Problems with landlord

Daedala2019

Just looking for some input on my situation.

I am currently renting a double room with an en-suite in Hounslow, Greater London. I pay gbp530 monthly (includes bills, WiFi and council tax).
My landlord, his wife and 2 young daughters live on the ground floor and on the first floor are three rooms and three tenants.

There has been reoccurring issues which are taking their toll on me, but I simply do not have the finances to move at the moment. I am considering demanding a decrease in rent based on the following:
mice in my room. This has been an ongoing problem for the last couple of years. The first time, I spotted them, I immediately alerted him and demanded that he took action. He kept delaying the issue, excuses ranging from being busy at work, not having the tools needed to repair holes in the wall, not having time to go shop for the tools and so on. In the end, I bought some expanding foam myself and closed up a big hole in the bathroom wall. That seemed to solve the problem but only for a couple of weeks, then they were back. After having chased him countless times, he finally went through the entire room and closed off all entrances with some tinfoil tape. That worked for a couple of months but now they’re back!
Second major issue: early December, I was having a day of when I heard a knock on my door. It was one of the other tenants, who told me the WiFi was down and asking if he could borrow my phone to send an important email for work. I don’t know the guy except for the occasional good morning when we happened to leave the same time in the morning. I agreed to lend him my phone, and he returned the favour by exposing himself! I told him to leave immediately and then texted my landlord about the incident. In the evening I spoke to my landlord, who said that the guy had stated it was an accident and also that he would be moving out soon. I asked my landlord for the guy’s full name as I wanted to report the incident. My landlord didn’t know his name, but advised he would try to find out and text it to me. He then texted me the next day, advising me of his name and added : I have told him he had to leave, but I have to give him some time, so he will leave after the New Years holiday. Based on that info, I only reported the incident to the police and told them that no further action was needed as he would be gone soon. Well, guess who is still here :mad:

I have no rental contract, the only paperwork between me and my landlord is a handwritten confirmation of the 200 pounds cash I paid when I moved in.
Do I have a case?

HampshireH

......yet you have stayed for years?

A case for what. Your LL will get a replacement if you leave. Sounds like you need the roof more than he needs £350 a month to be honest. Why would he agree to a rent increase and if its that bad why would you want to stay.

FreeBear

Mice - They will be attracted by scraps of food & crumbs. Keep the room clean and free from food, and rodents are less likely to come in. But this requires cooperation from all the other residents...


Three rooms being rented out to separate people - This is an HMO. Is it registered, has the LL complied with all the relevant regulations ?
If you don't have a rental contract, then the LL probably hasn't complied with other regulations (smoke alarms, gas safe cert. etc, etc).


"My landlord didn’t know his name" - Cobblers. He should have a record of it when he did the "right to rent" checks.

macman

Based on the info give, you are not a tenant but a lodger. The LL can ask you to leave at any time, or you can leave at any time. You have no 'right' to a rent decrease, you can pay whatever you are able to negotiate.
If one of the other lodgers is engaging in criminal behaviour, call the police. It's not the responsibility of your LL.
Are the rooms self contained, or do you share facilities? If this is an HMO, then it sounds like the LL is breaking every rule in the book. If you were a tenant, then you would be paying your own council tax.

Mojisola

Daedala2019 wrote: »

I am currently renting a double room with an en-suite in Hounslow, Greater London. I pay gbp530 monthly (includes bills, WiFi and council tax).

My landlord, his wife and 2 young daughters live on the ground floor and on the first floor are three rooms and three tenants.

https://england.shelter.org.uk/housing_advice/downloads_and_tools/tenancy_rights_checker
"You're a lodger if you rent a room in your landlord's home and share the kitchen, bathroom or other living space with them.

Lodgers are classed as excluded occupiers and have very limited legal rights.

You have more rights if your landlord lives in the same building as you but you don’t share any living space."

anselld

Steel wire wool is better for excluding mice. Get some from any DIY shop.

But no, not grounds for rent reduction.

