Opened landlords mail.......

montie10

I'm 2 months into a 8 month tenancy agreement in a house rented through and fully managed by a letting agent. We get lots of post for previous tenants and the LL (I assume). I opened one of these letters and discovered it was a default notice for a secured loan stating they were due to commence possession proceedings on the 2nd July. I then opened the rest of the post including a mortgage statement, the mortgage is a Retirement Homeplan Scheme so again I am assuming that there probably isn't consent to let. There was also another couple of letters stating External Field Agents would be calling shortly from 2 different companies. I am now worried about what I should do next, should I contact the mortgage/loan companies or contact my letting agent and advise them? Also a bit concerned as I am not sure if I should have opened the mail in the first place.

beaujolais-nouveau

If you look round on this forum, you will find threads about others in a similar position. I guess you need to go to Citizens Advice ASAP. From what I remember of the other threads, I am afraid that you will need to start looking for somewhere else to live.

montie10 wrote: »

Also a bit concerned as I am not sure if I should have opened the mail in the first place.

That's understandable but you do have a right to act to protect your own interests. Instead perhaps of coming back from work on 2 July to find the house barricaded, and unable to get at your own stuff, you luckily have 8 days in which to find out what your options are. No thanks to your landlord.

clutton_2

you need to go to court on July 2nd and tell the judge that you are there.... if the LL has not got permission to let then the court may not know there is a tenant... The juge may then give y ou 28 days to find somewhere else to live ....

Raggs_2

You may not want to mention the fact you learned all this by opening their mail. I suspect it's a criminal offence. And I suspect further that it's not the first letter you opened, since it seems like a bit of luck that it just happened to be the one of the "many" that contained the repossession notice.

Mankysteve

it not a criminal offensive to open someone else mail sent to your address.

picklepick

The Postal Services Act 2000 is clear that an offence is created if anyone intentionally delays the post or intentionally opens a mail bag. The Act goes on to say: "A person commits an offence if, intending to act to a person's detriment and without reasonable excuse, he opens a postal packet which he knows or reasonably suspects has been incorrectly delivered to him."

Proving that you opened the post to act to the detriment of the original addressee is hard to prove! In fact as your landlord has acted illegally in allowing you to live in their house, id argue that you have reasonable excuse to open their post!

skint-student-nurse

im wondering if you LL has permission to let that property to you...when we changed our mortgage to buy-to-let (we were not able to sell up) we had to give our new address as the mortgage lender knew we wouldnt be living there. have you asked the EA if your landlord provided proof of consent to let out the property?

BitterAndTwisted

Whether the answer from the letting agent is "yes" or "no" is pretty irrelevant now. Once the repossession process has begun the OP will not have very much time to plan their onward move and I think this is the most pressing concern not asking pointless questions.

"I am now worried about what I should do next, should I contact the mortgage/loan companies or contact my letting agent and advise them? Also a bit concerned as I am not sure if I should have opened the mail in the first place."

In the past when tenants in a similar position to the one you are in have contacted the lender they have declined to discuss anything with them. Most probably due to confidentiality and/or Data Protection issues. Please note that neither the lender nor the courts can be compelled to recognise your tenancy agreement so in your situation I would stop paying your rent and plan your onward move asap. Forward the documentation to the agents so they will know what's going on and what is likely to happen: you not paying your rent and the landlord most likely not having the funds to pay their fees. And no, you haven't committed any offence (yet) by opening correctly addressed mail to your home; it's just the use you might make of it that could turn it into an offence.

Jowo_2

The Shelter website has good info for tenants whose properties are being repossessed by the lender including the difference in how it is treated when the landlord does not have consent to let. See the sticky at the top of the page by Miss Moneypenny on this topic, too.

Don't worry about any consequences from opening the landlord's mail because, frankly, I'm not aware of anyone ever being prosecuted for the type of thing that you've outlined, though I'm willing to stand corrected.

fimonkey

Can the OP take photocopies of the relevant mail before they send it on? Definitely would recommend this if legal (and if not legal then do it but don't get caught - joke) as you don't then forget then 'when's and why's' of stuff.

princeofpounds

I have been through this process myself. Forget about the mail - opening it is perfectly legal as picklepik has explained (or at least it is impossible to prove that it was an illegal act!).

When a landlord undergoes repo with a tenant in place and no consent to let, essentially the tenancy ends the moment the repo order is made by the court. Until that point the tenancy is still in force.

That's very awkward for tenants as they leap straight from being bound to a tenancy to having no tenancy at all, whereas in a normal landlord-driven eviction they get warning before the repossession. The previous government eventually got around to suggesting 2 months notice mandatory from lenders as well (which is very fair IMO) but I don't know where those proposals lie now.

So you cannot leave until you know if the repo is successful, unless the tenancy has gone on long enough that you can give notice as you would normally.

You may wish to contact the mortgage lender claiming possession, but they will not discuss the case with you, and they will not discuss the possibility of you staying on until after repossession. Historically they want people out, but bank are trying to avoid firesales at the moment so might agree to re-establish a tenancy.

You might wish to discuss the subject with your landlord, but they might get upset you have read their mail.

You certainly want to attend the court hearing as it is the only way you will know who gets possession, and you might be able to notify the judge of your presence which can result in a little extra time before the possession order comes in.

If the possession order does happen, the procedure should be that the court sends notice to occupants, and then a few weeks later court bailiffs will come over to enforce it. There is normally a delay so you won't be out on the street on day 1, but it's less than normal notice and not a defined time.

So the best thing to do is assume there is a good chance you will be moving in the weeks following the court date. Attend court, see what the situation is, and then move ASAP if possession is awarded. If you feel comfortable talking to either party then do so, but it's a messy situation so no-one is likely to be happy or looking out for anyone else's position. If you can get the truth out of your LL, try to get them to release you from your tenancy by mutual agreement (in writing).

Oh also don't pay rent in advance for after the hearing (as your LL may no longer be your LL!) and make sure your deposit is protected.