LA not acknowledged notice

Flibsey

hubby and I sent a notice letter for the 29th june (posted in good time, and recorded delivery of course) and due to my letting agent being slow in collecting his mail from the post office, he didn't recieve it until 3rd july, but it had been sitting in the post office since 28th.

we've still had no contact from him at all about whether or not the house is being re rented, when inspections will be done, whether or not he's even received the letter (which he has, way to go Royal Mail track and trace, well worth the money!)

what can we expect? we've never given notice on a property before. first flat the LA served us as the landlord was selling, second flat the landlord served us as she needed it back due to a relationship breakdown...

from the problems we've had with this LA, I am panicking a little about it because they've been nothing but unhelpful and crap since day 1, and the landlord is under the impression that he's lord of the manor and we are his subservient subjects... most recent example of crapiness is taking 6 weeks to fix a boiler leak.... I also don't expect them to tell the truth to the deposit protection people about the state of the place. we're good tenants! we always pay on time, keep the place in good order, only contact if something is truly, hideously wrong... but the landlord has hated us since we complained that the boiler was condemned a week after we moved in, and after him stating this wasn't his responsability (GAS appliance and a CO monitor that was going crazy no less), finally resulting in us threatening legal action to get him to fix it.

anyway, I digress. I am pretty sure we're still legally in the right as the letter is dated, we have proof of posting and proof of delivery to the post office stating this was all in good time, and proof of collection by the letting agent, but there's just that little bit in my brain saying "but what if??!"

our new house is a direct let, the landlord is such a lovely man and I can't wait until we move in and finally get shot of the terrible, mould infested rat hole with crappy management that we currently live in.
thanks for any advice. I'm having stress dreams coming out the wazoo all based around people just turning up to view the property and me not being told first.


also, as my hubby is the registered tenant, not myself, am I legally allowed to show people anyway?!

DVardysShadow

Flibsey wrote: »

.... also, as my hubby is the registered tenant, not myself, am I legally allowed to show people anyway?!

I don't know why either of you would bother to show new tenants around. It is not a question of whether you are 'legally allowed', more a question of whether you can legally be forced to do it. But if prospective tenants came around and you told them the truth, there is no stopping you.

BitterAndTwisted

You've shot yourselves in the foot by sending your notice by Recorded Delivery if it was absolutely necessary for the agent to receive it before the 3rd of July. When do your rental-periods run?

About the deposit: it's not about them "telling the truth to the deposit protection people about the state of the place". What matters is what documentary evidence they have. Was there a dual-signed inventory at the start of your tenancy?

Flibsey

my dream last night involved the letting agent having given keys to a prospective tenant to have a look round on their own. I (think) this would never happen, but it freaked me out!
I remember when we came to view this place and the tenants didn't know we were coming, but let us in anyway. personally, I'd never do this! but then they didn't seem to aware of their rights or letting laws in general; we found polystyrene tiles on all ceilings for a start......

Flibsey

BitterAndTwisted wrote: »

You've shot yourselves in the foot by sending your notice by Recorded Delivery if it was absolutely necessary for the agent to receive it before the 3rd of July. When do your rental-periods run?

About the deposit: it's not about them "telling the truth to the deposit protection people about the state of the place". What matters is what documentary evidence they have. Was there a dual-signed inventory at the start of your tenancy?

no. you're a bit mixed up there. it was meant to be received by the 29th june. we sent it in good time with a guaranteed next day delivery. the 3rd of july is when the LA COLELCTED the letter that had been sitting in his local post office for 6 days.:rotfl:his "office" is an answering service and PO box plus mail transfer from PO box to his local post office. but shhhh. we're not meant to know that bit. we're meant to still think it's his "office" answering calls.... but we've VISITED his "office" and it's this place
http://www.crc-essex.co.uk/offices_basilica_house.html


our rental periods are 28th-29th. so 28th of one month to 29th of the next.

we have a copy of the inventory, but they've given reason in the past not to trust them AT ALL.

girl_withno_name

Your rental period won't be 28th-29th, could it be 28th-27th, 29th - 28th or 30th - 29th?

You surely now have proof that the notice you served wasn't received on time...

Flibsey

ok, confused now. we pay rent on the 29th.
letter was DELIVERED on 28th, and it doesn't matter when he actually picked the darned thing up because it was sititng in the post office on 28th for him to collect if he'd got off his bum and actually done some work for once.

BitterAndTwisted

Sorry, but I think you're the one who's "mixed up" here. You should have sent your notice by First Class postage and retained proof-of-posting at least two days before it needed to be received. If you want to be certain that the recipient got your notice, or is deemed to have received it, you cannot rely on Recorded Delivery. As you have discovered, just sending it does not mean that it is received in good time.

I wouldn't be at all surprised if the agent does not acknowledge your notice and you consequently are obliged to pay yet another month's rent.

girl_withno_name

Take a read through this post by G_M and note:

• The date on which rent is paid is irrelevant to the rental period (although they may coincide)
• You are advised not to use Recorded Delivery as the recipient might refuse to accept/sign for the letter, or might be away. Instead you should go to the Post Office and get 'Proof of Posting'. To be 100% safe, send two copies from different Post Offices. Notice is deemed 'served' 2 working days after posting 1st class.

Flibsey

well they can sing for it.

and where is the legal paperwork stating I need to give 2 days for it to be recieved? since when has royal mail ever been THAT reliable? I paid for next day to make sure it got there on time. it is not my fault he took 6 days to collect it.

and by "I paid" I mean "my husband the tenant" before anyone gets pedantic about that.

BitterAndTwisted

Flibsey wrote: »

Our rental periods are 28th-29th. so 28th of one month to 29th of the next.

IF your rental-periods run from the 28th of the month (and it defies logic that they would run to the 29th as that's a month plus two days), your notice should have been sent by First Class on or before the 26th.

Anyone cutting it that fine is taking a risk in any case.