Landlord making demands - where do i stand

dawnie1972

I rent privately - have been there since last August. Landlord is always coming down the house without telling me - their farm is past my home so they always drive past and she is always walking the dog down and looking at the garden etc. Past few weeks he's being really unreasonable and i feel is trying to get me out. When i moved in he said the dogs were ok (i advised that when i was out they would be in the kitchen/garage) - he then decided he didn't want them in the kitchen anymore so they had to stay in the garage. WHen i got my new contract last month he'd also written that the cats had to stay in the garage (he had not discussed this with me). I was fuming and did not send the contract back.
Recently he's had the conservatory rebuilt as it was letting in water etc - the back garden has been like a building site for nearly 2 weeks - i cannot lock my house as they've taken the back door off hence leaving my house open to anyone. On Friday he asked me to tidy the garden - the grass had been cut the week before - bearing in mind it takes me 4 hours to cut my grass i had intended doing it that weekend anyway. then on saturday my toilet got blocked - i rang him and got no reply so i tried to unblock the drains with a hose pipe. Sunday she rang and said they would try and sort them out Monday. Monday the drains got stacked up again and i rang as i couldn't flush my toilet - she said he'd pop down - he didn't. He finally rang me yesterday and has stated that a) i'm to get the rods to unblock the drains i'm to pay to have the sess tank emptied (i've only lived there 6 months) c) i'm to cut the hedge back between my drive and his orchard (its about 10ft high & very bushy - this has not grown all that in 6 months) - he also complained that their were footprints on the concrete that had just been laid - bearing in mind he knows i have 3 dogs and they made no attempt to cordon the area off or cover the concrete - he now says i have to pay to get it re-concreted (bearing in mind they are going to be laying tiles on it anyway - i work on a building site and have been told the concrete will be fine).

Where do i stand - i can't take anymore.

Enfieldian

Sounds like a nightmare.... Amateurish, obsessed Landlords.....

"Rights to peaceful enjoyment" anyone?

Do you want to stay? I would think not.......

poppysarah

Move.

Or ring the council's private rented housing team for advice.

Property insecure is utterly wrong. Not dealing with drains is worse

tomarola

That sounds horrible for the landlord to do that. Ring up your local council and get advice on this, that will be your best bet.

sooz

I agree he sounds like a nightmare. Did he live there himself before you moved in?
However, if you as a tenant block the drains, it would normally be up to you to clear them. Depends on what is blocking it, but if they worked normally when you moved in, no one else shares the same pipes, & now it's blocked, then I'd say it's down to you.
As for the cess pit, what does it say in your AST? Again, this is your waste (blockages & all) . Was it emptied before you moved in? Or are you to leave it part full/part empty when you leave?

he has no right to tell you when to cut the grass, or trim the hedge. You can do what you like with them til you leave, & then you must return them to the state that they were in when you rented the property.

You should be able to secure the doors (or indeed have doors). Insist, in writing, that all doors are reinstalled & working. Your contents insurance is invalid if you can't shut or lock doors.

dawnie1972

He stated that he empties his tank once every 3 years - i've been there 6 months and all that is put down the toilet is toilet paper - no baby wipes, no sanitary products etc. He's a farmer and rents the farm from the council and theoretically should not be sub letting the bungalow out - its a part of the farm but they built themselves a brand spanking new house and then rent the bungalow out - he retires in 2 yrs so will lose the farm and the bungalow.
Also the AST i have is a letting agents one but i believe he has just copied that although it still states the letting agent holds my deposit etc - i'm sure this isnot the case so am going to ring them later.

sooz wrote: »

I agree he sounds like a nightmare. Did he live there himself before you moved in?
However, if you as a tenant block the drains, it would normally be up to you to clear them. Depends on what is blocking it, but if they worked normally when you moved in, no one else shares the same pipes, & now it's blocked, then I'd say it's down to you.
As for the cess pit, what does it say in your AST? Again, this is your waste (blockages & all) . Was it emptied before you moved in? Or are you to leave it part full/part empty when you leave?

he has no right to tell you when to cut the grass, or trim the hedge. You can do what you like with them til you leave, & then you must return them to the state that they were in when you rented the property.

You should be able to secure the doors (or indeed have doors). Insist, in writing, that all doors are reinstalled & working. Your contents insurance is invalid if you can't shut or lock doors.

kunekune

Who is holding your deposit? You should have been told - and it certainly shouldn't be the LL or even a LA. I guess that if you complain, you're out anyway, since he isn't supposed to be letting the property. In your position, I'd be planning to move asap.

DawnW

It sounds like a nightmare! Whay do you want to stay there? I would avoid signing the new agreement and find somewhere else, especially as you know you can only stay till he retires anyway - and do check that your deposit is protected as it should be. Some of these old farmers think they can do what they like (my OH has worked for them, stingy old *!"£$! - apologies to any nice old farmers that are on here, but they will know what I mean!)

dawnie1972

I don't want to stay there - not now anyway - i'm really upset as the house is fab it has a 1/4 acre paddock at the back and with 3 dogs its ideal but he's making life unbearable. I told him when i moved in about the tenancy deposit thing etc but he didn't do anything and i didn't persue it incase he threw me out.

sooz

dawnie1972 wrote: »

I don't want to stay there - not now anyway - i'm really upset as the house is fab it has a 1/4 acre paddock at the back and with 3 dogs its ideal but he's making life unbearable. I told him when i moved in about the tenancy deposit thing etc but he didn't do anything and i didn't persue it incase he threw me out.

well start with that then . you have nothing to lose as you want to leave anyway.

RAS

If he does not get your deposit protected, you can claim 3 times the value. In practice you have to warn him and give him a chance to sort it out pronto.

Definitely contact the LA tenancy officer ASAP.