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Problems with rental property
debtnovice_2
Posts: 55 Forumite
Hi all,
i wonder if i can pick your brains.
i am currently renting my flat on a 12 month contract (6 months fixed and then 2 months must be given by either side as notice to move out) and i have come across a few issues. my landlord has called and he is complaining about how he cant afford the mortgage payments (as the price we are paying is much less than the mortgage and he can't cover his side) and how he's speaking to his bank to see what he can do as each month, he is in deficit of about £400 and the gist of it is that he wants us to pay more rent! the cheek of it! what i want to know is:
1- with our contract, what is the minimum period of time that we can stay in the property? ie can he give us notice in month 4 so we have to move out in month 6 or does he have to wait until the end of month 6 to give us the 2 months notice in which case we can have the flat until month 8? as i said, the contract is set for at least 6 months and then there is a 2 month option on either side. the contract is done through a reputable (if there is such a thing!) estate agency so hopefully that will give us a bit more cover.
2- if he cant afford it and tries getting rid of us immidiately, what protection do we have against this?
any other information or help would be much appreciated.
thanks all.
i wonder if i can pick your brains.
i am currently renting my flat on a 12 month contract (6 months fixed and then 2 months must be given by either side as notice to move out) and i have come across a few issues. my landlord has called and he is complaining about how he cant afford the mortgage payments (as the price we are paying is much less than the mortgage and he can't cover his side) and how he's speaking to his bank to see what he can do as each month, he is in deficit of about £400 and the gist of it is that he wants us to pay more rent! the cheek of it! what i want to know is:
1- with our contract, what is the minimum period of time that we can stay in the property? ie can he give us notice in month 4 so we have to move out in month 6 or does he have to wait until the end of month 6 to give us the 2 months notice in which case we can have the flat until month 8? as i said, the contract is set for at least 6 months and then there is a 2 month option on either side. the contract is done through a reputable (if there is such a thing!) estate agency so hopefully that will give us a bit more cover.
2- if he cant afford it and tries getting rid of us immidiately, what protection do we have against this?
any other information or help would be much appreciated.
thanks all.
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Comments
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The LL..
Cant kick you out for the duration of the AST, which appears to be 6 months.
Needs to give notice at 4 months to do this.
Also he cant change the rent without your approval, if you dont agree he can give notice.
Maybe you should also check with the agency he can legally rent this property to you (ie has the correct mortgage). Write to them and ask for clarifiaction and withhold rent after 28 days if not received. If he has a BTL mortgage you wont be kicked out immediatly by the lender if the LL is reposessed. However if not, your out on the street.
Cover your a!!!!!r!!!s!!!e.0 -
Well you are certainly fine for 6 months. I would not withhold rent, that could give cause to throw you out and will upset the agent, who you want on your side. Basically your LL is an idiot, he thought that BTL was a licence to print money, now he's discovered that the figures don't add up. Tough - his problem.
Go and speak to your letting agent, let him know what is going on. Make sure that your letting agent is holding any deposit securely. Get the agent on your side and start talking to him about what other properties are coming up in 6 months that you could rent.I am a Mortgage Adviser
You should note that this site doesn't check my status as a Mortgage Adviser, so you need to take my word for it. This signature is here as I follow MSE's Mortgage Adviser Code of Conduct. Any posts on here are for information and discussion purposes only and shouldn't be seen as financial advice.0 -
The rent can't be increased until the tenancy has been running for at least a year, and two months notice must be given of the increase (so the earliest you can be given notice of a rent increase is in month 10.)
When you can be given notice to quit depends on the wording of the break clause.0 -
Rick62 wrote:Well you are certainly fine for 6 months. I would not withhold rent, that could give cause to throw you out and will upset the agent, who you want on your side. Basically your LL is an idiot, he thought that BTL was a licence to print money, now he's discovered that the figures don't add up. Tough - his problem.
Go and speak to your letting agent, let him know what is going on. Make sure that your letting agent is holding any deposit securely. Get the agent on your side and start talking to him about what other properties are coming up in 6 months that you could rent.
Goo points too.
Just to clarify about the 'withholding rent' bit.
If the LL is not allowed by his mortgage company to let to you, DONT PAY RENT! The contract (AST) is not binding and you should do everything to cover you backside. The agency will be with you on that one and will understand why.
