can my landlord demand back rent off me if I don't have a contract?

krajab

My in no way professional view: morally you should be paying him what you owe him. If you're worried about paying him back all at once, contact him with a white lie like the...erm...bank made a mistake and money wasn't going to the LL...but you're so honest you've decided to tell him and can you please just pay him back in instalments? I can't imagine that he'd make things difficult and say no.

How much do you owe him btw?

insurgente

Never text your landlord that should be reserved for your mates, do as much as possible in writing or via e-mail so you form a paper trail.

i guess i was trying to avoid such a paper trail for this very situation

I was chasing him for a while but there's only so much I can do really . You're right about the housing benefit...but I fear it's too late now. Unless they can back date it? I'll have to pay all this money back; yet my circumstances now are better than they were then. I don't see it happening

I offered to set up a new Direct Debit as a sign of faith (to myself atleast). But should I wait on that until I get this contract? However, it looks likely i'm going to have to move out as I can't afford this.... perhaps it's best to move out now, before I'm tied t down by a contract? Or can I sign a contract that's already expired? Some kind of document that lists what I need to pay back.

My last thought is why stay in London? As you say rent is crazy and you are struggling to find work, living on minimum wage in the north is far easier than in London.

despite being a proud yorkshireman i enjoy my life in london...dont want to give it up! maybe you're right though...it's beaten me. I can't go back to my parents though, need to find somewhere else.

If you're worried about paying him back all at once, contact him with a white lie like the...erm...bank made a mistake and money wasn't going to the LL.

bingo...that's what i'm considering. Do I say, uh, banking mistake.....but I'll pay you back! Or I never paid as I never heard back about the contract? hmmm

How much do you owe him btw?

£2730 .... damn that's depressing when it's written down. Plus it's nearly april; another month

tbs624

insurgente wrote: »

ibingo...that's what i'm considering. Do I say, uh, banking mistake.....but I'll pay you back! Or I never paid as I never heard back about the contract? hmmm

Yep, because not paying what you owe, and then lying about why, makes you look like a really good bloke doesn't it? (You said in your first post that you didn't want to be a w*****.)

Presumably, you have a former partner an/d or kids to support but that's a separate issue to sorting things with your LL . You have to prioritise the roof over your head.- just be adult about it. Lying is for cowards

This property sounds like an HMO btw - is it registered as one and does it have appropriate safety certification etc?

elfen

Py as m uch as you can, and ask for a contract. Send him a letter asking for one, don't text or phone, send it recorded so you know he gets it.

insurgente

well i guess i need to decide if I'd rather be a w*nker or live in a cardboard box


Just quite an odd situation with the house... Does a landlord need a separate account to collect rent? or is that just for holding deposits? The banking details he just gave me are different to where my housemate pays rent...strange.

Plus there's a mystery 'Flat A' (which doesnt exist) that has a massive old electricity bill that has nothing to do with us.

Some ''business'' gets post here that is never collected (the business has the same name as the business I'm to pay the rent to)

silvercar

I'd only worry about the things that effect you. Flat A is not your concern, nor is the business post.

A landlord doesn't need a separate account for rent or for a deposit. The deposit needs to be protected. This means either sending it to the deposit scheme for holding or registering it with the scheme that allows landlords to hold deposits themselves.

G_M

As I said in my earlier post: insist on doing everything properly. As firefox said, in writing (not even email), and certainly not text.
Receipts for everything.
Deposit to be lodged in a scheme (see here)
And you need a name and address for the LL for official documents (not dodgy Flat A!)

insurgente

alright, thanks for the tips people..... i think it's time to take a deep breath, man up, and be honest.... not entirely sure how i'll explain all this.... but hopefully "i was waiting for a contract!" may vaguely work and he won't break my thumbs

however, i asked him to confirm the amount of the rent when I set up the standing order (on the off chance he may be confused and make it lower).... and he's said an amount higher than I was told when I moved in :eek:. Surely he can't demand more money off me can he? I suppose this comes under the ''do things properly'' category; as I dont have a contract or any written paper where he told me the original rent.... however he similarly has nothing with this higher amount on it. quite a pickle

hermum

Maybe as a letting agency had been involved with the property he thought that you had gone through the agency. If he has lots of tenanted property he may still be trying to sort out the mess the agency's left.
If he's a decent ll be a decent tenant & pay up. If you admit that you've been there a while & been waiting on the paperwork, you never know he might come to an arrangement to pay it off a little at a time.