Landlord Dispute

Professional_Amateur

Hello you lovely people,

I have often looked at the page for snippets of advice if stuck, and you all well informed gorgeously helpful people. May I please ask myself for a bit of help here though.

My partner and I are currently in dispute with an ex-landlord, regarding our deposit, that we have just left. He refused to attend the property to fix problems (the majority were problems that were there before we moved in, which he promised he would sort immediately) and wants to take all the deposit for these repairs. As a result we are now in a legal battle with him, as well as a family member who was injured at the property as a result of his wilful neglect. My question is can he be allowed to rent the property (through an agency, although they are not involved in the money/dispute side) with the dispute going on? I would not be bothered normally as we are going to win the case against him, but where there is safety concerns involved I wouldn't be able to live with myself if a child was also injured at the property due to him. If he is not allowed to I want to ensure he is blocked from doing so, but have to be 100% correct on the matter.

Thanks for any help on this, I really appreciate it.

BitterAndTwisted

I would be concentrating your efforts on winning this alleged watertight case before you start tilting at windmills. Windmills which are nothing whatsoever to do with you unless you involved Environmental Health before you left the property. In which case they will do all the tilting for you

Professional_Amateur

But I would like to know if he can be allowed to let the property if he is in a legal dispute with ex-tenants. If any person knows anything regarding the legal side of this please can you help?

sandsni

If Environmental Health have deemed the property unsafe and therefore uninhabitable I'm sure they will take steps to ensure the repairs are done before anyone is allowed to rent the house again.

BitterAndTwisted

How about you consult a legal professional? These are not commonly found on money-saving forums.

In my opinion the only recourse you have at the moment is to inform Environmental Health of your concerns.

bebewoo

He must have done the repairs if he is trying to get the money off you via your deposit.
If he is going to court or dispute he would have to provide receipts to show the work had been done and how much it cost in order to claim it back from you, otherwise how could he think he has a case?

princeofpounds

Yes, he can rent out the property unless environmental health have ordered him not to. Or i suppose in some rare instances some other branch of government like the courts might issue an order.

The LL will be liable for any injury caused by his neglect, should someone suffer damage.

Why are you fighting a 'legal battle' instead of going through the dispute resolution procedures, out of interest?

HarryBarry

BitterAndTwisted wrote: »

How about you consult a legal professional? These are not commonly found on money-saving forums.

In my opinion the only recourse you have at the moment is to inform Environmental Health of your concerns.

Solicitors would be very busy, and these forums very empty if this was followed for every simple question like this.

Someone that isn't a legal professional still might know the answer without charging.

And the answer to the original question, is yes.

sandsni

HarryBarry wrote: »

And the answer to the original question, is yes.

But the legal dispute hasn't yet been proven either way. We only have one side of the story. Are you saying that, just because the LL is in a dispute with a former T, they can be prevented from letting their property? The OP hasn't answered the question about whether Environmental Health (or anyone else) has deemed the house unsafe or uninhabitable. Even if they did at one point, if the repairs have since been completed to their satisfaction then why should the house not be relet? The LLs use of the former T's deposit to pay for the repairs is a separate issue to whether the house is NOW fit to be lived-in.

Professional_Amateur

It is us taking him to court. The deposit is with the Tenancy Deposit Scheme, and as he has refused to release it on his behalf at each dispute, we were advised by the TDS, and the solicitor who was involved to go to small claims court to get it back. We have video evidence (always make notes and take pics/videos when we move into property of any concerns, and inform LL and EA) of the damages, copies of messages and letters sent to him, and the eventual letter that was sent by the official surveyor which was issued by the council upon an inspection. He is just being awkward at every stage of the process. The place was not let for 8 months before we moved in, and we only took it due to him personally being there and guiding us around the place, telling us what he was going to be doing in the 6 weeks until we moved in. We kept giving him the benefit of the doubt all the way through, as we were right next to all the shops and the preferred school for my daughter (my partner and I do not drive). But after months of this, and still asking him we went through all the official procedures of taking action. With the way things have gone, and the pain that he is, we are now in court action. As I say, that's all well taken care of, we have all the evidence and what-have-you, but I was just curious if he can still let as we have just noticed this morning a 'to let' sign outside of the property. I highly doubt anyone will take, or be as trusting as us in the future with it though.

sandsni

So what did the official surveyor say? Did they say the house was unsafe or uninhabitable?