Sub-Standard Rental Flat - Landlord being difficult

franklee

tbs624 wrote: »

Originally Posted by Careful with that Axe:
I have had nothing in writing since raising the question except in an email stating that the accountant in London takes care of everything and that LL is not classed as non-resident in UK.
.....................................Do you think I should do something further to protect myself from any comeback under the NRL scheme?

Write to HMRC/CNR

"I was a tenant at xxxxx (address) from xxx until xx (dates) The LLof this property, xxxx(name), was/is currently abroad and his last known address was/is xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx I enclose a copy of an email exchange between myself and xxxxxx for your records. Please advise."

and enclose a copy of the emails between you and the LL. Keep a copy of your letter..

clutton wrote: »

with regard to the landlords overseas tax status and your legal responsibilities - leave well alone - dont contact the tax man - this will become a huge bag of worms for you if you do. let the tax man sort it out at a later date... not your problem. If this LL is as ignorant as he sounds, he will lie to the Tax man and you may end up with a huge tax bill to pay on his behalf.... leave well alone is my advice.... please dont do a "bro" and start digging into other peoples business,

Talk about between the devil and the deep blue sea. It's too late to claw the tax back from future rent payments now the tenancy is over. Five years at 20% of rent, interest and penalties for late payment - With that amount of cash involved I'd want reassurance from the landlord that he was for the whole five years UK resident written in blood and sworn on the life of his granny.

It may be cheaper to emigrate to Australia yourself

Rather than putting broclo in the wrong for digging into this I think it puts her more in the right. Getting this sorted while there is still time to claw the tax back from the rent avoids the tenant being liable for such a tax bill in the future. It's having left it so late matters here

franklee

Careful_with_that_Axe wrote: »

clutton, my fear was that I could end up saddled with the bill if it turned out the NRL Scheme would be applied, so I am very reluctant to delve into this so do agree with you.

I'd be wanting as good a proof as I could get from the landlord himself - I'd be thinking a hard copy signed letter covering all five years. Then I'd guard the letter with my life should the tax man come a calling in future.

tbs624

franklee wrote: »

Talk about between the devil and the deep blue sea...

:rotfl:So which one is Clutton and which one is me?

franklee wrote: »

...It's too late to claw the tax back from future rent payments now the tenancy is over. Five years at 20% of rent, interest and penalties for late payment - With that amount of cash involved I'd want reassurance from the landlord that he was for the whole five years UK resident written in blood and sworn on the life of his granny.

It may be cheaper to emigrate to Australia yourself

Rather than putting broclo in the wrong for digging into this I think it puts her more in the right. Getting this sorted while there is still time to claw the tax back from the rent avoids the tenant being liable for such a tax bill in the future. It's having left it so late matters here

:rolleyes:Here we go. Clearly the dramatic tendencies of the OP from the other thread are in some way contagious Franklee. You are jumping to *huge* conclusions. Look back - the T says s/he received.

"an email stating that the accountant in London takes care of everything and that LL is not classed as non-resident in UK."

clutton_2

i know i brought up the name of "broclo" in this thread - i do wish i hadn't

franklee

tbs624 wrote: »

:rotfl:So which one is Clutton and which one is me?
:rolleyes:Here we go. Clearly the dramatic tendencies of the OP from the other thread are in some way contagious Franklee. You are jumping to *huge* conclusions. Look back - the T says s/he received.

"an email stating that the accountant in London takes care of everything and that LL is not classed as non-resident in UK."

You sure that's sufficient? Email is good I agree but a signed letter is better IMO when there is potentially a lot of cash at stake.

Careful_with_that_Axe

OK, peace breakout please!

I am torn between sending an email reminding the LL of their Statutory obligations, including the amount I could (potentially) sue them for in terms of both rent I could have withheld and taxation under the NRL scheme to get them off my back with no intention of really suing or taking formal legal advice prior to any further communication.
In my shoes what would you do??

franklee

Careful_with_that_Axe wrote: »

OK, peace breakout please!

I am torn between sending an email reminding the LL of their Statutory obligations, including the amount I could (potentially) sue them for in terms of both rent I could have withheld and taxation under the NRL scheme to get them off my back with no intention of really suing or taking formal legal advice prior to any further communication.
In my shoes what would you do??

First this isn't easy, simply because there is so much at stake. So it's a personal choice. For myself I'd concentrate first on collecting the best evidence I could from my landlord (before tipping him off of any problems) and I'd want that to include a signature from him. This is why I suggested signed hard copy although you can also do digital signatures on emails these days. Once you have sufficient evidence, whatever that is, then you hold the cards.

Point is, unsigned email is clearly better than nothing but I do not know the level of evidence required. Maybe tbs624 knows this better than I do, I just recall in B's case HMRC did want the signed letter sent on even after they got the email.

And clutton did raise a good point in post #19 when she wrote "If this LL is as ignorant as he sounds, he will lie to the Tax man and you may end up with a huge tax bill to pay on his behalf."

This all is just IMHO as a layman tenant based on what I'd want personally if it were me. YMMV.

Maybe I'm being dramatic but we are talking a years rent, for me circa. 10K + penalties which to me is a lot of cash. I've paid for professional advice when less than that was at issue

clutton_2

lets get back to basics here

the OP originally asked

""My temptation is now to say sod it and walk away not paying him a penny further using the lack of Gas Safety Certificates as leverage"

so - the original question was - 'should i walk away' - my answer would be yes.

Fire_Fox

Careful_with_that_Axe wrote: »

OK, peace breakout please!

I am torn between sending an email reminding the LL of their Statutory obligations, including the amount I could (potentially) sue them for in terms of both rent I could have withheld and taxation under the NRL scheme to get them off my back with no intention of really suing or taking formal legal advice prior to any further communication.
In my shoes what would you do??

You have obligations too - to inform the landlord in writing of any problems with the property and to give your notice in writing. You need to be in the right as far as is possible so no more e-mails just a recorded delivery letter.

Careful_with_that_Axe

I put together a letter giving all the information about breaches of Gas Safety etc and sent it to all contact points including by email.

It's all gone strangely quiet now!

Many, many thanks for all your help and advice. Much appreciated.