Landlord not been paying mortgage

RAS

missusd wrote: »

The rent is due on Tuesday; the difficulty in not paying it is that they live across the road from us and have access to the property through the day-in that they have a set of keys and know the alarm code etc.

Ahmm.

You are entitled to quiet enjoyment, which means that the landlord/landlady is NOT entitled to let him/herself into the house whether you are there or not, without prior notice in writing and with your agreement. If you want a gas certificate, then it may be wise to let the gas engineer in but otherwise......

Go down to one of the hardware shops and buy a new barrel for the lock. You need a screw driver to loosen the screws and maybe a hacksaw if it is a yale type. You need to change the barrel back to the old one when you leave.

Then write to the "landlady" and ask her which deposit scheme they are using and point out that you can sue for 3 times the value of the deposit plus the deposit if they do not protect it.

Whilst you are about it also ask for a copy of the gas certificate.

franklee

missusd wrote: »

one thing I am desperate to know is...given the arrears are already at 4 months...realistically how long will it be until the mortgage company takes court action?

Hard to say, depends on the individual circumstances.

missusd wrote: »

If we fail to pay a months rent and use it as a bond against another property will that look bad on us?

Yes.

missusd wrote: »

We still have 7 months on our AST..will we have to sit it out and wait until repossession case has occurred to prevent being in breach of tenancy?

There is nothing so far that means you can breach the tenancy agreement, except perhaps this issue of the landlord not being the owner but that would need more investigating. If you want the council to rehouse you must not make yourself voluntarily homeless.

missusd wrote: »

I am not sure if the fact it will have been a BTL mortgage will change matters so can anyone advise.

It does, read the Shelter page mentioned earlier that explains it fine. Here it is again:
http://england.shelter.org.uk/get_advice/eviction/repossession_by_a_landlords_lender

To sum up:

1. The mortgage on the property is three months in arrears.
2. The owner at the land registry is a different name to your landlord.
3. The "landlord" lives opposite and you're worried they'll be trouble if you complain.
4. No gas certificate.
5. You deposit isn't protected.
6. You've no money saved up to move.
7. Your tenancy agreement binds you till November.

They've got you done up like kipper, either you can sit there and take it or you start complaining preferably in writing so as to have proofs. You could try asking the tenancy relations officer at your local council to assist.

missusd

Firstly I would like to thank everyone for the excellent advice given last time.
In regards to the arrears the Landlord/who ever they are set up a payment plan with the mortgage company.
This has been adhered to for two months, and another letter arrived on Saturday from the mortgage company stating that Miss B has defaulted on the plan and the whole arrears are due in full.
I am going to ring the Housing Advice when they open this morning and explain the situation.
We have also requested on two occasions the Gas Safety Check and unsurprisingly it has still not been carried out-so I am intend on putting in a formal written request.

To add to our woes the roof has been leaking again and the wet patch on our ceiling is getting bigger and one has appeared on youngest childs now...not holding my breath on that being repaired though.

So in essence we are a few months on and still in the same situation. We have a small amount saved now but still would not be enough to start a new tenancy at present and we can not give notice on this property for another 2 months.

Not sure where to go from here, but again thank you all for your help.