landlord wants to do early inspection

nickismee

I think im gonna ask for a reduced rate... we have no access after today, £540 is a lot of money for us (we get housing benefit which has now stopped for that property) There is no way i want to give that amount of cash away for something we can't use.

wherediditallgo

nickismee wrote: »

he was in the property on Monday, started to decorate.. he saw that the carpets etc need prof cleaning

I still have the key's till tonight, he also has a spare set of keys.

to be honest, i just want this to be over.. keys given back to him.. but at the same time, i don't want to have to pay a full months rent if i havent got access to the property.

So much for him saying he wasn't going to decorate until the new year then. I wouldn't be surprised if he has someone in before the end of the month. :mad: You should have full access until the end of your rental. I know you want this over with, but you should really hold onto the keys until you've taken housing advice.

Agreement or no agreement, if I (a) didn't have full access to the property & full use of the property until the end of my rental, & (b) hadn't been given a chance to clean it myself before the rental ended when there was still a whole month of it left to run, he could whistle Dixie for that final month's rent, & I'd send him a letter confirming why he wasn't getting it. If he didn't have my address, I'd change my phone number & leave him to it. If he wouldn't agree to terminating the agreement early & reducing the final month's rent so as to get the property back early, he would get the rent or the keys, but no way would he get both.

WTF?_2

nickismee wrote: »

he was in the property on Monday, started to decorate.. he saw that the carpets etc need prof cleaning

I still have the key's till tonight, he also has a spare set of keys.

to be honest, i just want this to be over.. keys given back to him.. but at the same time, i don't want to have to pay a full months rent if i havent got access to the property.

Why on earth are you being such a pushover????????

You are paying the rent, you have the exclusive right of access to the place.

Doesn't matter whether or not you have moved on to a new place - if you are paying still paying rent on the old one it's for you to say what can or can't happen.

If the landlord not only has moved decorators in but is now trying to scam you for 'professional cleaning' (even though there are weeks still to run before your tenancy is up during which time you could clean it yourself) then you need to face him down right now.

Demand he removes the decorators at once. If he keeps trying to push you around, tell him you'll be speaking to a solictor with a mind to taking him to court. It wouldn't hurt to suggest you'll be reporting trespass/breaking and entry to the local police either.

The fact that he's in the police puts you in a stronger position here - he absolutely will not want to be tangled up in a possible legal wrangle as it will hurt his career prospects.

Whatever you do, don't allow yourself to be pushed around like a total wally. Do you have no self respect?????????

wherediditallgo

I wouldn't have put it quite as forcefully as !!!!!!?, but I must admit to also being rather at a loss as to why the OP has been so ready to hand over keys & isn't standing her ground with the landlord. If he wants to hold her to the rental agreement, that cuts both ways, in which case she gets full use of the property & he can't come in except for emergency works until the rental ends unless he's given the notice required & she or her OH can be there with him.

The landlord is doing what I suspected he'd do back in post #13 a week ago, yet here we are a week later with him in the property, decorating, getting total access to the property because he'll have all the keys as of tonight, getting a month's rent when the legal tenant won't be able to get in if they give him the keys & then swiping the deposit for a 'professional clean' when the legal tenant hasn't been allowed the remaining month of their tenancy to do it themselves. That clean won't be happening - if the place was in such a state as to need professional cleaners, why would you do decorating before the cleaners have been in, when the cleaners could get marks/scratches on the walls, doors etc? I know it must be wearing to get calls from the landlord, but I don't understand why he's getting away with so much.

nickismee

ummmm, thanks for that.. i think.

my main point what i was asking now was... if i hand they keys back in tonight, will i still have to pay next months rent (seriously can't afford it, as well as paying rent on the new place)

FBThree

Um - if you have an agreement which means you pay the rent up to the 9th Jan then the place is YOURS until the 9th Jan and he has no rights except as those wherediditallgo has said. So if he's agreeing you can terminate the tenancy early and you hand the keys back, you don't have to pay. If he starts playing silly on this, then I'd say you're taking legal advice and that your solicitor might need to contact him at work - can you have his superiors contact details!

wherediditallgo

nickismee wrote: »

ummmm, thanks for that.. i think.

my main point what i was asking now was... if i hand they keys back in tonight, will i still have to pay next months rent (seriously can't afford it, as well as paying rent on the new place)

If it was me, I'd have sorted this out well before the final rent was due, so that both he & I would be very clear about the keys, access & the final payment. Then we wouldn't have to be meeting for more than a couple of minutes today, if at all. I don't mean to be harsh, but going by the advice you've had so far & have still allowed the landlord to do, I think you'll end up giving him the keys and the rent - I can't see you asking for the rent reduction tonight & being strong enough to fight for your rights under the agreement (ie to hold onto the keys, use the property & insist on no unauthorised access etc) if he says no, especially if tonight's the first he's hearing about the rent reduction issue. I would be really pleased if I was proved wrong though, as this man sounds like a real bully.

