Daughter being evicted from student house

Fire_Fox

poet123 wrote: »

It seems to me that the other parent acted primarily as a parent in this situation not as a LL so if the OP wants to get involved she is entirely within her rights if her daughter agrees.

In any event I expect the OP is party to the rental agreement as a guarantor, as is the case with most student lets.

The landlord certainly entered the house with their parent hat on, but in threatening eviction seems to have both the parent and the landlord hat on. Guarantors do not normally demand monies are returned, unless the person is legally vulnerable or there is a PoA or suchlike. Being a guarantor does not make you a party to the AST, a guarantor is not responsible if a tenant is noisy at 4am for example - the clue is in the word guarantor.

The daughter signed the agreement, the deposit is held in the name of the daughter, the daughter alone is the tenant. IMO parents do their adult offspring no favours by attempting to fight their battles, much better to give support. There is no reason to deal with this by telephone when you are looking for a formal termination of a potentially legally binding contract, the chances of tempers fraying on the telephone is huge and there will be no written record of what is asked or agreed to.

poet123

Fire_Fox wrote: »

The landlord certainly entered the house with their parent hat on, but in threatening eviction seems to have both the parent and the landlord hat on. Guarantors do not normally demand monies are returned, unless the person is legally vulnerable or there is a PoA or suchlike. Being a guarantor does not make you a party to the AST, a guarantor is not responsible if a tenant is noisy at 4am for example - the clue is in the word guarantor.

The daughter signed the agreement, the deposit is held in the name of the daughter, the daughter alone is the tenant. IMO parents do their adult offspring no favours by fighting their battles, much better to give support. There is no reason to deal with this by telephone when you are looking for a formal termination of a potentially legally binding contract, the chances of tempers fraying on the telephone is huge and there will be no written record of what is asked or agreed to.

I would agree with some of what you say in other circumstances, however, when the LL is a parent of one of the tenants it is a very different scenario. In the case outlined (before it was revealed no monies had changed hands) when it is clear the relationship has broken down between former friends and that there is no real possibility of it being put back together, a telephone call is less confrontational than a formal letter or face to face meeting. You lose nothing by initially attempting to find a solution that does not hint at legal redress.

With regard to the parental involvement, it seems to me that the daughter was abused by the other parent and at eighteen she should not have to face that again, so as a parent and with her permission, I would attempt to mediate. That is giving practical support and it is sometimes necessary.

Queries

It may be worth contacting the charity, Shelter, for advice as to her legal rights. Good Luck!

Fire_Fox

poet123 wrote: »

I would agree with some of what you say in other circumstances, however, when the LL is a parent of one of the tenants it is a very different scenario. In the case outlined (before it was revealed no monies had changed hands) when it is clear the relationship has broken down between former friends and that there is no real possibility of it being put back together, a telephone call is less confrontational than a formal letter or face to face meeting. You lose nothing by initially attempting to find a solution that does not hint at legal redress.

With regard to the parental involvement, it seems to me that the daughter was abused by the other parent and at eighteen she should not have to face that again, so as a parent and with her permission, I would attempt to mediate. That is giving practical support and it is sometimes necessary.

It's not that much of a different scenario, the landlord's and tenant's legal rights and responsibilities remain the same. Whilst the landlord-parent relationship is somewhat blurred the tenant is the tenant and the guarantor is the guarantor. If one party breaches a legally binding contract or flouts the law it DOES NOT give the other party carte blanche to do the same.

Standard advice on this board is to deal with formal contractual issues in writing so that there is a paper trail and for sound reasons. A letter is non confrontational, it's the very opposite of that word. Legal redress?? I said "There is no reason to deal with this by telephone when you are looking for a formal termination of a potentially legally binding contract, the chances of tempers fraying on the telephone is huge and there will be no written record of what is asked or agreed to." There is nothing to mediate.

dimbo61

As a student landlord I would not allow a tenant into my property without having a signed AST and the deposit ( which would then be paid into the DPS)
If Mummy and Daddy though it was a good idea to buy a property for there daughter to live in while at UNI and did this I would be very worried.
Has the property got a Gas Safety certificate, Electrical Safety Cert?
EPC, fire escape doors, C02 alarm, fire doors,
The property could be a DEATH TRAP
There is no contract so the Landlords can not ask for rent or payment of utilities.
10% decrease in the number of students attending uni this year so many universities have spare places and halls not full

poet123

Fire_Fox wrote: »

It's not that much of a different scenario, the landlord's and tenant's legal rights and responsibilities remain the same. Whilst the landlord-parent relationship is somewhat blurred the tenant is the tenant and the guarantor is the guarantor. If one party breaches a legally binding contract or flouts the law it DOES NOT give the other party carte blanche to do the same.

