Landlord being unreasonable?

sirjojo16

The address for giving notice is the same po box. Can I legally stop him from collecting rent in this way? There is no mention in the agreement about how the rent is paid but he won't give me the details to set up a standing order.
Thanks

G_M

sirjojo16 wrote: »

The address for giving notice is the same po box. Can I legally stop him from collecting rent in this way? There is no mention in the agreement about how the rent is paid but he won't give me the details to set up a standing order.
Thanks

Send it to the PO Box. He is then legally assumed to have received it.

If he refuses to provide bank details, send a cheque to the PO Box - again he will be legally assumed to have received it.

I would suggest you change the lock on the front door - keep the old one and replace it at the end of the tenancy. (See here) (and here)

Provided you send the rent, the rent is paid.

sirjojo16

Great post G_M thank-you, I will send that letter off tomorrow.
I have his po box to contact him ( not ideal If the boiler breaks down, but it's a start!)
No how to rent leaflet or EPC certificate
I have gas safety and there are smoke alarms present.
Thanks for your time and great advice.

Lazarus_Blackstar

Up until 3 & a half years ago me & my husband were renting privately. We'd rented from the same LL for 13 years and she always came to the house to collect the "rent" in cash every 4 weeks.
She had 3 other houses & I think most of those were the same, rent in cash, as she always said she was off up such & such to collect the rent.
It always struck me as odd & why she never wanted a standing order but back then we were naive & had never rented before so never queried it. We saw an add in our local paper at the time & just went for it, not knowing anything about renting or about LLs.
It's only since we bought our own house & being on MSE that I now know something wasn't ringing true over those years. I very much doubt she let the tax man know about her business.
Paying rent in cash is hardly heard of nowadays from what I have heard. You are right to be worried, more so if he thinks he can just let himself in & "take the money himself"! Sounds very odd.

sirjojo16

Again, thanks. Do you know if I am legally allowed to change the lock? As much as I hate the thought of him letting himself in whenever he likes, I want to stay totally inside the law and just enjoy a peaceful tennancy.
Cheers

G_M

sirjojo16 wrote: »

Great post G_M thank-you, I will send that letter off tomorrow.
I have his po box to contact him ( not ideal If the boiler breaks down, but it's a start!)
No how to rent leaflet or EPC certificate
I have gas safety and there are smoke alarms present.
Thanks for your time and great advice.

Since he has not given you an EPC or the goc leaflet, any S21 Notice he serves you in future will be invalid.

A S21 is needed is he ever wishes to end the tenancy (other than for rent arrears etc).

To be honest the EPC is not much use to you, and the gov leaflet you can read yourself - see link in my post above.

sirjojo16

Thanks lazarus, my biggest fault is my naivety. I am as honest as the day is long, and assume everyone else to be the same. When she said he liked it in cash it ran through my mind that is was some traditional old boy who passed by the office on his way to pick up his paper and stuffed it away in an old jam jar and I I thought nothing more of it!, you lives and learns!

Thrugelmir

Does your LL own the property?

G_M

sirjojo16 wrote: »

Again, thanks. Do you know if I am legally allowed to change the lock? As much as I hate the thought of him letting himself in whenever he likes, I want to stay totally inside the law and just enjoy a peaceful tennancy.
Cheers

The rights and wrongs of changing the locks is regularly discussed here - sometimes with differing opinions.

* it is certainly not illegal
* it may breach your tenancy agreement (read it and see!)
* as a tenant, you have an implicit right to 'Quiet Enjoyment' of the property (ie not to have you homelife unecessarily interrupted), so unjustified access by the LL would be a breach of your QE, and it seems clear your LL has threatened this

If you change the locks ad the LL is unhappy, possible actions are:

1) he could go to court and seek a court order forcing you to replace the lock. If you explained to the court why you had taken this action, most judges would agree with you and refuse the LL's claim.
But of course this is not 100% guaranteed.
2) he could serve you a S21 Notice with the aim of evicting you when your fixed term contract ends. However we have already established that any S21 would be invalid.
3) he could claim damages in court. I cannot however think of what financial loss (damage) he would have suffered, so don't see what he could claim

sirjojo16

I don't know if he owns the property, I assume he does, I will make some checks tomorrow.
The thought of him cheating the system, and me abetting him sickens me to the stomach and I will certainly grass him up once I'm well clear of this place and his dodgy dealings.
Thanks G_M I think I will change the lock, he will only know I have if he attempts to enter my property illegally!