landlord help!

kymmie_2 · 5 April 2008 at 1:24PM

Hi can anyone out there please help me?! my landlord believes that he is allowed to enter our property whenever he wishes. now we have taken guardianship of my partners little sister who is only forteen we now know how often he is around letting himself in. The second occasion he let himself into the property as my forteen year old was in the toilet upstairs, Not knowing that he entered and was shouting until one of her friends in the property said that there was a man in the living room shouting that them! Now i know this is illigal and since TWO sets of our house keys went missing on the same evening me and my partner changed the locks with childservices consent and consern for the forteen year old. And of course we changed our security password for the property aswell. Now we have the landlord coming to us in our place of work and calling us at all hours of the evening demanding us to change the locks back or so that he has a new key to access the property as it is ''HIS PROPERTY'' and that we do not have the right to change the locks without him having access to the house when he has the ''off chance'' of being in the area and he decides to pop around. Both me and my partner work long shifts in the local supermarket being out of the property from 7am until after 6pm at night and the 14 year old has a house key for getting in when she finishes school. We have set boundries but where the landlord has a friend only 3 doors away he can see when we are not here. And the fact that when the landlord allowed two of his mates in and i had a £30 towel and a £85 watch go missing, I informed the landlord and when i bring the subject up the only reply i get is ''Ohh i havent really had time for that!'' just shows how much he REALLY does care about his tennats property!

And on the first encounter with my 14 year old he barged his way in stating ''im the landlord, this is MY property so YOU HAVE TO LET ME IN YOU HAVE NO CHOICE'' my 14 year old was so scared! he said she was good enough consent for him to come in though knowing her rights she did say that she could not give him premision to come in because she is only 14! but ignoring all of that he just walked around the house shouting ''HOW CAN YOU LIVE LIKE THIS FOR GOT SAKE YOU SHOULD GET YOUR LIFE IN ORDER AND TIDY UP A BIT THIS IS NOTHING BUT A PIG STY! but there was only some folded up clothes on the table....
the thing is

When completing the tennacy with the landlord back in november he did state that we would keep a key but only use it if we was to scarper! but knowing now that he just like to pop around when he desires is just out of the question! and also shouting abuse at me my partner in work and a minor when she is here on her own im sure that is wrong somewhere. Also he made a clause that if WE leave the property BEFORE november of this year we loose our deposit of £500 and our next months tennacy of another £500.

Im sure there is more to this though because our landlord only wants cash in hand at the first of every month and wants it by a certian time we dont know and care what he is doing with the cash but isnt there a law somewhere that ALL money has to be declared and taxed? in our perivious rented home we had no trouble but we lost our old landlords address so we couldnt contact him so we said to our present landlord that we only rented a room for about two months.

sorry about the amount of typing and typing errors but PLEASE HELP!!!!!

bobby-boy_2 · 5 April 2008 at 1:35PM

Hi the landlord can not just pop round. He has to give you advance warning usually 24 hrs. There are loads of people who can direct you to the legislation on the web. I would report the theft of your items to the police naming the landlord 2 mates and state the landlord gave them access and left them unsupervised. I would also make sure you get a reciept for any cash payments as no reciept = no payment! I am a landlord so this is not me being spiteful its the law. hope you can sort it out.

kymmie_2 · 5 April 2008 at 1:39PM

cheers thanks! for this I knew that it was the law that the landlord cannot do anything that he is prensently doing! but can the landlord enter with only my minor being in the property.. because again he thinks he can and we have told him that he cannot and he stated that he had ''NEVER HEARD OF SUCH A PATHETIC LAW'' but im sure that it is true... can could we class him coming into our work as harassment?? thanks so much for this!!

Ally · 5 April 2008 at 1:43PM

If he enters the property again, without consent, you need to call the police. He has to give you notice (at least 24 hours) if he wishes to inspect the property - he also needs your permission to do this. He also has a right to reasonable access to carry out repairs. You have a right to enjoy a peaceful life in your home and if his purpose for visiting is neither of the above, he will need a court order to gain entry to the property. Basically, what he has done is an offence, and you should report this to the police and your local Tenancy Relations Office (contact your local authority for details)

As for taxes, that is his responsibility to declare, not yours. You just need to be sure that you have proof of payment.

