Dodgey Landlord

AdeleM_2

Hi im new to this i don't know whether this is the right place to post my query (so if its not someone let me know where to re-post it!) here it is anyway:

Me and my bf are coming to the end of our first 6 month contract at our current flat this ends on the 20th February. We had a chat and decided we was paying far to much for this flat and would like to leave when the contract ends. We let our property manager know of this he asked why we wanted to leave so we told him the rent was too high. He agreed to lower the rent and informed us we would be going on to a rolling contract which we would only have to give 1 months notice to quit the new contract. So we thought we could be looking while still living in our current flat with cheaper rent.

He got the new contract to us as soon as possible and told us he needed it signing he dropped the contract off on the 28th January 2010 and said he would need it signing by the saturday. I read over the contract and saw it was another 6 month one so we phoned the landlord and he said it was just an error and he would ideally LIKE for us to stay for 3 months cause of the rent change but wouldnt mind us giving him a months notice. We asked if he would amend the contract he said there was no need as it would cost him £25 for a new one.

So we had a verbal agreement and me and my bf like idiots signed the contract there was no witness signature and the copy of our contract he has sent us has no signatures on it atall not even his.

He picked the contract up from our flat while none of us was there he just took it off the kitchen side. None of us gave him permission or a phone call to say the contract is ready for you to pick up he just took it when he came to repair our curtains.

We had a chat on sunday night and wanted to leave on the 20th of february when our current contract ends because the stress of the flat was getting too much and causing us problems. The flat is damp and moudly and i have asthma which is not a good combination!.

When we phoned him and told him we wanted to end on the 20th of feb cause the flat is causing us stress he then told us we have signed the new 6 month contract which he sold to us as a rolling contract and we will not be able to leave until may 2010 (3 months into the new contract). After 2 phone calls he ended up putting the phone down on my boyf when he was questioning why this was. I phoned him and he was laughing at me and saying that we have signed the new 6 month contract that doesnt come into play until feb 20th. He told me to seek legal advice.

I know we have signed the 6 month contract and that is bad but he has tricked us into it and we need to get out!!

Has anyone got any ideas?

Thanks ! x

4743hudsonj

AdeleM wrote: »

Hi im new to this i don't know whether this is the right place to post my query (so if its not someone let me know where to re-post it!) here it is anyway:

Me and my bf are coming to the end of our first 6 month contract at our current flat this ends on the 20th February. We had a chat and decided we was paying far to much for this flat and would like to leave when the contract ends. We let our property manager know of this he asked why we wanted to leave so we told him the rent was too high. He agreed to lower the rent and informed us we would be going on to a rolling contract which we would only have to give 1 months notice to quit the new contract. So we thought we could be looking while still living in our current flat with cheaper rent.

He got the new contract to us as soon as possible and told us he needed it signing he dropped the contract off on the 28th January 2010 and said he would need it signing by the saturday. I read over the contract and saw it was another 6 month one so we phoned the landlord and he said it was just an error and he would ideally LIKE for us to stay for 3 months cause of the rent change but wouldnt mind us giving him a months notice. We asked if he would amend the contract he said there was no need as it would cost him £25 for a new one.

So we had a verbal agreement and me and my bf like idiots signed the contract there was no witness signature and the copy of our contract he has sent us has no signatures on it atall not even his.

He picked the contract up from our flat while none of us was there he just took it off the kitchen side. None of us gave him permission or a phone call to say the contract is ready for you to pick up he just took it when he came to repair our curtains.

We had a chat on sunday night and wanted to leave on the 20th of february when our current contract ends because the stress of the flat was getting too much and causing us problems. The flat is damp and moudly and i have asthma which is not a good combination!.

When we phoned him and told him we wanted to end on the 20th of feb cause the flat is causing us stress he then told us we have signed the new 6 month contract which he sold to us as a rolling contract and we will not be able to leave until may 2010 (3 months into the new contract). After 2 phone calls he ended up putting the phone down on my boyf when he was questioning why this was. I phoned him and he was laughing at me and saying that we have signed the new 6 month contract that doesnt come into play until feb 20th. He told me to seek legal advice.

I know we have signed the 6 month contract and that is bad but he has tricked us into it and we need to get out!!

Has anyone got any ideas?

Thanks ! x

Do what he says, seek legal advice, not just CAB etc. Not sure where you actually stand but never ever sign a written contract if you dont agree with the terms, not matter what people say to you. After all, if they wanted the contract so much they wouldnt mind paying extra for an amendment!

babycakes_3

Hi AdeleM,

Sorry if this isn't much help but I got a LOAD of information from Shelter on Landlords and their conduct.

If you can go and see them great, if not phone; you may be on for a wee while but I cannot recommend them highly enough when it comes to knowing where you stand with a landlord, especially a dodgy one!

If you go to their website you might get some info, it'll tell you what you're entitled to do whether you live north or south of the border.

Please contact Shelter to give you a start on this, I have used them in the past and they have been great.

Best of luck

AdeleM_2

Hiya thanks for your help

Have you got the website addy for shelter?

babycakes_3

Hi AdeleM no website addy as such but pop it into google and you're off - good luck and let us know how you get on.

giantmutantbroccoli

He picked the contract up from our flat while none of us was there he just took it off the kitchen side. None of us gave him permission or a phone call to say the contract is ready for you to pick up he just took it when he came to repair our curtains.

That, right there, is illegal. He took something from your home without permission - that's theft!
Probably quite hard to prove, though. On the other hand, how much notice did he give you that he was going to come round? The law says you need a week's notice if it isn't an emergency (and curtain saren't an emergency). If it is an emergency you still get 24 hours notice. If the lease says anything to the contrary then the whole thing is null and void.
He should also be maintainng the property to a reasonable standard. Check the lease - the old one if you can't find the new one, and see what it says about maintenance. If it's damp and mouldy it's not being maintained properly.
Definitely get legal advice, this guy is in the wrong.

barvid

giantmutantbroccoli wrote: »

That, right there, is illegal. He took something from your home without permission - that's theft!

Well, not really - only if you want to go down the somewhat difficult route of proving that the physical sheet of paper which the landlord gave to them to sign actually then belonged to them. It was probably his in the first place.

Regardless of what was agreed verbally with the landlord, without a witness of some kind you're going to be stuck with what you signed. I don't think you'll find a way out of this - sorry. I know it's a pain when people say be more careful next time, but never sign a contract unless you're prepared to be bound by its terms. That's the point of a contract, you can't just change your mind when it no longer suits you.

GemJar_2

I'm sure you could get the council enviro department to get you out of the contract on the damp and mould business, esp if you have proof that you have asthma

gaz_jones

If youcan't get out of the contract, be the worst tenants imaginable for the next 3/6 months. The smallest thing breaks, call him. You have a query, call him. You get bored, call him! :rotfl:

Not great advice I know, but that's what I would do. If he's tricked you then at least get your own back

rsykes2000

giantmutantbroccoli wrote: »

If it's damp and mouldy it's not being maintained properly.
Definitely get legal advice, this guy is in the wrong.

I suspect if it's damp and mouldy, it's far more likely to be lack of ventilation and not heating it properly (ie the fault of the tenants), rather than a maintenance issue.

terryw

rsykes2000 wrote: »

I suspect if it's damp and mouldy, it's far more likely to be lack of ventilation and not heating it properly (ie the fault of the tenants), rather than a maintenance issue.

Although this is certainly possible, there is just not enough information to decide if it is tenant neglect or dfective property.