Unscrupulous Landlords...

tootz

My partner and I are both private music teachers, and are therefore very specific about our requirements when letting a property. Specifically, obviously, that it needs to be OK that we make noise.

5 months ago, we took out a tenancy on what seemed ideal. A cute little bungalow on the landlords farm. He even changed the tenancy agreement to state that it was OK for us to teach and practice here.

Unfortunately, after moving in, we discovered numerous problems, structurally, with the place, that has resulted in equipment getting damaged, water pouring on our heads in bed, etc etc the list is endless.

We withheld rent this month, having continually asked him to get the problems resolved. He is now throwing us out, and claims that we are not entitled to a rent reduction for the inconvenience we have suffered. We're also scared that when we move out, he will, unlawfully, keep our deposit.

I note that there are plenty of tenant referencing agencies out there...Martin...if you're reading this... isn't it time there was a LANDLORD referencing agency?

BitterAndTwisted

You shouldn't withhold rent for disrepair unless you follow very specific procedures. Your landlord can't just "throw you out" as they have to follow very strict procedures, too.

What length of tenancy agreement did you sign and has your landlord issued you with a Section 21 Notice?

Which deposit-protection scheme is your deposit registered with? If you haven't received notification you can search all three schemes yourself. If you are in England or Wales it's very important to that you do this right away as it could affect your landlord's ability to seek possession.

N79

tootz wrote: »

5 months ago, we took out a tenancy on what seemed ideal. A cute little bungalow on the landlords farm. He even changed the tenancy agreement to state that it was OK for us to teach and practice here.

I can see a massive mess here. Do you have paying students to this property for the express purposes of teaching there? Is this you main / sole form of income?

If you want help, rather than just a rant, you will need to post full details of your arrangements. As well as your circumstances, what type of tenancy do you have? Is it residential or commercial?

This may be a commercial tenancy........in which case, you may have repairing obligations........or you may not.

Edit: Bitter and Twisted's post assumes you have a residential tenancy. Is this the case?

princeofpounds

You are not allowed to withold rent already due.

You are allowed to pay for repairs and deduct from future rental payment, if you follow the procedure outlined in Lee Parker vs Izzet 1971. Shelter have a good guide to it (google shelter england repairs private lets, can't be bothered to chase link).

tootz

To clarify.
We have an assured shorthold tenancy agreement, which has been altered to agree that we are allowed to teach from here. We have public liability insurance to cover us for this. It is our sole source of income. Our deposit is held by the landlord. What procedure do we need to follow for rent withholding? We've waited months for work to be done (in fact since we moved in).

BitterAndTwisted

See the Shelter website for guidance on withholding the rent. If you've got serious repair issues it might be worth your while contacting Environmental Health and your Local Authority's Private Rentals people.

Please note as mentioned previously your landlord cannot legally evict you until and unless your deposit is in one of the three protection schemes.

If your six month AST is about to come to an end and the property is unsatisfactory you really should be thinking about getting the heck out of there.

theartfullodger

You've already written (no WRITTEN!! - by all means email & 'phone but WRITE) to LL (and agent if there is one), keep copy, listing problems & inviting LLs response within, say 7 days??

Follow this advice (very easy to find..) AFTER LL has refused to carry out repairs (and you can show you gave him a chance to respond, in writing..)

http://england.shelter.org.uk/get_advice/repairs_and_bad_conditions/repairs_in_private_lets

& sample letters including re. your situation...
http://england.shelter.org.uk/get_advice/downloads_and_tools/sample_letters

Hope it works out

Artful

clutton_2

""Please note as mentioned previously your landlord cannot legally evict you until and unless your deposit is in one of the three protection schemes.""

i dont think this is quite right.... a Landlord cannot issue a Section 21 notice to quit if the deposit is not protected.

OP - I would not be thinking about doing these repairs yourself, as this LL is clearly not a good one, and is quite likely to give you notice for rent arrears - and you will have lost the benefit of the money you would have spent on repairs.

Can yhou not hire a small room in a local community hall on an hourly basis to teach in or get somewhere nicer and detached to live ?

tootz

we're looking into getting somewhere new, obviously, but I'm anxious he'll just re-let it and screw someone else over without consequence. Hence my suggestion of a landlord referencing agency.

Thanks to everyone for replies.

theartfullodger

tootz wrote: »

..........Hence my suggestion of a landlord referencing agency.

Thanks to everyone for replies.

#It makes a lot of sense to have such a referencing agency for LLs...

There is already one for Tenants (did we all know???)

- which calls itself "Landlord's Referencing services" see
http://landlordreferencing.co.uk/
I think there may be others...

In Scotland there is mandatory landlord registration, although I believe no landlord has ever been "done" for not being registered... see...
www.landlordregistrationscotland.gov.uk

(I'm on it!)

BitterAndTwisted

clutton wrote: »

""Please note as mentioned previously your landlord cannot legally evict you until and unless your deposit is in one of the three protection schemes.""

I don't think this is quite right.... a Landlord cannot issue a Section 21 notice to quit if the deposit is not protected.

Which is what I was referring to. The only other way would be a Section 8 for non-payment or constant late-payment which I tried to dissuade the OP from doing in my first post, but I accept that I didn't explain what the possible consequences could be.