where do i stand with my tenancy? is it valid?

crazy4nath

I have been living in my property for about a year and half now and only signed a 6 month tenancy, havnt signed anything since. I know im a bit behind on rent but do i even need to pay rent as the tenancy is no longer valid? and do i need to give any notice as i'm planning on moving out very soon.
Also i can see now why my land lady didnt want to rent through an agent as this place is unsafe. I'v had a plug socket explode in my face due to the electrics going out with the dinasours. When it exploded nothing even tripped, TV carried on playing and kettle carried on boiling (since expection by an electrition it turns out the whole (3 bed semi) house was running off 2 fuses and neither of them had fuse wire in them (just plain old copper wire) and also wev had floor boards cave in due to wood worm. We have informed the person the landlady chose to be her middle man and nothing has changed.
What are my rights?
do i legaly need to be paying rent as i technically have no tenency agreement and do i need to give notice? as my landlady is really peeing me off with her toffee nosed attitude and i'm planning on moving out soon any way?
Any help would be greatly appreciated as im in a right pickle now lol and dont want my landlady ruining my new life

BitterAndTwisted

You do have a valid tenancy: when your fixed-term expired you automatically went onto what is known as a periodic tenancy where all of the terms are the same bar the notice which the landlord is obliged to give you. You are still legally obligated to give your landlady once month's notice (if you pay your rent monthly) coinciding with the rent-due day.

And YES, you do have to pay your rent in full and on time, so you'd better clear those arrears before you move out because there's no way of you weaseling out of it regardless of how unfavourable the property is.

silvercar

I know im a bit behind on rent but do i even need to pay rent as the tenancy is no longer valid? and do i need to give any notice as i'm planning on moving out very soon.


Also i can see now why [STRIKE]my land lady[/STRIKE] I didnt want to rent through an agentas I don't pay the rent when due and intend doing a runner

Corrected for you.

crazy4nath

Hm thanks for that. I have mostly paid my rent and have every intention of clearing arrears before i leave thankyou.
And im not doing a runner, I have been offered a very good career and would like to move closer to it instead of having to commute around an hour a day. Its a move any smart person would make.
There ya go, corrected for you

G_M

crazy4nath wrote: »

Hm thanks for that. I have mostly paid my rent and have every intention of clearing arrears before i leave thankyou.
And im not doing a runner, I have been offered ....... Its a move any smart person would make.
There ya go, corrected for you

Hmmm.... thinks....

do i even need to pay rent as the tenancy is no longer valid? and do i need to give any notice as i'm planning on moving out very soon.

As for the condition of the property, this has nothing to do with whether the LL uses an agent or not. There are procedures for enforcing repairs - have you pursude them?

crazy4nath

We have notified her of the problems and nothing has been done

Marvel1

crazy4nath wrote: »

We have notified her of the problems and nothing has been done

Then in that case you can ask the local council to inspect the property under the Housing Health and Safety Rating System and they will take action if required.

G_M

crazy4nath wrote: »

We have notified her of the problems and nothing has been done

Yes, but....

Formally in writing at the official address for the serving of Notices?

Have you followed up in the appropriate way as per the Shelter link above?

If you've sent her a text and then sat back, well, you can't really complain, if however you've been throught the quotation process, what's stopped you taking things through to their conclusion?

Or as cjdivies says, have you been to Environmental Health?

evoke

Jeez.

No, you can live for free after six months. LOL.

silvercar

crazy4nath wrote: »

Hm thanks for that. I have mostly paid my rent and have every intention of clearing arrears before i leave thankyou.

Either you have paid your rent (on time and in full) or you haven't. "Mostly" isn't good enough.

crazy4nath wrote:

And im not doing a runner, I have been offered a very good career and would like to move closer to it instead of having to commute around an hour a day.

Doing a runner equates with not giving notice and leaving with rent unpaid.

crazy4nath wrote:

Its a move any smart person would make.

Smart people would be concerned to keep their credit record clean and to fulfil their contractual obligations.

tbs624

OP - you seem keen on ascertaining your rights whilst paying scant regard to your own obligations: you are contractually obliged to pay your rent in full and on time.

Your LL is obliged to comply with his basic repairing obligations. The two things are however separate.

Have you reported repairs isssues *in writing*? Did you follow up on the LLs/LAs lack of action? Have you sought guidance from the local Council's tenancy relations officer (private sector housing)?

As the others have said, your tenancy agreement is "still valid", as the law allows for a Stat Periodic tenancy to automatically arise when a Fixed Term ends and

(a) the LL has not sought a court order for repossession
(b) no new FT has been signed
(c) the T remains in occupation

When you wish to leave you will need to give one month's notice to tie in with your "rental period". Your monthly rental periods run in line with the day after the expiry of your original FT, so if your FT finished on say 20th of the month, each subsequent rental period will run from the 21st of one month to the 20th of the next.

Your LL can pursue you to court for any rent owed and if you fail to pay off any amount awarded by judgement you will land yourself with a CCJ.

Has your LL complied with the law on gas safety (if any gas appliances at the property) and Tenancy Deposit Regs ( if property is in Eng/Wales)? Has your LL made *any* response to notification of the repairs issues? A LL is still obliged to maintain a property even when a T is in arrears.

For future reference you may like to google Shelters pdf "Guide to Getting Repairs Done"