HELP!! Can landlord do this??

natandchris10

We have had loads of problems with the house that we live in, the landlord refuses to do anything about it so he suggested we find somewhere else to live. He advised that we can give notice once the rent is upto date.

we got the rent upto date and gave notice on the 22nd december. Both in writing and by email. We want to move out ASAP as the house is a nightmare and costing a fortune to run. so we suggested to the landlord that he lets us move out on the 15th january and we pay him upto the 22nd by letting him keep some of the deposit.

He had tonight emailed me back saying he is writing me a letter and copying in his solicitor, he says he feels like hilding us to the whole of the tenancy agreement and that he has never had so much trouble. So i phoned him on his mobile (from the UK to FRANCE) tofind out why he had reacted this way. he didnt explain himself apart from shouting at me saying to move out on the 15th and were not getting our deposit back and basically saying i am trouble!

I have no idea where this came from. he refused to get work done and so told us to find somewhere else. now he is saying we wont get our deposit and he is going to sue for the full tenancy?

The deposit isnt in a scheme. and there is no EPC for the house..

Please someone help?????

natandchris10

thanks for your quick response.

Its a 6 month tenancy. we moved in on 15th october for contract of 6 months.

Landlord lives in the UK however travels to france alot on business.

LittleMrsThrifty

What has the landlord refused to do? And why were you behind on your rent when you'd only been in a few weeks? Have you damaged the property at all? And why was the deposit not protected?

Oh and if you are calling a UK mobile it will cost the same whether they're stood next to you or in Australia.

Geenie

natandchris10 wrote: »

We have had loads of problems with the house that we live in, the landlord refuses to do anything about it so he suggested we find somewhere else to live. He advised that we can give notice once the rent is upto date.

we got the rent upto date and gave notice on the 22nd december. Both in writing and by email. We want to move out ASAP as the house is a nightmare and costing a fortune to run. so we suggested to the landlord that he lets us move out on the 15th january and we pay him upto the 22nd by letting him keep some of the deposit.

He had tonight emailed me back saying he is writing me a letter and copying in his solicitor, he says he feels like hilding us to the whole of the tenancy agreement and that he has never had so much trouble. So i phoned him on his mobile (from the UK to FRANCE) tofind out why he had reacted this way. he didnt explain himself apart from shouting at me saying to move out on the 15th and were not getting our deposit back and basically saying i am trouble!

I have no idea where this came from. he refused to get work done and so told us to find somewhere else. now he is saying we wont get our deposit and he is going to sue for the full tenancy?

The deposit isnt in a scheme. and there is no EPC for the house..

Please someone help?????

OP, can you calm down and give details.

He advised that we can give notice once the rent is upto date.

we got the rent upto date and gave notice on the 22nd december.

Have you got behind with the rent?

the house is a nightmare and costing a fortune to run. so we suggested to the landlord that he lets us move out on the 15th january and we pay him upto the 22nd by letting him keep some of the deposit.

The deposit is not for rent but for paying any damage you the tenant inflict at the end of the tenancy. What has the LL not been doing to make the property a nightmare?

You need to give more details, calm down and state facts. Then you may get advice that is relevant.

natandchris10

LittleMrsThrifty wrote: »

What has the landlord refused to do? And why were you behind on your rent when you'd only been in a few weeks? Have you damaged the property at all? And why was the deposit not protected?

Oh and if you are calling a UK mobile it will cost the same whether they're stood next to you or in Australia.

The whole house is really drafty, there are windows without seals and its costing us almost £80 a week for gas and electric. the boiler is old and s**t. he wont do anything about it. He said he would get someone round but that was ages ago i have lost count. when i said he needs to do something he said he would let us out of the tenancy agreement with 1 months notice.

My OH lost his job just after we moved in. we were £100 down on the rent but paid it on the 22nd december. this is the day we gave notice

the property has not been damaged by us atall.