Regarding HMO, mandatory licensing only comes into play from 5 sharers, however check if the local Council has any additional or selective licensing scheme in place.

elsien

Do you share any facilities with the landlord or is his accommodation entirely for his use?
Do you share a kitchen or do you have cooking facilities in your room? Who do you share a bathroom with?
Get some mousetraps as a starting point.

G_M

1) you share facilities with the landlord? You are a lodger, not a tenant.

2) LL on ground floor, you + 2 unknown others (lodgers too?) on 1st floor= 4 family units over 2 floors.

It's an HMO and needs a licence (see https://www.hounslow.gov.uk/downloads/file/1787/public_information_notice)

Is it icenced?If not, report here:
https://www.hounslow.gov.uk/info/20093/private_landlords/1494/houses_in_multiple_occupation/4

3) Tax.
£530 x 3 lodgers = £1590 pm = £19,080 pa. This well exceeds the Rent-a-room scheme so if you suspect the landlordis not declaring the income for tax purposes, report here:
https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/hm-revenue-customs/contact/reporting-tax-evasion

4) Mice.
Report to Hounslow Environment Health.
Or buy traps eg: £8.29 fo 6 (https://www.amazon.co.uk/Home-SolutionsTM-Mousetraps-Indoors-Instantly/dp/B06XBG92KY?psc=1&SubscriptionId=AKIAILSHYYTFIVPWUY6Q&!!!!!duckduckgo-ffsb-uk-21&linkCode=xm2&camp=2025&creative=165953&creativeASIN=B06XBG92KY)

5) rent reduction
This is entirely a matter for negotiation. Are you a good negotiator?

6) exposure by the other lodger
Nothing to do with the landlord. It's personal/police matter

7) moving out
As you have no written lodger agreement, and (apparantly) no agreed notice period, your notice must be 'reasonable'. If you pay rent weekly, a weeks notice. If pay monthly, a months notice. Likewise in reverse if LL wants to evict.

8) Rent.
How do you pay? Bank transfer?
Cash? Do you always insist on a receipt? If not, why not? (see 3 above)

Honeylife

G_M wrote: »

1) you share facilities with the landlord? You are a lodger, not a tenant.

2) LL on ground floor, you + 2 unknown others (lodgers too?) on 1st floor= 4 family units over 2 floors.

It's an HMO and needs a licence (see https://www.hounslow.gov.uk/downloads/file/1787/public_information_notice)

Is it icenced?If not, report here:
https://www.hounslow.gov.uk/info/20093/private_landlords/1494/houses_in_multiple_occupation/4

3) Tax.
£530 x 3 lodgers = £1590 pm = £19,080 pa. This well exceeds the Rent-a-room scheme so if you suspect the landlordis not declaring the income for tax purposes, report here:
https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/hm-revenue-customs/contact/reporting-tax-evasion

4) Mice.
Report to Hounslow Environment Health.
Or buy traps eg: £8.29 fo 6 (https://www.amazon.co.uk/Home-SolutionsTM-Mousetraps-Indoors-Instantly/dp/B06XBG92KY?psc=1&SubscriptionId=AKIAILSHYYTFIVPWUY6Q&!!!!!duckduckgo-ffsb-uk-21&linkCode=xm2&camp=2025&creative=165953&creativeASIN=B06XBG92KY)

5) rent reduction
This is entirely a matter for negotiation. Are you a good negoiator?

6) exposure by the other lodger
Nothing to do with the landlord. It's personal/police matter

7) moving out
As you have no written lodger agreement, and (apparantly) no agreed notice period, your notice must be 'reasonable'. If you pay rent weekly, a weeks notice. If pay monthly, a months notice. Likewise in reverse if LL wants to evict.

8) Rent.
How do you pay? Bank transfer?
Cash? Do you always insist on a receipt? If not, why not? (see 3 above)

All the above are accurate.
I add. If the mice are distessing you to that extent just google how to deal with it and deal with it. Traps, Glue Sheets, Electronic plug-ins and more. You LL is clearly casual about mice. Block all visible holes look behind wardrobes and chest of drawers, pull the bed away from the wall. Put all your food in the room in covered tin containers as mice can nibble plastic. But be proactive.