Please see the following for more information and details of your rights:
http://england.shelter.org.uk/home/index.cfm

http://www.adviceguide.org.uk/index/family_parent/housing/common_problems_with_tenancies.htm#The_landlords_rights_of_entry

May I suggest that you seek further advice from your loca CAB as a matter of urgency.

I hope this helps.

bobby-boy_2 · 5 April 2008 at 1:44PM

Hi Kymmie before i start the next part is opinion OK. I think the minor answering the door is irelevent if he has not given advance warning he is not allowed in.
If he has not heard of the law he is not a good landlord
i would report him to the police for barging in on a minor and report him hassling you at work. The last parts are my opinion but you could print of the law about visits. A lot of people recomend the shelter website for info.
Hope you can find it out and he should have your deposit in a protection scheme if you are in England so he cant withhold it just for fun check out the other deposit threads.

Ally · 5 April 2008 at 1:48PM

kymmie wrote: »

cheers thanks! for this I knew that it was the law that the landlord cannot do anything that he is prensently doing! but can the landlord enter with only my minor being in the property.. because again he thinks he can and we have told him that he cannot and he stated that he had ''NEVER HEARD OF SUCH A PATHETIC LAW'' but im sure that it is true... can could we class him coming into our work as harassment?? thanks so much for this!!

No he cannot enter the property at all without consent/court order - see my previous post. Him visiting you at work is harassment.

Does he have a set of keys? If not and he come around again, tell him you will call the police if he does not leave. He cannot just kick you out either, again, he will need a court order to do this, even if your tenancy agreement ends he cannot just kick you out - he needs to follow set possession procedures.

Edit: regarding the tenancy, as it was paid after 06/04/07, then he should have put the money in a tenancy deposit protection scheme. I guessing he hasn't done this as he should have informed you which scheme he has used and the scheme would have also written to you to confirm this.

Please see here for more details http://www.adviceguide.org.uk/h_tenancy_deposits.pdf

clutton_2 · 5 April 2008 at 1:48PM

i would ask either the CAB or your local council private housing officer to write to him, explaining the law, and advising him that he has NO legal right of entry into your home, unless it is an emergency such as gas or water, without your permission. If you say no, he cannot come in - end of. But, you clearly need someone on your side to act for you. good luck

Ebany · 5 April 2008 at 1:50PM

I'd definitely tell your girl that if he comes round again when you are out not to open the door and to call 999 and tell them a man is trying to force his way into her house. Let the police explain to him that he isn't allowed in as and when he feels like it.

Thinking of it, if he does it when you are home, take the same approach.

kymmie_2 · 5 April 2008 at 1:53PM

At first we did have a problem with our boilder but all is fine and well now, that was his reason to come into the property, But knowing that he comes in when he feels like it and two sets of keys going missing this has made him upset and he is trying to say where in the tennacy does it state that we can change the locks? of which we replied where does it say you can come in when you desire? of course he did say it was his property and that we wernt allowed to change the locks over the phone but not in the written tennacy but that is legal is it not that we can change the locks but just as long as the landlord had the set when we vacate the property at the end of our stay?

kymmie_2 · 5 April 2008 at 1:57PM

Ebany wrote: »

I'd definitely tell your girl that if he comes round again when you are out not to open the door and to call 999 and tell them a man is trying to force his way into her house. Let the police explain to him that he isn't allowed in as and when he feels like it.

Thinking of it, if he does it when you are home, take the same approach.

I have told my 14 year old this and of course we have told her to lock the door no matter what time of the day it is and to call the police if he tries to come into the home or if he gets in, explaining to her of course thought she already knows that she will not get told off.

chrissie55 · 5 April 2008 at 1:57PM

Also, do get on a housing list with yr local council &/or housing assoc. It can take a long time to get housed, but it costs nothing. Chidren's Services' involvement may make yr case for housing stronger. Also remember, a lot of bullies can't take any1 standing their ground. Best of luck to yez!

landlord help!

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