do i have any rights.

grooveygranny

5 years ago, i moved into a rented maisonette with a friend. for various reasons teh lease was in her name and neither of us had ever met the landlord. onloy the agent.

so, after just a couple of months, the friend i was living with moved out. i was receiving housing benefit, as was my son who lived in another flat in the same town, so we decided to pool our resources and he came to live with me.

ever since then, the landlord, who i speak to, but have still not met, thinks i am the original person (my friend who moved out).

i have paid the rent and dont owe him any money, but also in all this time the lease has never been renewed. nor has the flat ever had an inspection. the landlord has lots of properties and just leaves people alone.

because it is over 5 years, stupid question i know, but am i technically a squatter, albeit paying rent????

do i have any rights? i realise that he can ask me to leave at any time, no matter who he thinks i am, but should this arise, do i have any rights at all.

all bills etc are in my name, not in my friends name.

Blacksheep1979

You're not a squatter as you're paying rent and you may have done yourself a disservice by not informing the landlord your friend left/you took over paying the rent. If you haven't told the landlord and are pretending to be your friend it could be classed as subletting (and maybe fraud) and I'm not overly sure what the benefit folks would say either if you haven't informed them (both about renting the property and your son moving in).

grooveygranny

housing benefits know that my son is there. and of course they know that i am 'me' as it were. mmm hadnt thought about the subletting side of it. must talk to the man then.

clutton_2

just talk to the landlord - he wont throw you out if you have looked after his place for 5 years and paid the rent - why would he ? - get a new agreement in your own name...

grooveygranny

i know that is what i should do. worried what could happen, and prob worrying over nothing.

clutton_2

the fact that you have been paying rent means that you have a tenancy.. a tenancy does not have to have a piece of paper to prove its existence...

i think you just need to fess up - make light of your own idiocy and throw yourself on his mercy.... i expect he will just laugh...

after all if anyone had done an inspection they would have found out ages ago....

grooveygranny

you are right. thanks all for help.xx

Googlewhacker

he would be an idiot to kick you out if you have been paying rent for 5 years!!!

grooveygranny

i know and he hasnt kept the place in the best of repair. had a leaking roof since last november and its stillnot fixed properly. it still leaks when it rains. so i now have mouldy ceilings with mushrooms growing out of the kitchen one. because of the walls and damp, i cant use teh airing cupboard because everything in there got soaked with the leaking roof. s everything out of there is in my bedroom, whichmeans i cant sleep in there so i sleep on the bed settee in the lounge. he took 3 years to replace teh built in freezer and again 3 years to get the shower repaired. every time it was used it came pouring through the ceiling in the kitchen and hallway.

when its windy, we are on the coast so it gets windy, and when it rains, it all comes through the doors that go out onto thebalcony. i spend winter with loo roll stuffed in all the gaps around teh doors and windows. one window upstairs was so rotten that it actually fell out. then he did something about it. but just that one window.

once, a couple of years ago when he remortgaged the place, the surveyor told me that the front 2 bays had dropped. and that it was going to be mentioned on his report, but nothing has been done about that either. strange. i love the place and dont want to move but how long do i go on asking nicely about getting things done. especially with the name problem.