Landlord issues ??

kirstydun

Hi I'm new here and I am desperate for some advice, so firstly I'm just going to give a few quick details and check I'm in the right place So as to not waste any of your timeworn and lengthy explanation and I have put it j. The wrong place ! Lol

I have been living in my rented property nearly 2 years now and I have had constant problems with my landlord some of it admittedly is my fault I am in rent arrears which I am paying back at a rate if my rent + £200 per month as agreed with him for the last few months I had a phone call last night off his new girlfriend which is now dealing with the property (he won't take any of my calls ) saying that they would be down Monday evening to do a house inspection, I suspected it was more than just that they wanted and when I asked her i got a answer saying they were coming down to view the property and to issue me with a demand for repayment in full for the arrears or a eviction notice will be issued !!! When I asked her what time as I would like to be able to have legal representation as they will not put anything agreed in writing the answe i git was evening i asked her id she couldake jt offie hours so i could get aomeone official to help me witb them and ahe redused laughing at me ! I feel harassed and intimidated by them, the figures keep changing for the amount I owe according to them !!!! I have 4 children my partner gets up at 5.30 am for work and the evening just isn't any good to me as I have bedtime routines and they can't disturb the children on a school night !?!?! He is prone to turning up unannounced the last time it was 8.15 pm Now this is just the tip of the ice berg I will explain further if I have posted this In the right place
No gas safety check
No working smoke alarms, bare wiring exposed open manhole in the front garden where a Manhole cover was rotten and collapsed with the weight of the stones he had used to hide it and the blocked to drain ti which raw seweridge was pouring everywhere e wouldn't take my calls I had to pay for it to be unblocked as I couldn't live like that honestly the list goes on and on I am so
Stressed at the moment I'm not sleeping not eating I feel constantly sick and afraid he turns up Sunday's early in the morning with people I have come home to find him in the house numerouse times
Any advice would be welcome, thank you in advance.

kirstydun

Sorry about the spelling just re read it I'm doing this off my phone and I'm shaking so much x

Annisele

The first thing to know is that your landlord can't (legally) evict you himself. He can certainly ask you to leave, but nobody can (legally) make you leave without a court order. Shelter has some information on illegal eviction (that link refers to England; if you're somewhere else let us know).

The second thing to know is that you have the right to "quiet enjoyment" of your home - and that's the case whether or not you're paying your rent on time. If your landlord turns up at a time that's inconvenient to you, don't let him in - and don't even open the door if you don't want to talk to him.

For the gas safety certificate - if your landlord won't provide one, then you can follow the process Shelter lays out (again, that link is for England).

If your landlord refuses to do repairs, then in some circumstances you can withhold rent to pay for the repairs. However, that is risky and very much a last resort - you need to have done everything in this list first (again, link for England) - and there's nothing to stop your landlord starting the eviction process if you annoy him.

If he lets himself into your house, change the locks. You may well have a clause in your tenancy agreement that prevents that - but unless he tries to let himself in without your permission, how will he know that you've done that?

The risk with changing the locks, or getting the repairs dealt with, is that your landlord will decide he wants a more compliant tenant and start the process of evicting you. Assuming you are in England/Wales, and you are outside the fixed term of your contract, and assuming that your landlord has protected your deposit and a few other bits and bobs - then he can give you notice at any time. The notice should be at least two months (two complete rental periods). Once the notice period expires, he can then go to court to try to evict you.

kirstydun

hank you very much i am on the phone to shelter at the moment

Werdnal

As above, even if LL gives you an eviction notice, he still needs to go to court to enforce it.

Regarding some of the other problems with the property, there is no legal obligation for smoke alarms in a family property - these are only required when single rooms are let to different tenants (know as an HMO property).

The drains issue is not usually the responsibility of the LL either, so he would not have had to respond to that call either. Unless you can prove it was a fault within the drains that caused the blockage, it is usually down to the tenant to pay for clearance. Are you saying the collapsed manhole caused the drain to block?

Always put requests for repairs in writing, as if you need to take the issue further (get EHO or Health and Safety Exec involved) you need proof you have reported the problem first. I would definately speak to EHO at your local council regarding the bare wires, open manhole cover and lack of GSC.

How much arrears have you got into? To serve a valid notice for rent arrears you must owe atleast the equivalent of 2 months full rent for the LL to be able to enforce an eviction. If you pay off any amount before the court date, to bring the arrears below 2 months value, his eviction will fail.

You do not have to let your LL in. If he does turn up, ask him to post the eviction notice through the door. He has no right to force entry on your property or access it when you are not there. You can change the locks if it will make you feel more secure, so long as you change them back when your tenancy ends. If he gets abusive or threatening, call the police and tell them your LL is trying to force entry to your home.

However, even if you are able to get your arrears down, this type of LL rarely changes their attitude once you have caused them a problem. Many LLs take exception to being asked to do repairs, and unfortunately, as you have already created issues for yourself with your arrears, even if the S8 notice fails on this occasion, I fear LL's next step would be to issue you a Section 21 notice, which will give you 2 month notice that he will go to court to evict you. This will guarantee he gets the court order, so TBH I think you may be wise looking for somewhere else to live pretty soon.

