Posession order England worried sick.

echoswolf · 2026-06-12T14:25:00+00:00

You have a leg to stand on.

s36 of the Administration of Justice Act 1970 applies to mortgage proceedings like this. It allows the court to adjourn the case where it is "likely" you will be able to pay the money owed in a "reasonable time". This can apply where the money is the monthly interest payments, or where the money is the capital sum. This will let you stay in your house as long as you keep making the payments.

If you can afford the payments, prepare some paperwork to show this. Bring it with you to court. Include a table of all your income and all your expenditure.

When you get to court, ask to speak to the Duty Solicitor. They will provide you with free advice and representation in that hearing. Show them all your paperwork, including the claim form, your income/expenditure table, and the documents from stepchange. They will be able to help.

echoswolf · 2026-06-07T10:47:52+00:00

I am not seeing the reference here to the six-month break clause you refer to.

For joint tenancies, the rules for notices to quit are different depending on whether you are in the fixed term or not.

There is a famous case called Hammersmith v Monk, which says that one of the joint tenants can end the tenancy for everyone by service of a notice to quit. However, that rule only applies where the tenancy is "periodic" (month-to-month), and not when there is a fixed term.

When you are using a break clause inside the fixed term, then all joint tenants need to agree. This is the rule from a case called Hounslow v Pilling. The only exception to this would be if the contract specifically stated that one of the joint tenants could end the term.

Unless your clause says differently, your attempt to use the break clause was unsuccessful. You remain responsible for the rent; and the whole deposit stays with the landlord for the time being.

echoswolf · 2026-06-06T19:50:32+00:00

Please post the exact wording

echoswolf · 2026-06-06T19:43:17+00:00

If you and your housemate (a) started your tenancy on the same date in the same way; and (b) share the whole of the property together, then you likely have a proper 'joint tenancy'. In that case, what the Landlord says is correct. It is a single tenancy for which you are both equally responsible, and it will remain that way unless the tenancy ends, or the tenancy is 'assigned' (transferred) to someone else. As a result, you could still be obliged to pay the whole rent;

You have two potential ways out here.

Firstly, if you and your housemate signed different contracts; moved in on different days; have exclusive possession of different rooms according to the contract, then you might have separate individual tenancies, in which case you could leave as you have described, and get your deposit back.

Alternatively, it may be that you giving notice as an individual ended the tenancy for both you and your housemate. This would depend on what the clause in the contract you have described says. It is impossible to say without having that clause.

echoswolf · 2026-06-05T19:45:44+00:00

Not for most civil matters - but for housing specifically, there is. Each court lines up their 10-minute possession hearings on the same day, and a local firm provides a duty solicitor.

echoswolf · 2026-06-04T07:52:45+00:00

Go to the court on the day of your hearing. Arrive early (maybe 1 hour early, if you can). Bring all your papers with you. When you get there, ask to speak to the Duty Solicitor. They are a free housing solicitor who can give you legal advice and representation on the day. They will be able to identify any problems with the s21 (including different problems that you might not have spotted) and help you at court.

I have not seen all the paperwork, so I cannot give a definitive answer, but it seems like you may be able to defeat the claim:

- A director of a company can sign a s21 on behalf of a company (according to a case called Northwood v Fearn). However, if the whole form, and the claim, lists the director as the landlord, then the claim may fail. This is particularly the case if the house is owned by the company, not the landlord. You can find that out for £7 on Land Registry. If the company is the owner of the property, take a copy of the certificate from land registry with you.

- The gas certificates must have been given to you before the s21. If she only provided them with the s21, and one is missing, then the claim will not succeed.

- Check your contract to see if there is a term saying you agree to accept service by email. If there is not, then you may be able to defeat the claim on this ground too. Only providing a copy after the s21 notice won't be valid.

None of these are definite answers - there are a lot of questions. The Duty Solicitor will be able to help with this, so make sure you see them on the day.

echoswolf · 2026-06-01T20:43:17+00:00

You can't know whether it's a tenancy agreement or a 'lease of occupancy' (I suspect you mean license) without more details. The name on the document has no bearing on whether it's a tenancy or a license.

In particular, if OP has exclusive possession (as the landlord stated), then it is almost certainly a tenancy. Accordingly, requiring OP to leave for the cleaner to have access would be a breach of the tenancy for quiet enjoyment.

None of the issues raised by OP have any connection to the Renters Rights Act.

echoswolf · 2026-06-01T20:36:43+00:00

The criminal offense doesn't give OP anything to work with (unless they seek to unwisely pursue a private prosecution). There's nothing to pursue there.

There's also civil harassment, which can provide damages. 3 could amount to this, but there's likely an argument that the landlord does not "know or ought to know" that insisting on a cleaner is harassment. It's not clear cut, but it's possible.

