Renting advice - Landlord issues

Jadekr

Hi. My partner and I have been in our current property for 3 months - we are on a 6 months Shorthold tenanacy agreement.

The rental was secured privately and the LL drew up the tenancy agreement, however the signing of this was not witnessed by anybody other than myself, partner and LL. Also the LL did not provide us with an inventory of appliances. As we have pets and had to vacate our current property we couldn't find alternative housing at that time so did not question his methods.

I would like advice on the following:

Deposit: The LL has taken 1 months rent as deposite but as far as we can tell has not registered this in a protection scheme as we have not had any confirmation of this. Should be be worried about this?

LL obligations: Upon moving into the property there were a number of issues that needed attention, the most important being a hole in our celing which is going directly to the roof (the insulation is showing through), exposed wiring where a light swicth used to be and damp on various walls and celings and missing/broken fence panels in the garden The LL agreed to get these attended to and we issued him the list via email to confirm. He has since been making various excuses delaying the repairs.
Over the weekend our fridge has broken (which is an appliance beloing to the LL). I have attempted to contact him twice regarding this and have no reply.

I would just like to know where we stand in this situation and what action we can take with regards to getting the repairs done. Most importantly is the fridge as we have had to throw away food and now cannot use it at all.

Thank you

RAS

What is the address on the tenancy agreement for the serving of notices?

Write (paper and pen) to the LL at that address advising them of the deficencies and recent fridge breakdown and ask them to deal with the urgent matters within a time scale.

Two copies from two post offices with free certificate sof posting. E-mail, phone and texts are no good in court.

19lottie82

Firstly, WRITE (pen & paper, NOT email, phonecalls ot texts) to the Landlord listing your complaints and ask him to fix them within a certain time frame.

Also, ask him to provide you with details of your deposit protection. (again, in writing)

In regards to the fridge, I'm afraid the Landlord isn't under any obligation to repair or replace whitegoods, unless specifically stated in your contract.

Jadekr

Thank you for the responses so far.
I will write to him asap.

Where would we stand if we wanted to end the tenanacy outside of the agreement?

RAS

What do you mean end the tenancy outside the agreement?

Asuming you are in Englandf and Wales and you have a 6 months shorthold tenancy, you have to pay rent for 6 months. You are not required to give notice in any way if you leave by midnbight on the last day of the tenancy.

If you want to leave earlier, you still have to pay the rent until the end of the fixed term.

Unless you agree an early surrender in writing (not e-mail, text or phone) with the LL which is likely to include him insisiting on you paying rent until he gets another tenant anyway.

Your one hope is that the deposit is not registered and you can trade not pursung the penalty for early surrender. It has to be written agreement though.

Jadekr

Thanks RAS. So assuming we wanted to leave the property before our tenancy expires, he could effectivly take us to court to get the remainding rental payments up until the 6 month expiry date?

Also, is a LL required by law to register the deposit?

19lottie82

Jadekr wrote: »

Thanks RAS. So assuming we wanted to leave the property before our tenancy expires, he could effectivly take us to court to get the remainding rental payments up until the 6 month expiry date?

Also, is a LL required by law to register the deposit?

Yes, and yes. But the two are seperate issues, so don't assume that "two wrongs make a right"

RAS

Jadekr wrote: »

Thanks RAS. So assuming we wanted to leave the property before our tenancy expires, he could effectivly take us to court to get the remainding rental payments up until the 6 month expiry date?

Not effectively. He can take you to court and would almost certainly win.

Also, is a LL required by law to register the deposit?

Assuming you are in England and Wales, yes.

Jadekr

It's not so much as two wrongs make a right. I suffer from depression and I am not coping well with the added stress caused by our absent LL. I would like an amicable resolution if posible.

RAS

Ok

So the last thing you need is to add to that stress by breaking a contact and getting a court case thrown at you.

Write to the LL as explained. Even if the fridge does not have to be replaced, you can ask.

19lottie82

If you don't get a reply after writing to your LL, or he stil doesn't carry out the repairs, call Shelter for advice.