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Ex landlord harassing for money that isn't owed.
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skeppnica
Posts: 11 Forumite
Hello,
This is happening to someone I know. She rented a house from this landlord for many years and paid rent every month without fail, paid all the bills etc.
Perfect tenant for a landlord. But the landlord wasn't so perfect.
The house was a wreck and every time things needed fixing he'd send his "handymen" who would do odd botch jobs on things and not really fix anything.
Some of them could not speak a word of English. She told me of all the problems that occurred while she lived there and the list was so long I couldn't keep track of it.
Boiler problems, no hot water for weeks. Drainage problems. Mould. Constant water dripping noise in conservatory every time it rained (conservatory was under her bedroom window).
She had a fixed-term contract with the landlord, but one day, I think around November or October time,
her landlord on a whim decided to sell up and demanded her to vacate the property and verbally gave her a months notice to find a property to move to. Now, imagine being in her shoes.
Bear in mind she wasn't clued up on her rights as a tenant or what a landlord can and can't do at that time.
She thought "Okay my room-mate has moved out recently on a whim and I can't afford to pay rent and bills on my own for too long so better start looking for somewhere else to live, since I was told to vacate the property on so and so date".
Estate agent sign "FOR SALE" appears on the doorstep.
The landlord then contacts her and gives her two months notice period to vacate the house. By that time you'd assume that both parties have agreed to a mutual verbal agreement that my friend would vacate the property, as asked by the landlord.
I think this is called surrendering an agreement.
Note, that she has never even met the fellow and everything was done over the phone and agreed upon verbally.
So, here is the twist. While my friend is looking for a new home to move to, she is still paying rent to her landlord, showing around house for potential buyers escorted around by estate agents and pays bills BUT now the landlord has put the property up for LET as well!!
Landlord knows she is looking for a new home. The house was near a university campus so was thought that it won't stay long on the market either way.
Can he even do this with a tenant still living there and paying rent? He knew she was looking for a place to move out to and when she found one she needed a reference from him.
This was agreed upon before that he would give her one as he wanted her out of the property. My friends estate agent phones him on behalf of her and the ex landlord says "he doesn't have a clue what she (the agent) is talking about".
Eventually, he does give a reference after bullying my friend into sending him an email with a particular statement. My friend moves out as she preferred to move out anyways. She could've stayed in the house if wanted to as it turned out from doing searches on google, but decided since she is being asked to leave she is going to leave; it seemed like the best option for both.
Luckily, she got a new place to rent with the reference provided.
House had a "SOLD" sign on it a week or so later. She hears nothing from ex landlord. Until now. She moved out at the end of December as was asked.
The property was obviously going through a sale. Few weeks later she gets numerous phone calls from him leaving threatening voice mails (which conveniently cannot be undeleted by Orange, that deletes messages after some time).
He reduced her to tears over the phone on many occasions. There are witnesses to this. He got his "handymen" to contact her as well. All in all, it looks like his sale has fallen through and it seems like he wants to make my friend liable for it.
She had a call from a debt collecting agency. She thinks it's his doing.
Also, her deposit was meant to be put in a protection scheme and it wasn't. Or so we think. The landlord hadn't provided any information as to where the money had gone.
My friend paid rent a month in advance prior to moving out and did not demand a deposit back. She hoped she can make a new start at a new home.
After all the months she has not lived in the old property the landlord is still haunting her for money I don't think she owes to him. I've been reading up on stuff regarding this issue and nothing is clear still.
The landlord sounds to be a very dodgy being.
Lay your opinions on me please. I want to help my friend out as I think she is being unfairly harassed into paying money she doesn't owe. What should she do? What can she do?
I have asked her to find the contract and let me have a look at it. The landlord had contradicted himself on so many occasions and nothing makes sense here at all.
Help if you can with advice, thank you.
This is happening to someone I know. She rented a house from this landlord for many years and paid rent every month without fail, paid all the bills etc.
Perfect tenant for a landlord. But the landlord wasn't so perfect.
The house was a wreck and every time things needed fixing he'd send his "handymen" who would do odd botch jobs on things and not really fix anything.
Some of them could not speak a word of English. She told me of all the problems that occurred while she lived there and the list was so long I couldn't keep track of it.
Boiler problems, no hot water for weeks. Drainage problems. Mould. Constant water dripping noise in conservatory every time it rained (conservatory was under her bedroom window).
She had a fixed-term contract with the landlord, but one day, I think around November or October time,
her landlord on a whim decided to sell up and demanded her to vacate the property and verbally gave her a months notice to find a property to move to. Now, imagine being in her shoes.
Bear in mind she wasn't clued up on her rights as a tenant or what a landlord can and can't do at that time.
She thought "Okay my room-mate has moved out recently on a whim and I can't afford to pay rent and bills on my own for too long so better start looking for somewhere else to live, since I was told to vacate the property on so and so date".
Estate agent sign "FOR SALE" appears on the doorstep.
The landlord then contacts her and gives her two months notice period to vacate the house. By that time you'd assume that both parties have agreed to a mutual verbal agreement that my friend would vacate the property, as asked by the landlord.
I think this is called surrendering an agreement.
Note, that she has never even met the fellow and everything was done over the phone and agreed upon verbally.
So, here is the twist. While my friend is looking for a new home to move to, she is still paying rent to her landlord, showing around house for potential buyers escorted around by estate agents and pays bills BUT now the landlord has put the property up for LET as well!!
