Long Term Let - Problems with Landlord

VickyHurn wrote: »

OK Guys hope someone can help with this


My Dad rented a house from his employer for over 35 years (Very Low Rent), 3 Bed Detatched in Nice part of outer London (Current Rent £200 a month)

Dad died last year, and the company he worked for have been presurizing my stepmum to up the rent or leave. They have been upping the pressure over the last 9 months and have now placed the house with a Rental agency who have advised her they will be going to a rent tribunal to get the rent raised to a realisitic level. (They are talking about £1000 a month) which is more than she earns, as she is 60 and semi retired.

What if any rights does she have. She has been a tenant for over 18 years at the property. Can they force the rent through the roof.

She is really panicking so just looking for best way to advise her.

Assured tenancy alert - impossible to get now-days. Must get professional advice from Shelter !!!!! Help the aged may also help. She has the right to inherit this tenancy from your dad and pass it on if someone else moves in. People pay such tenants 50k to leave of their own accord. Rent tribunals will only raise it to a level comparable to council rents. If she's semi-retired and low income may be entitled to housing benefit. Even if she left the rent would be higher elsewhere. If a tenant loses tied accommodation (to a job) they do get some priorites for council accommodation. Really get professional advice.

VickyHurn wrote: »

OK Guys hope someone can help with this


My Dad rented a house from his employer for over 35 years (Very Low Rent), 3 Bed Detatched in Nice part of outer London (Current Rent £200 a month)

Dad died last year, and the company he worked for have been presurizing my stepmum to up the rent or leave. They have been upping the pressure over the last 9 months and have now placed the house with a Rental agency who have advised her they will be going to a rent tribunal to get the rent raised to a realisitic level. (They are talking about £1000 a month) which is more than she earns, as she is 60 and semi retired.

What if any rights does she have. She has been a tenant for over 18 years at the property. Can they force the rent through the roof.

She is really panicking so just looking for best way to advise her.

http://www.landlordzone.co.uk/residential_tenancies.htm
These tenancies give the residential tenant considerable security of tenure and they also regulate the level of rent payable by the tenant.
Basically these are uneconomic to operate and landlords need to exercise caution when purchasing properties with existing tenants, in case there are any Rent Act tenants.
As a general guide a property with a sitting Rent Act tenant is worth only around 50% of its vacant possession value.
The Residential Property Tribunal Service determine Fair rents and Market rents for Regulated (Rent Act) and Assured tenancies.


As a PROTECTED TENANT what's deemed a fair rent *may* be influenced by the expenditure on the property but get proper advice


http://www.adviceguide.org.uk/index/family_parent/housing/private_sector_tenancies.htm#The_tenancy_began_before_15_January_1989

England Housing Private sector tenancies Housing - In England






Private sector tenancies




This information applies to England and Wales

• The tenancy began on or after 15 January 1989 but before 28 February 1997
• Assured tenants
• The tenancy began on or after 28 February 1997
• The tenancy began before 15 January 1989
• Fixing and increasing the rent
• Repairs
• The right to stay in the accommodation
• Shared accomodation
• Discrimination by private landlords

The tenancy began on or after 15 January 1989 but before 28 February 1997



If your tenancy is a private or a housing association tenancy which began on or after 15 January 1989 you may be:-

• an assured tenant
• an assured shorthold tenant
• an occupier with basic protection (see under heading The tenancy began before 15 January 1989)

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Assured tenants



An assured tenant will not normally have a resident landlord and the landlord will not provide food or services. As an assured tenant you will be paying rent for accommodation which you occupy as your only or principal home.


You will not be an assured tenant if your accommodation is:

• a student let
• a holiday let
• a company let
• a business premises
• a Crown tenancy
• private accommodation arranged by the local authority because you are homeless.

Rights of assured tenants



As an assured tenant you have the right to stay in your accommodation unless your landlord can convince the court there are good reasons for eviction, for example rent arrears or damage to the property, or that another of the terms of the agreement has been broken.


As an assured tenant you can enforce your rights, for instance, to get repairs done without worrying about getting evicted.


