Intimidating Landlord

diable

ormus wrote: »

it makes my eyes go funny.

so does masturbation from what I've been told by the vicar...........:rotfl:

pimento

Most mortgage companies will change the payment date if you ask them. Your landlord could/should do that if your payment date has now changed due to the housing benefit being paid.

julianashcroft

It isn't your responsibility to make sure the landlord has enough money in his account to pay his debts.

It is your responsibility to pay the rent on the date specified by your rental agreement.

He can't force you to pay his bank charges.

The landlord would have a bigger problem if you vacated the property.

silvercar

You are breaching your agreement by paying late. That said a few days shouldn't be the end of the world for the landlord. You do know that you will be paid four weekly by benefit not monthly, so you will have to make this up. Do you know how much rent benefit will pay? It could be less than your rent and you will need to find the difference.

The only thing more annoying than a tenant not paying is a landlord not knowing that the rent won't be in on time. A polite email or text to the landlord to let him know exaclty when the rent will be in would help.

If you become 2 months late with the rent ie one month unpaid and the day the next month's rent is due is when you owe 2 months rent, the landlord can apply to be paid direct by the benefits people.

After a few months late the landlord could apply to evict you under section 8 of the housing act - persistent late payment. IMHO he would be cutting off his nose to spite his face, he has a tenant whose rent is paid by benefit who keeps the place tidy and isn't likely to disappear. Put that against the costs and hassle of evicting you, the risk of no rent coming in while awaiting a new tenant and then the risks of an unknown new tenant.

ariarnia

Margaret_Kirkham wrote: »

Ormus - constructive advice was what I was expecting - not administrative criticism ! And what the hell is gorm ????

It's word play, if you have GORM then you aren't GORM-LESS

27col

It is not up to you to ease the LL's financial problems. He should not be running his finances without any slack built in.
Presumably, if you alter your payment to a later date, then when the new payment is made, it should include a one-off payment to cover the period of late payment. Otherwise it seems to me that you are getting a 10 day period rent free. Perhaps someone more knowledgeable than me could comment on whether this is the case.
This is completely different from the LL's idea that you should pay his bank charges. By the way, I agree with ormus about using the occasional paragraph.

Wee_Willy_Harris

There is a lot of misleading and, frankly, poor information being given on this thread.

In brief, you have a tenancy which means....

1. You pay rent.

2. The LL provides accommodation.

If you don't do 1. then the LL doesn't have to do 2. But, in order to release himself from the obligation of 2. (ie evict) he has to follow certain legal proceedures. To not do so is a criminal offence.

Your LLs personal financial affairs are of no concern. You have been more than reasonable in keeping him fully informed of developements with enough time to make suitable financial arrangements to avoid these claimed "costs". That he hasn't, isn't your fault.

There is an argument that, if stated in the tenancy agreement, reasonable charges can be made on arrears by way of an interest charge at or very close to bank base rate. But even this is open to debate.

There are remedies YOU can take with regard to the harassment he is clearly giving you (another criminal offence). There are also avenues to explore with the correct notice and even the protection of the deposit. But that advice won't be best gathered here. Try re-posting (with paragraphs) on Housebuying, Renting and Selling. They will be better placed to assist.

andrew-b

Many landlords don't take tenants on social security benefits (or whatever you want to call it) as it's too much hassle with all that extra bureaucracy. Housing associations are a bit more understanding as they deal with it all the time - as ha tenants we were in arrears for several years without penalty.

At the end of the day you haven't paid the rent on time and have broken the terms of the tenancy. The penalty for not paying in time should be outlined in the agreement. When i was renting from a private landlord i would have had to pay interest at the bank of england base rate (a fair bit higher than it is now though!).

I seriously would suggest getting your name on the council housing list pronto as the LL could decide to give you notice (happened to me when i was out of work and on HB and i ended up living at my parents). I'd do get on the housing list anyway as it won't get any easier with them. If their budget is that tight that they can't go without your rent for a week then it's unlikely they'll pay for any required maintenance if/when things go wrong.

Whilst you might not want to move, your change of circumstances may mean you have no choice..unless of course you manage to get alternative employment very soon.

Wee_Willy_Harris

In order to evict, the LL would have to take action under, and comply with, either one or both of Section 21 or Section 8 of the 1988 Housing Act. Using Section 8, you would have to be at least 2 months in arrears at the date notice was served AND when the court heard the case for the LL to stand a hope of gaining mandatory posession. There is an avenue under Section 8 where the LL can issue proceedings if you are in ANY arrears, but this is a discretionaty ground, the discretion being the courts. It would be very, very unlikely that posession was granted under the cercumstances you have outlined in the OP. Both of those Section 8 notices are 2 weeks. The other way is Section 21. The notice period is at least 2 months and the notice must contain certain important information (which many professionals even get wrong). A Section 21 notice is not valid unless the terms of Section 212 - 215 of the 2004 Housing Act have been complied with (Tenancy Deposit Protection).

Even if notice is served correctly, you have no need to vacate at the end of the notice period. That is for the courts to decide. The only people who can physically evict are the courts appointed bailiffs. If you were to really play hardball, it could easily take the LL 6 months or more to evict you. I've known of eviction that have taken years. And, in the meantime, your rights of protection from eviction remain unchanged.

This should be in HOUSEBUYING, RENTING AND SELLING.

Mankysteve

If the op is now on a periodic tenancy then the landlord only has to give 2 month notice.