Continuing saga of my spiteful landlord

ognum

sussexchick wrote: »

You know, this almost made me cry. I have tried everything and everything in my power, apart from begging, which I hope that I don't have to do, to get him to accept and mitigate our losses in one way or another.

I shall post up his email shortly and see what you all think

You really should do it!

SternMusik

ognum wrote: »

You know what I think I would make sure you carefully keep all offers you have made to him and his replies.

Then I think I would walk too, I would tell him in a letter with his keys that if needed you will see him in court.

I think you have done enough in attempts to mitigate the situation. Of course it may back fire but I do think any court will view all you have tried to do in a good light.

Thats just my opinion, no legal backing for it, but I hate to be bullied!

I agree with this. I am always one for sticking to agreements but your landlord is a muppet. I have no idea what the legal repercussions are but I'd hand in the keys too. Put three months rent in a savings account just in case he changes his mind. You have given him ample (and very generous) opportunities to release you from the contract. I believe once he has the keys it is his duty to minimise his losses (thought someone more knowledgeable might disagree).

Relocating for work hundreds of miles is hard enough; I did this 1.5 years ago (and I have a hidden disability which makes everything twice as tiring and difficult). Luckily I had a good landlord, and I had reached the end of the fixed term anyway.

Best of luck. Whichever route you take make sure you keep all the evidence of the offers you made him (and his replies). Also take dated photographs of the place, including the inside of fridge/oven and all utility meters. Inform utility companies and redirect your mail.

Soubrette

sussexchick wrote: »

here you go folks, this was the answer to my email re cash offer :

Thank you for your offer.
Our difficulties have always been with the awful timing of this early surrender.
Under the terms of your offer we would be left with the maintenance and overheads of an unoccupied house, Council tax, utilities and buildings insurance costs and potential letting charges from letting agents equivalent to 85% of a months rent.
If we sold the house immediately it would be poorly presented and, as a second home, we would be liable to Capital Gains Tax in the fiscal year 5th April 2013 – 5th April 2014.
After this date CGT could be managed more tax efficiently.

So what does this tell you ? .........................

I see it as someone not wanting to let out - purely just to sell on ?

Any thoughts, comments or even an answer to this email would be greatly appreciated.

Things may have changed but it used to be that you had 6 months of no council tax as a landlord as that gave you time to fill the void so to speak.

It would never be a second home - it would be a rental that was empty.

I think your only option is to see a solicitor. You can find out the potential consequences of just walking away then.

sussexchick

SternMusik wrote: »

I agree with this. I am always one for sticking to agreements but your landlord is a muppet. I have no idea what the legal repercussions are but I'd hand in the keys too. Put three months rent in a savings account just in case he changes his mind. You have given him ample (and very generous) opportunities to release you from the contract. I believe once he has the keys it is his duty to minimise his losses (thought someone more knowledgeable might disagree).

Relocating for work hundreds of miles is hard enough; I did this 1.5 years ago (and I have a hidden disability which makes everything twice as tiring and difficult). Luckily I had a good landlord, and I had reached the end of the fixed term anyway.

Best of luck. Whichever route you take make sure you keep all the evidence of the offers you made him (and his replies). Also take dated photographs of the place, including the inside of fridge/oven and all utility meters. Inform utility companies and redirect your mail.

Thank you. If you read some of my earlier threads, you will see that I never wanted the LL to be out of pocket financially - and I still don't !

All this stress and upset is making me feel ill, I've had chest pain this evening, luckily I know I'm ok though (work in medical profession) but its all tension and built up angst

SternMusik

sussexchick wrote: »

If we sold the house immediately it would be poorly presented and, as a second home, we would be liable to Capital Gains Tax in the fiscal year 5th April 2013 – 5th April 2014.
After this date CGT could be managed more tax efficiently.

Tell him to move in himself, sort out the presentation and sell the house as his primary residence, thus no CGT liability :-)

sussexchick

Soubrette wrote: »

Things may have changed but it used to be that you had 6 months of no council tax as a landlord as that gave you time to fill the void so to speak.

It would never be a second home - it would be a rental that was empty.

I think your only option is to see a solicitor. You can find out the potential consequences of just walking away then.

what I may do, is continue to pay the rent whilst seeking advice from a solicitor ?

Blackpool_Saver

I had a landlord who tried to keep me a prisoner in his house too, I didn't let him. Arrange a gardener/cleaner/and leave heat on low setting..........and get gone.

sussexchick

Blackpool_Saver wrote: »

I had a landlord who tried to keep me a prisoner in his house too, I didn't let him. Arrange a gardener/cleaner/and leave heat on low setting..........and get gone.

If only I could afford to do so. I'm having to pay 2 rents, eat bread and water literally for the next 6 months until I am finally free of this menace of a landlord.

SternMusik

sussexchick wrote: »

Thank you. If you read some of my earlier threads, you will see that I never wanted the LL to be out of pocket financially - and I still don't !

All this stress and upset is making me feel ill, I've had chest pain this evening, luckily I know I'm ok though (work in medical profession) but its all tension and built up angst

Sorry to hear this makes you feel ill, it must be so stressful for you. Your health comes first, so please try to keep a level head and don't let this muppet of a landlord get to you too much. Easier said than done I know!

I am rooting for you, please keep us updated.

On the plus side, you now know much more about tenancies than you did before, and you will go into future agreements with a better understanding.

Also, I can confirm from experience that there are excellent landlords out there who take their obligations seriously and are also very accomodating if you are a good tenant. I hope your next landlord is an improvement on the current one.

sussexchick

SternMusik wrote: »

Sorry to hear this makes you feel ill, it must be so stressful for you. Your health comes first, so please try to keep a level head and don't let this muppet of a landlord get to you too much. Easier said than done I know!

I am rooting for you, please keep us updated.

On the plus side, you now know much more about tenancies than you did before, and you will go into future agreements with a better understanding.

Also, I can confirm from experience that there are excellent landlords out there who take their obligations seriously and are also very accomodating if you are a good tenant. I hope your next landlord is an improvement on the current one.

Thank you, thank you, thank you for your kind support

There are some words you have used in your post, such as a good tenant and LL taking their obligations seriously etc. I may use these in a reply back to his email, I have nothing to lose do I !!! :cool: