Rental Issues - Invasion of privacy

BlushRed

Guest101 wrote: »

Op is moving into bought housing anyway, and has already givern notice

Ok thanks I did look it up after I posted the question.

m0bov

Have you reported the theft of electricity?

ValHaller

Guest101 wrote: »

Op is moving into bought housing anyway, and has already givern notice

Yes, and once OP has moved on, there is no dispute to be declared on selling either of the properties. So no point in reporting it to the council as 'an official dispute' with the intention of scuppering Landlord's property value.

BlushRed

ValHaller wrote: »

Yes, and once OP has moved on, there is no dispute to be declared on selling either of the properties. So no point in reporting it to the council as 'an official dispute' with the intention of scuppering Landlord's property value.

It is not my intention to 'scupper' their house price. I simply want them to be responsible Landlords and not abuse their position because they own the house. I was advised by Shelter to contact the Council to register the fact we have put up with months of harassment and in doing so have broken the tenancy agreement.

ToasterScheme

Hi there,

You haven't said what sort of equipment landlord is using in the garage, and of course this is a matter of principle, but some quick calculations could show that the power used is less than you might be thinking - it's certainly not going to be costing you a fortune.

The things that cost ££ to run are in the main only those that generate heat (or cooling) or those that run continuously. (@ 15p/kWh)

Heat/cooling:
A fan heater would cost 30p/hour to run. Let's assume he's not using one of those in this weather!
An aircon/dehumidifier maybe half that. [An ordinary fan ~1p/hour]
A freezer could be 2p/hour. But from what you've said I don't think he's got one of those either.
Does he enjoy a crafty snack? A kettle/toaster/microwave might cost a few pence each time but they only stay on for very short periods.
Or dry his hair (@1.8p for 5 mins)?

Continuous:
I guess lighting (an 100W bulb if you still have any) is 1.5p/hour.

The rest is in the noise. A power tool with a large battery (e.g. 20V/3Ah) only stores 0.9p of electricity - and lasts a long time. Energy is energy - and (to a first order) a mains powered tool doesn't consume it any differently to a battery one.
His radio is nothing.

So unless he has something unusual like a welder or a pottery kiln in there, it will take a long time to run up a £10 bill in a garage.

I might choose to spare myself the aggro. But it's up to you of course.

BlushRed

My issue with them and the use of the electrics was when they were having renovations done on their property and would use an extension lead from the garage to do this even though their property was closer. For months on end we have had contractors using concrete mixers, drills, etc..... It might not be much but if you are asked to stop, then surely you use your own!

theartfullodger

BlushRed wrote: »

..... For months on end we have had contractors using concrete mixers, drills, etc..... It might not be much but if you are asked to stop, then surely you use your own!

So what legal action did you take during those "months on end". Bit late to start asking people's views on some free forum...

Cheers!

sandsni

There's no doubt your LL is overstepping his boundaries (in every sense), but since you're leaving in a few weeks is there much point in getting into a fight about it now? The time to sort out the problem was when you were still planning to stay for a while. His next tenant may be better aware of their rights and put their foot down before it gets to this point.

thesaint

BlushRed wrote: »

I have just spoken to Shelter and have been advised to turn off the Electrics and also revoke all rights to access the property.

Tell Shelter that this is not possible.

G_M

Yes, the LL is out of order, but frankly, you have allowed this to go on " for months on end".

If you were annoyed by the contractors endlessly using the garage power, why did you not simply flick the switch months ago? By not doing so, you were implicitly agreeing to the use!

Similarly, change the locks to prevent unauthorised access to your home (house/garage), whether by a previous tenant, the LL, or anyone else with a key.

I assume

1) your contract describes the tenancy as (address - ie number 21, somewhere street)?
2) and the land registry TitlePlan for that address includes the garage?

Then you are renting the garage.

Of course, if the contract specifically excludes the garage.....