Bankrupt Landlord

Pyewacket338

I was at a friends house yesterday, this her the situation......

She moved into her rented house last november, paid a months rent as deposit and hasn't missed any payments. Her landlord also owns 5 other properties in her terrace.

She recieved a letter 2 weeks ago saying her landlord has gone bankrupt, she was told to stop making payments to him and pay them to the OR, this she did, then 3 days ago, her boiler packed up, she contacted the OR, they told her that as her landlord had paid off a lump sum, her house has now been handed back to him (just her house, not any of the others) so she called him to report the boiler, his reply was "tough"
She now has no working boiler and has no idea how to get it repaired, she has no money to pay for it herself. She also thinks she won't get her deposit back if she moves out with the landlord being bankrupt, she doesn't think it's been put into a deposit scheme and didn't know about them until I asked. She also has no safety certificates for the property.
She's tried Citizens Advice and Enviromental health, they don't seem to know what her next move should be..... any ideas?

clutton_2

use the rent money to get someone in to assess the boiler repair - write to the OR to tell him/her what she is doing - if the actual repair is beyond her finances, then i would go back to the OR

Planner

Your friend should follow the procedures for witholding rent to do the repair from the Shelter website http://england.shelter.org.uk/get_advice/advice_topics/repairs_and_bad_conditions/repairs_in_private_lets/tenants_doing_repairs;

What is the procedure for withholding rent?

You must follow a specific procedure if you want to pay for repairs and take the cost out of your rent. Otherwise, your landlord can evict you.
Be sure to keep copies of all correspondence, and keep accurate records of what you have paid and when. We've produced a series of sample letters, which may be helpful.
The process is as follows:

• Step 1: report the repairs to the landlord in writing and allow time for them to be done. Keep a copy.
• Step 2: write to your landlord again, explaining that you intend do the work yourself and take the costs out of your rent unless the repairs are done within a certain time (eg. two weeks). Keep a copy. See sample letter 1.
• Step 3: once this time has passed, get three quotes/estimates for the work from reliable contractors
• Step 4: send the quotes to your landlord with a letter explaining that you are going to go ahead with the cheapest quote unless your landlord arranges for the repairs to be done within a certain time (eg. a further two weeks). See sample letter 2.
• Step 5: once this time has passed, if your landlord hasn't responded, arrange for the work to be done by the contractor that gave the cheapest quote
• Step 6: pay for the work yourself and send a copy of the receipt to your landlord, asking them to refund the money. See sample letter 3.
• Step 7: if your landlord does not give you back the money, write and confirm that you are going to deduct the money from your future rent. Explain exactly when the deductions will start and how long you will withhold rent for. See sample letter 4.

If you are claiming housing benefit, tell the housing benefit department what you are doing, and ask them not to make payments directly to your landlord. Your housing benefit payments might be suspended temporarily until the issue is resolved.

Pyewacket338

The first thing I told her was to take the repair from the rent, but she'd only just paid this months and doesn't have any cash to pay for repairs, she'd have to go 3 weeks without hot water.

I'll tell her to contact shelter and forward those steps.

I had a look at her boiler and after a bit of searching around, it may be the Thermister that's not working, cost of £15ish in materials but I'm not CORGI registered so not going to do a thing to it.

She has no idea where she stands regarding her bond, I'm sure it's not legal for her not to have gas/eletric safety certificates.

poppysarah

Shelter. They have a phone number on their website.

silvercar

Pyewacket338 wrote: »

She recieved a letter 2 weeks ago saying her landlord has gone bankrupt, she was told to stop making payments to him and pay them to the OR, this she did, then 3 days ago, her boiler packed up, she contacted the OR, they told her that as her landlord had paid off a lump sum, her house has now been handed back to him (just her house, not any of the others) so she called him to report the boiler, his reply was "tough"

Chinese whispers here.

A bankrupt would not be given back the property. Someone else could buy the official receiver's interest in the property, but it wouldn't be the bankrupt himself. More than likely it would be a close friend or relative. They would then own the equity in the property and so are effectively your landlord. I find it unlikely that this could possibly occur within a few weeks of someone going bankrupt, it takes month to sort out property issues. Are you sure that the official receiver hasn't appointed an administrator to manage the properties.

If your friend has got the info exactly right and the dates are correct, I would suspect that the landlord has claimed to the OR that your friends home is his residential home and that is why that one has been allowed to be bought back (though still not by the bankrupt personally). But lying to the Official Receiver could land the bankrupt in all sorts of trouble, so that doesn't make complete sense.