Best way to deal with my friends landlady

Viberduo

A bit of background, my friend has only been there about 6 weeks, moved in and landlady took the contact with her, he then lost job a few days after moving in so went to claim housing benefit and found out she isnt registered.

This is where it gets worse, she has turned the other tenants against him as they are being unreasonable and accuse him of smoking drugs in his flat(he is quiet and nervous so comes across as stoned or when trying to be assertive comes across as agressive instead)

The landlady has moved abroad which is another dodgy thing and has no uk agent and found out she has a mortgage on the property(and I assume her lenders dont know she is renting it out)

When she found out my friend lost his job she demanded him out in 24 hours but my friend had already paid another months rent, since then she sent him a email saying a friend was doing a inspection and then emailed again(my friend was away from the house) saying the place was a tip, I know my friend he is cluttered but not messy and said that meant she wanted him out.

She then got the other tenants to bother him by saying stuff like she has been crying and telling them he was bullying her(how a skinny nervous guy can bully a butch women over 25 stone who likes her drink stuns me)

She then made a claim he has no contract as he has no proof, but my friend pays into her bank account direct and has sets of keys.

My friend does want out but he worries as he cannot afford to move elsewhere

His flatmates are just as bad, they have a sink full of dirty smelly plates and empty food boxes everywhere but moan if my friend cooks something and wants to eat his dinner before finishing cleaning the crockery and accuse him of smelling and never washing, how his room stinks etc(he showers 2-3 times a day!)

What can he do over this, I feel sorry for him

BitterAndTwisted

He can move out.

paddedjohn

Aside from the fact your post doesn't make a lot of sense (how can he be bullying the landlady if she lives abroad) your friend should be looking for somewhere else to live. Before long the s4it will probably be hitting the fan regarding the way this let is set up, if she lives abroad then the tenant should be paying her tax, are there gas certs? does she have permission off the mortgage co?

Werdnal

You mention the landlord isn't "registered" - is this property in Scotland? I believe you can report her (not sure who to) if this is the case.

Viberduo

paddedjohn wrote: »

Aside from the fact your post doesn't make a lot of sense (how can he be bullying the landlady if she lives abroad) your friend should be looking for somewhere else to live. Before long the s4it will probably be hitting the fan regarding the way this let is set up, if she lives abroad then the tenant should be paying her tax, are there gas certs? does she have permission off the mortgage co?

She claims the emails are bullying and him mentioning she is avoiding tax is bullying etc.

And yes obviously he is wanting to find elsewhere to live, thought that was clear just he doesnt have the money to do so especially now he is signing on in fact as far as he is concerned if he found a place tommorow he would move out

G_M

Viberduo wrote: »

A bit of background, my friend has only been there about 6 weeks, moved in and landlady took the contact with her,
contRact?
he then lost job a few days after moving in so went to claim housing benefit and found out she isnt registered. Scotland?

This is where it gets worse, she has turned the other tenants against him
How? If she is abroad...
as they are being unreasonable and accuse him of smoking drugs in his flat(he is quiet and nervous so comes across as stoned or when trying to be assertive comes across as agressive instead) Is this a shared flat? Joint tenants? Or his own seperate flat in a building withother flats? Or a HMO?Or what?

The landlady has moved abroad which is another dodgy thing and has no uk agent and found out she has a mortgage on the property(and I assume her lenders dont know she is renting it out)Assume this based on what? Any evidence? And even if true, that is HER business.

Abroad? How does the rent get paid? Direct to her bank account? Your friend may beliable for HER income tax, so should be deducting it from the rent. See HMRC (Non Resident [= overseas] Landlord Scheme)

When she found out my friend lost his job she demanded him out in 24 hours
By email? Ignore.
but my friend had already paid another months rent,
Stay
since then she sent him a email saying a friend was doing a inspection and then emailed again(my friend was away from the house) saying the place was a tip, I know my friend he is cluttered but not messy and said that meant she wanted him out.Ignore. Keeping the flat 'a tip', even if true, is not a reason for eviction

She then got the other tenants to bother him by saying stuff like she has been crying and telling them he was bullying her
By email? a joke surely. Ignore
(how a skinny nervous guy can bully a butch women over 25 stone who likes her drink stuns me)if she's abroad, their respective sizes are hardly relevant...

