Opened landlords bank letter by mistake - mortgage arrears/problems brewing?

Les73

Hi,

I'm hoping that some of the lovely helpful people on here can help me.

I've been renting a flat for the last 10 months with no problems and the landlord has always received post here that I've always forwarded onto her.

Today, whilst opening my post whilst on the phone to my mum, I accidentally opened a letter for her from her bank. It says:

"Further to our previous letters, as you have not cleared the sum of £5,xxx I have adjusted your monthly payment to take into account the increased balance. Your new monthly payment from October is £4xx.

The mortgage balance has now increased above the interest only amount of £98,xxx and we have therefore converted your account to a part repayment, part interest only basis."

I dont really understand what this means but it sounds like she might be behind in paying the mortgage? I dont see how or why as I pay £790 a month for the flat and her mortgage payment is barely half that?!

The letter and envelope look the same as a number of letters she's had in the past that I've forwarded to her.

I'm just trying to work out whether she's behind on the mortgage and if so, whether I should start looking for somewhere else to rent in case she gets repossessed and I have to move out quickly?

Any thoughts on what to do would be appreciated.

Thanks,
Les

hazybubbles

If she is still using the flat as her contact address for the mortgage company then it sounds like she may not have informed them/ have permission to rent it out.

BitterAndTwisted

Yep, definitely sounds like the LL doesn't have Consent To Let and them having what sounds like mortgage arrears is a risk to you. I'd be making plans for my onward move if I were you

SouthCoast

From Shelter:

However, this new law isn't actually in force yet - we expected it to be effective from 1 October 2010. In the meantime, if you think that repossession by your landlord's lender is a possibility you should get advice immediately as in many cases tenants can still be evicted with very little notice

http://england.shelter.org.uk/get_advice/repossession/repossession_by_a_landlords_lender

ETA.
Is your deposit protected?

silvercar

Instead of a 98k interest only mortgage, your landlord now has 98k interest only PLUS 5k repayment. As the lender has rescheduled the monthly payments, it sounds like they are happy. The 5k could be additional borrowing or a legacy mortgage that has reached the end of its term. Doesn't look like the lender is that bothered by it.

G_M

You also need to keep a close eye on developments. If you stop paying rent at present you'll be in breach of your contract.
However at some point the bank or Official receiver (in the case of bankrupcy) may become your landlord. If this happens you need to be aware of it immediately as you'll owe them your rent. If you continue paying it to the LL, you'll still owe the bank but you'll have a hard time getting it back from the LL.

So make sure you know about, and attend, any possession hearings in court that the LL is subject to. You could also consider contacting the bank with a copy of your tenancy agreement, to make them aware of your tenancy, and ask them to advise you of any hearings they instigate.

docmaggiemay

I'd agree, this doesn't sound like a huge problem, it's a small amount of money and you don't know why that money has been added to the mortgage. It could be for a number of reasons, most of which wouldn't likely mean anything serious and certainly not an imminent repossession. Im about to be in a similar position to this - I am purchasing my freehold and changing my mortgage package, instead of paying the money for the purchase it's being added on to the mortgage as it's the cheapest way of doing it with the low mortgage rates at the moment. Nothing sinister. It sounds like the lender is happy with this arrangement, so I wouldn't be overly concerned. You're going to have to tell the landlord you opened her mail though, so you could just subtly ask? And confirm that she does have the lenders permission to let at the same time.

Les73

Many Thanks for the replies.

I'm happy here and I dont want to cause any problems for anyone as things are just fine as they are so I think I'll let it be for now - until I get a knock at the door or something addressed to me!

Actually, I've just remembered, I've seen at least two letters recently addressed to both her and "The Present Occupier" at the same time but I've just forwarded them to her as they did have her name on it.

AND she's never given me any proof that she protected my deposit even though I've mentioned it a few times - alarm bells are starting to ring louder now!

G_M

AND she's never given me any proof that she protected my deposit even though I've mentioned it a few times

'mentioning' things is not the way to go. However friendly a tenant's relationship with the landlord (and friendly is the ideal way to be), contractual/legal matters MUST be put in writing.

It's actually easy to do both. A friendly mention when you see the LL, or an informal phone call, is fine whether about a repair matter, deposit protection, gas certificate or whatever. But then follow up with a letter:
Dear Joe,
Just to follow up our conversation yesterday, I wanted to confirm the gas safety inspection is due and I understand you'll be arranging this shortly. If you could call me with the date (or write etc).....

non-confrontational, but puts on record the fact that the inspection is due and you've reminded the LL (who of course should not really need reminding!).