Family just moved in to new rented place....now owner is sellng already!!! Help!!

my_gorgeous_ellie-belle

Hi, i just wandered if someone could give me some advice here as to where i stand.

Basically we have just moved into a new rented property in September. When viewing the property we did ask all the questions and explained that we had a lovely place already it was just a bedroom short for our family but we were happy there so really emphasised the fact that we loved the new place but were only willing to move in if it were to be a long term home, about 5-8 years, but understandably renewing contracts in that time. The owner said she preffered that idea rather than someone who wanted to up and move after 6 months and said not to worry as she has absolutely no plans to sell for a very very long time. So all sounded fab and we moved in shortly after and got to decorating (with owners permission obviously). We have got to know all of the neighbours very well, i have actually known the next door neighbour for a few years anyway.

Now there have been some problems with the owner and rent dates, basically its her first time renting out so i gave her the benefit of the doubt and have assisted her in sorting out dates to get rent money in her account for her mortgage payments. She never realised about the transfer times between bank accounts so as the contract stated i paid rent on 28th of month for the first month. Now i have to pay 4-5 days earlier each month which is annoying for me but i have worked around it. Also she has turned up a few times unexpectedly and has told people we knew she was coming so should have been in, she never ever informed us once but yet she is fast to contact me by phone if it suits her.

Now she has told a couple of neighbour she is in the process of selling the property but please dont tell me yet as she will tell me herself soon. You may think my neighbour is wrong for telling me but she has basically warned me to start looking around and save money incase the landlord messes us around and we have to move quickly. My neighbour also questioned her on the fact that we have a contract but her reply was ''oh well, the contract ends in February''. Apparently she is in financial difficulty so needs to sell quickly :mad: . And she has said to the neighbour that she will give us first offer (?!?) - but without notice so we obviously havent had a chance of coming up with deposit money and we have fairly bad credit so it will be difficult getting a mortgage just yet.

Now im really angry as she was so quick to tell us she wanted us to be long term tennants and that she promised she had no intention of selling and now i feel in limbo....we left a great property that was just a bit too small but we could have coped for a year or so longer and had a secure home.

Does anyone know where we stand with this..... i feel really gutted and just want to cry. We have an 18month daughter and two dogs plus i get a small abount of housing benefit and other benefits so we know it is hard to find another nice rented property that will accomodate for all of this and allow us to do some kind of decoration (particullarly flooring as hygeine for baby and dogs). i really feel like crying!

Sorry for the long message!:o

carpetbelly

See out your contract, pay your rent on time and move on and learn by this. Never let her in unless she's given written notice. If she tries to drop by state that it's harressment and you'll be well within your right to call the police if she carries on doing so. It's your home, she may own it but she gave up all rights when you signed your contract.

Is your desposit in a protected scheme? Did she give you details? This is something to be aware of if she's in financial difficulties will she try to keep this? Did you sign an inventory on move in? Did you take photos? Make sure you take photos when you leave.

pinkshoes

Christmas isn't an easy time to sell, so you should be able to stay at least until the end of your contract. The market's very unstable at the moment, and with lenders being quite strict with who they lend money to, there's less people out there hoping to buy now, so you might be able to stay longer.

I'd start looking for somewhere else to stay immediately, and read your contract and find out exactly what you have to do to hand in your notice at the end of the 6 months (otherwise I think it goes onto a rolling contract).

There's not alot you can do if she wants to sell, and although the buyer might want to rent it out, there's no guarentee. I'm afraid this is just one of the disadvantages of renting

my_gorgeous_ellie-belle

Im not sure if its in a scheme - i thought all deposits paid after april 07 or whenenver it was were protected if there was proof of payment (?!?). We did sign an inventory so thats ok, however she stated over and over that we could make it our home and even came by (asking first) to check out the new flooring we had laid (which cost us a fortune) and loved it and said she was glad it was all done so perfectly. Basically her and her husband and family were all so friendly and were recommended as lovely people so we thought they were genuine. She has always been very friendly to our faces but just seeemed to be going through a few hiccups with her being a first time landlord.

Your right though - its a mistake that we are going to have to learn from. Its really making me stressed as the fact she has not officially told us yet we really are in limbo - do i start looking for a new place now, or wait till im told officially so that i know its deffinately happening. Do i have any right to remove all of the wooden flooring and tell her to collect to old carpet which she asked us to give to her sister who lives around the corner? The carpet was very old and stained with dog and cat wee (not our dogs). I will be really gutted if i have to leave it as it cost us so much and could be reused.

my_gorgeous_ellie-belle

Would she have any right to sell and kick us out before the end of the contract - i thought that was illegal or am i wrong?

carpetbelly

From what I understand, you've signed a contract therefore you can stay there for the length of the contract unless you break it or come to an arrangement with the owner.

I'd be tempted to contact her and say you've heard this and see if you can sit down and talk about it. And ask about your deposit. I mean, I couldnt tell you about your floor so not going to make assumptions and give you false hope. But if you've improved it that much and she wants a quick sale why not see if she'll reduce the rent in return for you showing peolpe round etc so showing you're being nice. If she does manage to sell quickly get her to agree to full deposit return and help with the bond on a new property. She cannot have her cake and eat it to if she's signed a contract with you.

Debt_Free_Chick

my_gorgeous_ellie-belle wrote: »

Would she have any right to sell and kick us out before the end of the contract - i thought that was illegal or am i wrong?

No she can't. But you need to be aware that you have no automatic right to stay beyond the fixed term stated in the contract (6 months? Please check).

