Questions around contracts and non payment of rent

lngbrder888

Hi there... I'm hoping to find some advice on my current situation:

I am currently renting direct from a private landlord. I moved to the property in a hurry to get away from a failed relationship I was in previously, so maybe was not as selective as I have been in the past with what I took and how legitimate the situation was.

I found the property through SpareRoom and dealt only with the current house mates. They agreed to have me as a new house mate and I paid one months rent 'deposit' to the chap who moved out as I moved in. The theory therefore being that when I move out, I find someone to take the room and they pay me the deposit back.

I have had no dealings with the actual landlord, have not signed a contract and have not even seen a contract for the house. All dealings have been with the house mates, although my rent does go to the landlords account the details for which were provided by a house mate.

My landlord has now contacted me to point out that for 2 months at the start of the year, my rent did not come out. This is over 5 months ago. Obviously an oversight on my part for not checking the DD was still working, but also on hers for not noticing sooner. All of my previous landlords would notice the day after it's due if it had not gone in and drop me a friendly text so I can check what the problem was at the bank.

My problem is, I plan to leave at the end of the month, have started looking for a new house mate to take my place and seeing as I have no contract, written or verbal with the landlord, I'm not sure whether I'm legally obliged to pay the missing 2 months rent that she has taken 5 months to notice.

Normally I would have never moved into a house with this kind of set up for fear of falling foul myself (sub letting etc). I would be very interested to know where I stand before I have any conversations with her. If I'm legally obliged to pay, of course I will be happy to, but in my eyes, a landlord had a certain responsibility to ensure that both themselves and their tenants are protected against each other...or that they at least sign contracts with witnesses!

Any help is very much appreciated!

BitterAndTwisted

Of course you're legally obliged to pay the rent you owe! It's your responsibility to ensure the rent is paid, not your landlord's to remind you if it hasn't. The landlord is not your Mum!

pinkshoes

5 months is nothing! The landlord can chase you for the debt for 6 years!!

Best just to pay up!

Cycrow

if you owe, you have to pay it.

it doesn't matter how long it takes them to notice.

how come you didn't notice either?
surely you must have noticed the extra money in your account

martinsurrey

lngbrder888 wrote: »

as I have no contract, written or verbal with the landlord, I'm not sure whether I'm legally obliged to pay the missing 2 months rent that she has taken 5 months to notice.

So you weren’t in the house for the 2 months in question?

...you were living there, but claim you had no agreement to be there, so you were trespassing for 2 months?

Of course you had an agreement, and should pay the rent, pay up and move on.

lngbrder888

Thanks for the advice. It is appreciated. As I haven't got a contract from the landlord and have never met him I assume I must be trespassing! I am planning to move on...it doesn't feel like the most stable situation with the house mates calling the shots rather than the landlord.

I hadn't noticed as I set up a DD and assumed everything was working fine. Foolishly I didn't check it. Lesson learnt.

Thanks all for taking the time to reply.

ValHaller

lngbrder888 wrote: »

Thanks for the advice. It is appreciated. As I haven't got a contract from the landlord and have never met him I assume I must be trespassing! I am planning to move on...it doesn't feel like the most stable situation with the house mates calling the shots rather than the landlord.

I hadn't noticed as I set up a DD and assumed everything was working fine. Foolishly I didn't check it. Lesson learnt.

Thanks all for taking the time to reply.

Was it a Direct Debit or a Standing Order? They are very different.