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Possible Retaliatory Eviction??
mazzrhodes
Posts: 1 Newbie
Need some advice...please bare with me. Earlier this year myself and my (then) 3 year old daughter were living in a property rented through a local letting agent. There had been multiple problems with the property that I had repeatedly told the letting agent and the landlords repair man about over the 2 and a half years we lived there.
This included a bad leak from a flat roof that dribbled down the wall near a plug socket that could not be isolated, leaving the floor slippery and a potential electrocution risk. Black mould and insufficient heating were also issues we faced - please note this black mould was present when we moved into the property, never improved and was also made worse by the fact that an extractor fan was never repaired when it started leaking water within a few weeks of moving in. The letting agent did regular 6 monthly checks on the property and these issues were highlighted every time, photographs taken but nothing ever done.
Towards the later part of the year I contacted the council's housing department as I had grown frustrated that nothing had been done. I made sure to contact the letting agent to make them aware I was doing so prior. I was then issued with a Section 21 with which the letting agent said the landlord was going to bulldoze the back end of the house because that was were the majority of the issues were. Later on I was told by the landord's maintenance guy that he was going to sell the property.
The letting agent also went ahead, behind my back and contacted the council saying to not continue my complaint as I had applied for a new property and all the checks were going through. The council did contact me to ask if that was okay, at the time I was unable schedule a suitable time for them to complete the inspection as I had just started working, didn't want to have to ask for time off and felt that it wasn't as important as just moving out and getting away from the problem house so the council never came to inspect the property.
We have now been in our new property for a little over a month and I have just been told by a friend that our old property is up for rent again with the same letting agent.
I understand that if the landlord has issued you with a Eviction notice after the council have issued the landlord with a notice to improve the property then it is grounds for a Retaliatory Eviction but in my situation I never went through with the council but if I was to take this matter to court would the council assess the state of the property from evidence and then judge that they would've issued a notice to improve therefore meaning this was a retaliatory eviction? I believe that the letting agent purposefully ensured the council did not carry out their inspection to save the landlord and themselves the issue of being faced with being taken to court for a Retaliatory Eviction so therefore I believe that this is a case of R.E. just one that is a little more complicated?!?!?
I am extremely angered at the actions of both the landlord and my letting agent as I feel they put myself, my daughter and my family under undue stress with this situation; I had to borrow money to move and to pay the deposit as I am a single, part-time working mum claiming UC.
We had always been excellent tenants; paid the rent in full and on time every month, we looked after the property, even improved it by adding a handrail (which the landlord gave me £20 for to pay back for the wood I had purchased to make it), we kept it clean and never wanted anything more than a safe, warm roof over our heads but to then be evicted after complaining to the council seem unjust and even potentially unlawful. Ultimately all I really want from this is to ensure that the landlord doesn't put anyone else through this awful situation again as it certainly was one of the most stressful times I have experienced in my life.
Any advice or help would be welcomed.
This included a bad leak from a flat roof that dribbled down the wall near a plug socket that could not be isolated, leaving the floor slippery and a potential electrocution risk. Black mould and insufficient heating were also issues we faced - please note this black mould was present when we moved into the property, never improved and was also made worse by the fact that an extractor fan was never repaired when it started leaking water within a few weeks of moving in. The letting agent did regular 6 monthly checks on the property and these issues were highlighted every time, photographs taken but nothing ever done.
Towards the later part of the year I contacted the council's housing department as I had grown frustrated that nothing had been done. I made sure to contact the letting agent to make them aware I was doing so prior. I was then issued with a Section 21 with which the letting agent said the landlord was going to bulldoze the back end of the house because that was were the majority of the issues were. Later on I was told by the landord's maintenance guy that he was going to sell the property.
The letting agent also went ahead, behind my back and contacted the council saying to not continue my complaint as I had applied for a new property and all the checks were going through. The council did contact me to ask if that was okay, at the time I was unable schedule a suitable time for them to complete the inspection as I had just started working, didn't want to have to ask for time off and felt that it wasn't as important as just moving out and getting away from the problem house so the council never came to inspect the property.
We have now been in our new property for a little over a month and I have just been told by a friend that our old property is up for rent again with the same letting agent.
I understand that if the landlord has issued you with a Eviction notice after the council have issued the landlord with a notice to improve the property then it is grounds for a Retaliatory Eviction but in my situation I never went through with the council but if I was to take this matter to court would the council assess the state of the property from evidence and then judge that they would've issued a notice to improve therefore meaning this was a retaliatory eviction? I believe that the letting agent purposefully ensured the council did not carry out their inspection to save the landlord and themselves the issue of being faced with being taken to court for a Retaliatory Eviction so therefore I believe that this is a case of R.E. just one that is a little more complicated?!?!?
I am extremely angered at the actions of both the landlord and my letting agent as I feel they put myself, my daughter and my family under undue stress with this situation; I had to borrow money to move and to pay the deposit as I am a single, part-time working mum claiming UC.
We had always been excellent tenants; paid the rent in full and on time every month, we looked after the property, even improved it by adding a handrail (which the landlord gave me £20 for to pay back for the wood I had purchased to make it), we kept it clean and never wanted anything more than a safe, warm roof over our heads but to then be evicted after complaining to the council seem unjust and even potentially unlawful. Ultimately all I really want from this is to ensure that the landlord doesn't put anyone else through this awful situation again as it certainly was one of the most stressful times I have experienced in my life.
Any advice or help would be welcomed.
0
Comments
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My understanding from when I worked in lettings and I had a tenant contact the council regarding damp issues is that unless they give an order it's not a retaliatory eviction.0
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The Council did not issue an improvement notice or even inspect. It is not relaliatory eviction.
You have no means of knowing if the fault was fixed prior to re-letting or not.
You chose to move on .. so move on.0 -
Surprised that with issues not being dealt with you never sought to leave earlier.
Was your deposit protected? - Has it been returned in full?0
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