RENTING? Check your LL has permission to let that property.

Alias_Omega

Maybe he works on an oil rig or something, or where there is weekly flights on friday & monday back to the uk.

Ask him.

jackportd

Hello friends

You just bumping this as landlords on this site are still advising other posters not to ask their lender for permission to let. Without that permission to let, the tenant could be thrown out with little or no notice, instead of the normal 2 months notice.

Housing Associations and Councils ask landlords for proof from their mortgage lender that they have permission to let. Private tenants should ask for this proof too. Beware that many letting agents don't ask landlords for this proof to let, so don't think you are safe if you rent through a letting agent.

Follow this one here.

<sebb>

Ah crap! I had no idea that this was something you needed to check before finding this site. I have just found out that my landlord does not have consent to let. There are however, no arrears so I'm not at immediate risk.

I also need to speak to HMRC because he lives overseas and I only just found out about the Non resident landlord scheme. My deposit isnt protected despite the tenancy beginning in 2008 although it says in the lease that it is and there hasnt been a gas safety check since I moved in.

All of these things are things I would not have been aware of if it wasnt for this site. I'm not particularly looking forward to bringing all this to his attention though.

MissMoneypenny

<sebb> wrote: »

Ah crap! I had no idea that this was something you needed to check before finding this site. I have just found out that my landlord does not have consent to let. There are however, no arrears so I'm not at immediate risk.

I doubt if you would know if there are arrears on the mortgage unless he shows you his mortgage statements. Threads on this site have shown that tenants have been paying their rent, but the landlord still failed to pay their mortgage. Your tenancy will not be recoginised by the mortgage lender if they haven't given their Consent to Let.

Some mortgage lenders are imposing a penalty clauses of an increase in the interest rate of x amount, if they find that borrowers have rented their property without consent to let.

<sebb> wrote: »

I also need to speak to HMRC because he lives overseas and I only just found out about the Non resident landlord scheme. My deposit isnt protected despite the tenancy beginning in 2008 although it says in the lease that it is and there hasnt been a gas safety check since I moved in.

All of these things are things I would not have been aware of if it wasnt for this site. I'm not particularly looking forward to bringing all this to his attention though.

That doesn't sound good.

I have read on this boards that if your landlord hasn't given you a UK address then you don't have to pay rent. You will have to save it up to pay when he does give you an address. You need a UK address to serve any notices on. TBS has posted the relevant act in previous threads with this problem.

Tax, as you say, you need to look into as you might be liable for that, as it may have to be deducted from the landlords rent. HMRC for that information to see if your landlord is registered with them.

Gas Safety is very serious. You can contact your local council (then ask for private lettings) about that. 5K fine or 6 months prison for a landlord with no gas safety cert. A new gas safety cert is required within every 12 months.

Deposit has to be protected too. Have you checked all the schemes? Although your landlord was required to give you the 'prescribed information' within 14 days of you giving the deposit. Your landlord can't serve you with a Section 21 (notice to quit) if the deposit hasn't been protected. You should be able to get 3x the deposit back from the landlord for their failure to protect you deposit within 14 days of you giving it, but that has become a bit of a court postcode lottery. Until the high courts sort out the poor wording of the law from this government, some of the slumlords are managing to get away with not paying the 3x the deposit. I did read somewhere that this was going through the high court, so it might be better to wait and see what the ruling is on that case first as that would define the law.

<sebb> wrote: »

I'm not particularly looking forward to bringing all this to his attention though.

I am sure your LL would rather have you tell him the above than,

• fines from the govenment re no gas safety cert
• the taxman chasing him
• court action from you re the deposit
• his mortgage lenders on his back for his illegal let

Plus, if he hasn't got his lenders permission to rent out the property, then that can be a get out clause from his insurers if he ever has to make a claim.

The LL should have found all of this out before he rented to you. Or perhaps he knew all this and chose to ignore the law?

It might be best if you start your own thread on this housing board, to get more feedback?

Daisies

I've tried the link to the tax evasion hotline website (in the first post) but it doesn't work! Is there somewhere else I can report my landlord too for the tax part, I'm going to write to her mortgage company?

FraudBuster

Daisies wrote: »

I've tried the link to the tax evasion hotline website (in the first post) but it doesn't work! Is there somewhere else I can report my landlord too for the tax part, I'm going to write to her mortgage company?

http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/tax-evasion/

MissMoneypenny

Thanks FraudBuster. I've updated the opening post.

silvercar

A new law will be enacted soon, giving tenants 2 months protection if the lender repossesses and the landlord had breached the mortgage terms in letting the property.

Discussion of it here:

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/2415455

MissMoneypenny

silvercar wrote: »

A new law will be enacted soon, giving tenants 2 months protection if the lender repossesses and the landlord had breached the mortgage terms in letting the property.

When and if that law comes in, how will that help those who have a fixed contract that has longer than 2 months to run?

The best way tenants can help themselves, is to see proof that the potential landlord has received permission from the lender to let the property and that they are not not behind with their mortgage payments.

silvercar

MissMoneypenny wrote: »

When and if that law comes in, how will that help those who have a fixed contract that has longer than 2 months to run?

It will help tenants on a periodic tenancy as they will get 2 months notice, which is what they could have expected from a landlord.

It will help those on a fixed term contract as (as you say in your signature) currently they could be turfed out with very little notice. The new law will give them two months notice.

Generally a good thing.