do nothing. So long as the rent is paid, why should she care who lives there? She may be comfortable with the parent of one of the tenants occupying the home in the tenants’ absence. After all, it’s generally thought better for a home to be occupied, deterring theft or vandalism, and keeping the property warm and ‘lived in’. This would certainly be a reasonable thing to do, if Usha isn’t concerned about Ursula living there. How much does she really know about what has been going on? Most of the village seem blissfully unaware of it.
OPTION 2 depending on what Usha knows about Helen’s situation, she may want to evict just one of them. If she’s aware of the abuse, she may want to help protect Helen from Rob and can do this by putting the tenancy in Helen’s name only. In cases of reported abuse, the police may suggest this as it allows a non-molestation order to be made, preventing an abusive partner from going to the home of their victim. Once the tenancy is in Helen’s name only, neither Rob nor his mother has any right to be there, and hopefully Ursula will leave when Usha asks her to.
If Helen is allowed external contact from her prison, and is in a fit state to do it, I’d advise her to contact Usha now asking her to agree to take Rob off the tenancy agreement. If Usha agrees, the mechanism for this is that Helen gives written notice to cancel the tenancy (one month, ending on a rent day) and asks her landlord to agree to end the tenancy with immediate effect. As joint tenants, either Rob or Helen may end the tenancy in this way without the agreement of the other tenant – this can be a lifesaver for someone in Helen’s situation.
Usha will agree to this, and end the tenancy right away. She then creates a new tenancy agreement in Helen’s name for her to sign. From that date Rob has no rights to occupy the cottage, and Ursula can only stay with Helen’s permission. Given that Helen is in prison, signing the rental agreement may be challenging, as will dealing with the deposit. Communicating with the Deposit Protection Agency to reclaim the original deposit paid by Rob, then lodge the new deposit in Helen’s name only, all requires access to the internet. I hope the scriptwriters can deal with this level of complexity – if the deposit isn’t correctly protected, Usha won’t be able to use a Section 21 notice to regain possession in the future; see Option 3.
OPTION 3 is to issue a Section 21 notice to regain possession, then wait for Rob and Ursula to leave and relet it. This S21 notice is simply a document that gives the tenant the required notice that the landlord wants them to leave. Once the notice period is up, if the tenants don’t move out a court will normally make an order that they must go, subject to the landlord having complied with all relevant legislation. In theory, not protecting the deposit, or not providing an Energy Performance Certificate are valid reasons to refuse to issue a court order. Unless you have that court order, you can’t legally take any action to make your tenants leave. Even with an order, if the tenants ignore it the landlord can’t do anything other than go back to court. The court would then appoint a bailiff, who is permitted to make the tenants leave. If the eviction will make the tenants homeless, many councils will advise them to wait for the bailiffs. If they leave on the date stated on the S21 the council will consider them as ‘intentionally homeless’ and not eligible for help with rehousing.
Using the Section 21 route it could be several months before Ursula could be forced out, and during this time there is no rent coming in – not a situation a landlord wants! A further complication is that Ursula would not be named on the bailiff’s instructions. If Rob isn’t out of hospital and back at the cottage, he won’t be there to evict, and a bailiff may be reluctant to act against another adult if they are in the property on their own. Let’s hope she’ll leave willingly..
If I were Rob and Helen’s landlord
I would opt for option 2. Not necessarily the easiest for me (that would be option 1), but landlords are human and will generally want to help an abused partner in any way they can. If that means a little disruption, and a new 6 month fixed period tenancy, I would hope that most landlords would be happy to help. Given that Usha lives in the same village and knows Helen, I would expect her to do the decent thing. However, Helen would need to ask for her help – something she’s not been good at doing lately.
Please remember that Ambridge, and Rob & Helen, are fictional! This outline of Usha’s options is purely my own understanding, based on my personal experience of this situation for two different sets of joint tenants. If any landlord or tenant is in this position I would recommend speaking to your local Women’s Aid (if you’re a tenant) or a solicitor specialising in rentals (if you’re a landlord). Get advice about your options, then decide what’s right for you.