URGENT advice needed. Letting agent threatening to change locks on my door

mchale

jjlandlord wrote: »

Not immaterial at all!
I'm talking in regards to deposit deductions here: What OP did is an improvement and the landlord has no claim of damage or loss as long as OP hands over the set of keys when the tenancy ends.

Tenant should leave property as they found it, except for fair wear & tear. Any improvements/changes should have permission of LL.

jjlandlord

mchale wrote: »

Tenant should leave property as they found it, except for fair wear & tear. Any improvements/changes should have permission of LL.

Yes, but deposit deductions et al. must be related to damage and loss: I would not count on a deduction claim by the landlord to be awarded in the present case as the landlord is actually gaining (if key set handed over as said)...
Again, as per OP's description, we're talking about a professionally-installed security improvement following police advice, not about repainting the walls purple with yellow dots.

princeofpounds

The section 8 is a nonsense. No judge is going to evict someone for fitting a lock to the door on the recommendation of the police, especially if they offer to give a key too! Section 8 is discretionary and that means the judges can use their common sense. This would be a breach of contract in only the most technical manner and no loss has resulted from it, so I suspect that a judge would be quit angry such a trifle is wasting the time of court.

As your tenancy is ending soon the LL could use a non-discretionary Section 21 instead, which is really just a way of refusing to renew the contract.

Personally I think the LA are smoking crack. They will not pursue you through the courts to evict, that has to be down to the LL. And I can't conceive of a situation where the landlord would be so upset about a piddling little lock that they would sling out a good tenant of three years standing, paying all the attendent costs to do so (including court fees, wasted time, voids and re-letting fees).

The only situation I can think of is that the LL actually wants you out (letting to friends? pushing rent up? refurbishment?) but this would be such a weird way to do it when he could just refuse to renew your tenancy and issue a section 21.

So it seems very likely to me that the agents are just getting a bit worked into a frenzy, but I can't figure out why. Personally I do think it's suspicious that they got so involved, and make me wonder whether they were planning to show someone around your property without your knowledge.

As everyone has said, direct contact with LL is important here. The LA is not a reliable intermediary, certainly for reasons of ignorance but possibly other reasons too. I also agree that written communication is important once they have threatened you legally, although that does not preclude verbal communication it's important to have records.

Finally, a quite comment on the sideshow earlier about clauses in the contract about allowing viewings - I am with Dvardy on this one; such a clause is unenforceable and I think that propertyman is wrong that the LL could ever sue for damages should you choose to cancel viewings. But that's a sideshow discussion we could have on another thread.

QuantumSuccess

Here is the latest communication from the LA:

"I am going to keep this short. 1) Having further consultation with your landlord the contract will not be renewed and you will have to vacate. All matters are subject to contract and as such remain subject to change. 2) The mortice lock used does not comply with fire safety regulations. Fire door has been rendered useless and a thumb turn lock is required on the inside which you do not have. Hence our need to fix the issues at hand at your cost."

dancingfairy

Forgive me for failing to keep up but have you sent a letter to the landlord at all?
Just because the letting agents say you have to move doesn't mean that that's the Landlord saying that.
As to the lock - is it a fire door? I find it strange that the police would give wrong advice but letting agents aparently don't have to have had any training.
Sounds like a nightmare.
Perhaps as letter to the landlord might be in order? Something along the lines of I understand from the letting agents that you require me to move out at the end of my contract.
I have been a good tenant and paid my rent reliably on time for 3 years so am somewhat disappointed if you want me to leave.
I feel that this issue has arisen due to the fact that after receiving advice from the police I fitted a secondry lock (at cost to myself) and wrote to you advising this and offering a key. This seems to have upset the letting agents somewhat.
Please can you clarify the situation.
O.k perhaps not quite like that but you get the gist.
df

QuantumSuccess

dancingfairy wrote: »

Forgive me for failing to keep up but have you sent a letter to the landlord at all?
Just because the letting agents say you have to move doesn't mean that that's the Landlord saying that.
As to the lock - is it a fire door? I find it strange that the police would give wrong advice but letting agents aparently don't have to have had any training.
Sounds like a nightmare.
Perhaps as letter to the landlord might be in order? Something along the lines of I understand from the letting agents that you require me to move out at the end of my contract.
I have been a good tenant and paid my rent reliably on time for 3 years so am somewhat disappointed if you want me to leave.
I feel that this issue has arisen due to the fact that after receiving advice from the police I fitted a secondry lock (at cost to myself) and wrote to you advising this and offering a key. This seems to have upset the letting agents somewhat.
Please can you clarify the situation.
O.k perhaps not quite like that but you get the gist.
df

This is great advice and the letter is already printed and will be going out in today's post

QuantumSuccess

As ridiculous as this situation is becoming.....let's for a minute imagine the worst case scenario. If this idiot LA does issue the Section 8 and if by some wild chance a Judge approves the Possession Order.... I am trying to find out what sort of time frame I am working with. It is no laughing matter that I could be forced to move from my home within just a few weeks.

So, can anyone tell me typically how long it will take to get a hearing date once a Section 8 has been served? So far everyone I've asked doesn't seem to have the faintest idea. My local court is likely to be a busy one I'd say. Are we typically talking a matter of a few days or more like a few weeks? Can these things be adjourned?

silvercar

As ridiculous as this situation is becoming.....let's for a minute imagine the worst case scenario.

If what the LA says is correct. The worst case scenario is that there is a fire and someone dies because they couldn't get out through a door that you have put a lock on that current regulations require to be a thumb turn lock.

If this idiot LA does issue the Section 8 and if by some wild chance a Judge approves the Possession Order..

If a judge decides that you have put lives at risk by installing an unapproved lock.

As to how long, it depends how busy your courts are. Averaging, I would say a couple of weeks - 6 weeks to go to court, then expect a few weeks notice by the judge, then baliffs a couple of weeks later.

It probably not to late to contact the landlord, explain that you were acting on the advice of the police but now you understand the safety implications and will put it right immediately. If you've been a good tenant the landlord may buy it.

GDB2222

QuantumSuccess wrote: »

Here is the latest communication from the LA:

"I am going to keep this short. 1) Having further consultation with your landlord the contract will not be renewed and you will have to vacate. All matters are subject to contract and as such remain subject to change. 2) The mortice lock used does not comply with fire safety regulations. Fire door has been rendered useless and a thumb turn lock is required on the inside which you do not have. Hence our need to fix the issues at hand at your cost."

There's your answer, then. They are not going to turf you out before the end of the lease, but you have made unauthorised changes to the property which you are going to have to pay to have put right. Lucky you don't have to pay for a new fire door, really. The shame is that you did not ask for permission to put in the new lock in the first place. Hopefully, you can salvage the situation with the agents and the LL. If, apart from this one point, you have been a good tenant, I can't see why they would really want you out from there.

QuantumSuccess

How is my front door a fire door?