Landlord knows she is looking for a new home. The house was near a university campus so was thought that it won't stay long on the market either way.
Can he even do this with a tenant still living there and paying rent? He knew she was looking for a place to move out to and when she found one she needed a reference from him.
This was agreed upon before that he would give her one as he wanted her out of the property. My friends estate agent phones him on behalf of her and the ex landlord says "he doesn't have a clue what she (the agent) is talking about".
Eventually, he does give a reference after bullying my friend into sending him an email with a particular statement. My friend moves out as she preferred to move out anyways. She could've stayed in the house if wanted to as it turned out from doing searches on google, but decided since she is being asked to leave she is going to leave; it seemed like the best option for both.
Luckily, she got a new place to rent with the reference provided.
House had a "SOLD" sign on it a week or so later. She hears nothing from ex landlord. Until now. She moved out at the end of December as was asked.
The property was obviously going through a sale. Few weeks later she gets numerous phone calls from him leaving threatening voice mails (which conveniently cannot be undeleted by Orange, that deletes messages after some time).
He reduced her to tears over the phone on many occasions. There are witnesses to this. He got his "handymen" to contact her as well. All in all, it looks like his sale has fallen through and it seems like he wants to make my friend liable for it.
She had a call from a debt collecting agency. She thinks it's his doing.
Also, her deposit was meant to be put in a protection scheme and it wasn't. Or so we think. The landlord hadn't provided any information as to where the money had gone.
My friend paid rent a month in advance prior to moving out and did not demand a deposit back. She hoped she can make a new start at a new home.
After all the months she has not lived in the old property the landlord is still haunting her for money I don't think she owes to him. I've been reading up on stuff regarding this issue and nothing is clear still.
The landlord sounds to be a very dodgy being.
Lay your opinions on me please. I want to help my friend out as I think she is being unfairly harassed into paying money she doesn't owe. What should she do? What can she do?
I have asked her to find the contract and let me have a look at it. The landlord had contradicted himself on so many occasions and nothing makes sense here at all.
Help if you can with advice, thank you.
0
Comments
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!!!!!! I ain't reading all that! Please just explain precisely what monies the ex-landlord claims she owes in one or two sentences0
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BitterAndTwisted wrote: »!!!!!! I ain't reading all that! Please just explain precisely what monies the ex-landlord claims she owes in one or two sentences
Sorry. I felt situation had to be thoroughly explained.
She moved out around end of December, beginning of January. Landlord wants her to pay up until June. That's when the lease is up. Rent was £600 pcm.0 -
Unless she has negotiated formal early surrender or re-let the property, he can sue for rent up until the date of the end of the fixed term contract if she is in England or Wales.
HOWEVER........
Has she checked whether the deposit is actually secured in any of the 4 schemes? And has she had the prescribed information?
If not, she can sue the LL for the return of the deposit plus up to 3 times the value.If you've have not made a mistake, you've made nothing0 -
By what method did "The landlord then contacts her and gives her two months notice period to vacate the house"?0
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BitterAndTwisted wrote: »By what method did "The landlord then contacts her and gives her two months notice period to vacate the house"?
Everything was agreed upon over the phone verbally. Nothing has been written up and signed by either parties.0 -
Unless she has negotiated formal early surrender or re-let the property, he can sue for rent up until the date of the end of the fixed term contract if she is in England or Wales.
HOWEVER........
Has she checked whether the deposit is actually secured in any of the 4 schemes? And has she had the prescribed information?
If not, she can sue the LL for the return of the deposit plus up to 3 times the value.
She did not negotiate anything as landlord asked her to leave and it was convenient for her to do so. That's when both parties agreed that the property will be vacated as per verbal agreement. Didn't the landlord break his side of agreement by putting up the place for rent with her still renting?
Contract would've ended in June this year.
As to deposit security - no prescribed information was given and we are currently trying to locate the deposit. Assuming it has been secured, of course.0 -
If she doesn't have any documentary evidence that she and the landlord agreed an "early surrender" of her fixed-term tenancy she is likely to be completely scuppered.
Who are the "Debt Collecting Agency"? This suggest the landlord has already received a judgement against your friend in court.0 -
Your friend and the LL both need to learn a bit about the law before they act.
If no written notice (S21, or S 8 if she was in arrears) was given, then she did not need to take any action to leave. If the LL harassed her she need to speak to tenancy relations and possibly the police.
If no prescribed information was provided, then any S21 notice was invalid anyway.
Is there any way of getting details of calls she made to the LL from her phone provider?If you've have not made a mistake, you've made nothing0 -
If you've have not made a mistake, you've made nothing0
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She did not negotiate anything as landlord asked her to leave and it was convenient for her to do so. That's when both parties agreed that the property will be vacated as per verbal agreement. Didn't the landlord break his side of agreement by putting up the place for rent with her still renting?
Does your friend have any evidence of this?
Has the property since been re-let? If so, the landlord cannot collect two lots of rent for two separate tenancies for the same period.
Contract would've ended in June this year.
As to deposit security - no prescribed information was given and we are currently trying to locate the deposit. Assuming it has been secured, of course.
A landlord can offer a property for sale while there is still a tenant in situ but it could prove persuasive to a court that it was being offered to let while she was still there. Does she have any documentation, or could acquire any, to confirm this?0
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