She then made a claim he has no contract as he has no proof,
He lives there and in return pays rent. That proves a contract, even if a verbal one.
but my friend pays into her bank account direct and has sets of keys.as above. Ignore

My friend does want out but he worries as he cannot afford to move elsewherethen stay

His flatmates are just as bad,
'flatmates'? So this is a shared flat...? Please explain
they have a sink full of dirty smelly plates and empty food boxes everywhere but moan if my friend cooks something and wants to eat his dinner before finishing cleaning the crockery and accuse him of smelling and never washing, how his room stinks etc(he showers 2-3 times a day!)
His issues with the flatmates are totally seperate from issues with the LL. Living with people can be difficult. If he does not like sharing, or sharing with these people, he should either improve his social skills or move out.

What can he do over this, I feel sorry for him

Pleaseclarify:

* England or Scotland. Very different law
* Type of tenancy. Start date? Period? End? Sole tenancy? Joint tenancy? HMO?
* rent paid where?

What does he WANT?

Viberduo

Scotland, tenancy started in may meant to be 6 months, just a contract for 1 room and every tenant has seperate contract.

He pays standing order into her account once per month

Basically my friend wants to either be left alone and pay his rent and be treated good or to find somewhere else and move, which he plans to do anyway since he cant get housing benefit so needs to move

The landlord is from the UK, basically she has a mortgage for the flat and has gone travelling for a year abroad and renting flat out to get money for that period, even admitted my email she isnt registered to avoid tax

She has been emailing the other tenants copies of his messages (but not her replies) to make it seem he is harassing her and also saying if my friend causes problems it can cause them all to get evicted(not by her but by the police etc)

G_M

So

* not a registered landlord- illegal in Scotland

* Tax evasion - illegal

* attempt to evict with 24 hours notice + emails forwarded toother tenants - in England this would be harrasment(sorry, I don't know Scottish law)

But the reality seems tobe that he is not happy living there, and given the flatmates, probobly never will be.

Best solution?

* don't be rushed/harassed but
* find a newplace to live
* move out in own time
* don't worry toomuch about giving notice -if LL persued him for rent for lack of notice she'd be in too much trouble. I can't see the Sheriff's court being sympathetic to her!
* has he paid her a deposit? If so, is it registered? Again, Iamnot a Scottish expert but believe in Scotlandit now has to be registered.
* don't pay last month rent before moving (not something I often advise, but this time....).

edit:oh, and once moved out and clear, shop her to
* council
* HMRC
* mortgage lender

zagubov

G_M wrote: »

So

* not a registered landlord- illegal in Scotland

* Tax evasion - illegal

* attempt to evict with 24 hours notice + emails forwarded toother tenants - in England this would be harrasment(sorry, I don't know Scottish law)

But the reality seems tobe that he is not happy living there, and given the flatmates, probobly never will be.

Best solution?

* don't be rushed/harassed but
* find a newplace to live
* move out in own time
* don't worry toomuch about giving notice -if LL persued him for rent for lack of notice she'd be in too much trouble. I can't see the Sheriff's court being sympathetic to her!
* has he paid her a deposit? If so, is it registered? Again, Iamnot a Scottish expert but believe in Scotlandit now has to be registered.
* don't pay last month rent before moving (not something I often advise, but this time....).

edit:oh, and once moved out and clear, shop her to
* council
* HMRC
* mortgage lender

And get the other tenants put out on the street?:eek:

Yeah, that's payback time for everybody!

G_M

zagubov wrote: »

And get the other tenants put out on the street?:eek:

Yeah, that's payback time for everybody!

Good point, but raises interesting philosophical Q:

Should one ignore criminality if highlighting it may impact on innocent bystanders...?

Viberduo

zagubov wrote: »

And get the other tenants put out on the street?:eek:

Yeah, that's payback time for everybody!

This is the problem my friend has, and the reason the landlady seems to have turned the tenants against him by saying if he causes problems they will all be on the streets

He wants to move out as cant get housing benefit too and get a place, he lives in a old building that looks like it hasnt been decorated in decades so isnt looking for anything special and his old place had furniture falling to pieces and he just wanted a cheap place to sleep and chill out