Renting - A few general questions please...?

Chazza_2010

Hi people,

I have just got back into renting for a brief period and given (a) that I seem to have forgot how fun it is (:rolleyes:) and (b) would like to stay within the law but seems like I am the only one following a contract, have a few questions if you would be so kind:

(1) My deposit is not protected under the deposit schemes as my rent is over £25k pa. What are my chances of getting my deposit back - do I have any real power as to the potential charges against me and challenging them or does it just depend on the integrity of the landlord?

(2) If I feel that the rental has been all give and no take on my part, is it sensible to use the deposit as the final 6 weeks of rent with every intention on making good on any actual damage that I have caused? as I am under the impression that there will be a charge irrespective of the state of the rental premises. Or will that leave me open to legal problems (even if thre is no NET outstanding amount owed to the landlord at the end)?

(3) If the landlord is very slow and generally poor and fixing problems within the flat (some which were highlighted before moving in), what rights do I have?
(i.e. can I delay paying the rent or take some money of to get them to get their act together?)

(4) Linked in with (3) probably - what is the landlord contracually obliged to do regarding upkeep of the flat?

Thanks
Chazza '10

clutton_2

if you do not get your deposit back (after comparing the check in with the check out inventories) then your only course of action is to take your LL to the small claims court... do you have an address for him /her ?

Chazza_2010

Yes, the good thing is its owned by a receiver, so they should be relatively professional. But from my short experience of renting again, it seems to work out that I am expected to pay them monthly and they are in no hurry to complete their side of the bargain.

Actuall, they do mention that any disagreements will be arbitrated by the RICS. Is this generally fair for the tenant?

EDIT: Ok, so I have just found:
There are obligations you and your landlord have which may not be set down in the agreement but which are given by law and are implied into all tenancy agreements. These terms form part of the contract, even though they have not been specifically agreed between your landlord and you.
Some of the most common implied terms are:-

• your landlord must carry out basic repairs
• your landlord must keep the installations for the supply of water, gas, electricity, sanitation, space heating and heating water in good working order

So I am assuming by not doing basic repairs and keeping water/heating in basic working order, they are not fulfilling their obligations under the contract. Therefore I have an argument for not paying rent until they do so? Is this a correct interpretation?

clutton_2

look on the Shelter website which details the exact procedure to follow if your LL is not doing repairs - there is a specific way to do it.. Everything must be done in writing

if you withold rent without having done this your LL can evict you fairly quickly... dont do it

""Actuall, they do mention that any disagreements will be arbitrated by the RICS."" is this a clause in your tenancy agreement ?

Chazza_2010

Arbitration for deposit disputes, yes

clutton_2

was a check in inventory completed and signed by you and LL ?

your last resort would be to take the LL to the small claims court to claim return of a deposit which you consider to have been unjustly witheld... but you will need evidence (you will also need evidence for an arbiter) to prove your case

if no move-in inventory was done LL will have really difficult task to prove the condition and therefore when any damage was done...

when did you sign your AST and for how long ?

Chazza_2010

Interesting, so withholding rent is not advised nearly everywhere:

What would you advise in this particular situation then:

Boiler broke down 3 weeks ago. Can get some hot water but only with "boost" on all the time and only for showers (we have infants). It could have been fixed 2 weeks ago but the receiver in charge of finances decided not to authorise the payment. I believe so they could limit money outflows before year end.

Now I know it could be worse but I think they are taking the mickey. Why should I have to pay up for their (not insubstantial) rent, if they decide on a whim, whether to maintain the boiler properly or not?

So then should I pay the rent with relevant deductions for extra cost of running the boiler and £x more for being put out for 2 extra weeks? or just put the rent aside until they fix the boiler properly?

I advised the managing agents at the very start of the problem, they have also said the receivers were out of order for not approving the payment.

