Landlord making demands - where do i stand

DawnW

He can't just 'throw you out'. He needs to serve the correct notices at the correct times to start the process of ending your tenancy, ending with taking you to court if you do not vacate within the set time (usually 2 months, unless rent arrears or something similar).

It may not seem like it, but you have the upper hand in the eyes of the law. I am a LL, and although it rankles sometimes when my shiftless tenants mess me around, I do see the point of all the legislation in cases such as yours (and I have been in similar situations myself in the past, note my comments on stingy old farmers above!) They may think they are above the law, but they are not.

Ask about the deposit protection as RAS suggests, and contact Shelter and the council private tenancy relations officer about your problems. If he tries to 'throw you out' because you have done these things, tell him he is breaking the law. Shelter /council will advise on next steps. I would start to look for somewhere else if I were you though, and make a new start. And then phone or write to HIS LL and tell them that he has been renting the place out if it against the rules as you suggest
Hope all works out ok.

ladylumps45

wow! and i thought our ex landlord was bad!
you should definitely look into where your deposit is as others have said.
he sounds like the sort of person that will try and keep that as well.
i definitely would look or somewhere else as lovely as the house may be,its not worth the stress of living there.
however i appreciate that its hard to find landlords that accept pets.we had trouble as dog owners but did manage to find someone that just asked for an extra 300 pounds on top of our deposit which was fair enough.
i wish you all the luck with your troubles and when you leave there you can tell him where to poke his house lol:p.keep us informed.

tenke

I feel for you, hope things work out for you

I think LL should be responsible for repairing the blockage, as it is part of his duties to keep the place habitable.

His being fussy regarding garden maintenance seems to stem from his proximity to your dwelling and him being a nosy parker:cool:

Still even if you were the laziest person in the world (which i can see you are not), it is out of order to have a saying on your doing the garden, As long as that garden comes back to him at the end of the tenancy in the same condition he let it out, he doesnt have right to command how you keep it.

I would definitely talk to him firmly and make him aware you are not a muppet that can be taken for a ride, in a tenancy there are rights and obligations, but in this case he has more than you I'm afraid, he has to keep the place up to living standards, repairs in order, deposit protected and give you reasonable notice to pop around, added to that enjoyment of privacy at your place of course.

Be brave and take the bull by the horns, not because it is only right and fair to do it, but because this person needs some putting in place ASAP!:eek:

Hope i didnt come too strong:cool: Good I'm passionate !!!:p

best of luck:j

dawnie1972

Thanks guys. On the way home from work i went to the letting agents office whose contract he has copied and guess what ................ my tenancy agreement is illegal!! Because
a) he has copied the letting agents tenancy agreement without permission
b) they revised the tenancy agreement in Jan 09 as the law changed slightly
c) in my agreement it refers to section 21 - he has not provided me with a copy of section 21 which forms a part of my agreement
d) he states the letting agent holds my deposit - they don't and as he hasn't told me who does he's again broken the law.

She said he has no right to come to my property without giving at least 24hrs notice. He has jeopardised my health & safety by leaving the property as he did this weekend (building works unfinished and not secured). He also had to provide me with an EPC certificate when i took occupancy of the property - this again is a legal requirement - its to do with the electrics or something. She advised me to not pay him anymore rent, advise him that i am looking for alternative accommodation and that he must return my deposit when i leave and advise him that if he does not comply i will take him to court and i will at the very least get 3 times my deposit. I told her i was scared incase he changed the locks or put my dogs at risk and she said he can't do that but i don't have a clue what he's doing when i'm at work so he could do anything.

poppysarah

Dunno about not paying him anymore rent ... I would ring shelter first and double check.

clutton_2

dont stop paying the rent whatever you do.

Thriftysaver

As it is an AST and you are not in 'contract' he can give notice for possession anyway, as you don't have much in the way of rights. However, I would go to your local council as they have a dept that deals with landlords. I wouldn't sign another contract, although what he seems to be doing is unlawful and may not be worth the paper it is written on anyway. Do seek advice from the LA with this and getting your deposit back.

Good Luck

Thrifty

sooz

The lettings agents info is mostly incorrect.

If your contract has parts which are incorrect, this doesn't necessarily make the entire contract invalid. It really depends on the wording. It is also possible to have a 6 month AST with no written contract, by default, although this is not advisable.

The only part that seems right is about the 24hours written notice. And they are partially right about the deposit, it should be protected, & you should be told by whom, but this also isn't a reason to stop paying the rent.

The EPC is an energy performance certificate...nothing to do with electrics, & lack of it may make the LL liable for a £200 fine at most. It shows how energy efficient your house is, or isn't (esp with lack of back door!)

Talk to a professional, not this letting agent
speak to the private letting dept of the council, or shelter.