Deposit in lieu of last month's rent - help please!

Joop06

Decided to delete

Joop06

Decided to take this msg down

keyser666

joop06 wrote: »

hello.

I started a thread the other day: 'resident landlord agreement - advice for a tenant please!' - but now i please need urgent advice

due to being given the impression from my landlady that she may not return my (unsecured, i since found out) deposit (after she asked me to leave because i requested a reduction in rent due to water pouring down the walls because of a problem with the roof - gah - see my original thread - 'resident landlord agreement - advice for a tenant, please!' ) i have not paid my rent. It was due on the 6th - it's now the 8th. In 13 months, i haven't missed a single payment as i've paid by standing order.

It's 2 days late - she is now hounding me with texts and since i've arrived back this evening, she has been hammering on the door to my flat. I've opened it once and she tried to barge in but kept my hand on the door so she couldn't. I *know* i've not paid my rent (and this feels very bad to me) but i really can't risk paying her £650 to live in a room with a leaking roof and damp and then also not getting my £550 back.

I've packed a lot of my belongings and have rented a storage unit. I intend to start moving stuff out tomorrow morning. I *know* i am going to have to speak with her but i am so very worried about this. In the past few days, she has come in to the flat after texting me the same day to tell me she is doing so (it says in my contract that she has to give me 24 hours written notice) as apparently she is finally getting roofers round to get quotes. I've come back to find my belongings (including my laptop) moved about.

She has also told me that next week, there will be a plumber in for a couple of days, working on a problem unrelated to my flat but for which i appreciate she needs access to the water tank in the roofspace.

As i don't know who is coming in and out of my flat anymore and what they might be doing in it, i don't know if any damage potentially caused by them may spuriously be attributed to me as a way of retaining my deposit.

Basically - i would like to write to my landlady to say that i have not paid my final rent of £600 (usually £650 but they begrudgingly agreed a reduction of £50 for the conditions in the flat) up to the agreed period of 6th december due to the fact that i have concerns over the return of my £550 deposit. I would like to mention that with the apparently scheduled tradespeople (all employed after i was given my notice to quit) having access to the space, i cannot be sure that any works or damage caused by them will not be attributed to me as a way of retaining all of part of my deposit. Therefore, i would like the £550 deposit to be taken in lieu of the final month's rent and that because i feel the situation now to be untenable, causing me to become quite distressed in what was supposed to be my home, i will endeavour to move out within the next week. This means that the £550 deposit will cover the majority of the month notice that i have been given, plus making it more convenient for their tradespeople to carry out the appropriate work.

Please please please can someone with experience tell me what they think of that?

Thanks again for reading, and for your help.

joop06 wrote: »

thank you, sparkletoes.

I am just so worried about the impact on me right now of her hammering on the door and phoning and texting me every hour. I'm *two days late* (in her eyes) with the rent and she's going crazy and making my life hell.

If anyone has any tips on keeping her at bay for a few days, i'd be very appreciative. Thank you.

I don't actually have anywhere to move to yet, either - so will have to 'sofa surf'. It's a very distressing situation.

joop06 wrote: »

hello sacha28 - thank you for your reply.

Apparently, my deposit never needed to be put into a protection scheme - as she is a resident landlord so it's not an assured tenancy. I rent the attic ensuite room in the house she also lives in - although my room has a lock on the door and is described by her and on the contract as the 'studio apartment'. I am not a lodger in that i don't use any other area in the house and she provides no service to me. However, my rent is all inclusive of electricity, water, council tax and so on.

My worry is that i have to walk through their house to get in and out of the flat i rent. Therefore, we share the main front door and the hallways/landings. I am now in fear of arriving or leaving (only after 2 days of non rent payment!) as i want to avoid confrontation. The problem with the roof has been well documented (starting in december last year!) but when i finally pushed for something to be done, the result was an immediate request to move out. She is proving to be very volatile and, as a quiet person who simply wants to live peacefully, this is proving very very difficult for me. And apart from wanting to avoid unnecessary encounters, i am fearful of what she might do when i am out at work - she obviously has keys and already has proven that she thinks it's ok to walk in and out at will.

In the 'rent arrears / breach of tenancy' section of my contract, it states:
"if the rent or any part of shall be in arrears for at least 14 days after it shall have become due or if there shall be a breach of any of the agreements by the tenant, the landlord may re-enter the property (subject always to any statutory restrictions on the power of the landlord to do this) and immediately therefore the tenancy shall terminate without prejudice to the other rights an remedies of the landlord." does this mean that rent is not considered to be overdue until 14 days? And, more importantly, does this mean that the landlady should not be able to walk in to the flat until after that 14 day period?

Obviously, i've pointed out that there is a severe problem with the water ingress - and now, after i have been told to leave, she is getting people in to quote for repairs. However, can i insist that this is done after i leave as it's causing inconvenience to me? It seems churlish to me (i've always been very law abiding and never been in trouble with anything like this before) to point out a problem and then disallow someone to gain access to potentially rectify it . . . But at the same time, i am actually losing sleep over the stress that this whole episode is bringing into my life.

This was supposed to be my *home* and the attitude of the person who i am paying to live here is even more distressing and unsettling than the water coming in and ruining my belongings.

joop06 wrote: »

i was given notice of one month.

I think the major issue is that i am living upstairs from her in a private rent and i haven't paid - i am not sure the council will be interested, regardless of the harassment

.