Renting - Legal Dispute Issue

bb121

Hi,

I have a very odd situation that I was wondering if anyone can advise on.

I have been searching for somewhere to rent recently and found somewhere that I thought would be very ideal. It would be replacing a departing tenant on the contract (basically a change of tenancy) I ended up making progress towards agreeing to rent the place.

After (verbally) agreeing to take the room, some issues started appearing that gave me cause for concern and I decided to pull out.

Here are the actions taken:

Friday:
Met with outgoing tenant and landlord to suffice his requirements employment / income wise.
Paid existing tenant amount equalling pro-rata rent for rest of September (subletting from her effectively)
Agree with Landlord to come round early in the week after weekend to sign contracts

Saturday:
Move into the place but quickly discover it is not ideal. The sound insulation from outside and nearby buildings is ridiculous and does not allow for a good nights sleep.

Sunday:
Move out of the place and inform Landlord of intent not to sign and take the place
After further discussion with friends/family about the situation I was also informed that the Landlords verbal admission that he does not protect deposits is illegal (I didn't realise this was a legal obligation) and would be another reason not to sign with him


The landlord is now arguing that my actions are binding to me taking on responsibility of the flat and I am liable for monies owed and/or replacing myself and finding a new tenant.

Is there a legal case here of my responsibility and liability to the terms of his tenancy agreement or am I right in assuming that I have not signed anything and despite the above the liability lies with the outgoing tenant?

Thanks in advance to anyone who can help shed some light on this or advise what I should be doing

Pixie5740

Does the landlord live in the same building?

bb121

No he is a live out landlord

theartfullodger

You have simply a verbal contract with previous occupant. YOUR landlord is previous occcupant, not owner.I'd say as no money paid to owner you have no contract with him.

You could try getting money back from previous occupant but I'd doubt you'd succeed.

In your shoes I'd not respond to owner any further. No reply, nuffink.

Pixie5740

You have paid rent to live there so a contract does exist. However, it sounds as though the outgoing tenant is your landlord and so it would be between you and them whether you end the tenancy or not.

Yes, in all parts of the UK tenants' deposits should be protected. The legislation differs slightly from country to country but your deposit should be protected. Did you pay a deposit to the landlord?

bb121

Thanks for the advice. So worst comes to worst my contract is with the previous tenant?

I'm not even looking to get the money back from her, I'm treating that as a loss.

My main issue was making sure the existing landlord has no contract with me. Nothing at all was paid or signed with him yet he is claiming I am not responsible.

I was actually debating between no further discussion with the landlord or if he insists to push the issue, mention that his verbal admission to not protecting the deposits wouldn't go down well with previous tenants nor the courts

Pixie5740

To be honest I'd ignore him. He sounds like a pure dodger.

theartfullodger

Avoid using "landlord" to describe him. He is/was never your landlord.

As pixie says, ignore him.

bb121

Thanks for the replies and advice guys, much appreciated!

G_M

I agree with others above, but a word of caution:

we do not know the full extent of your discussions with the (owner?) higher landlord, nor the precise contents of any written communications, nor whether any money has changed hands between you and he.

But with that caveat, and taking what you wrote in your posts as being the full extent of the above, then yes:

* your 'landlord' is the outgoing occupant
* you have a tenancy agreement of a few weeks till end of September
* if you paid a deposit to this new landlord, he must register it
* as your landlord, he must comply with all tenancy regulations
* he must declare the rent you paid him to HMRC

* the 'owner' (higher landlord) is not your landlord, he is the outgoing tenant's landlord - as such you should not communicate with him.

bb121

Thanks G_M, what specifics would you like to know about the verbal conversations with the owner if that might help give further info?

Nothing was really in writing. All that was in writing was me sending proof of income docs to him and text conversations with the departing tenant arranging to meet the landlord, where I found out the stuff about the deposit etc. that put me off after further consideration.