My Rights as a Tenant

kier333

Shelldean wrote: »

As you own your house ( wherever it maybe) I can not see the council being responsible for rehousing you. The priority will be given to those need a roof over their heads, which you don't as you already have a roof, just in another place.

Not quite the case, my property is rented out to a tenant and has a 12 month ast agreement in place, shall i just chuck them out on the street making them homeless? I think not, what I am saying is that the council have an obligation to find me alternative accomodation if they require me to move out as I am contracted to stay until April, this is also what Shelters legal team said, and I made them fully aware I own my own propety, however it is rented.

Shelldean

your problem is you're not giving the FULL picture at the first chance. You add bits in ( like the renting your property out) which in effect makes a very different picture. You're making it difficult for anyone to advise you correctly. as to advise you correctly they need the FULL facts.

kier333

Shelldean wrote: »

your problem is you're not giving the FULL picture at the first chance. You add bits in ( like the renting your property out) which in effect makes a very different picture. You're making it difficult for anyone to advise you correctly. as to advise you correctly they need the FULL facts.

Ok Apologies, below are the facts:

• I own my own house which I rent to a tenant on a ast.
• I rent a studio flat inclusive of bills and council tax as per my ast for £1200 pcm. My tenancy is until April
• I have found out that the LL is only declaring it as a house not a four studios which it is
• He has no planning permission to have converted the house in to studios
• he has no planning to have completed a loft converstion and to be renting it as a studio
• there is no fire doors on any of the flats
• there is no fire alarm system in the building
• there is only one boiler for the who builing and its controlled by on stat in the hall
• the consumer unit its for the whole house, not seperated for each flat

I hope this outlines more clear my situation.

Shelldean

I wasn't having a go, just saying that w/o ALL the fact at the begining it's difficult for those who can help ( i cant not enough knowledge on this situation)
I commented on the facts you'd already given, but then you moved the goalposts by saying your place had tennants..... makes a very different picture.

I personally think your LL is an a*se, and i truly hope you resolve it soon.

Missmarple

If you could just step back and think about what actually MIGHT happen and not what you think SHOULD happen.

Firstly you might find the LL owns the property and does not have a mortgage or does have a buy to let mortgage.

The council could come round and just say yes it is fine just slap a few fire doors on an install an alarm system and give the LL four or five months to do it. Or on the change of the tenancy.

They could just advise the LL to apply for the correct licencing giving him time to comply.

You were happy to take the property without the fire doors and alarm system. I am not saying this is correct of course and they should be there but why didn't it bother you ? especially when you have the loft room.

You will find councils are more likely to work with the LL rather than against him.

If you intend not to pay any rent then move out now, you are breaking your contract by not paying it and the LL has the right to chase you for it there or not. Almost everyone on here has given you the same advice that you MUST pay your rent but you are taking no notice. How can you make a serious claim against him when you do not pay rent. Your case will be seriously weak.

Nothing is certain for you or the LL. Don't guess...... get legal advice before you do anything.

sonastin

A couple of things you have to remember about the law:

- threatening someone with your legal rights when they have already broken the law is not always an effective threat
If he has disregarded all these planning rules and so on, chances are he won't respond to threats of reporting him until he sees the consequences of those threats for himself.

- expecting someone who has already broken one law is going to respect other laws could lead to a whole other kind of trouble
be prepared for illegal eviction from the LL, potentially with violence. No one is saying it will happen but if you are aware it might you won't be so shocked if it does.

- tit-for-tat is not a valid legal principle
just because he hasn't upheld his side of the deal doesn't mean you can unilaterally decide to ignore your obligations without following due legal process. Otherwise, it would be acceptable for any LL to evict a tenant who was late paying rent. If you want to use the law to enforce your rights (like getting your rent back), you'll be in a stronger position if you follow the law yourself. If you wish to withold your rent, at the very least notify your LL that you intend to do this and why, and set aside the money in a separate account so that it shows you are willing to pay it if the courts decide it is due after all.

- enforcement of your legal rights can take time. In the meantime, you need to be able to bridge the gap between what you believe you're entitled to and what the courts judge you are entitled to and then perhaps the gap to the enforcement of that judgment too.

If the council won't rehouse you and pay the bills, you'll have to settle up with the ritz yourself. Could take months to chase your LL through the courts for that money and the courts might just decide you should have stayed in a holiday inn. By which time your LL might be bankrupt and have nothing to give you anyway. Before you spend someone else's money on the basis of a legal right, make sure you can cover the cost if that legal right doesn't turn into cold hard cash.



I don't think anyone here is on the side of the landlord. But some of the advice has been trying to protect you against the practicalities of day-to-day life and keep you on the right side of the legal line to help you get through this. If you prefer the bull-in-a-china-shop approach, please accept the consequences as entirely of your making.

SavvyStudentSaver

lukesy wrote: »

Commiting fraud on all partys, obtaining local tax from residents and pocketing the money, most of all putting life's at risks due to no building regs, stop funding this CRIMINAL pay no more and advise other tenants also. SICKENED

lukesy- the law will deal with the 'LL'- there will be retribution. Tenants are not allowed to take the law into their own hands, and could end up being penalised themselves if they do so. So even if it stings, a tenant has to keep up their side of the contract, and get the courts involved to seek justice (an extreme example- if a burglar breaks into your house, and the case is being looked at by the court, you can't physically assault them in the street). So please stop encouraging the OP to take action which may have negative consequences.

Unfortunately, a contract requires the law be involved to rid yourself of the responsibility of holding up your end- the 'LL' is still responsible for the house at the moment, and shirking those responsibilities is going to get him into trouble.

And even if things don't come out as you would like for you, remember the LL will have a mortgage company to answer to, and have a close eye kept on him by them, will probably end up with financial difficulties if fined (as is likely, it seems), especially without the rent as income. treat this as experience, and when you next rent, check all these things first.

BitterAndTwisted

This whole thread has been started on a false premise. First it was "What might happen if x takes place because this, this and this is wrong and I could be at risk?" and transformed into "I've done this but didn't tell you before and now I'm rationalising why that was the right thing to do and why I'm not to blame for any of the consequences. And anyway, the landlord is a dirty foreigner and deserves everything he might get."

kier333

BitterAndTwisted wrote: »

This whole thread has been started on a false premise. First it was "What might happen if x takes place because this, this and this is wrong and I could be at risk?" and transformed into "I've done this but didn't tell you before and now I'm rationalising why that was the right thing to do and why I'm not to blame for any of the consequences. And anyway, the landlord is a dirty foreigner and deserves everything he might get."

Facts are there Bitter and twisted, get over yourself. Fact is the LL is a foreigner and the LL does deserve everything he gets, I look forward to the day the rat is in court and gets a criminal record, hopefully custodial and deported back to the hole he crawled out off.

Council tax investigation team have just left, seems he has been an very naughty boy.

Expose them I say, the whole bunch of crook LL's. As composed by Bill Hillard and Mort Garson

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=--8Ju1jb8Bw

Enjoy!!

BitterAndTwisted

Enjoy your crusade! You are giving every appearance of being a very unattractive character, to say the least, and an opportunist of the first order. If you are chucked out on the street I wouldn't care now. I just hope that your efforts are returned in kind. I'd keep an eye on your own tenant if I were you