However, if she wants you out on the day (after) the contract expires, she must give you two months' notice. She can do nothing, then issue you with a notice in March telling you she is repossessing it in May. So start looking.

Im not sure if its in a scheme - i thought all deposits paid after april 07 or whenenver it was were protected if there was proof of payment (?!?).

No - she might not have protected it. Even if she has, she should have given you full details of the protection scheme within 14 days of you paying the deposit.

You can play this nicely, by pointing it out to her. Or you can get tough and take action against her. I suggest the nicely approach, first off.

We did sign an inventory so thats ok, however she stated over and over that we could make it our home and even came by (asking first) to check out the new flooring we had laid (which cost us a fortune) and loved it and said she was glad it was all done so perfectly.

Well, I do wonder why you've sunk money into improving someone else's property .... but it's done now. You won't get anything back for the cost as you simply chose to do it. Of course she would be nice about it :rolleyes:

Did you get her agreement in writing? If not, she might try and claim the cost of undoing what you've done as you have no evidence that she gave permission :eek:

Your right though - its a mistake that we are going to have to learn from. Its really making me stressed as the fact she has not officially told us yet we really are in limbo - do i start looking for a new place now, or wait till im told officially so that i know its deffinately happening.

Ask her straight up about selling. Be nice, say you know how some peple talk, but someone asked you when you would be moving out as they thought the property was on the market. See what she says - and make sure you are looking her in the eye at the time. Don't do it over the phone.

She need only give you 2 months notice so she could lie but then still give you notice in March.

Otherwise, if you are that uncomfortable about her, start looking anyway. This all boils down to whether or not you trust her.

Do i have any right to remove all of the wooden flooring and tell her to collect to old carpet which she asked us to give to her sister who lives around the corner? The carpet was very old and stained with dog and cat wee (not our dogs). I will be really gutted if i have to leave it as it cost us so much and could be reused.

In the absence of any other agreement, you have to leave the place in the state you found it (as near as, but reasonable wear & tear is allowable).

Your difficulty here is proving that she agreed to what you did.

PasturesNew

Notice in the post above, she HAS to give you two PROPER months' notice even though you have a 6 month agreement. If she's a DAY late in this, it would mean you'd end up with three months' notice.

As she clearly doesn't know what she is doing, keep coming here for advice as things occur. Make a note of any dates that things happen etc and check here to see if she's doing things legally.

In the meantime, start looking for somewhere else. I don't believe her house WILL sell... and not as quickly as she wants. But if she's in trouble she could have it repossessed. So one question is whether the mortgage company know YOU are in there (and have rights).

Oh ... and if she's being mean, then stop paying the rent early. Get it to her on time. Her problem. If she wants to be selfish, that can work both ways.

Woodsy

When people start coming round to view...do what we did...paint lots of mouse holes on the skirting boards and leave buckets of water everywhere so it looks like theres lots of leaks!
I also made sure one time I was still dozing in bed when some people came round....they left in a hurry! prob due to my hungover face :-)

Hope it all works out for you.

carolt

Poor you - sounds really awful situation. I would check first with her - it's always possible whoever told you she planned to sell has the wrong info.

Learn from this to NEVER EVER spend your own money doing up a place - you will gain nothing from it, and it will just make it easier for a landlord to sell it out from under you. A lick of paint to suit your taste? Sure - it's cheap. But new flooring? No way. A few years ago, we got turfed out of a property at very short notice, as the landlady's parents were ill and she wanted to move them into our place (just round the corner from her). Like you, we'd been told we could be there for years, just redecorated (just paint though) - absolutely gutted. The lying scum estate agent, knowing we were desperate to find somewhere v quick to either rent or buy, hard as we live in a village, tried to get us to rent a dump of a house on the grounds the landlady was v old, in a home, going to kick the bucket any minute etc and we could then buy it. We decided not to rent it. Of course, now, about 4 years later, that property has never been sold and I assume the landlady is still hale and hearty. But the only way one could have lived there is by completely redecorating, new kitchen, flooring etc as it was in such a state. So we would have paid for it twice - once as tenants, and once again as potential buyers, having increased the value of her house at our expense!

If it does turn out your information is correct then your landlady is lying, thieving scum too, as she must have known that she had financial difficulties all of 2 months ago when she rented it to you under false pretences, and allowed you to redecorate.

I'd find somewhere else pronto, then withhold the last month/two months' rent as appropriate to cover deposit and remove your flooring when you go - check if you still have the receipt. As she still has the carpet originally there, she's lost nothing.

Also, don't let her through the door without prior agreement from you - anything else is illegal. Likewise, any viewings to sell the property have to be done with agreement from you - she cannot just fix up any time to suit herself or an estate agent. I'd make sure you're there for any viewings and be sure to point out problems with the house, that it's your lovely flooring and it's going with you, that you are a sitting tenant and not leaving till x date etc.

Good luck - hope you find somewhere much nicer without scummy landlord.

dolce_vita

Woodsy wrote: »

When people start coming round to view...do what we did...paint lots of mouse holes on the skirting boards and leave buckets of water everywhere so it looks like theres lots of leaks!
I also made sure one time I was still dozing in bed when some people came round....they left in a hurry! prob due to my hungover face :-)

Hope it all works out for you.

I have suggested this sort of thing many times on here when asked similar questions about landlords selling while tenants were in situ.

It not only gives you breathing space but also lowers the price of the property sould you think about buying it.

best wishes