Did you pay a deposit at the start of the tenancy and do you know if the LL protected it in a scheme and gave you the scheme's information?

kirstydun

hi thanks forthe information the drain is on the landlords property it is now a open manhole with aprox a 8 foot drop the manhole cover was rotten and was hidden under a pile of stone until it colapsed (i didnt even realise it was their ) because of the amount of large stone that fell into it this is what caused it all to back up and the raw sewridge running around my house.
i would love to put requests in writing but the only address i had for him was that of a c/o address and he can no longer collect mail for it hence housing bennefit got stopped as he didnt reply to there reqests for further information.and he admited that address is no longer in use i have persistently asked him for a new address he hasnt refused but i certainly havent had one which i belieive now is a breach of grounds under the landlord act as a section 1 the landlord must provide a contact address in the uk.
i am just over the two months arrears bracket but i can make another payment next week to bring it down by another £200 so that will bring me £140.00 under two months full arrears .
also under a section 21 he has to of secured my deposit and i should of had written confirmation of this which i havent. (and knowing him i honestly doubt he has ) as im aware if this isnt done a section 21 doesnt stand at that time ???

does any of this information sound right or am i confused somewhere also been trying to make contact with him all day and he is failing to respond again:'(

i know i got myself in this mess and im trying so hard to get out of it but the goal posts keep getting moved like him agreeing to the £200 off arears per month i havent defaulted and now says he is issuing me monday with a demand for arears in full or eviction
this has made me really ill again my anxiety attacks have been so bad the doctor stopped me driving i struggle with daily life at the moment i just feel like i could crumble.

G_M

The advice above is all good. However, can I re-iterate:

Put everything in writing. Write a letter (NOT email/text...) to the landlord (not girlfriend!) at the address shown on your tenancy agreement "for the sering of notices".

Especially if you change the locks. The LL does have a right of entry, but you alo have a right o 'quiet enjoyment'. Since these 2 rights conflict, you need to expressly state your own right - ie inform the LL you do NOT want him entering without your presence. THEN you can change the locks to protect that stated right (and he would need a court order to force access against you wishes).

It is important to report repairs, lack of gas certificate etc in writing too.

kirstydun

hi thanks for being so helpfull but i got to be honest this morning i was feeling really hopefull and i compiled all the facts to tell him all he did was shout and scream at me and wouldnt let me explain anything and every argume nt i came up with he shot me down and told me i needed to get my facts straight same when i spoke to this woman infact she accused me of blackmailing her because i said i was seeking legal advce ,and again tough **** i know nothing,i know what im saying is correct i have had it confirmed by shelter and legal advice centre ........he is still coming monday night !! and then god knows what will happen

now that doesnt help how im feeling at the moment im in so much despair i just feel my kids would be better of if i wasnt here to f**k things up im sat here sobbing all of my anxiety attacks from the last few weeks have come to a huge head i just want to dissapear im nearly 30 and im so fed up with fighting for everything and struggling day to day i honestly cant cope im sorry for the brutal honesty but i just cant cope with my life anymore

BigAunty

Call the Samaritans - they offer non-judgemental and confidential support to help people through an emotional crisis. It's clear that though you have landlord issues, you have others, too, and they might help you clear your head by spending time listening to your problems and ease the worst of the immediate pressure you are feeling.

RAS

kirstydun wrote: »

hi thanks for being so helpfull but i got to be honest this morning i was feeling really hopefull and i compiled all the facts to tell him all he did was shout and scream at me and wouldnt let me explain anything and every argume nt i came up with he shot me down and told me i needed to get my facts straight same when i spoke to this woman infact she accused me of blackmailing her because i said i was seeking legal advce ,and again tough **** i know nothing,i know what im saying is correct i have had it confirmed by shelter and legal advice centre ........he is still coming monday night !! and then god knows what will happen

Stop talking to this plonker or his girlfriendon the phone, please, please please. Can you record calls on your phone? If either of them call you again record the call.

Tomorrow Write to the address on the tenancy agreement. 2 copies of the letter sent from different post office with free certificates of posting. Keep 2 spare copies.

Advise that as a result of his abusive behaviour you are cancelling Monday night.

Make sure that you point out that in the absence of a viable postal address for serving of notice, you are not required to pay rent at all.

Then list all the repair problems.

And refute his right of entry. Changing the lock barells only cost £5 each and takes about 15 minutes. You need a screw driver and a hacksaw is useful.

An maybe get hold of your local PCSO or talk to them at the police station and explain that you are being haressed by the LL.

On Monday, speak to the Environmentla Health and to the Council Tenancy Support Officer.

He can issue a section 21, but it has to be legally compliant and it sounds like his understanding of the law is minimal.

jazabelle

I'm so sorry you are going through this. I would write out a letter stating you wish only to be dealt with in writing. Outline your current rent arrears and payment schedule, that you wish for quiet enjoyment and so do not permit home visits, any outstanding repairs, etc. - tape it to the front door, lock the door and bar entry.

It does look like you will need to start moving on, but while that's costly and horrible - at least you will then be able to feel safe and secure in your home.

Please keep us updated and I hope things get better soon.