Be prepared for the LL to ask you to leave when you attempt neogtiating a reduced rent. You are clearly not in a financial position to move so do consider your housing circumstances before you report your Landlord, i.e. have a back up plan that includes where your next accommodation will be.

Often I see on this Forum sugestions on how to report LLs along with asumptions that they are fraudsters and/or cheating the Tax man, the Local Authority and dont have all the necessary required pieces of paper. When my gas check company started emailing me the Certificate instead of hard copy posting I totally forgot to show my new lodgers the Certificate of Gas Safety as it was sitting as an attachment in my PC, whereas previously I had the copy pinned to the notice board in the kitchen. Should I be reported? I say this repeatedly you do not know if your LL is paying the correct tax, but yes it would seem clear that in the Hounslow LA rules he should not have more than two lodgers unless he is a registered HMO with a Licence.

You can report the other Lodger exposing themselves directly to the Police. Simply ask the Police to log your complaint and you can ask them to have a word with him. Did he flash at you deliberately or did his dressing gown 'accidentally' fall open to reveal his nakedness underneath? Was it his private bits or just his bare chest (In my house rules I am strict about dressing modestly around the house for this very same reason!)

It sounds like a very uncomfortable situation. You should consider moving on and in future always get a hard copy of Licence Agreement or Tenancy.

Comms69

Daedala2019 wrote: »

Just looking for some input on my situation.

I am currently renting a double room with an en-suite in Hounslow, Greater London. I pay gbp530 monthly (includes bills, WiFi and council tax).
My landlord, his wife and 2 young daughters live on the ground floor and on the first floor are three rooms and three tenants.

There has been reoccurring issues which are taking their toll on me, but I simply do not have the finances to move at the moment. I am considering demanding a decrease in rent based on the following:
mice in my room. This has been an ongoing problem for the last couple of years. The first time, I spotted them, I immediately alerted him and demanded that he took action. He kept delaying the issue, excuses ranging from being busy at work, not having the tools needed to repair holes in the wall, not having time to go shop for the tools and so on. In the end, I bought some expanding foam myself and closed up a big hole in the bathroom wall. That seemed to solve the problem but only for a couple of weeks, then they were back. After having chased him countless times, he finally went through the entire room and closed off all entrances with some tinfoil tape. That worked for a couple of months but now they’re back! - You use metal scouring pads to fill the holes.



Second major issue: early December, I was having a day of when I heard a knock on my door. It was one of the other tenants, who told me the WiFi was down and asking if he could borrow my phone to send an important email for work. I don’t know the guy except for the occasional good morning when we happened to leave the same time in the morning. I agreed to lend him my phone, and he returned the favour by exposing himself! I told him to leave immediately and then texted my landlord about the incident.- nothing to do with your landlord really.


In the evening I spoke to my landlord, who said that the guy had stated it was an accident and also that he would be moving out soon. I asked my landlord for the guy’s full name as I wanted to report the incident. - to whom? Because if it's the police, surely you could just ask them to come to your home and point him out... My landlord didn’t know his name, but advised he would try to find out and text it to me. He then texted me the next day, advising me of his name and added : I have told him he had to leave, but I have to give him some time, so he will leave after the New Years holiday. Based on that info, I only reported the incident to the police and told them that no further action was needed as he would be gone soon. Well, guess who is still here - irrelevant, even if the police had been involved the LL is not obliged to evict :mad:

I have no rental contract, the only paperwork between me and my landlord is a handwritten confirmation of the 200 pounds cash I paid when I moved in.
Do I have a case?

A case for what? To move out; yes.

Daedala2019

HampshireH wrote: »

......yet you have stayed for years?

A case for what. Your LL will get a replacement if you leave. Sounds like you need the roof more than he needs £350 a month to be honest. Why would he agree to a rent increase and if its that bad why would you want to stay.

As explained, due to finances, I cannot afford to move. I pay 530, not 350 (I wish).