LL bankrupt, Trustees released interest.. what now?

AmberST_2

Hi, this is my first post on the forums so I’m sorry for the long story, but I am completely struggling with this.

I moved into a flat with my other half in February this year, we went through a letting agent and paid our deposit and all the fees etc to them.
In July, we got a letter stating that our official landlord has been made bankrupt I need to contact the trustees for further communications. I called the letting agent and they spoke to the trustees direct, they then told me that I won’t be evicted and I need to keep paying them as normal.
BUT, I got an email from the landlord not so long ago demanding I pay his mortgage company and not the letting agent/trustees and that I need to claw back all previous rent paid with 5 days to pay them. I got scared but didn’t do anything as I thought it was a bit strange.


Speaking to the trustees they have said not to pay a thing to the mortgage company and still pay the letting agents (who are holding it on the behalf of the trustees) , and they are only taking my rent and not carrying out any management, so if my boiler would have broken in the last 6 months, I officially have no LL to sort the problem. My main problem is that the trustee has now issued a “no interest” disclaimer against the flat and the old landlord and his brother (who is now claiming he is my LL under a company name) are again emailing me almost daily for me to pay my rent directly to them. The trustees have said that the property is bonavacantia- abandoned property under 315 vests in the Crown, not the bankrupt and that an LPA receiver should contact me; BUT the LL and his brother are saying that there is no need for one as they have paid the mortgage and I need to pay them.

I have emailed and written to the lender of the property, but have had no luck in a reply, I was due to pay my rent yesterday, I’m just so confused on who I need to pay, and I’m reluctant to pay the bankrupts, and his brother the money incase they are not entitled to it has anyone else been in this situation? I’ve searched the forums and can’t find anything.

It’s just so depressing, I want to pay my rent as I’m hoping to get a mortgage next year, and I just don’t want to pay it to the wrong person, as I can’t afford to then pay it to the correct person.

Trollfever

The one person you should be able to trust is the Official Receiver.
Follow their advice.

theartfullodger

Until you get written confirmation of who is your new landlord (whoever now owns the place becomes your new landlord, on the same terms & conditions) I'd suggest paying nothing, but putting the rent in a separate, new account.

The new LL needs to write to you proving he is lawful owner. In your shoes I'd write (no, WRITE!! email as well if poss but write) to LA & new owner stating your position..

Annisele

Does the Official Receiver know about the emails you've been getting from your ex-LL and his brother? I'd be highly tempted to send them copies, but then I'm vindictive when I think people are harassing me.

I'd agree with Artful re not paying anybody until they've proved that they are your new LL, and setting up a separate account for the rent. That way you can easily demonstrate your willingness and ability to pay; the sole reason you haven't paid is that you can't work out who should have the money.

In England there's a provision along the lines of "until the LL has provided the T with his address, rent is not due" (it still accumulates and must be paid as soon as the address is provided, but it isn't actually due). If you don't know who the LL is, you can't possibly know his address.

(I'm not sure what the position would be if your boiler broke and you used some of the money in that separate account to pay for the repair / the gas safety certificate / whatever. I suspect that if you could persuade a judge that your actions had been reasonable, you'd be OK - but I don't know the law on that).

AmberST_2

I placed the rent which was due yesterday in my savings account for now so its out of the way. I dont trust the ex LL nor his brother at all.

In his first email to me he said I should go to the police if the LA dont give the rent back (he wanted back dated payments too). The emails are pretty horrible and threating legal action in nearly every one. The trustees have said they recieve much worse emails and mine are pretty calm compared to theirs.

I will Email the ex LLs brother tonight to try and get some sort of written evidence that he is the LL (I don't believe he is), I just thought that when you go bankrupt, you dont own anything anymore apart from maybe a home. Thats whats confusing me.

GMS

Continue to pay the rent to the letting agents. If you went for a mortgage and required a rental statement it would be the agents who would provide it, and you do not want any missed payments to show on it.

The letting agent will disperse the rent according to the rightful recipient.

As far as I am aware. the LPA receiver will take control of the rental property. It would not be in their interest to allow the property to be repossessed by a lender for non payment of mortgage.

As long as you pay your rent you have done your part.

If in doubt speak to the trustees yourself.

AmberST_2

I'm hoping to hear from the LPA Reciever - (this is what the trustee has said will happen), even though the ex LL is telling me there wont be one. I don't trust him at all and I swear he is pulling a fast one, but the threating legal action is whats bothering me about it all.

LA say they do not want the rent as they are no longer the managing agents to the flat.

I guess its a waiting game to see if an LPA turns up

Thing is, I need to move out at the end of the tenancy too - and I have noone to offically give notice to.

sonastin

Give your notice to anyone who might be interested - trustees, LA, LL, LL's brother, LL's donkey, LL's dog, etc! That way you will almost certainly be covered but I'm pretty sure you can just move out at the end of the fixed period without giving notice.

As for the ex-LL taking you to court - let him. You have the rent put to one side. Let the judge decide if you owe the ex-LL, his brother or someone else. Saves you having to make the decision! You'll only get a mark on your credit record if you fail to pay within the time limit set by the court and as you have the money ready to pay, you should be fine.

theartfullodger

AmberST wrote: »

............ out of the way. I dont trust the ex LL nor his brother at all.

In his first email to me he said I should go to the police if the LA dont give the rent back (he wanted back dated payments too). The emails are pretty horrible and threating legal action in nearly every one. The trustees have said they recieve much worse emails and mine are pretty calm compared to theirs.
............

If you feel you are being harassed by ex-LL (or anyone else come to that) then you should go to the Police, report the harassment & request a crime number. And tell/write to whoever is harassing you and advise them to stop -

Assuming we are in England quote...

Administration of Justice Act 1970
, s40, ref harassment of debtors
(1) A person commits an offence if, with the object of coercing another person to pay money claimed from the other as a debt due under a contract, he—
(a) harasses the other with demands for payment which, in respect of their frequency or the manner or occasion of making any such demand, or of any threat or publicity by which any demand is accompanied, are calculated to subject him or members of his family or household to alarm, distress or humiliation;

&

“Protection from Eviction Act 1977”
Section 1

• • Unlawful eviction and harassment
  • s.1(3A) (as was amended by the Housing Act 1988) which states:
    "the landlord of a residential occupier or an agent of the landlord shall be guilty of an offence if he does acts likely to interfere with the peace or comfort of the residential occupier or members of his household."

Cheers!

Artful

AmberST_2

Yeah I am in England, ex LL is not though, I think he is "overseas" as he calls it. I received another email today saying I need to give him the date of when all rent will be sent to him by tomorrow, there's no way I'm doing that and I've told him I want proof he is the owner. I have received a release of interest disclaimer- which doesn't mean the property is his, and a land register which is in the bankrupts name but I'm thinking they just haven't updated the records as it's last entry was feb this year (when landlord went bankrupt) and the disclaimer isn't even on there so it's not really proof he is the owner. He states his lender refuses to send me a letter stating that he is the owner- rings alarm bells to me!
He has the subject saying "letter before legal action" at the top. We have only 2 months left in the flat and I hope someone contacts me
soon as there's also the issue of the deposit (flat looks 10x better now than when we moved in)

Its so depressing to think he is trying to con money out of his ex tenants! I don't understand why someone would want to cause so much hassle in peoples lifes.

I will definitely use the hassle quotes though- thanks for them!

PasturesNew

If he's overseas, then he can swing for it. No address = no rent. And, you'd have to deduct tax from the rent and pay HMRC directly. Sit tight ...