Rented house has been repossesed?

spidereyes

I moved into a rented property just 3 weeks ago, we've had a nightmare trying to get certain things sorted out etc with the landlord very openly not caring too much about the property.
We've been chasing since this time, and again he's been making exucses etc about why things can't be done.

We today recieved a letter in the post from the landlord stating that his company (who by we pay our rent and are managed by) has been taken over by the bank and that all his properties are too now owned by the bank.

All the letter says is that our deposit we paid is protected and that they 'expect' for the bank to instruct its own management company, and provided contact details for the bank.

I have now phoned the contact at the bank who was very cagy about giving me any information - he said the landlord should not have made me aware of this at present, and when I asked if my contract was still valid he just said 'continue as usual for the time being' which to me is neither a yes or no. He didn't want to awnser my questions and just said that the legal team would soon be involved after which time he could give more information.

My rent is due direct to the landlord in 2 days time which Im assuming I need to cancel and not pay to him?

Where do I stand. m assuming legally they could kick me out if they wanted, which in the circumstances Id rather know now rather than a few months down the line.
Also as for the repairs Ive been waiting for since I moved in - at present no one is technically managing my property.

Just looking for a bit of adivce where I stand really,especially seeing as Ive only jsut moved into the property

BitterAndTwisted

Do not pay your rent to the landlord but set it aside somewhere to paid over later when you know definitely who you owe it to. You will be informed by the lender when they have formally repossessed the property.

It depends on what kind of mortgage your landlord has. If it's buy-to-let mortgage the lender could take over the tenancy and let you remain there until your fixed-term tenancy agreement ends or even longer. Not that long ago I was working for a firm of Managing Agents who were appointed by the Official Receiver, most of the properties were tenanted and we were paying bills for the properties to have roofs mended or replaced, double-glazing installed, replacement washing-machines purchased. Lots of things for the benefit of the tenants.

Everything is dependent on the kind of mortgage and how much equity there is in the property. If it's negative equity you are more likely to be allowed to remain in situ than if there's lots. It doesn't need to be a completely bleak prospect.

You will not be thrown out onto the streets with five minutes notice whatever happens.

HappyMJ

Yes you cancel the rent payment and negotiate with the bank to stay as long as possible. You can get the bank to make any emergency repairs or you take a risk and pay for them yourself and deduct it from the rent. You can't do that if it is not an emergency though so repairs such as a dripping tap just have to be left.

GDB2222

Spider, you are not clear in your post whether your landlord is the LL in person or his company. Either way, do not pay anything for now.

They cannot kick you out without going to court, and not without giving you a chance to pay the rent.

spidereyes

GDB2222 wrote: »

Spider, you are not clear in your post whether your landlord is the LL in person or his company. Either way, do not pay anything for now.

The landlord - in terms of the contract we've signed is with the company he owns, rather him in person.

In terms of mortgage - as far as I was aware there was no mortgage on the property but I may be mistaken - basically this bloke was at some point a massive property developer worth several million (turns out a friend of the family used to know him) but looks like something has obviously gone sour along the line.

To be honest Im angry more than anything because they must have known they were getting into this situation and it makes me think they should have never of let the place out, especially seeing as Ive paid out a ridiculous amount in admin fees etc for this place.
And in all honesty we're not too fussed about staying in the property now, Id highly doubt the bank would let it happen but we would be willing to negotiate if they wanted us out (ie if we could get them to pay our admin fee for a new property/let us off one months rent to cover this then we would be willing to go sooner rather than later)

G_M

Provided the mortgage was a BTL mortgage or the mortgage lender had given Consent To Let, then once they have taken over the property they will have to honour your tenancy agreement. All the same terms and obligations.

In the meantime, as advised, hold onto the rent so you can pay it to the right person/organisation once this becomes clear.

As for repairs/problems, well, you'll have to be patient. The LL will have no incentive or interest! Once the mortgage company takes over, you write to them with any problems.