Stuck between a rock and a hard place!

G_M

Claire212 wrote: »

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We could of course up and leave, if we could afford it,
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You say that we are in a strong position because she has not protected our deposit. This has been our downfall. The council can help with the repairs but not the deposit. We can't afford to take her to court. Even though we would win the chances of getting the money are slim to non. (Solicitors words not ours).

She may get the house repossessed, if this is the case wouldn't my charge take a back seat to any first charge on the house (ie mortgage).
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So your hope seems to be to stay as long as possible.

In that case the deposit not being protected DOES indeed strengthen your position. You cannot be evicted by her.

It costs very little to start a claim in the SCC for the deposit protection, but since you want to stay, this will just weaken your position!

Since you want to stay, use the Shelter process/council for the repairs.

Do you know if she has a BTL mortgage or CTL? If so, even if the mortgage lender reposseses you will not necessarily be evicted -you just get a new landlord! And, incidentally, that new landlord then becomes responsible for reurning your deposit!

Another option is to stop paying the rent. Not usually advised, but if you put it aside in a savings account, it will likely winkle her out - she'll be in touch "where's the rent?" and you reply "We couldn't get any response from you to our letters as you seem to have moved. What is your address now for the serving of notices? Once we have this, we will happily pay all the rent"

or similar.

You have been given loads of good advice here, and ideas - time to stop being negative!

princeofpounds

Well, if you are that concerned that you will never get the deposit back even through the court process then I would suggest just not paying your final month's rent, whenever that is. Problem solved. It's not something I would advise lightly but when the deposit is non-protected and the landlord near-bankrupt AND in negative equity then it makes sense.

If the landlord simply doesn't have the deposit at all to protect, then as long as you don't fall more than 2 rental payments behind or do something silly like run a weed farm in your attic then you will be almost unevictable. She will not be able to evict you using S21 or S8. You can carry on enjoying what appears to be a cheap rent for as long as she continues to service the mortgage. If your rent only just covers the mortgage but she doesn't want to go bankrupt then that could be a long long long time...

The issue is how to deal with the disrepair in the meantime. We have suggested ways to do this, I would just get on with it. The only issue is that if you start missing rental payments to fund repairs then she might just go under anyway, or she might find the deposit to protect and then start to terminate the tenancy. You would be surprised, when troublesome landlords are desperate they can often scrape cash together. But at least that solves your deposit issue.

Of course, eventually you will have to move, whether it is the landlord or the mortgage holder or even yourself that gets around to breaking the stalemate. But that is just how renting is anyway, even if the situation in the house was absolutely perfect.

PS make sure you report EVERY instance of disrepair, in writing, keep copies and proof of postage. Take photos too. So you have a paper trail if ever required.

Claire212

It would also be helpful if people actually read peoples posts instead of accusing them of being negative and/or to get on with it.

It may not have been clear but, you would have discovered if you had read my posts that the Council are indeed dealing with the repairs situation. LL's can use any address for the serving of notices. We just happen to know that she has moved and as such will not be reading them, nor replying. We also know that it makes no difference, and the Council are progressing slowly, as they must follow procedures and can only write to the address on the tenancy, as it is the only one we have.

We have provided them with an already large portfolio of disrepairs and copies of letters to LL, photographs etc. We have constantly tried to obtain another address, by telephone/text message but to no avail.

So we have tried every avenue, and continue to save for a deposit and agents fees to move ASAP while we pay our 'cheap rent' which was never quantified, and I wouldn't call it cheap considering everything.

The deposit can no longer be protected. It is too late. If the LL sells to another LL then they take over the tenancy, the responsibility for the Deposit, and the risk of being taken to court for compensation even after the tenancy has ended. So we don't hold much hope of that happening.

So, as we are in this situation and thought we would ask what people would do, it seems we are on the right track, until we can leave.

However I have been shocked by the attitude of some posters, who obviously have money trees at the bottom of the garden and can not empathise with people who are not as financially well off and who dare to annoy by the very nature of private renting as eventually we will be kicked out anyway. Owning your own home is not always possible, and sometimes even starting a claim and seeing it through to court is an unaffordable expense. So the advice why haven't you just vacated isn't advice and helps no one, if we could I would have had no reason to post on here.

BottomRung

Well if you know everything why are you here asking? People here are not fully aware of every circumstance pertaining to your issues and are merely giving advice based on there own experience or knowledge. Your last post comes across as angry and arrogant and was totally unnecessary. It's your problem being discussed and not one of the above helpers is obligated to give any advice whatsoever, but they have tried to help. Either take it or leave it but having a pop at them wasn't required. Good luck.

embob74

Claire212 wrote: »

If we could find another 3 bed house where the rent had not been increased would also be good. We have looked at 2 bed houses, but it means overcrowding. It is not advisable, for personal reasons for us to share a bedroom with a toddler in the future.

My baby stays with us in our bedroom and my toddler only got his own room when the baby arrived! Not ideal but it is do-able. We have a boy and a girl 18 months apart in age and the baby will stay in our room until she is at least 1 year and then they will be sharing a bedroom until school age. Not ideal but it is do-able. Just to point out that a 2 bed house would suffice for a few years until you can afford a 3 bed one.

I do feel for your situation as I know how much housing problems can affect you and your whole outlook but there are solutions, although not ideal they can be do-able. Try to stay strong - as long as you are pursuing all options then you have done all you can and then you can only go with the flow.