As well as the right to stay in your home as long as you keep to the terms of the tenancy you will also have other rights by law including:-

• the right to have the accommodation kept in a reasonable state of repair
• the right of a your spouse, civil partner, or other partner to take over the tenancy on your death (‘the right of succession’)
• the right not to be treated unfairly because of your race, sex, sexuality, disability or religion.

Assured shorthold tenants (before 28 February 1997)



You will be an assured shorthold tenant if your tenancy is for a fixed period of not less than six months.


This is a less secure type of tenancy than an assured tenancy. It is granted for a fixed period of not less than six months. After this ends, your landlord can apply to the court for possession as long as they have given two months’ notice. If your landlord does not renew the agreement, you can stay on until your landlord serves notice that they want to repossess the property.


If you were not given a Notice of an Assured Shorthold Tenancy or were given it after the tenancy started you will be an assured tenant. If you are not sure of your position you should consult an experienced adviser, for example, at a Citizens Advice Bureau. To search for details of your nearest CAB, including those that can give advice by e-mail, click on nearest CAB.


You will not be an assured shorthold tenant if the accommodation:-

• is a holiday let
• is a company let
• is rented by you and you are a student from a university or college
• is private temporary accommodation in which you are housed because you are homeless
• has a resident landlord
• is accommodation for which you pay no rent.

Rights of assured shorthold tenants



As an assured shorthold tenant you have the right to stay in the accommodation until the fixed term ends unless your landlord can convince the court there are reasons for eviction, for example, rent arrears, damage to property, or that one of the other terms of the agreement has been broken. You can stay on after the end of the fixed term, even if the agreement is not renewed, until your landlord gives you notice.


As an assured shorthold tenant you can enforce your rights, for instance to get repairs done, but if you do, your landlord may decide not to renew the tenancy agreement at the end of the fixed term.


As well as the right to stay in your home for the fixed period as long as you keep to the terms of the tenancy, you will also have other legal rights including:-

• the right to have the accommodation kept in a reasonable state of repair
• the right to carry out minor repairs yourself and the right to deduct the cost from the rent.

If you are considering doing this you should consult an experienced adviser, for example, at a Citizens Advice Bureau. To search for details of your nearest CAB, including those that can give advice by e-mail, click on nearest CAB.

• the right of your spouse, civil partner or other partner to take over the tenancy on your death (the right of ‘succession’)
• the right not to be treated unfairly because of your race, sex, sexuality, disability or religion.

You may have a written tenancy agreement which may give you more rights than the minimum provided by law.




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The tenancy began on or after 28 February 1997



Any new tenancy created on or after this date is automatically an assured shorthold tenancy, unless:-

• it was created following a contract made before 28 February 1997; or
• your landlord serves a notice on you stating that the tenancy is not to be an assured shorthold tenancy; or
• there is a clause in the tenancy agreement stating that it is not to be an assured shorthold tenancy; or
• the tenancy is one created by the death of a former protected tenant; or
• the tenancy was previously a secure tenancy and became an assured tenancy; or
• you are an occupier with basic protection (see under heading The tenancy began before 15 January 1989).

The list of exceptions is not exhaustive. Only the most important exceptions are given.


If the tenancy is not an assured shorthold tenancy for one of the reasons given above, it will be an assured tenancy. You will have the same rights as other assured tenants whose tenancy began before 28 February 1997 but after 15 January 1989.


Assured shorthold tenancies created on or after 28 February 1997 do not have to have a fixed-term period at the beginning of the tenancy, although your landlord may give a fixed-term if they want. If no fixed-term is agreed, the tenancy will be what is called a periodic tenancy. No written agreement or notice is needed to create an assured shorthold tenancy on or after 28 February 1997. An oral agreement is sufficient.


Rights of assured shorthold tenants (on or after 28 February 1997)



The rights are the same as for other assured shorthold tenancies. However, there is one additional right to a statement from your landlord of the terms of the agreement. Your landlord must provide a written statement of the basic terms of the tenancy which are not already provided in writing. Failure to provide the statement is a criminal offence.




