Rent increase and rogue landlord

oohiknow

Hi there,
I wonder if anyone can offer some advice on a current rental situation effecting a younger relative. The landlady has recently decided to increase the rent. She had given 2 months notice in a written letter (it’s not a formal section 13 document, just a typed letter).

My relative is currently out of work. She has also been in and out of hospital for health conditions brought on by a traumatic life event a few years back which the landlady knows about. She also has v.high blood pressure and has been warned she is at risk of  a heart attack.

I can only imagine the rental increase is out of spite. My relative is regularly harassed by the landlady who can be quite spiteful and do very petty things around the property. The LL's boyfriend regularly uses my relatives back gate as a cut through walking through her back garden and using an outside tap outside my relatives bathroom window. The boyfriend and a male friend have also previously accessed the property at the back, put a ladder outside my relatives bathroom window and used it to climb up and over the roof climbing past my relatives bedroom window to look at some security cameras on the adjoining property which is the LL's - no notice was given. Both the landlady, her boyfriend and sometimes even their friends will walk onto my relatives property unannounced and the LL once gave an ex owner a guided tour of the annexe- they just walked right in the back door. The rental increase appears to be a retaliation for my sister asking them politely if they'd mind not coming onto the property unannounced.
*UPDATE - a lock has been placed on the back gate - it didn't go down well*

My relative also highlighted blown double glazing to the LL both at front and back of property including a loose pane of glass. Front and back doors to the property have been battered over the years with the elements (the house is near the coast), the wooden (untreated) doors no longer fit the frames and are cracked. On a windy day with all windows doors shut the wind can be felt and heard blowing through the inside of the property. When a request was made to have these things repaired the LL became spiteful and laughed it off  saying she'd think about getting a quote. Months later when asked for an update the LL stated that she didn't like the quote she was given and that was that she wasn't talking about it anymore. A week later the LL replaced all of her own windows and her porch doors in her adjoining property. When my relative enquired about the work her reason for doing this was that she was just bored of the way they looked She also recently paid outright for a mobility converted VW transporter with wheelchair lift. So my point - money is not the issue. 

The reason my relative asked if these things could be repaired is that the property is extremely cold and obvs impacts on her health also in increased costs in oil of heating the property which she pays separately to the rent herself - but it literally goes right back outside. The annexe is not insulated which was the case when my relative moved in but the doors, windows etc have fallen into disrepair over the years and so these are new things.

The LL rents multiple barns and outhouses on the property. At the moment she has 5 or 6 businesses operating from the property with plans to
also rent out x6 more barns. She lives in a 5 bedroom stately home attached to my relatives annexe with a considerable amount of land - acres that she also rents out to local farmers to keep their livestock. I imagine something weird goes on with tax or CT at the property. the LL  claims disability allowance and does not work so gets full benefits, in recent years she also had her BF move in with her permanently.

My relative has been a tenant at the one bed annexe for a few years. She has always paid her rent on time and has been a good tenant. The one thing she is guilty of is asking for repairs to the property - which haven’t been carried in the years she’s lived there. The property is a self contained annexe attached to the larger stately property where the LL resides. My relative has sole use of the 1 bed with her own bathroom, kitchen etc. She pays for her own oil for gas and submits meter readings to the LL who then charges her electricity - she has never seen a bill or how these amounts are broken down.

Initially the contract was for 6 months with a verbal agreement thereafter. There is no rental review clause in the contract. No deposit was taken. CT and Water are included in the rent and she wouldn’t let my relative register separately for this or for electric. My relative had enquired with the post office and council about the postal address for her property as the landlady was keeping my relatives mail in her house (often for days with no access) and refused to let her have her own postbox. This is when things really started to get sour I think 2 years back and the LL became very defensive and spiteful. My relative eventually put a container outside her front door and politely asked the postman and LL if they could put her mail there which the Postie does...the LL however prefers to throw the mail on the floor or on the top of the box come rain or shine. On more than once occasion my relative has returned home to find her mail blowing around the yard or parcels soaked by rain. 

