What to do - help!

Whatthe69

Hello fellow MSErs

I'm a fellow poster, however I've had to create a new profile to stop this from being tracked as I'm not entirely sure if the landlord in question is watching me or anything, nor will I name him/her, nor am I saying if partner is a s/he.

This is my story so far:

I moved into the property with my long term partner in 2009, with a 6 month contract which had a 1 month notice period which was to be issued by myself or the landlord once these 6 months were up.
From the start of the tenancy, I wasn't that pleased - the previous tenants had left it in a bit of a mess (me and the partner fixed it up as best we could). The landlord had almost promised to have little jobs done.. The gardens were a mess (I was verbally promised they'd get fixed - but nothing was done, I had to spend weeks in them gardens in the end!), there was mould on the walls/ceilings of rooms, getting snails/slugs into the house, with no idea where the heck they'd come from :eek:... Nothing got sorted - I tried speaking to the local authority and CAB, and nothing got sorted.
I did not get round to chasing, as me and long term partner split just after the contract was over - to stop them from gaining access to the property as and when they wanted (I was scared of coming home to find an empty house), the landlord gave me a new (and blank) contract to sign. I was told it would be same as before (6 months/1 month notice etc), and never saw this piece of paper again, despite numerous requests generally was left with "I'll come around today"...
Roll onto last month - the heating goes out for a number days, just as the coldest days on record happen, brrrrr. Turns out the boiler had faulty components, however on finding records (which have now been damaged :mad:) the boiler should have been serviced months before - which I was disgusted at, as it might have been detected before then. I was told by the engineer as he was leaving "the boiler may only work for a few minutes/days/weeks)...
Now to just before New Years - I came home to find the house flooded. Water everywhere, up the walls etc - most of my personal possessions were destroyed or ruined by the damage. Seems the water pipe had burst, and had been spraying water for a few days (I had left the property only days before to visit family during the Festivities) - I wasn't able to secure alternate housing (downstairs was flooded, it was damp all in the house now - and it smelt badly of damp and wallpaper paste - most of my possessions that weren't destroyed still smell like the house, it was that bad!), due to the lack of phone numbers etc, so I sucked in my pride and went back to my parents. Because of this incident and the other little niggling items that have happened, I have given notice on the property.

This is where my problems deepens:

Landlord near enough demands I pay for "x, y, z fittings" even though they are part of the property (eg. not contents) therefore are the landlords, and should be part of their insurance.
Landlord (upon getting notice) starts saying I have an 18 month contract (even though the same was 6 months) with a 3 month notice (yet it if it was the same it'd be 1 month) - so must live there regardless until that period is up - or I get taken to court as (I shall say this in quotes, to as much detail as I can give)

"I did not leave the house adequately heated, I have not given the correct notice or been in the house the amount of time as the tenancy has been agreed, and I have not left the house in the state it was given in"

I was also threatened a few things, however landlord has since retracted it since finding "legal advice" (off an aquaintance).

I'm going to try and get to CAB/get my own legal advice tomorrow - but what is other people's take on this all? As far as I know, I have a binding contract of min 6 months, with 1 months notice - is this valid, or is this written contract which he got me to sign with false information (that no one bore witness or I have a copy of) valid?
Landlord reckons the accident is also my fault, how do they prove it was/nt my fault? I can't get the house into the original state as it was in, as the flood damage is currently being fixed!!

I do not even have the money to even pay this person off even if I lost in court.. So might be getting some nasty judgements against me.. Last (and first) time I'll use private ever again though !:mad:

Ta for looking

Whatthe69

BitterAndTwisted

Why in God's name did you sign a blank contract?

Was the heating working and was it left on while you were away for Christmas?

Whatthe69

BitterAndTwisted wrote: »

Why in God's name did you sign a blank contract?

Was the heating working and was it left on while you were away for Christmas?

