Boiler packed in - house being repossessed - who's responsible?

desperatedan123

Hello,

I've made a few posts about our current housing situation. Basically landlord didn't pay his mortgage, judge granted possession to the mortgage company.

The date he is meant to give possession is today. 30th October 2018.

We are currently waiting for a letter from the mortgage company informing us of the court date for a warrant application

Ok,

4 days ago the boiler packed in. We have had no hot water or heating for 4 days.
I have hand delivered 2 letters to the landlord, and spoke to him face to face today.

His reply is simply:

I don't care. Not my responsibility anymore. Not my house.

I walked away before things turned heated.

I have rang the environmental team at my local council who informed me it is now the mortgage companies responsibility. And to contact them as they are the owners of the property from today.

However, from research online, I have come to the conclusion that they do not take on any landlord resposibilties once possession is granted..

I'm really confused. My young children are cold and trying to get through to citizens advice is extremly hard.

I cannot afford the 200+ pound gas engineer charge to come and look at it .. especially if he turns round and says "New boiler mate"


Can anyone advise on what I should do?

Many thanks

SmashedAvacado

Shelter has a very good page on this. "Repossession by a landlord's lender"

Comms69

desperatedan123 wrote: »

Hello,

I've made a few posts about our current housing situation. Basically landlord didn't pay his mortgage, judge granted possession to the mortgage company.

The date he is meant to give possession is today. 30th October 2018.

We are currently waiting for a letter from the mortgage company informing us of the court date for a warrant application

Ok,

4 days ago the boiler packed in. We have had no hot water or heating for 4 days.
I have hand delivered 2 letters to the landlord, and spoke to him face to face today.

His reply is simply:

I don't care. Not my responsibility anymore. Not my house.

I walked away before things turned heated.

I have rang the environmental team at my local council who informed me it is now the mortgage companies responsibility. And to contact them as they are the owners of the property from today.

However, from research online, I have come to the conclusion that they do not take on any landlord resposibilties once possession is granted..

I'm really confused. My young children are cold and trying to get through to citizens advice is extremly hard.

I cannot afford the 200+ pound gas engineer charge to come and look at it .. especially if he turns round and says "New boiler mate"


Can anyone advise on what I should do?

Many thanks

The mortgage company is responsible.


It's basically as simple as that.

G_M

desperatedan123 wrote: »

However, from research online, I have come to the conclusion that they do not take on any landlord resposibilties once possession is granted..

Please provide links to your research.

I know what I believe the law to be but then, who am I? Just some weired bod on the internet!

If you can produce a link to a reputable source, clearly showing "that they do not take on any landlord resposibilties once possession is granted." then I will happily update my knowledge!


Meanwhile, this may help:
* Repossession: what if a LL's mortgage lender repossesses the property?

phill99

Lenders can not get out of their responsibilities as the landlord of a dwelling. They have the same responsibilities as a private landlord or a social housing landlord.

anselld

https://england.shelter.org.uk/housing_advice/repossession/repossession_by_a_landlords_lender

... states...

"In most cases, the mortgage lender won't become your landlord and you'll have to leave. This happens if you don't have a binding tenancy."

I am not sure why "most", but a prime example would seem to be Landlords who do not have consent to let from the mortgagee.

saajan_12

desperatedan123 wrote: »

The date he is meant to give possession is today. 30th October 2018.
..
I have rang the environmental team at my local council who informed me it is now the mortgage companies responsibility. And to contact them as they are the owners of the property from today.

However, from research online, I have come to the conclusion that they do not take on any landlord resposibilties once possession is granted..

Legally, I would have thought the lender repossessing the property makes them the legal owner and your landlord, therefore any repair responsibilities are on them. Have you tried contacting them?

desperatedan123 wrote: »

However, from research online, I have come to the conclusion that they do not take on any landlord resposibilties once possession is granted..

Where is this research from?

desperatedan123 wrote: »

I have hand delivered 2 letters to the landlord, and spoke to him face to face today.

His reply is simply:

I don't care. Not my responsibility anymore. Not my house.

Ona practical level, if the ex LL wasn't paying his mortgage, he isn't going to fix a boiler.. can't get blood out of a stone and all, regardless of legal responsibility. So I would focus my energy on
- getting the lender to fix
- finding somewhere to move (maybe ask the lender for a bonus to move out quickly)
- electric heaters which you take with you (if you aren't staying long, cheaper than fixing the boiler)

silvercar

anselld wrote: »

https://england.shelter.org.uk/housing_advice/repossession/repossession_by_a_landlords_lender

... states...

"In most cases, the mortgage lender won't become your landlord and you'll have to leave. This happens if you don't have a binding tenancy."

I am not sure why "most", but a prime example would seem to be Landlords who do not have consent to let from the mortgagee.

The Mortgage Repossessions (Protection of Tenants etc) Act 2010 protects tenants from immediate eviction where the lender has repossessed a property and was not legally aware that the property was tenanted.

47 page document here.

Salient point:

The law gives certain tenants the right to apply to the Lender to ask it not to enforce the order for a period of two months. You should contact the Lender or its Agent on the number
given to ask for this delay if you require it. This is to give you time to find somewhere else to live. If you are unsure whether you may qualify, you should seek advice immediately from one of the organisations listed, or a similar organisation. If the Lender agrees to your request, they must confirm this to you in writing. If the Lender refuses your request, or if you receive no reply, you may be able to make an application to court for a similar delay.
The Lender may make any agreement with you conditional on you continuing to pay to live at the property. An application to the Lender or to the court should be accompanied by any evidence you have to prove the existence of your tenancy.

anselld

silvercar wrote: »

The Mortgage Repossessions (Protection of Tenants etc) Act 2010 protects tenants from immediate eviction where the lender has repossessed a property and was not legally aware that the property was tenanted.

47 page document here.

Salient point:

Yes, but provisions for delayed eviction do not imply the Mortgagee has become Landlord with all the associated obligations, including in this case boiler maintenance.

xylophone

The OP's concern is more for the broken boiler than accommodation now?

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/74895455#Comment_74895455
post 3.

It seems that he can ask for a couple of months' stay of execution by which time the new rental will be available?

The Mortgage Possessions (Protection of Tenants etc) Act 2010
The Act provides unauthorised tenants with the right to request a delay to eviction of up to two months if their landlord (the mortgage-holder) falls into arrears with their mortgage payments and the lender (the mortgagee) commences possession proceedings.

Plus

saajan_12 wrote: »

Ona practical level, if the ex LL wasn't paying his mortgage, he isn't going to fix a boiler.. can't get blood out of a stone and all, regardless of legal responsibility. So I would focus my energy on
- getting the lender to fix
- finding somewhere to move (maybe ask the lender for a bonus to move out quickly)
- electric heaters which you take with you (if you aren't staying long, cheaper than fixing the boiler)

Also, if the LL had called somebody out there's no guarantee the fix would have happened before it became not his property (which he's not allowed to fix).

One further option is to call somebody out and pay for them yourself. It depends whether it's a 'boiler went KABOOM' or 'button doesn't work' kind of problem.