Chazza_2010

clutton wrote: »

was a check in inventory completed and signed by you and LL ?

your last resort would be to take the LL to the small claims court to claim return of a deposit which you consider to have been unjustly witheld... but you will need evidence (you will also need evidence for an arbiter) to prove your case

if no move-in inventory was done LL will have really difficult task to prove the condition and therefore when any damage was done...

when did you sign your AST and for how long ?

Actually a good inventory was done and signed by myself. I have about 9months left. Just thinking in advance as I have been underwhelmed so far by renting.

princeofpounds

You do not have an AST but a common law tenancy as a result of the fact that your rent is so high.

Your tenancy rights and obligations are therefore laid out exactly in your contract.

The only rights and obligations on top of this are statutory (i.e. enshrined in law). Most, if not all, of these cannot be contracted away, so no matter what the contract says they apply.

Finally, there may be unfair terms in your contract which cannot apply even if they are in the contract.

1) As you are not under an AST deposit protection does not apply. You can recover your deposit by going to the small claims court, which is the way it always used to work before DPS. You will get a fair hearing and a legal judgement, but the emphasis is on you to organise yourself and press the case, and enforcement if necessary. The latter might be tricky if you are dealing with a bankrupt estate under administration.

2) Using the deposit as the final rent has pluses and minuses. The plus is that you effectively remove the reponsibility to press for damages from yourself and place it on the landlord, who will have to use the court process above. The minus is that you risk ruining relations, which may cause problems with references, and also if you are taken to court as a result of a disagreement about your eventual liability for damages then you might have to pay costs if you lose, and the judge might look less favourably on you.

If you pay all that is asked immediately by the court there won't be any enduring legal issues, but if you delay you risk a CCJ on your credit record.

3) This is your main problem. You are linking poor maintenance to your deposit, when in fact they are totally separate issues. You can fix all your maintenance issues without getting revenge on the deposit.

Your rights are not to stop paying rent, but you can follow the procedure established in case law (Lee Parker vs Izzet 1971) which laid out the tenant's right to repair. You are allowed to repair and deduct from future rent if you follow a strict procedure. All is explained here:

http://england.shelter.org.uk/get_advice/repairs_and_bad_conditions

You can also ask environmental health to inspect if the repair problems cause any issues under the housing health and safety ratings system. Heating and hot water fall in this category. Your council private sector rental team can also provide advice (as can shelter and CAB).

Finally, you can sue in the small claims court on the grounds described in section 4. Here you need to demonstrate a loss as a consequence of the landlord's negligence. This route isn't really ever used thanks to those above.

4) All is explained under Section 11 of the landlord and tenant's act.

princeofpounds

What would you advise in this particular situation then:

Boiler broke down 3 weeks ago

Complain in writing if you have not done so already. Copy LL (reciever?) and LA.

Highlight LL's (and therefore receiver's) obligations under section 11. Note that failure to approve the payment (do you have this in writing from LA, email? Would be useful leverage) would not be reasonable cause for a delay.
Point out that 3 weeks has already been an unreasonable amount of time.

Also note that failure to fix within a reasonable time to get a functioning heating and hot water systems can be interpreted as a criminal offence, unlike most repairs which are civil issues.

State that you will consider inviting environmental health for an inspection.

State that you will initiate the LPvI71 procedure I pointed you to above.

Chazza_2010

princeofpounds wrote: »

Complain in writing if you have not done so already. Copy LL (reciever?) and LA.

Highlight LL's (and therefore receiver's) obligations under section 11. Note that failure to approve the payment (do you have this in writing from LA, email? Would be useful leverage) would not be reasonable cause for a delay.
Point out that 3 weeks has already been an unreasonable amount of time.

Also note that failure to fix within a reasonable time to get a functioning heating and hot water systems can be interpreted as a criminal offence, unlike most repairs which are civil issues.

State that you will consider inviting environmental health for an inspection.

State that you will initiate the LPvI71 procedure I pointed you to above.

Thanks.

So, in short, I should be paying my rent in full if I am delaying it (1 week late) and then follow the steps in full above?