Standard advice on this board is to deal with formal contractual issues in writing so that there is a paper trail and for sound reasons. A letter is non confrontational, it's the very opposite of that word. Legal redress?? I said "There is no reason to deal with this by telephone when you are looking for a formal termination of a potentially legally binding contract, the chances of tempers fraying on the telephone is huge and there will be no written record of what is asked or agreed to." There is nothing to mediate.

It seems NEITHER SIDE now wants to ENFORCE the contract so there is no real issue.

I am not sure what advice the OP wants.

Does she want to know if she can take legal action against the LL? Does she want to know who to complain to to make sure the situation is not repeated with another student?

If the daughter had wanted to stay there and fight her corner then formality is the way forward but that is not the case. So, if the OP wanted to enforce contractual obligations of course a letter would be the way forward. However, I suspect that she simply wants to voice her displeasure and vent her anger about the way her daughter was treated, which to my mind is best done by telephone.

Fire_Fox

poet123 wrote: »

It seems NEITHER SIDE now wants to ENFORCE the contract so there is no real issue.

If the daughter had wanted to stay there and fight her corner then formality is the way forward but that is not the case. So, if the OP wanted to enforce contractual obligations of course a letter would be the way forward. However, I suspect that she simply wants to voice her displeasure and vent her anger about the way her daughter was treated, which to my mind is best done by telephone.

Make your mind up, are you recommending telephone to vent anger or because it is a less confrontational way to mediate? :rotfl:

For the third time
"There is no reason to deal with this by telephone when you are looking for a formal termination of a potentially legally binding contract, the chances of tempers fraying on the telephone is huge and there will be no written record of what is asked or agreed to."

If the story we received is accurate the friend and parent are quite vindictive so could well decide to claim later for unpaid rent. All the more likely if the OP interferes and vents her anger!

poet123

Fire_Fox wrote: »

Make your mind up, are you recommending telephone to vent anger or because it is a less confrontational way to mediate? :rotfl:

Rather obviously I would have thought;) both, either/or situation dependent.....

Fire_Fox wrote: »

For the third time
"There is no reason to deal with this by telephone when you are looking for a formal termination of a potentially legally binding contract, the chances of tempers fraying on the telephone is huge and there will be no written record of what is asked or agreed to."

For the third time how do you know what the OP wants out of this? The daughter has moved out, the OP has received an email confirming the LL is happy with this. Neither party seemingly wants to enforce the contract, a "contract" for which no deposit was paid, where no monies for rent changed hands, therefore, technically, for which , "no consideration" in law was exchanged.

Fire_Fox wrote: »

If the story we received is accurate the friend and parent are quite vindictive so could well decide to claim later for unpaid rent. All the more likely if the OP interferes and vents her anger!

Which is why I made my first post advising the OP to test the waters by telephone before putting anything in writing. Doing one does not preclude the other.

But the crux of the matter is the OP has not said what she wants from this, what advice she is looking for, how she wants to proceed, all this is speculation.

Fire_Fox

poet123 wrote: »

For the third time how do you know what the OP wants out of this? The daughter has moved out, the OP has received an email confirming the LL is happy with this. Neither party seemingly wants to enforce the contract, a "contract" for which no deposit was paid, where no monies for rent changed hands, therefore, technically, for which , "no consideration" in law was exchanged.

Again the OP is not party to the contract the daughter is, as guarantor she may well wish her liability to be formally terminated. Regardless of the Os wishes, it is common sense for us to recommend the contract is surrendered, better overkill than risk a spiteful claim. Seemingly will not stand up in court, a phone call won't, an e-mail may well not either.

poet123

Fire_Fox wrote: »

Again the OP is not party to the contract the daughter is, as guarantor she may well wish her liability to be formally terminated. Regardless of the Os wishes, it is common sense for us to recommend the contract is surrendered, better overkill than risk a spiteful claim. Seemingly will not stand up in court, a phone call won't, an e-mail may well not either.

Again, an initial phone call does not preclude further communication by whatever medium deemed appropriate by the OP and her daughter as the issue unfolds.