Disrepair and section 8

Cakeguts

KeepCalm86 wrote: »

The problem is that he has made living in that property a constant headache, I've actually avoided going home on more than one occasion because he was in the habit of coming over almost every day to interrogate me and waltz around the house for an unknown reason. He is an overbearing and abusive man who has 1) tried to bypass the proper eviction process and 2) has failed to make several repairs in a timely fashion or at all and 3) lied about the amount of arrears I owe.

I am currently 2 months behind, which would normally allow him to issue a section 8 on ground 10. However as I understand it he should send accurate arrears letters first, which he has not (accurate or otherwise). Coming to the front door AFTER he has allowed me an extra month to pay the rent (I did offer to leave) several times a week alone counts as harassment. If a tenant is in arrears the LL should issue arrears letters, not drop by whenever they like to shake you up, and ask for your car as payment no less.

I have lived in a very expensive sauna, with rotting rodents underneath the house, a faulty refrigerator, a faulty heater, a faulty shower, and constant phonecalls/visits on top of a hideous, recorded, phonecall. He has also tried to enter the property without notice, for non emergencies, including the day after said phonecall. As I understand it, the consitiutes harassment which is a criminal offence as a LL.

He has made the property entirely unsuitable by both his actions and inactions, and there is no way I intend to pay this horrid man for the privilege.

My current intent is to issue a counterclaim for harassment and disrepair, along with breaching the implied covenant of quiet enjoyment. He has made this far easier for me by detailing his harassment in writing for me along with the disrepair!

He has tried to bypass the proper eviction process and you have tried to end the tenancy before the end of the fixed term that you agreed in a legal document to pay rent for so you are both about equal on this.

Has it ever occurred to you that he couldn't make the repairs because he didn't have the rent money to make them with? Why do all tenants think that landlords have pots of cash just waiting to be spent on repairs while tenants enjoy free housing? The point about lying about the amount of rent you owe is that you shouldn't owe any rent. You signed a legal document to say that you would buy housing from this landlord. When you rent somewhere you buy the space to live in. What you have done is to agree to buy something and then not pay for it.

Regardless of the rights and wrongs of what you say the landlord has done has it ever occurred to you that he could be in a desperate position here? You don't know what his financial position is do you?

G_M

KeepCalm86 wrote: »

T........

My current intent is to issue a counterclaim for harassment and disrepair, along with breaching the implied covenant of quiet enjoyment. He has made this far easier for me by detailing his harassment in writing for me along with the disrepair!

Why escalate things? This will not help in any way.

1) you will still be evicted via the S8 - the only defence against eviction for arrears is to pay the arrears

2) waiting for a S8 eviction will result in you paying his court fees on top

3) you wish to leave. The quickest, easiest, and most painless way to achieve this is by a mutually agreed Early Surrender. Making 'counter-claims', or otherwise attacking the landlord, is unlikely to encourage him to agree to an Early Surrender - or if he does, he is more likely to attach conditions (eg you pay his re-marketing costs).

4) even if you bring a case of harassment, and win, the most likely outcome is a court order to him to desist. And that achieves what?

Change the locks as advised.

5) you can certainly enforce (certain) repairs. But that will not help you with your rent arrears, and is really only of benefit if you intend to continue the tenancy. But since you wish to leave, and he is about to evict you via the S8, enforcing the repairs seems pointless.

It strikes me you are not living up to your username. You are (understandably) angry, and wish to strike back. Doing so is not in your best interests though. I suggest you Keep Calm and respond appropriately.

G_M

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Reported.