I think tonight, the day the final rent is due, is too late to be mentioning the rent reduction unless you're really prepared to stand your ground. You should be telling him the terms of the agreement, & stating that, unless he agrees to you giving him a reduced rent, then you're exercising your rights under the agreement to stay there, & all decorating, cleaning etc has to cease immediately otherwise you'll be passing his details to your solicitor as well as his bosses. I'd go for at least a 50% reduction (I'm only saying that low because you're mentioning it to him so late in the day), seeing as you won't be able to get back in once you've given him the keys, he'll be keeping your deposit anyway & has already started decorating. And don't allow him to say he'll send you a refund - you should only hand over the reduced amount, & you want a receipt if you're paying cash (personally, I'd give him a cheque).

Is there any way you could get someone to go with you or instead of you, or do you really think you'll be able to stand up to him tonight if he starts arguing the toss? There's no shame in not feeling able to deal with this landlord face to face, & if that's the case the most you should do is send someone else with a cheque for half the money, the keys & a letter explaining why he's not getting more. But there's little point raising these issues with the landlord if you're not going to stand up for yourself if he won't play ball.

clutton_2

i can well see how the rest of us want nickismee to stand up to her landord, and i can well see hope she just wants to end all the stress - i also am dying for her to stand up to him - i hate bullies and wont allow them to face me down - but not everyone is that assertive. .....

its one thing to "know" what to say, and its another to stand up to a policeman and "say it"

i think we have to respect her decision and wish her well - she has been given a lot of advice re her rights, and now she knows her rights - but, only nikki can decide if she can face the stress of personal confrontation.

good luck

nickismee

well, not sure if i have done the right thing, but...

He called on monday and asked about the keys and inspection.. i told him he either has the keys and i pay no more rent, or we don't hand they keys in and i try to make rent.. he agreed to the later, oh great, lol.

he then let let slip that he has been in to the house that day, so i asked him not to enter the house again without my permission.. he sounded a bit taken back by it but agreed.

well, today we have a letter from the landlord about him saying he will enter the property when he wants to, and is going to start court procedings to reclaim unpaid rent (this month, although its been 5 days since i should have paid) and damages to the property.. so now if he is going to behave like this, why should i bother paying the rent!!!

so, we are now being taken to court and i know for sure we will lose and will have to pay back the court costs on top of the rent and damages.. im on income support at the mo (second stage of maternity leave) so im not sure what i will be paying back monthly to him.

im going to ask him for a list and breakdown of what damages and how much he thinks they will cost, im not going to let him rip us off.

WTF?_2

nickismee wrote: »

well, not sure if i have done the right thing, but...

He called on monday and asked about the keys and inspection.. i told him he either has the keys and i pay no more rent, or we don't hand they keys in and i try to make rent.. he agreed to the later, oh great, lol.

he then let let slip that he has been in to the house that day, so i asked him not to enter the house again without my permission.. he sounded a bit taken back by it but agreed.

well, today we have a letter from the landlord about him saying he will enter the property when he wants to, and is going to start court procedings to reclaim unpaid rent (this month, although its been 5 days since i should have paid) and damages to the property.. so now if he is going to behave like this, why should i bother paying the rent!!!

so, we are now being taken to court and i know for sure we will lose and will have to pay back the court costs on top of the rent and damages.. im on income support at the mo (second stage of maternity leave) so im not sure what i will be paying back monthly to him.

im going to ask him for a list and breakdown of what damages and how much he thinks they will cost, im not going to let him rip us off.

Don't be so stupid - he can't take you to court for rent paid 5 days late and he does not have the right to enter whenever he wants.

Pay the rent, then point out that you will file a trespass complaint every time he or one of his workmen enters the house without your permission during the tenancy.

Tell him he can make the final inspection at a time convenient to you, sometime close to the last day of your tenancy. If he demands 'professional cleaning' ask him to state in writing why he feels it is necessary. If he has a point and you agree to such cleaning, have it done yourself so you pay exactly the amount of the cleaning.

Sounds like you have let him walk all over you to date and he now feels that he can do whatever he wants. If you want to act like a doormat, prepare to be treated like one.