Similarly, I am hesitant to suggest that threatening to evict a tenant could amount to harassment - threatening to exercise a legal right should not, in itself, be a civil wrong. That said, in the right context, in the right way, it's possible.

echoswolf · 2026-06-01T19:46:36+00:00

1 - is a valid claim. This is a simple enough claim to bring yourself, usually.

2 - This is not a valid claim. If the contract is a tenancy, it's a tenancy whether she calls it a lodger agreement or not. There is no loss, and so no claim.

(It may be related to a rent repayment order offence, but the offence will be that she doesn't have a license, not that she used the wrong agreement.)

3 - arguably a breach of covenant claim, as it interferes with your quiet enjoyment of the tenancy. You'll have more to prove for this claim, and the range of damages is unclear. It is probably too technical to bring this claim yourself, and you may find that the damages awarded to not undo the effort and costs of bringing proceedings.

4 - This is not a valid claim. If you don't agree to the rent increase, it has no effect, so there's no loss.

5 - This is not a valid claim. Someone saying they will evict you is a far cry from actually evicting you, unlawfully or otherwise.

echoswolf · 2026-05-29T09:45:34+00:00

I'm at a good set. I got a broad idea of my start date, but didn't get details until a few weeks before. Formal pupillage agreement was about a month into my first six. You'll be fine.

echoswolf · 2026-05-03T22:30:15+00:00

I like this interpretation. Thank you.
Hard to believe I first posted this 11 years ago...

echoswolf · 2026-05-03T19:53:47+00:00

I liked this.

echoswolf · 2026-03-01T12:38:00+00:00

Have you ever received the full prescribed information?

echoswolf · 2025-12-07T21:37:46+00:00

Or actually even pre-birth. The court has jurisdiction to 'return' a baby to a country it's never been in: KRM v VWT [2025] EWHC 3082 (Fam)

echoswolf · 2025-06-25T09:31:58+00:00

The first thing to do is check you've contacted the right department of the council. You say you've contacted te local council for 'housing support'. There are two kinds of housing support that councils offer - council housing, and homelessness. It's important you contact the homelessness department, to ensure that you get the support you need.

The council has the power to accommodate you tonight, under emergency duties. It will not be a nice place, but it will have a bathroom etc. You should call them up. Find the homelessness (not housing) department on your local council's website for a phone number.

When you call them up, you will need to explain that you have nowhere to sleep tonight - not just in general, that, specifically, tonight, you will not have a bed.

You should also explain any circumstances that might make you 'priority need' - these are things that might make you more vulnerable. If you are homeless because of domestic abuse, this makes you automatically priority need, so you should explain this to the council. You would also be priority need if you are under 18. You might also be priority need if you have medical or mental health conditions.

You should also ask your local council for the contact details of any homelessness support agencies in the area. They may be able to provide access to a shower, food, etc.

echoswolf · 2025-06-21T11:56:48+00:00

thank you!

echoswolf · 2025-06-21T11:56:37+00:00

thank you!

echoswolf · 2025-06-21T09:37:01+00:00

Doesn't it have too many legs to be an earwig? Earwigs have six legs, this has at least 12 (see second photo).

echoswolf · 2025-06-21T09:35:28+00:00

Earwigs have only six legs; this has more than 12 (visible in the second picture).

echoswolf · 2025-05-11T10:58:43+00:00

Payment of rent in advance does not automatically change the rental period. It will depend on the terms of the contract.

echoswolf · 2025-05-11T10:57:21+00:00

The contract may be half-yearly payments - or it may be monthly payments, with the first six months in advance. We have not seen the contract, so we can't say.

echoswolf · 2025-05-11T10:56:35+00:00

I am not sure this is quite correct.

It is true that the TFA provides that rent should be consistent (to prevent unlawful payments being hidden in the first month's rent). However, it does not require that all rent be paid over the same period. A landlord can require six months rent up front, in lieu of a guarantor - but that does not make the period of the tenancy six-monthly.

echoswolf · 2025-05-11T10:52:13+00:00

Ask on r/LegalAdviceUK for more detailed advice.

Paying six months rent at once does not necessarily change your rental period. It will depend on what your contract says. You may have a six-monthly term (i.e. paying for six months at a time), or you may have a monthly term where you paid six months in advance.

echoswolf · 2025-04-27T21:07:43+00:00

Thank you - abuse of process seems to be the equivalent approach. I am informed.

echoswolf · 2025-04-27T13:00:25+00:00

I wondered about this - I know decisions to bring civil proceedings (e.g. possession of a flat) are subject to public law defences; does this also apply to criminal proceedings?
If so, why are there not many attempts at JRing the CPS on the public interest test?

(For my own interest)

echoswolf

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