Can you serve a landlord with a withdrawal of implied rights of access?

Dear fellow goodf'ers...

At the present time, My rent is paid till end May 2021.
I initiated this AST agreement by paying 6 months up front in cash plus a £4200 deposit. The £4200 is lodged properly in a deposit scheme.
The landlord help the 6 months rent in his own account.
Landlord served a sect 21 on Aug 26 2020, just 4 months into my initial period of 6 months which commenced in June 2020.
Shelter England/and their legal advisor informed me the sect 21 is invalid because you are not allowed to serve a sect 21 within the first 6 months.
landlord accepted a second rent payment for 5 months up front
I had enough funds to use a barrister to deal with a possession claim which we have submitted a defence for and will be heard on 24th March 2021. the landlord submitted this claim on 07 Jan 2021 but with the corona issues its taken its time to get a hearing date. My barrister thinks we'll get the possession order set aside because it was submitted with the man's name himself and not the company where the company is the party my AST is contracted with. We also requested the 42 day extension if the motion to set aside fails.
Subsequently, I've tried to negotiate with this man to have him refund me the months for April and May since we will move out if he does so.
Bear in mind, its illegal for any bailiff action prior to May 21st 2021.

So, we await the courts decision on 24th March.
If the order is set aide, I will remain in my house i've paid to rent until May 29.
the landlord will have to start all over again and submit a new claim of possession, which he cant because the sec 21 is invalid and will be proved so in the hearing on the 24th March.
The landlord can of course issue a new Sect 21, but will have no grounds since I am ahead with rent and not in arears and I have not committed any breach despite whatever this landlord might imagine. I can read contracts damn well and I know the terms I am subject and understand them clearly.
We accepted (agreed with)an email from the landlord the day after we signed the AST that altered the terms to state that if we wished to leave the house, we can sty until the 6 months rent is used up that we paid up front.
So there we are.
£1500 in barrister fee (Shensmiths are really good i Must say and it was @Assisin or @Waylander I think who referred me to them)
I get my costs back if the Landlord loses on the 24th

I really didnt need this pressure. Too much goin on and now this. uuuuugh People! Is there no one decent left on this planet.

all advice welcomed
and much thank in advance

No you can't serve a landlord with such a withdrawal notice as he owns the property and is entitled into the property to undertake basic checks, if the property is in a company name then the property company can appoint an agent to enter the property, certain bodies have rights to enter the property such as gas or electricity for example as such checks on rented property are required.

That said, there are conditions they must comply with and these are laid down in law such as giving you notice, if they turn up unannounced and enter your property then they are committing numerous offences and you can bring a claim against him

Ah my old mentor Assassin you legend. You have no idea how much your advice ahs given me strength and tools to fight on with over the years I've read your comments. thank you.

thats sounds logical to me.
I had a long call with the CAB and their legal man told me the sect 21 had no grounds due to that 6 month issue. I will research that today. He gave me some good links to read and I'll post them here once I understand the content.

thank you again mate

Here are the links I got from ShelterEngland, some very useful info here re sect 21 and what makes it invalid

https://england.shelter.org.uk/housing_advice/eviction/section_21_eviction/how_to_check_a_section_21_notice_is_valid



https://england.shelter.org.uk/housing_advice/homelessness/get_help_from_the_council



https://england.shelter.org.uk/housing_advice/homelessness/intentionally_homeless



https://england.shelter.org.uk/housing_advice/private_renting/how_to_find_a_private_rented_home

After some careful reading on this i can report back.
the section 21 i was issues was served on 26 aug 2020.
That means under the legislation at that time, the landlord should have lodged a court claim for possession on or before 26 December 2020. He only made application on 7 January. His bad. His fail. Sorry for him.
it will be an intersting day in court for us on the 24th to se what the outcome will be.
Either way, I am not moving out before may 21st.

Some more feedback on this.

regarding sect 21 notices, please note, the law is they cannot be issued within the first six months of an AST tenancy. Thats what CAB told us and a judge said the same in a hearing we were part of today.

For clarity sake, I am not in arrears with rent and have been well behaved.

The Landlord I have just wants me out, kinda no matter what. He used the accelerated procedure, as they judge aid today to me this is not related to money, it is a matter of possession, rights of access to what you own. That much I understand.

