I think my Section 21 is illegal.

ValHaller

GDB2222 wrote: »

If you have a dog and assuming that is in contravention of the lease, the landlord can issue a S8 notice and go that route. It'll be quicker. Email or no email, you'll have a hard time persuading the court that the dog was agreed.

OP says

Also, we have a dog, which I DID tell the letting agents (and I have the email to prove it), but the LL claims he didn't know, and he didn't want a dog in the house.

I doubt OP would have taken the place if the lease banneddogs.

GDB2222

Robsia wrote: »

Exactly, so it's not in his interests to give me a poor reference if he wants me to leave. I haven't actually done anything wrong.

He has no obligation to give you a reference, and just like you the landlord may not "like to be forced into a corner" and may "tend to come out fighting."

"Of course if he offered to help out with moving costs I might be inclined to step up my search..." Some landlords would react badly to blackmail.

GDB2222

ValHaller wrote: »

OP says
I doubt OP would have taken the place if the lease banneddogs.

It all depends on what's in the lease, obviously. If it doesn't ban dogs, why did the OP mention the email?

ruggedtoast

This is the world's smallest violin playing just for the landlords.

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> .

franklee

GDB2222 wrote: »

:rotfl::rotfl::rotfl::rotfl: You can't have it both ways. Either you move out more or less in line with the (invalid) S21, or you don't get a good reference.

I would hope most landlords are decent enough to realise that if they made a mistake by serving an invalid S21 there's no need to be vindictive and take it out on the tenant. However in the OP's shoes I'd guard against the possibility be keeping all emails with the LL/agent polite and formal so they can be shown to a possible new LL/agent to back up the tenants account of what happened.

I'm sure many experienced landlords do realise perfectly good tenants get unfair references from vindictive landlords especially where the tenant has evidence of the problems there were.

Hopefully the tenant has bank statements showing the rent payments on time and if moving locally can invite the new LL/agent round to view their current home. I would hope proof of rent paid on time and a well kept home would trump any reluctance on the part of the current landlord to provide a good reference.

Besides which it may well be the tenant from hell who gets the glowing reference as their current landlord is desperate to get rid!!!

GDB2222

franklee wrote: »

I would hope most landlords are decent enough to realise that if they made a mistake by serving an invalid S21 there's no need to be vindictive and take it out on the tenant.

I see that you thanked RT's post about the smallest violin, yet here you are expecting most landlords to be decent. Well, which is it?

Here we have a shining example of a simply wonderful tenant:
a) Someone who nit-picks the S.21 notice (which she is perfectly entitled to do) mainly to put the kibosh on the landlord's sale, so she can get him to pay her to leave.
b) Has (I suspect, but don't know for sure) contravened the clause in her tenancy agreement about pets.

Clearly, all of our sympathy should be with the tenant, and the landlord is an oaf who should be taken advantage of and blackmailed.

Robsia

This is the story of the dog.

When I first inquired about the house, there were several questions I had to answer, one of which was about pets. I told the letting agents that we had a cat and we were planning on getting a puppy.

They passed my answers on to the LL and a few days later I got a reply back saying that that was fine and I could proceed with my application.

So we duly got our puppy, not thinking there would be a problem.

Fast forward to end of January. The LL came to look at the non-opening window in the downstairs bedroom. I answer the door, my dog behind me. Cue baleful look from the LL. "Is that your dog?"
ME: Yes.
LL: Oh. I didn't know you had a dog. I didn't want to let the house to someone with a dog.
ME: Um, well, I did tell the letting agents.
LL: I didn't know anything about it.

So, when he went I emailed the LA telling them what had happened, saying the LL was not happy and forwarding the email in which I had distinctly told them we were planning on getting a puppy.

They replied saying ok, and I didn't hear anything since.

He has also refused to fix the non-opening window, and refused to fix two broken spindles on the stairway, despite being asked several times. He has also accused me of cracking a window in the downstairs bedroom which I didn't notice and so didn't put it on the inventory (it's a small top one and is behind the blinds which is why I didn't notice it), but my daughter says it was cracked since we moved in and she has been living in that room so she should know. There was another cracked one in one of the upstairs bedrooms which also was not on the inventory, but I noticed that one and insisted they add it so we didn't get blamed for that.

The agent did say she took photographs when she did the inventory so hopefully the crack will show up on that and I won't get charged.

He has sent spies round to the house and complained to the agent that I don't weed often enough or mow the lawn often enough. His attitude when he has come to the house stinks and last time I was left crying in the kitchen because he was so obstreperous.

I say he is a bad LL in comparison to all my other LLs who basically left me alone to enjoy the property, didn't interfere and always repaired things promptly when asked to do so.

My track record speaks for itself. I have rented seven properties in 18 years, I have never been asked to leave or evicted - I only left because either the property was not suitable or my needs increased. The longest time I was in one house was five years, and the shortest 18 months. I always left the property immaculate and ALWAYS got 100% of my bond back. One LL said she had never given 100% of the bond back, and she and her husband were professional LLs with multiple properties. I am a good tenant.

But this guy has !!!!!! me off no end. What goes around comes around.

GDB2222

That's all very well, but what does the tenancy agreement that you signed say about pets?

Robsia

I'd have to dig it out, but it's something about pets as agreed by the LL.

pinkshoes

GDB2222 wrote: »

That's all very well, but what does the tenancy agreement that you signed say about pets?

Very good point, because if it says "NO PETS", then this is deemed an unfair term, and can be over-ruled!!

http://www.oft.gov.uk/shared_oft/reports/unfair_contract_terms/oft356.pdf