rent help

[Deleted User]

hi

i rented another property with my landlord in September which i paid a £400 deposit which as far as I can tell has not been protected.

I have asked by whatsapp for them to fix the door as the lock isn't really working so I have to use the back door to exit the building so the house is secure
the hot water in the bath doesn't work so I cant use it, I can use a shower but would like to use the bath.

the toilet is constantly running too so i have asked for that to be fixed

they have ignored me twice

what can i do here?

hazyjo

For a start, write. Pen and paper. Not WhatsApp!

Have you checked the schemes yourself to see if it's been protected?

You say 'them'. Is it managed by an agency or private LL?

G_M

* When you say 'another property' what do you mean? You now rent two properties????
* Which country are you in?
* Was the £400 a holding deposit or a security deposit?
* What date did you pay it? What date did your tenancy or licence begin?
* Have you checked with each deposit protection scheme (see below)?
* Are you a tenant or a lodger? Do you live /share with your landlord?

Stop using whatsapp! Assuming you are a tenant, use the (postal) address provided "for serving notices" on the landlord - this is the proper way to report issues. List the issues and request a date for them to be resolved.

See also

* Repairing Obligations: the law, common misconceptions, reporting/enforcing, retaliatory eviction & the new tenant protection (2015)

* Deposits: payment, protection and return

[Deleted User]

it is a private landlord

are there are specific templates i should be using, I've always just text/whatsapped previous landlords (including this one) and they have got stuff done.

* When you say 'another property' what do you mean? You now rent two properties????

- no I rented from them again in another area.
* Which country are you in?
England
Was the £400 a holding deposit or a security deposit?

a security deposit

* What date did you pay it? What date did your tenancy or licence begin?

i paid it on the 4th September my tenancy started on the 15th September
* Have you checked with each deposit protection scheme (see below)?

Yep already checked with them
* Are you a tenant or a lodger? Do you live /share with your landlord?
Nope live all on my own

G_M

emmiebelle28 wrote: »

it is a private landlord

are there are specific templates i should be using, I've always just text/whatsapped previous landlords (including this one) and they have got stuff done. No. Just a concise brief but factual letter.

* When you say 'another property' what do you mean? You now rent two properties????

- no I rented from them again in another area. So the first property is a red herring and totally irrelevant to the current tenancy.
* Which country are you in?
England OK
Was the £400 a holding deposit or a security deposit?

a security deposit OK

* What date did you pay it? What date did your tenancy or licence begin?

i paid it on the 4th September my tenancy started on the 15th September So the LL had till 3rd Oct to protect it.
* Have you checked with each deposit protection scheme (see below)?

Yep already checked with them OK
* Are you a tenant or a lodger? Do you live /share with your landlord?
Nope live all on my own

OK


Failure to protect the deposit means
a) the LL cannot serve a valid S21 so cannot evict you via this process (unless he first returns the deposit). Did he alsofail to give you EPC? Gas report? Gov leaflet?
b) you can apply for the 3 times penalty, either now or within the next 6 years.


If other LL's have been happy to respond to whatsapp, that's fine - for them. But they did not have o and nor does your current LL. Your tenancy agreement will have the LL's address on it (if it does not you need not pay rent) for a reason: the law requires the LL to give you this and assumes that if you write there, the LL receives it. Using whatsapp, the LL can claim, rightly or wrongly, that he never received it.

[Deleted User]

Should I mention the deposit in my letter?

yes he failed to give me all those, he got the boiler serviced as it didn't wok when i moved in so got the guy to repair and service it.

the mention of the previous property was just to identify that I had rented with him before and repairs had been done when necessary

if i apply for 3 times my deposit back now- can he evict me? i'm planning on being in this property for a year and then I will be moving elsewhere

thanks for your assistance on this! much appreciated

G_M

He "got the boiler serviced". But did he obtain, and give you a copy of, a gas safety report? That is different to a service.

He may have blown his chances of evicting you via S21 - there is some uncertainty in the law, but courts may refuse to accept a S21 even if a gas report is subsequently obtained: the law says it must be provided at the start of the tenancy and if not, S21 is invalid.
See Caridon Property Ltd v Shooltz, Central London County Court, 2 February 2018


https://landlordadvice.co.uk/caridon-property-ltd-v-monty-shooltz/

Claiming the penalty now is premature. You have 6 years. But hinting at it may encourage him to act on the repairs.... Not sure I'd put that in writing though.

This link will show you the many ways in which a S21 can be invalidated...:
S21 checklist (Is a S21 valid?)

[Deleted User]

great!

will have a look into this and get a letter sorted!

Marvel1

Me personally in regards to the deposit would wait, if the landlord tries to deduct for something that was there already etc then claim up to 3x for non protection.

[Deleted User]

he has barely set foot in this property

he bought it and did nothing to it, I moved into 4 weeks after they bought it.

I mean to be fair to him he bought a brand new fridge and washing machine for me.

i could get the bath repaired myself to be honest, its more the door situation.

the lock is hard to undone but if i don't lock it the yale lock could be quite easily pushed opened if done hard enough.

its also a big proportion glass and i know from when my parents were broken into it was from having glass on the front door and opening the yale lock so another reason for locking the other lock.

i mean if there was a fire in the house in the kitchen i would be screwed as it can take a couple of minutes to open the lock as its so stiff and old..... am i being cheeky wanting the door to be changed?

I mean i have put blinds in and curtains and have repaired some of the walls (not my doing) I just want an habitable place to live

seven-day-weekend

emmiebelle28 wrote: »

he has barely set foot in this property

he bought it and did nothing to it, I moved into 4 weeks after they bought it.

I mean to be fair to him he bought a brand new fridge and washing machine for me.

i could get the bath repaired myself to be honest, its more the door situation.

the lock is hard to undone but if i don't lock it the yale lock could be quite easily pushed opened if done hard enough.

its also a big proportion glass and i know from when my parents were broken into it was from having glass on the front door and opening the yale lock so another reason for locking the other lock.

i mean if there was a fire in the house in the kitchen i would be screwed as it can take a couple of minutes to open the lock as its so stiff and old..... am i being cheeky wanting the door to be changed?

I mean i have put blinds in and curtains and have repaired some of the walls (not my doing) I just want an habitable place to live

Stick some WD40 on it. Should do the trick!

I agree he should fix the other door.