Was desperate, and this certain ex-partner was persistant and getting quite nasty.. I was told by the police I could not get certain orders without this happening - although in the end I did not have to use these certain restraints as the landlord told the partner to back off, and yes on both counts - although the heating was on a timer, so it was at least a few hours at both times of the day (I only ever have it on this anyway, as I was working up until Christmas 9-5), I was told anyway that the area wasn't actually cold (it was above freezing) over the few days I was out too..

bris

The house couldn't have been that bad because you lived in it for over a year, you had a 6 month contract in 2009 so you could have moved if you wanted.
The main problem you have is the fact you don't know what contract you have signed, this was a mistake on your part, a pretty big one, and no one else to blame for this.
The flood will also be a problem for you, being away and leaving the heating off could very well be the reason for the burst pipe. You could counter this by demanding to see the safety certificate, if he doesn't have one he could be in trouble.
Playing the devils advocate here I could see how you would just want to get away now the house is trashed, but I wouldn't let you go that easy either.
If you have a contract no matter what lengh you still have to give one months notice, not three.
Hope you get it sorted but it might not be that easy.

Hump

Go straight to your local council and get the person - usually an environmental health officer - who is responsible for HHSRS enforcement (Housing Health & Safety Rating Scheme - Housing Act 2004) to inspect the property and if necessary serve a Prohibition Notice on the property. This will get the landlord's attention and he may decide to drop the '18 month AST' farce. You need to decide whether you're going to return or whether you're going to give it up as a bad lot. If you want to leave and he tries to with hold your deposit you could seek legal advice and look to prepare a case to claim damages from the landlord - in fact you might want to seek that advice anyway.

Whatthe69

bris wrote: »

The house couldn't have been that bad because you lived in it for over a year, you had a 6 month contract in 2009 so you could have moved if you wanted.
The main problem you have is the fact you don't know what contract you have signed, this was a mistake on your part, a pretty big one, and no one else to blame for this.
The flood will also be a problem for you, being away and leaving the heating off could very well be the reason for the burst pipe. You could counter this by demanding to see the safety certificate, if he doesn't have one he could be in trouble.
Playing the devils advocate here I could see how you would just want to get away now the house is trashed, but I wouldn't let you go that easy either.
If you have a contract no matter what lengh you still have to give one months notice, not three.
Hope you get it sorted but it might not be that easy.

I had quite a few contracts which lasted until just recently anyway, and I could not afford to get out of them, as well as the tenancy (assuming it was 6 months), as I'm on benefits (even though I was looking for work in both the area I lived in) for the majority of the time I was there.
I know the contract issue is my own fault, but I was desperate and the landlord was (past tense now) actually a friend of mine and the ex.. who said "sign, and I'll do the rest" - and with an ex-partner threatening to barge in regardless unless I got a restraining order.. I was a mess.
The house's heating was on for a total of 7 hours a day (in the morning/evening), whilst I was gone as well so it wasn't always off - I have given notice, he has the letter signed and dated - I have not however handed in my keys yet, in case he shows this as a sign of "abandonment" (something I have learnt about quite recently..)

Hump wrote: »

Go straight to your local council and get the person - usually an environmental health officer - who is responsible for HHSRS enforcement (Housing Health & Safety Rating Scheme - Housing Act 2004) to inspect the property and if necessary serve a Prohibition Notice on the property. This will get the landlord's attention and he may decide to drop the '18 month AST' farce. You need to decide whether you're going to return or whether you're going to give it up as a bad lot. If you want to leave and he tries to with hold your deposit you could seek legal advice and look to prepare a case to claim damages from the landlord - in fact you might want to seek that advice anyway.

I tried going to them before and they would not do anything - the fact this has happened has made me realise that further stuff will probably happen.. I know everywhere has their faults, but for the money I've had to pay, as well as the grief I've had to face - as well as the fact my family and (closer) friends are in another area.. I want to give up, this last year I've had a few personal issues (which I won't go into here) that have meant I'd rather be with loved ones than be by myself..

Hump

It's probably a pity you've handed your notice in as if Env Health had prohibited the property then another part of the Council - usually the homeless dept/ housing options dept would have helped you secure a new place to live. In fact it's probably worth placing a call to them anyway to see if they're able to help.

PasturesNew

Get the local weather reports for those days too, to prove it didn't go under freezing.