In the rental increase letter the LL also makes really unusual demands about my relative being responsible for regularly treating a boundary gate and fence with creosote and also a condition about keeping the area she parks her car weed-free. The parking space is rented out to a business and so my relative doesn't have sole access - she gets texts from the LL multiple times a week and moves her car on demand so forklift trucks can place pallets behind her car. She has also put in some very petty demands around weeding and mowing a very small patch of grass out front (the LL employs a gardener who used to mow this as part of the maintenance of the grounds but in retaliation for something was told to stop doing this earlier this year knowing my relative owns no mowers or gardening equipment and was on a low income on the time so not a priority and had never been an agreement when she moved in ). I know that tenants usually have responsibility for gardens and she does a good job of maintaining the back and planters etc...I just mentioned it as an example of the kind of LL we're dealing with, she seems to almost 'punish' my relative at times. 

The reason the landlady gives for the rental increase is a “considerable increase in utilities” over the years. My relative pays for her own oil and gives the landlady money separately from the rent for electricity. The utilities that she refers to I assume are water and council tax as these are included in the rent. I've been told that water rates decreased this year and as a sole user she's looking at £20 per month or around there. The LL is classed as disabled and has had her boyfriend move into her property in the last 2years. My relative is out of work and has been since the beginning of Covid due to her underlying health complications. I assume therefore that she is entitled - or would be- to a couple til tax discount ...and so at least from her side that cost would in theory have reduced as of late. 

There are so many things wrong here and this is just the surface. If someone could give me some advice it would really be appreciated. My relative is a good person and has had a run of really bad luck lately. She wants so badly to move out but is constricted by her current financial situation and the fact that she has 2 beloved pets that are a lifeline to her and not many rental properties will allow pets. 

Any advice on what she should do/how she should respond would really be appreciated. 

Slithery

oohiknow said:

Any advice on what she should do

Decline the rent increase and move ASAP. Plenty of rentals allow pets, has she looked on Openrent?

oohiknow

I just wanted to add that I really feel my relative is being taken advantage of because the landlady knows she is not in a financial situation to be able to move. Or practically with the 2 pets. It really angers me to see someone I love treated so badly. 

The rental increase she’s asked for is an extra £50 per month which is an extra £600 a year for my relative at a time she has had no choice but to claim universal credit during the lockdown and Covid and being out of work. 

Please help if you can! Any advice would be greatly appreciated. 

Yahoo_Mail

Rent goes up, tenants are (generally) expected to deal with their gardens/yards.

She may be a crap landlady but it doesn't sound like she's doing anything illegal by asking for tenants to maintain their yards/gardens, or asking for more money.

Either your friend pays up, moves out or stops paying rent and get evicted.

oohiknow

Slithery said:

oohiknow said:

Any advice on what she should do

Decline the rent increase and move ASAP. Plenty of rentals allow pets, has she looked on Openrent?

Thanks for the reply. She def needs to get out of there.

She’s looking but there don’t seem to be many properties that take on pets these days. Especially not in her budget. 

oohiknow

Yahoo_Mail said:

Rent goes up, tenants are (generally) expected to deal with their gardens/yards.

She may be a crap landlady but it doesn't sound like she's doing anything illegal by asking for tenants to maintain their yards/gardens, or asking for more money.

Either your friend pays up, moves out or stops paying rent and get evicted.

I don’t think the advice pay up,move out or get evicted is helpful. 

Like I said she’s on universal credit and out of work due to Covid and health complications. Loss of income means she can’t just pick up and move. 

The increase in rent seems like a retaliation really in an ongoing toxic situation. I guess my issue is the rent going up but the refusal to fix anything in the property. I’m not sure that living in a property without insulation and proper doors and windows is ok by any standard? And there must be something dodgy going on with the council tax/declaration of income at that property. 

Also I don’t know about you but I don’t tend to maintain public bits of land - like why should she go out and maintain an area of land that clearly doesn’t belong to her? Or weatherproof a boundary fence? That’s surely not a tenants responsibility. 

