Is this legally binding?

bigifsh

hmmm, he is apparently a lawyer too lol.. would a lawyer lie to me about being in an agreement. :P hmm lol.

Hopefully someone else can confirm.

BitterAndTwisted

Get your backside down to your college's accoms office tomorrow. Just because this guy said he's a "lawyer" might mean he just cleans the floor in a solicitor's office. If he's a professional landlord with authentic legal qualifications in property law then he will be be only too aware of his obligations to provide equipment which is working at the beginning of a new tenancy.

Have you seen the Gas Safety Certificate?

bigifsh

Not as of yet but he told me he will provide gas safety certificate.

Was planning to head down the accomodation office tomorrow already.

many thanks again

GDB2222

Bigi, my view is that you have a legally binding contract, requiring you to pay the rent, etc. However, you have some problems over broken appliances, and you need to inform the landlord in writing, even if you think he knows about them. You then need to give hime a chance to fix them.

The Shelter website is full of useful info on this, as it's an issue that comes up pretty regularly, as you can imagine.

LydiaJ

If he is as big a rip-off merchant as he sounds, he will be relying on the idea that students are a push-over, that they will not have the bottle to stand up to him, and that if he tells them he is a lawyer they will believe anything he says and put up with what's coming to them.

Please do not give this man any rent, or sign anything further, until you have got some proper advice from someone who knows your real name and address and is qualified to tell you what to do. If you knuckle down and give in now, you will regret it for the rest of the year.

ETA The gas safety certificate is a legal requirement, so don't think he deserves any brownie points for doing it.

bigifsh

Ok definatly will be going to the accomodation office tomorrow to see what they say about the situation.

I definatly wont be signing anything else, i probably would of fell victim to him and signed previously but being a 3rd yr im not as much of a pushover as i would of been a year ago!. Im all too aware how estate agents and landlords take advantage of students.

many thanks again for the advice.

Jowo_2

The landlord is responsible for ensuring the appliances provided are kept in good repair. The Shelter website, as mentioned below, has an excellent section on how to get a landlord to carry out repairs and how to keep good records when dealing with repair issues.

If you are in England/Wales, your deposit should be protected in a tenancy deposit scheme. If so, have you received confirmation of which scheme your landlord has used?

If your college doesn't have expert advice, then get an appointment with the Citizens Advice Bureau or check on the Shelter website if they have a drop-in office locally.

bigifsh

Ok basically i have sought advice from the accomodation office who were very helpfull and less than happy that the landlord was advertising through them(through the accomodation office private sector list) and giving contracts out on post it notes and his lively hood of renting to students is basically in there hands if they are not happy with him, if the landlord does not address the issues they will be writing a formal letter to him on my behalf. I was told that it is a grey area wether its binding or not. I have arranged a free apointment with a law firm setup by the university to discuss this matter and have arranged for the landlord to come round today to discuss the matters.

Bufger

excellent news. Hope it gets sorted for you so you can study without other worries

GDB2222

You clearly have a binding verbal contract for an AST, and the post-it note you signed can be produced as evidence of that. None of that relieves the landlord of his obligation to repair the appliances. Have you checked out the Shelter website yet?