B&B, Social Housing, possessions

Road_Hog

sacapuntas wrote: »

I think we're almost at a solution to the oven problem, thankfully, so I should be able to bring it up with her. I'm not a bad tenant (and I certainly haven't been here long enough for her to think so!), but I kind of wonder whether she wants a tenant that's more of a doormat and just doesn't hold the landlord accountable for anything (ie. I've asked for her to have the worker's tools left in the shed removed so I can use it, for the deposit to be protected, for a working oven since I signed the contract on the understanding that there was a working oven, the aerial that had fallen off the chimney to be fixed, and a window handle that wasn't even attached to the window sorted out).

As has been said, maybe put the oven issue on the backburner for the moment.

It isn't a case of wanting a doormat tenant, at least in my opinion, it may just an overstretched landlord.

Now, I know from past posts on here (I'm a sing property LL myself), that there isn't a lot of sympathy for small private landlords, but they do provide a service for a gap in the market.

Yes, councils should provide more properties, the government should provide more funds, but the truth is that they don't. Lots of people shout for more regulation and red tape, but that will only force LLs to sell up and mean that there are less rental properties available.

Personally (I'm not excusing the LL), I would speak frankly to the LL and say that you want a six month extension, but could she agree on a date for a new cooker - if it's one of those fitted ones, they start from about £150.

Far better to be housed an inconvenienced over the cooker than going into a B&B. Your LL may be embarrassed by her financial situation and might be more than happy to extend the contract and give a date for a new cooker, after an 'honest' chat.

rentergirl

Agree with the above. You won't like a B&B, and that will give you time to think. Could ypu move away from London? That woul dbe cheaper and you are more likely to he housed, if you agree to this (don't just up and go - you won't have local connection.)

lighting_up_the_chalice

Road_Hog wrote: »

It isn't a case of wanting a doormat tenant, at least in my opinion, it may just an overstretched landlord.

Now, I know from past posts on here (I'm a sing property LL myself), that there isn't a lot of sympathy for small private landlords, but they do provide a service for a gap in the market.

Yes, councils should provide more properties, the government should provide more funds, but the truth is that they don't. Lots of people shout for more regulation and red tape, but that will only force LLs to sell up and mean that there are less rental properties available.

With all due respect, the LL's financial position does not detract from their legal and contractual obligations. If they cannot aford to be a LL, then perhaps they shouldn't be a LL.

As for the threat of LLs selling up? So what? It doesn't make the property disappear, does it? Either another LL buys it, perhaps one who is in a better position to discharge their duties, or it falls into private hands. Either way, it still exists as a home and is still occupied so no net loss to the housing stock as a whole.

sacapuntas

I don't live in London, I live in Yorkshire. I can't imagine trying to live in London on benefits!

I spoke to the landlord on the phone last night and was friendly and emphasised that I want us to have an amicable business relationship and that I understand her position and she seemed more friendly during this conversation than the last. She's coming round this weekend, I think, so I'll have a chance to speak to her in person regarding the tenancy. Thank you for the information and advice everyone!

BitterAndTwisted

As long as your deposit has not been registered with one of the three deposit-protection schemes (DPS, TBS and MyDeposits) your landlord cannot legally enforce any Section 21 Notice. I see no reason why you should mention this to her at the moment.

I think you should put all of the things which you think need the landlady's attention IN WRITING.

If you do think you may risk being made homeless you should also know that most Local Authorities will try to reach a solution which avoids having to allocate very scarce resources and accepting you as a potential tenant. Many, many LAs will attempt to locate a private landlord, some actually sign up private landlords and allocate the properties to families themselves, and the families then pay the rent over to landlord themselves in the usual way. I think you are much more likely to be housed in this way rather than being put in a B&B or hostel-type accommodation. Also, many LAs operate a deposit-guarantee scheme for private tenants.

sacapuntas

Yeah, I'm definitely hanging onto the information about the deposit not being protected in case I need to drag the tenancy out in order to find new accommodation. I did speak to the housing options department in the council and they confirmed that they participate in a bond guarantee scheme, so that's great news as I would much prefer to take that route over a B&B or social housing.

BitterAndTwisted

Timescales for evicting tenants can go something like this:

Landlord serves notice by issuing section 21 to end tenancy at the expiry of fixed-term.

Notice expires and landlord applies to the court to enforce: a couple of months depending on how busy the court are.

Landlord gets to court and has their S21 Notice thrown out because it's not been served properly.

Landlord registers deposit and then has to serve new S21 giving two month's notice.

Landlord applies to court waiting another couple of months for court-date.

Section 21 accepted as correctly served. Tenant doesn't leave and then the landlord has to go back to court to have court-bailiffs appointed.

As an absolute minimum a tenant could still be in the property six months after the original S21 was served. Maybe a fair amount longer if they're lucky and the landlord keeps making mistakes with one S21 after another.