Previous landlady harassment.

Kristofz

Thanks Arcon5

Thought about the phone records will they be on the bill even if it went to answer machine or not answered, yeah want to still pursue the deposit but can't see her refunding it, we will need to look for the letters of increase in rent, I would also think the council will have records aswell hope we can get this sorted, she hasn't sent anything recorded post either all letters were posted by her, and her to say she had copies of everything is irrelevant as she could of made them up, if she does pull that trick.

arcon5

MothballsWallet wrote: »

arcon5: wouldn't the numbers dialled history be available on the phone bill and the OP's mum can highlight the agent's / landlady's number on the bill(s) when submitting them as evidence?

Most likely yes. But we don't receive phone bills, well, i'm sure the history would be available to view online but we just ensure DDs appear correct on bank statements so i'm not sure what is and isn't normal as far as this is concerned

EDIT TO ADD:

Thought about the phone records will they be on the bill even if it went to answer machine or not answered, yeah want to still pursue the deposit but can't see her refunding it, we will need to look for the letters of increase in rent, I would also think the council will have records aswell hope we can get this sorted, she hasn't sent anything recorded post either all letters were posted by her, and her to say she had copies of everything is irrelevant as she could of made them up, if she does pull that trick.

I really don't know to be honest. I imagine the calls that went to answer phone would show up on there as they would be chargeable in the same way as if she'd answered it herself.

I'd recommend sending her a letter stating your position, but the problem is she can't respond as you haven't given her address. So you are relying on text conversations (since telephone calls can easily turn in to a she said/he said type situation).
Of course the usual advice being to keep it free of emotion, factual and to the point.

Kristofz

My mum never got contacted regarding the keys, and when she contacted the LL there was either no answer or reply, just looked at call records but can not see her number when my mum called,

The only proof will come from the council, also looked at the lease it is really old only 2 pages back and front, nothing is mentioned regarding keys.

bris

TBH I wouldn't worry about the keys, a Judge would not side with her for the keys anyway, as long as she vacated in the correct manner and on time then the keys are irrelevent, a couple of days maybe but a judge would ask why wait 3 weeks and why don't you have a set of keys.

The main problem is the shortfall but if you have that covered with the bank statements and disputed amount then personally I would sue for the return of deposit.

Send the LL a LBA for the deposit and see how she likes to be on the other end of it.

jacques_chirac

Is she aware that housing benefit is paid four weeks in arrears? It doesn't sound like that is where the problem lies, but worth taking into account.

Kristofz

Thanks bris,

The LL seems to bringing the fact that mums has the keys (that we have given back today via a caretaker in the flats we didn't no existed). That she is able to charge my mum rent. With regards to the rent the most we can see being owed is £35 as all other rent was paid up to date.

Will look into the getting are deposit as I think this is whole reason she has bought these imaginary charges up because my mum wanted the deposit back.

Thanks for the advice everyone has defintly made me and me mum a lot better about the situation.

dancingfairy

The problem is whether the tenancy was officially ended (or not). Obviously the letter of notice is a good start, but a landlord/landlady is advised not to go around to the property and to ensure that a tenancy really has ended. She can potentially claim that she was unaware of whether she had actually vacated as she didn't have the keys.
It sounds very much like it is a case of he said, she said and it's going to depend which side a judge will come down on.
Re the deposit, I would check which of the deposit schemes it's registered with and go online and claim it back immediately. If the landlady hasn't protected it you can sue for up to 3x the deposit I believe.
As your query is regarding housing you would be better placed going on to the housing renting and selling board as they have seen this all before.
I would not be paying money over to the landlord (or agreeing any deposit deduction) and would tell her she has to prove it in court personally.
df

dancingfairy

Did she sign a new contract each year or did it go on to a rolling contract? I believe this effects whether she had to protect the deposit or not. I think if a new contract was signed within the last few years then the deposit must be registered.
In terms of putting the rent up, the landlady can't just decide to put the rent up, there are set procedures for doing this, depending on whether she was in a fixed term contract or a rolling contract. I think by paying the extra she is deemed to have accepted the 15 pounds but clearly you can't backdate it to before this point.
df

skivenov

Say she put the keys through the letterbox.

"Prove I did", vs "Prove I didn't"

arcon5

dancingfairy wrote: »

The problem is whether the tenancy was officially ended (or not). Obviously the letter of notice is a good start, but a landlord/landlady is advised not to go around to the property and to ensure that a tenancy really has ended. She can potentially claim that she was unaware of whether she had actually vacated as she didn't have the keys.

I don't think a judge would deem an inspection to be the point a tenancy was concluded, merely whether notice was issued; notice complied with contract ie any minimum stays complied with etc; property vacated as per notice.

If this was met I don't see how the LL could now say she wasn't aware, she had x weeks notice of the action.

It sounds very much like it is a case of he said, she said and it's going to depend which side a judge will come down on.
Re the deposit, I would check which of the deposit schemes it's registered with and go online and claim it back immediately. If the landlady hasn't protected it you can sue for up to 3x the deposit I believe.

Because the deposit pre-dates the TDP scheme then the LL is not obliged to protect it, unfortunately. If she has then bonus, otherwise it's a case of small claims and no compensation for it.