Homeless next week. Landlord/housing advice please?

ognum

Vivian_Seifert wrote: »

Hi, jspherd,

Here are few suggestions, hope you woould like to implement:

1. Begin searching before you have to enroll into your college

2. Visit at least more than three apartments to get the best deal

3. Make a checklist of your priorities you want in your apartment

4. Examine the building carefully; you are to stay here throughout your semesters

5. Read the lease papers carefully before signing

Do you live in the UK, all your language points to you being from North America where housing law and obtaining properties to rent is very different ( yes I have lived and rented in the US)

This lady is on housing benefit, her ability to find housing will be very limited. You are in cloud cookout land if you think she will have a choice of three properties and be able to select something with all the things she wants.

She will be lucky to find a property available to her at a rent she can afford.

Jshepherd86

Pixie, I have a receipt for my deposit but no actual date in text, this was just told to me verbally when I was looking round her house. There's no way I would have said OK to the 20th though without keeping my current tenancy until then or making other arrangements. I wouldn't have left it to a week before to find somewhere.
Stupid I may be yes! I didn't know though that I could have stayed and not agree to increase. When I called the landlords agency to say I couldn't afford increase, I was just told to end tenancy as per the letter although I get that they wouldn't encourage me to stay! I didn't want my very good credit rating smashed by having rent arrears against my name. I've already had the agency send letters chasing me for the increase too

Guest101

Rent arrears aren't assigned to your name in credit form.


There's a formal procedure to increasing rent, which hasn't been followed.


A court would likely find it reasonable that the 1st was agreed, as you have evidenced by your actions.


The deposit, was it protected?

Pixie5740

You wouldn't have been in arrears because you wouldn't have accepted the rent increase. Besides for rent arrears to register on your credit files your landlord would have to go to court, prove you were in arrears (which you wouldn't have been) and then got a CCJ awarded against you.

This is all academic anyway as what you could have done doesn't help your current housing situation. Phone Shelter.

Jshepherd86

I've also just sent another message but on WhatsApp. I can see its gone through to her phone and she's been online since I sent it but not read or replied. She did the same a few days ago as well on WhatsApp after she failed to respond to text. Stressed maybe but if I can see she is active, what does it take to quickly reply that she will text/call when she's free to discuss

Jshepherd86

She said she would put my deposit in the correct scheme once the tenancy started in case I changed my mind and found somewhere else etc in the mean time

HappyMJ

Jshepherd86 wrote: »

She said she would put my deposit in the correct scheme once the tenancy started in case I changed my mind and found somewhere else etc in the mean time

It's a holding deposit she could if you found somewhere else before taking up the tenancy keep the holding deposit.

You can stay in your current property you do not have to move out on the day you said you would. You would however be liable to what is known as mesne profits to the landlord which is equivalent to double rent until you do actually move out. It may be cheaper to pay that than move out into expensive alternative accommodation and storing everything for 3 weeks.

thesaint

HappyMJ wrote: »

You would however be liable to what is known as mesne profits to the landlord which is equivalent to double rent until you do actually move out.

It might help if you explained why the OP would be liable.

Jshepherd86

She took the full security deposit as a holding deposit but specified she would give me my money back on changing my mind as long as I didn't just let her know a few days before and left her short on finding a new tenant quickly.
If I stay here next week though, won't that possibly put the new tenants on the street if they have given notice to leave their current property for next week?

thesaint

Jshepherd86 wrote: »

If I stay here next week though, won't that possibly put the new tenants on the street if they have given notice to leave their current property for next week?

Possibly. That isn't your concern. They then sue your current landlord, who then sues you, who then sues your prospective landlord.

Whether parties can sue depends on what has been agreed between the parties.