renting a friends house advice

rockingal31

Hi everyone, I hope someone can help put my mind at rest.

we have just moved out of a house that we were renting from a friend. we had been there for about 18 months. I'm not sure if his mortgage company were aware he was letting the house but we never received any letters regarding this. Anyway, ever since we told them we were moving they have been moderately cooperative but at times a bit awkward. I guess because we were friends they may have taken it personally that we decided to move out. However it was nothing to do with them, we just didnt like the area.

Anyway, a few things have happened that have caused a bit of friction. Not long after we moved into the house they asked us if we would like to have one of their dogs. it was obvious they no longer wanted it, poor thing. We agreed and we now have the dog.

when we told them we were moving out they said they would have to come over and check the house. fair enough. however they made it really awkward and came out with some outlandish story that when they came over they didn't want to see the dog as it would 'upset' them too much. they couldn't wait to get rid of the dog when we went to collect him! so in a round about a way they were trying to say they wanted us to take the dog out so we would be out of the house when they checked it. why on earth they couldn't just say "would you mind going out for a bit when we looked round the house" we would have been fine with that! in fact, its what we would have done!

in the end they came to have a look round when we were away one weekend and the dog was at my parents. there was no note left, no phone call, no texts etc. so we thought all was fine. he rang again a few days later stating that he needed to come and check the house again. this was about three days before we were moving so as you can imagine the place was a mess! I tried to explain this and that it wasn't convenient but he insisted, and he was actually quite abrupt with me. so they came over again and had a look around, pointed a few things out. that was that. we moved last friday.

on saturday morning we went back to the house to clean and tidy up. in a moment of stupidity my boyfriend left his car keys in the house and then locked the door and put both keys through the letter box. we had a hire van and his car was at home so it wasnt a total disaster. we rang friend/landlord who was of no use whatsoever. said he didnt have a key, his girlfriend did and she was away and wouldnt be back til later. (likely story) so in the end we had to just leave and get the hire van back to the company.

we tried contacting him again later in the day but he did not answer his phone or respond to text messages. in the end we had to get a locksmith as we desparetely needed the car. the locksmith had to change the lock completely which cost us £100. we let the landlord know what had happened and he rang me up (hmm didnt answer us til now).
he basically had a go at me down the phone and demanded we bring the keys over immediately as he needed to go over there that night. In the end I handed the phone over to my boyfriend who luckily managed to diffuse the situation. we dropped the keys off the next morning.

last night I had a missed call off his girlfriend and I now feel a sense of dread. what do we do if they keep calling? is there anything they can do to us legally? we had no contract and as I said I dont think the mortgage people knew we were living there. we left the house clean and spotless. we made a lot of improvements while we there - fixed broken shower, painted and glossed, got rid of old carpet on stairs that was dangerous as both me and my boyfriend slipped on it. tidied gardens front and back. hung blinds and curtains etc.


I just want to know where we stand legally as tenants living in a friends house with no contract or deposit paid.

sorry for long post.

BitterAndTwisted

What can they do?

Not much if there was no dual-signed check-in inventory at the start of your tenancy.

There was no deposit for them to make deductions from if they are unhappy with the state of the place or if they think there are items missing or damaged, so stop worrying about any of that.


Just call them and see what they want.

DRP

were all the 'improvements' you made permitted by the LL in advance?

That is the only thing I can see them genuinely getting peeved about...

I presume in the absence of a deposit, the LL could take you to court for damage to the property. But as B&T says, no inventory would make that very difficult.

IT all just sounds like a communication problem to me - they seem afraid to confront you with their issues and you seem a little reticient to speak to them straight too. Give 'em a call and sort it out!

rockingal31

thanks for your replies. yes I'm sure its something simple but after the way he spoke to me on saturday you kind of dont want to deal with people who react that way. my boyfriend said he will deal with them from now on but they always have and continue to ring me. if she calls again I will answer.its better to know I guess.

yes they gave us free rein to decorate and minor modifications within reason. we didnt make any drastic changes just redecorated.
there was no damage other than things that were like that when we moved in. they came over twice and once when I was there so they had the opportunity to raise any concerns. the only thing they asked us to do was clean some paint up off the bedroom floor which we duly did on saturday morning.

AlexMac

rockingal31 wrote: »

Hi everyone, I hope someone can help put my mind at rest...

last night I had a missed call off his girlfriend and I now feel a sense of dread. what do we do if they keep calling? is there anything they can do to us legally? we had no contract....

As others have said, short of taking court action against you (and if they did, they's fail) they have no legal redress...

But as the selected quote, above, from your OP shows, this isn't really a question about property law, is it? You want peace of mind. Sorry to sound like an agony aunt (read Graham Norton in the Saturday Telegraph for that- he's surprisingly effective, albeit sometimes 'cruel to be kind')

So the only real question is, do you still want them as friends? From your post, you sound amazingly generous, reasonable and kind, whereas your 'friends' sound cranky and entirely lacking in 'emotional intelligence'. If you think there's future in it, and feel benerous or forgiving, why not just drop them a note, or a bunch of flowers (£25 from M&S!) NOT with an apology but just with a thanks to them for putting them up (you can cross your fingers behind your back or bite your lip as you write this!).

then sit back and wait....

or forget them and move on! Best wishes.

rockingal31

hi thanks for your reply and your kind words. we have been reasonable with them but to be honest, there's always been an underlying awkwardness since we moved in. in hindsight I wish we hadn't moved there as I think it has damaged the friendship. friendship should be removed from issues to do with money etc. we dont socialise with them anymore, the last time we saw them socially was october 2012 when we had a quick drink with them one saturday afternoon.


I might give her a call tonight but if its that important Im sure she'll ring me back or leave a message.