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The tenancy began before 15 January 1989



If your tenancy began before 15 January 1989 you could be either:-

• a protected tenant (see below); or
• an occupier with basic protection (see below).

Protected tenants



If you are a protected tenant you will:-

• be paying rent for the accommodation; and
• not normally have a resident landlord; and
• not be provided with food or services by your landlord.

You will not be a protected tenant if your accommodation is:-

• a bed and breakfast letting
• a ‘company’ let.

Protected tenants have the strongest rights of any private tenants. If you think you are a protected tenant and your landlord asks you to move or to sign a new agreement, you should consult an experienced adviser, for example, at a Citizens Advice Bureau. To search for details of your nearest CAB, including those that can give advice by e-mail, click on nearest CAB.


Rights of protected tenants


As a protected tenant you have the following rights:-

• security of tenure. Your landlord can only repossess the accommodation in certain specified circumstances - see under heading The right to stay in the accommodation
• the right to have the rent fixed by the rent officer - see below
• the right to have rent increased only in certain circumstances - see under heading Fixing and increasing the rent
• the right to have the accommodation kept in a reasonable state or repair - see under heading Repairs
• the right of your spouse, civil partner, other partner or another family member to take over the tenancy on your death
• the right not to be treated unfairly because of your race, sex, sexuality, disability or religion.

Protected tenants



As a protected tenant you must pay the rent which you agreed with your landlord when the tenancy began. However, either you or your landlord can subsequently ask the Rent Officer to fix a ‘fair rent’.


If you intend to take action about your rent, you should make sure you are a protected tenant. You should first consult an experienced adviser, for example a Citizens Advice Bureau. To search for details of your nearest CAB, including those that can give advice by e-mail, click on nearest CAB.


Your landlord cannot increase your rent if it has been registered as a fair rent by the Rent Officer. If no fair rent has been registered, your landlord cannot increase the rent unless you agree formally in writing, or either you or your landlord apply to the Rent Officer and the Rent Officer fixes a fair rent.

firstly - tell her not to panic - if she has an Assured Tenancy she has masses of legal protection - no one can come to her door to remove her from her home - no one can threaten her to leave (thats harrassment and its a criminal offence) - no one can force her out at a moments notice - tenants have lots of rights these day

EVEN if the owner can get her out - she cannot be removed from her home without a court order and all that takes a lot of months.

She must keep a record of all letters, phone calls, emails etc with the owners - in fact i would say to her - dont speak to them - ask them to write to her.

as others have suggested - i would go to the Council and ask to speak to the Private Tenancy officer - and take her tenancy agreement with her. If she does not have an agreement she will need to find prooof of how long she has lived there - bills in her name, council tax/community charge bills something of the sort

best of luck

keep us updated

First of all she should get some legal advice about the harrassment she has experienced. Your home is very basic and emotional subject, she has lost your Dad and does not need any of this

I can't remember all the ins and outs of this, it is some years since I dealt with it but if the rent officer sets a fair rent on the house, and I am not sure that he can in these circumstances as they seem particular to her and she may have rights over and above this, the council base any housing benefit entitlement on what the rent office sets as a fair rent. All this needs to be checked out by a solicitor who actually know all the ins and outs of housing law and most don't.

Does she have a housing advice centre near her, I bet she does in London, they have law students or recently qualified law type people there on placements and they are very keen and knowledgable and are still at the stage in their lives where they they want to change the world and they really want to help people, and they really are often experts on housing law. I don't think that to put her under so much pressure is legal, once she know exactly what her position is she can tell them to get lost.

A lump sum is not particularly helpful I am sure she would rather stay in her secure home of some years and a lump sum would probably put her out of the benefit system and when she has spent it on rent back in the benefit and all the complications and upset all that will cause

Who did you Dad work for all those years? Is it a big company? a well known company even locally? I would find out who the top person is and write and tell them how she is being treated and embarrass the firm into doing the right thing FOR HER, forget legal.

Give them a chance to behave like human beings, just in case they are, and if it doesn't work then the press, good story 'New widow forced out of her family home by huge company'

People have no shame, they really will do anything when there is some money involved

I HATE BULLIES