I've offered to vacate,..if the landlord repays me the rent for april and may immediately.

HE has so far refused 18 requests to do so.

This will result in me stying put until the end of my tenancy at the end of may this year. and the landlord cant do anything until June 1, I am sure he will try, all manner of written threats.

Record all phone calls and copy all correspondence, if he tries anything then you have a claim against him/her for harassment, compo in your pocket.

Thanks Assassin, you are spot on as always mate.

The current status is, we had a hearing last week, the judge noted the section 21 is in fact invalid because according to the housing act 1988 sect 21 4(b) you may not issue a section 21 within the first four months of the initial period of an AST contract. It was a bit strange but the judge generously allowed the landlord 4 days time period to get advice on this specific point and we are scheduled to have another hearing in days. The judge asked the landlord of there was any good reason why he should not set the order aside because that is what he should do. lets see what happens in the next hearing.

today we saw the landlord videoing us and the property from the perimeter, he owns the land behind the house which has public right of ways all over it.

I've set up some old smartphones with the Alfred camera app, its amazing really it is. o now I can get alerts on any monitored area from 5 cameras I've spread around those house watching the outside.

Additionally, he has refused to repaid the boiler, seems it had sludge in the fuel line, £800 to fix that. Now the dishwasher wont heat up so i have mailed them and advised them of that.

I keep recorders on everything, phone lines and cameras. Every communication he sends is printed and filed. He better watch his step cos now I am annoyed enough to build a case for harassment. This videoing us from the edge of the property better stop right away.

I am sure he is trying to claim our chickens have destroyed his garden which is nonsense. We move them every now and then, plus they roam freely so they don't damage one spot fo grass. He agreed we could keep the chickens here. ha. They're going to a foster home in the next week so we can let the gras grow nicely in spring.

Nice evidence of harassment of a tenant which is another claim along with the £800 he is also liable for.

The result is in!

The judge set the order aside.
The landlord tried in vain to get the judge to alter the dates on the section 21 to be within Covid regulations, the judge shut him down so fast I could feel the burn this side fo town.

matters now closed. I suspect the landlord will try a sect 8 next but he hasnt a leg to stand on. A case for banning a vexatious litigator is building. I ma in contact with the previous tenant who experienced the same kind of treatment from this landlord.

Thank you assassin again.

well here is the next step
Landlord banged on my door, I mean really banged.
Hands me a new Section 21.
Informs me he is starting building works next to the house that will make it unbearable to to live here.
also threatens to install a water meter and cut my water off if I dont pay.
our tenancy agreement does not cover that, but the agreement was they'd cover our water costs as the feed pipe is on the farm and they use so much =water they werent bothered to make us pay anything toward water. And he's told me now he will increase the rent from next month onwards.

my questions are now:
Can the landlord visit unannounced or does he have to give notice to visit. (if he has to give notice is there legislation to that?)
Can he disrupt my water supply
Can he make so much building noise its unbearable?

This looks like a landlord harrassing me now. It certainly feels like it.

Q. Can the landlord visit unannounced or does he have to give notice to visit.
A. I think he can call unannounced, but can't demand access to the property other than as defined in the tenancy agreement.  If he's just calling, that might fall within the "implied right of access" that can be withdrawn.  And of course his behaviour when calling might contribute towards a case of harassment.

Q. Can he disrupt my water supply
A. No.  Especially if your tenancy agreement allows you water without charge.

Q. Can he make so much building noise its unbearable?
A. No again.  I suppose a possible exception might be if you remained in the property after the tenancy came to an end, but before he could legally evict by force.  However if I was the LL I wouldn't take that risk because again that could be quite serious harassment.

He can't make a Section 8 possession claim unless he has a valid Ground, bearing in mind that many are discretionary, meaning he can try for possession on that Ground but the court does not have to grant it.

Thank you @flyingfish. I'll wait a bit to see how the LL behaves before deciding to send a WOIRA (withdrawal of implied rights of access) and will have to check up on legislation on that I am calling CAB tomorrow to get their advice on this too.

the building he might do would be on the farm adjacent to our garage, so - not on our property, on his farm.