I guess I mentioned the weeding because it just sounded a bit mad to me in amongst whatever else is going on at that property. 

md258

She needs to move out as soon as she can- this landlady is never going to pay for repairs and by the sound of it is constantly passive aggressive. This isn't going to get better over time- if anything worse.

Could she move in with you or another family member? Or could you pay part of her rent to allow her to get a decent property while she gets back on her feet?

In the meantime, she should start keeping a log of all the disturbances. It could be useful if (once she has moved out), you want to take any action.

With the bills/post situation, it does sound like the landlady is keen to keep the property hidden from the authorities- I assume the rent is paid in cash? Once she's out, a tip-off to HMRC about potential tax avoidance may be suitable "revenge" to take.

For the state of the property, is it bad enough that the council could take enforcement action? This will almost certainly lead to either (illegal) eviction or the atmosphere becoming so toxic that she has to move out. Has she changed the locks?

Some gaffa tape over the cracks in the doors may reduce the draughts and make the place seem warmer.

macman

The occupier is legally responsible for the CT unless this is an HMO, or the LL lives in the same property. Tell your rellie to deduct the CT and start paying it herself. 
What is the status of her tenancy? Contractual or statutory periodic? Is the tenancy regularised (EPC, GSC, 'How To Rent' leaflet, deposit protected)?
She can decline the rent increase, at present evictions will take maybe a year or more, so she holds all the cards.

princeofpounds

Well, whatever her issues, living in this kind of situation is not going to be good for her mental health or possibly even her physical health, so she needs to be pro-active. By which I mean she has to take action to improve her rental situation one way or another. Her situation makes change more difficult but it does not make it impossible.

The advice to pay up, move out or get evicted may seem harsh, and it misses out lots of important information, but those are the three scenarios at the end of this. A few points:

- Regardless of the difficulty, she should start searching for alternative, better, accommodation that does accept pets. She is not working, despite her health problems I am sure she has some time she can allocate to this. She may get lucky and sort it all out herself.

- The demand to raise rent has no legal validity unless it is correctly issued as a Section 13 notice. If not, she does not need to comply, nor does she need to tell her landlady why she is not complying, except to say that she is paying all the rent she is legally obliged to do.

- Because she is now on a rolling tenancy, the landlord can also issue a Section 21 notice to terminate the tenancy - with appropriate notice, usually 2 monthly periods but longer under Covid. This could be used to either terminate the tenancy, or force her onto a new tenancy with higher rent. Similar to the Section 13, it must be correctly issued in every detail to be valid. However, if the notice expires she does not need to leave the property until a court orders it, and as a result of Covid that is going to be months and months - possibly the back half of next year. So she should not feel rushed or panicked even if the LL decides to go down this route.

- In terms of the disrepair, she has two main routes to tackle this. One is the tenant's right to repair. This is the fastest route but harder for someone with limited financial resources. The other is to engage the council's environmental health team for an inspection. Obviously she should start off by reporting to the LL in writing all the disrepair, to the address on her tenancy agreement (which I presume is next door).

https://england.shelter.org.uk/housing_advice/repairs/what_to_do_if_your_landlord_wont_do_repairs
https://england.shelter.org.uk/housing_advice/repairs/doing_the_repairs_if_your_landlord_wont

- Being evicted may not be a bad thing. With an eviction notice, no job etc. then she may then qualify for social housing and should apply through the council. They may also be able to help find different private accommodation for her, so she shouldn't just consult them at the last minute.

- She should change the locks on areas that are allocated to her tenancy - that includes the garden cut-through if it is part of her space. She has exclusive occupation of these areas. If her LL's relatives are on her property without permission then she can tell them to leave, and call the police if necessary. She has to be clear about what is her space however - for example the roof outside her bedroom window may not be. 