It is important to do this now as it protects the roof over your head. You are not withholding rent, mearly offsetting it until the contract is valid.0 -
thanks everyone, i am going to speak to the agents right away.0
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abaxas wrote:If the LL is not allowed by his mortgage company to let to you, DONT PAY RENT! The contract (AST) is not binding and you should do everything to cover you backside. The agency will be with you on that one and will understand why.
It is important to do this now as it protects the roof over your head. You are not withholding rent, mearly offsetting it until the contract is valid.
Utter rubbish. The mortgage contract is between the landlord and his mortgage company, nothing to do with the tenant. The tenant will be in breach of contract by not paying the rent and is more, rather than less, likely to face eviction.
The agency will not want to know.
The landlord faces problems from his mortgage company if he is using a residential mortgage but this is not for the tenant to get involved. He may also have problems with insurers if he is claiming he lives there.I'm a Forum Ambassador on the housing, mortgages & student money saving boards. I volunteer to help get your forum questions answered and keep the forum running smoothly. Forum Ambassadors are not moderators and don't read every post. If you spot an illegal or inappropriate post then please report it to forumteam@moneysavingexpert.com (it's not part of my role to deal with this). Any views are mine and not the official line of MoneySavingExpert.com.0 -
Even if you have a residential mortgage, the other people living in your property have rights. I'm not sure exactly what(!) but in the past, before we were married I had to sign a document for my husband's mortgage company, witnessed directly by a solicitor. It agreed that I would move out if the house was reposessed, so I was basically having to sign away whatever rights I had to remain there.
I'm just waffling, aren't I? :rotfl:
EDIT: I think I'm saying that I'm sure you have rights to remian in the property for some time even if the landlord hasn't okayed the BTL with his mortgage company.
I think it sounds like a purposely bought BTL though, so I'm sure it will be a BTL mortgage anyway.Everything that is supposed to be in heaven is already here on earth.
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Presumably, since he's talking to the bank, the bank is surely aware of the situation. Anyway, until the bank takes possession, you're ok, then they can kick you out as soon as they see fit.
Make sure the letting agent holds the deposit & keep in touch with them & the landlord. Keep paying your rent & try not to !!!! anyone off."Mrs. Pench, you've won the car contest, would you like a triumph spitfire or 3000 in cash?" He smiled.
Mrs. Pench took the money. "What will you do with it all? Not that it's any of my business," he giggled.
"I think I'll become an alcoholic," said Betty.0 -
silvercar wrote:Utter rubbish. The mortgage contract is between the landlord and his mortgage company, nothing to do with the tenant. The tenant will be in breach of contract by not paying the rent and is more, rather than less, likely to face eviction.
The agency will not want to know.
The landlord faces problems from his mortgage company if he is using a residential mortgage but this is not for the tenant to get involved. He may also have problems with insurers if he is claiming he lives there.
The mortgage needs to be correct or the LL is in breach of the AST as they have no right to let the property.
Ask the agency to provide this information, they WILL provide it. If not go to your local council, they have powers to enforce this too.
As I keep saying, cover yout behind. I'm not saying you should do this all the time, however since the poster feels there is risk, he should be doing all possible to make sure he has a roof over his head. Even if this means hacking off the agency/LL. Remember that renting is a business relationship make sure your LL gives you the service you pay for! You may find the odds are stacked in your favour.
Also the LL will not be able to evict the tennent until he is 2 months in arrears, so this shouldnt be an issue.0 -
Ask the agency to provide this information, they WILL provide it. If not go to your local council, they have powers to enforce this too.
The council won't know whether the landlord has permission to let, nor will the agency.Also the LL will not be able to evict the tennent until he is 2 months in arrears, so this shouldnt be an issue.
If the landlord is behind with a residential mortgage, he risks the property being repossessed. The lender won't wait until the tenant is 2 months behind with his rent!
My advice to the tenant would be to continue to pay the rent; don't give anyone an excuse to evict you.
Not paying the rent is not going to help the landlord keep up his repayments and makes repossession more likely not less.I'm a Forum Ambassador on the housing, mortgages & student money saving boards. I volunteer to help get your forum questions answered and keep the forum running smoothly. Forum Ambassadors are not moderators and don't read every post. If you spot an illegal or inappropriate post then please report it to forumteam@moneysavingexpert.com (it's not part of my role to deal with this). Any views are mine and not the official line of MoneySavingExpert.com.0
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