Hi, my tenants served me a formal notice to quit which I'm happy with, but I wonder what will happen if they don't leave after their notice expires.
I get contradictory information on this. So I wonder if anyone had practical experience they can share.
This is the AST that has lapsed into a periodic.
Specifically, I'm interested in these things:
1. What's the tenants' status after their notice expires? Are they still tenants? Are they trespassers?
2. What's the process for obtaining possession if tenants don't leave after their notice to quit expires? (Assuming I haven't served a s8/s21 notice yet).
3. Is it even possible to serve a s8/s21 notice after tenants' notice expires?
4. I know that I shouldn't accept the rent payments after their notices expire, as it can create a new tenancy. Instead, I should claim for mesne profits of double the rent amount. How does this work in practice? E.g. if they send rent payment to my bank account, should I return it? I don't know they account details so that will be problematic.
Shelter website says that a court order is not needed for obtaining the possession in this situation: https://england.shelter.org.uk/legal/securityoftenure/noticestoquit%5Ftenants#2
I asked a lawyer from Landlord Action to comment on this and they seem to think the tenancy doesn't end when a tenat's NTQ expires and I'll still need to go s8 or s21 route to get the possession. I'm not sure he understood the information on that website correctly though.
Here's his answer:
The guidance is correct in that a tenancy can be terminated by a tenant serving a notice to quit. However, a tenancy will not automatically end if the tenant fails to vacate. Until such date, the tenancy and its terms apply to the tenant. It does not state tenants can be evicted without a possession order: it says "occupiers" which in short mean, anyone other than the tenants i.e. excluded occupiers or statutorily protected tenants.
In addition, there is no legal process in place for you to apply to court for a possession order using the notice given by the tenant. As mentioned in my previous email, the only legal means of ending a tenancy will be either: (a) for the tenants to give up possession or (b) to obtain a possession order from the court via s.21 or s.8.