No idea why its not protected. i didnt realise it was a legal requirement untill recently

Geenie

natandchris10 wrote: »

The whole house is really drafty, there are windows without seals and its costing us almost £80 a week for gas and electric. the boiler is old and s**t. he wont do anything about it. He said he would get someone round but that was ages ago i have lost count. when i said he needs to do something he said he would let us out of the tenancy agreement with 1 months notice.

My OH lost his job just after we moved in. we were £100 down on the rent but paid it on the 22nd december. this is the day we gave notice

the property has not been damaged by us atall.

No idea why its not protected. i didnt realise it was a legal requirement untill recently

Did you not notice any of this when viewing the property?

natandchris10

Geenie wrote: »

Did you not notice any of this when viewing the property?

No, when we came to view the property it was lovely and warm. we know the previous tenants and when we asked them about the cost of heating and whether they had the same problem they said they just turned the heating on full blast and paid the bill when it came in. they are quite well off so they didnt really notice how much it was costing. then when we moved in we were stunned by it

CG77

theartfullodger wrote: »

PS Does he live outside UK>?? If so do you/the agent withhold 20% of rent for the tax man and do you have an address for him in England&Wales to "serve notices"?? If not, rent ain't due...

Sorry to hijack, but could you explain this to me please? (PM would be fine so as not to hijack further maybe?)

Our LL lives abroad and we pay him directly (no agent involved). We have no idea about tax but are pretty sure he won't be paying! :eek: Not looking to do anything necessarily but just stumbled across this and it looks interesting!

Thanks very much

CG. x

natandchris10

Geenie wrote: »

OP, can you calm down and give details.

He advised that we can give notice once the rent is upto date.

we got the rent upto date and gave notice on the 22nd december.

Have you got behind with the rent?

the house is a nightmare and costing a fortune to run. so we suggested to the landlord that he lets us move out on the 15th january and we pay him upto the 22nd by letting him keep some of the deposit.

The deposit is not for rent but for paying any damage you the tenant inflict at the end of the tenancy. What has the LL not been doing to make the property a nightmare?

You need to give more details, calm down and state facts. Then you may get advice that is relevant.

Hi Geenie,

Sorry its all kicked off this evening so i havnt really taken a breath to think about.

My OH lost his job and we were £100 short, which the LL let us pay on 22nd December. we gave notice on this date.

The whole house is really drafty, there are windows without seals and its costing us almost £80 a week for gas and electric. the boiler is old and s**t. he wont do anything about it. He said he would get someone round but that was ages ago i have lost count. when i said he needs to do something he said he would let us out of the tenancy agreement with 1 months notice.

Geenie

natandchris10 wrote: »

Hi Geenie,

Sorry its all kicked off this evening so i havnt really taken a breath to think about.

My OH lost his job and we were £100 short, which the LL let us pay on 22nd December. we gave notice on this date.

The whole house is really drafty, there are windows without seals and its costing us almost £80 a week for gas and electric. the boiler is old and s**t. he wont do anything about it. He said he would get someone round but that was ages ago i have lost count. when i said he needs to do something he said he would let us out of the tenancy agreement with 1 months notice.

Forget about what the LL hasn't done and what you ignored when taking on the property.

You have given notice, and the issue is that the LL is keeping the deposit. You state that the LL has not put your deposit in a scheme, so the LL is liable to pay 3x the deposit as he has broken the law.

Can I direct you to the following website for information on deposits http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/HomeAndCommunity/Privaterenting/Tenancies/DG_189120


Also if your LL is in France, tell them you are writing to HMRC about the rent you have paid........just for a laugh of course!

F_T_Buyer

The problem is the house has not suddenly become drafty, it always has been and you've only noticed with the sub zero temperature. My last house was victorian, and the heating was on full blast all day every day just to try and keep warm.

Unfortunately, this isn't grounds for the landlord to repair - as it's not a fault.

Now, what have you received in writing? Do you have it in writing that he can let you out of your contract early? What's in writing what really matters.

For your deposit, check with the insurance schemes (they are 3 I think) to check if the deposit is registered. When you find out, come back to us.