Landlord from hell. Pls help

angel198081

We have lived in a property for over 1 year now.

We pay rent monthly but since september we have had many problems.

1) the shower broke (still not fixed)
2) No central heating since october (still not fixed)
3) Mould & Fungus infestation due to cold damp accommodation

In december we met with him, he said it would all be fixed the following week still not fixed now. So we spoke with him again and said we would withold rent until the house was habitable again.
Still nothing has been done.

This week we received notice that due to not paying rent we had to be out in 2 months and he would be keeping our deposit to cover rent not paid.

Please help

thefenman

Landlords have their responsibilities too. Sounds as thought he is deliberately trying to get you out.

Don't move, make him take you to Court and get a Court Order, not easy for you, but hang in there. Armed with this, you might get a good response from your local Council and/or Housing Assoc. I should speak to the Council and CAB right away as well.

angel198081

Thanks

think we hung in for the hardest part at -5 degrees

Cheers

PasturesNew

You should never withhold rent. He's not the landlord from hell, he's just not fixed things, which is unprofessional and annoying for you, but not illegal.

You, on the other hand, have withheld rent, so he is within his rights now to ask you to leave - and to keep your deposit to cover rent you haven't paid.

What are you wanting?

We could go down the route of telling you that he's served notice wrongly and it's invalid, but what do you want from this?

You didn't pay rent, he's served notice. What do you want?

poppysarah

Move.

Report him to the local council's private rented sector.
You should have put all repairs in writing and after two requests got the council involved.

AverageJoe_4

I hope everyone can learn the difference here between "theoretical" life and REAL life.

This is an example of REAL life - all these "get court order", "should have been this and that in writing etc.." -

Tenants - You need to get you're money back and not spend/waste anymore OR get him to fix these items.

Send a letter or phone him and ask if he wants his rent arrears paid.
When he says "yes", tell him it's his when he completes the work.

No work = no money.

Money = work. Take control of the situation.

poppysarah

If you ring the CAB they will tell you to write. Give a reasonable deadline and then get three quotes for the work and get it done.You take the money for the repairs from the rent. Done it in real life.
Sadly some landlords are a pain.

Withholding rent to build up enough cash for the repairs is probably the only way if it's a big job but you should always write and tell the landlord that you need these repairs doing.

In extreme cases I'd just say leave and don't give notice. There's no point living without heat and hot water when your landlord is a muppet and doesn't care.

pinkshoes

AverageJoe wrote: »

I hope everyone can learn the difference here between "theoretical" life and REAL life.

This is an example of REAL life - all these "get court order", "should have been this and that in writing etc.." -

Tenants - You need to get you're money back and not spend/waste anymore OR get him to fix these items.

Send a letter or phone him and ask if he wants his rent arrears paid.
When he says "yes", tell him it's his when he completes the work.

No work = no money.

Money = work. Take control of the situation.

AverageJoe, for a newbie you seem to be making a lot of posts showing a disregard for the law!

Despite something being unfair, laws and rules need to be obeyed and followed through properly!

Angel, you shouldn't have withheld rent. You should have put in writing all the faults (ALWAYS in writing, and send recorded delivery) and given a date for a response. Then, if you didn't get a response, you should get quotes yourself, notify your LL of these quotes, then inform him that if the problem wasn't fixed in 2 weeks, you would be taking the cheapest of the quotes and deducting the cost from your rent. (always get receipts).

As you've been in the property over a year, then your LL can now just give you 2 months notice for you to move out. Did he serve an S21, and has it been done to give you 2 months notice from a rent date?

He can potentially use the deposit for the unpaid rent, and then if he really wanted, could chase you for the rest through the small claims court. Some people are really that an*l!!

Good luck house hunting!

tbs624

Contact the Tenancy Relations Officer at the local Council - private sector rentals team (or similar title).

Your LL has repairing obligations under S11 of the LL &T Act 1985: as poppysarah says, you can pay for repairs and meet the costs out of your rent money but only under certain circumstances & there is a set procedure. No T should ever withhold their rent without getting proper advice first from a law centre, Shelter or a LL&T worker at a CAB. You can defeat/delay repossession by paying off arrears prior to a court hearing, but if your Fixed Term has ended you are likely to be given notice under a S21 anyway. You should be getting your paperwork together with regard to the disrepair.

Did you notify the CH problems in writing to the LL and did you keep a copy? (the LL's repairing obligation effectively begins once he has been notified)

A LL cannot simply make a unilateral decision on what he will deduct from your tenancy deposit.Has the LL scheme-registered your tenancy deposit and given you the prescribed information?

You could also ring Shelter on 0808 800 4444 (7 days 8-8) and ask for their advice.

tbs624

pinkshoes wrote: »

.....You should have put in writing all the faults (ALWAYS in writing, and send recorded delivery) and given a date for a response. Then, if you didn't get a response, you should get quotes yourself, notify your LL of these quotes, then inform him that if the problem wasn't fixed in 2 weeks, you would be taking the cheapest of the quotes and deducting the cost from your rent. (always get receipts).

...but get guidance on your own circumstances first, and for the full version of how to proceed see Shelter's guide:

...it is essential that you follow these steps in the right order.
1. Report the repairs to the landlord in writing and allow time for them to be done.
2. Write to your landlord again, explaining that you intend to do the work yourself and take the costs out of your rent unless the repairs are done within a certain time
(eg two weeks).
3. Once this time has passed, get three quotes/estimates for the work from reliable contractors.
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).
5. Once this time has passed, if your landlord has not responded, arrange for the work to be done by the contractor that gave the cheapest quote.
6. Pay for the work yourself and send a copy of the receipt to your landlord, asking her/him to refund the money.
7. If your landlord does not pay you back, write to say 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. Be sure to keep copies of all correspondence, and keep accurate records of what you have paid and when.

rsykes2000

pinkshoes wrote: »

AverageJoe, for a newbie you seem to be making a lot of posts showing a disregard for the law!

Despite something being unfair, laws and rules need to be obeyed and followed through properly!

AverageJoe is the recently banned Cashpig74. A troll to be ignored if at all possible.