Our AST agreement does not stipulate anything regarding water or electric supply.

We were handed a file when we took possession, inside the file is a page that says they won't charge for water but that may change in the future. So... he can start to charge me for water. Question: How do I ensure he doesn't overcharge me. Can i insist on seeing the meter if he installs it in a place that not inside our property?

I agree re sect 8. I think he knows his options are exhausted hence why he was making these statements today about what he will do.

He also said he will raise the rent from next month. The AST I signed has no clause to define how rent will be increased. Question: What do I do if he raises the rent, I have already paid for April and May in full.

Thanking you all in advance for your kind attention

It's permissible for the LL to increase rent under certain circumstances, but he needs to use the proper process, and there are mechanisms for you to challenge the increase ..
https://england.shelter.org.uk/housing_advice/private_renting/rent_increases

thanks @flyingfish, i had read that up too so I'll make sure he follows the proper process

Whoops!!! Oh dear.... LOL!

I have already served mine with one via Registered Mail, stuck it in the front window and stuck one on the front door! (I did stipulate that no access will be granted, unless it's for NECESSARY checks and repairs)

My landlord is a Housing Association or 'social housing provider', well used to be, until they became a greedy, unscrupulous, all for profit corporation! If a Corporation has NO 'rights', then it would explain why my landlord have not forced entry after they have already been given the 'right' to last November, by the local County Court. This matter is over a Gas Safety Check, which I have already paid an independent 'Gas Safe' Engineer (with 30 yrs experience) to carry out, and have provided the certificate to my H. A. which has also been filed into the Court.

Curiously, they have turned up at my home, twice, with locksmiths, security personnel, Gas Engineers and their pen-pushing agents, and have requested that I 'let' them in' to do the Gas Safety Check - because the Court Order says my 'PERSON' has to! I tell them I will not 'let' them in, as I am not the PERSON who is addressed on the court order, but, they are welcome to force entry if that's what they have come to do! - for the record, my landlord has endangered my life 3 times now with Gas leaks, and connecting a faulty gas appliance, so I have told them, and the Court in no uncertain terms, that I have no confidence in the competency of their 'approved' Gas Engineers!
Even though they claim there is a danger of gas leak or explosion, to date, they have not gone past my WIROA on the front door, even with a Court Order! - I have never accepted liability for my PERSON, and never gave them jurisdiction, so I have not accepted any of their offered contracts.

I am of course, not telling anyone else to take the actions that I have without due diligence and just cause, because it's not an easy road to go down. Pls note that I have an Assured Tenancy of over 23 years and the the HA has been in serious of their obligations for every one of those years. I have simply had enough of the corruption and this BS system that puts Corporations before us [Wo]men!! My PERSON was even called into the County Court to be 'committed to Prison' over this recently! Believe me, this stuff is not for the faint-hearted!

Time to lien their arses now I think, every last one of them!

I will keep you all posted on my SUCCESS or FAILURE with serving my landlord a WIROA, Peace.

Highlander72 wrote:Whoops!!! Oh dear.... LOL!  

I have already served mine with one via Registered Mail, stuck it in the front window and stuck one on the front door! (I did stipulate that no access will be granted, unless it's for NECESSARY checks and repairs)

I don't think that's hopeless.  You're withdrawing the Implied right of access, the right that might exist by virtue of you having a front door on which anyone can come and knock (or whatever you actually have).  You can't withdraw any Express right of access that may be written into your tenancy agreement, but this right will be restricted and conditional on various things like reason for access, notice period etc.

Love this forum.
These guys know more about law than most solicitors.
@Highlander72 well done mate. Enforce your rights peaceably and you will be fine.
For now it seems my case is kind of settled, until my Landlord acts stupid again.
Anyway, we got what we paid for and can stay for the remainder of the time we have paid for. I will be so glad to leave. I found the previous tenant on Fb and it turns out the LL has a history of getting tenants to agree to make improvements and then never pays his part which he agreed to. We rebuilt the cladding on the side of the garage that rotted off, with new shiplap boarding. The LL never provided a lift as promised so we hired one ourselves. No one wants to live in a place that looks like its falling apart, well I don't. Anwyay. Job done.