- The LL is almost certainly not registering the annexe for council tax - as a separate dwelling it should be separately registered. I would hold off on reporting this for now, as the occupant is actually the one liable, which would then mean having to sue the LL for 'council tax' taken but not paid. But I would strongly encourage reporting it once she has been out of the property for a few months. Wouldn't surprise me if she isn't declaring all her rental income to HMRC either.

- If the grass is hers, she is supposed to keep it - doesn't matter that the LL does all the other grass. However, the only thing that is relevant is the condition on exit. She should just ignore all the stuff about weeds - the LL can do nothing about it apart from complain.

- Anyway, the point of all this advice is that it will eventually force things to a conclusion. Either she moves on herself, or she improves her current living conditions as the LL folds, or she ends up with an eviction notice and more prospect of the council helping. It may be hard and even confrontational, but she needs to improve her situation and sitting around compliantly will not do it.

greatcrested

* rent. If she pays it, she has legally accepted the new rent. If she does not, she's legally fine as

a) no rent review in the tenancy agreement and b) no S13 Notice. See

Post 5: Rent increases: when & how can rent be increased?

* repairs. Read

Post 2: Repairing Obligations: the law, common misconceptions, reporting/enforcing, retaliatory eviction & the new tenant protection (2015) plus the Homes (Fitness for Human Habitation) Act 2018

* electricity. Write requesting copies of bills and don't pay till received

* CouncilTax. Contact council and ask to be billed direct.Once that'ssorted, deduct it from future rent

* garden etc- ignore. In any case a tenant has a duty to maintain the house & garden in its original condition less fair wear and tear, but any failure to do so gets sorted when the tenancy ends. As for painting the gate: no. That's fair wear and tear if it needs painting after X years. Down to the landlord.

* access into garden by boyfriend etc. Can she put a padlock or similar on the back gate? Beyond that not much she can do other than complain which appears futile.

* access into house. Easy. Change the locks!

* doors /windows /insulation etc. I suspect these are how it's always been. She took up the tenancy with the property like this? She cannot demand 'improvements'. I suppost could ask Environmental Health to carry out an assessment (Covid permitting) and they might or might not serve an 'improvement notice'on the LL

Longer term, I agree she should try to move. The LL is never going to change her spots and become helpful, friendly, or professional.

If vindictive, she could look into

* has the LL got a mortgage and if so does mortgage lender know of the rentals? Check title here.

* does LL pay tax on the rental income? Report here.

* are the rentals all on separate Council Tax? If not,contact council.

* did tenant pay a deposit?If so, was it registered within 30 days and did she receive the PI in 30 days?If not she can claim penalty

Post 3: Deposits: Payment, Protection and Return.

oohiknow

md258 said:

Could she move in with you or another family member? Or could you pay part of her rent to allow her to get a decent property while she gets back on her feet?

In the meantime, she should start keeping a log of all the disturbances. It could be useful if (once she has moved out), you want to take any action.

With the bills/post situation, it does sound like the landlady is keen to keep the property hidden from the authorities- I assume the rent is paid in cash? Once she's out, a tip-off to HMRC about potential tax avoidance may be suitable "revenge" to take.

For the state of the property, is it bad enough that the council could take enforcement action? This will almost certainly lead to either (illegal) eviction or the atmosphere becoming so toxic that she has to move out. Has she changed the locks?

Some gaffa tape over the cracks in the doors may reduce the draughts and make the place seem warmer.

Thank you for the advice  
There isn't anyone she can move in with at the moment due to the pet issue and the families own restrictions with renting/living in properties that aren't pet friendly! I've had people advise that she get rid of the pets but any pet owner would know that it's just not an option, they've gotten her through some rough times. I might have to cover the increased rental costs though if/when the rent does increase - although the prospect fills me with dread! 

Good advice on keeping a log! Will tell her to do this. 

Rent is transferred to one of the LL's accounts - as I understand is not her main account. So in that case I thought tax evasion was unlikely as the evidence is there that she's receiving rental incomes. 

The council have offered to get involved with regards to repairs after an enquiry about responsibility of the landlord - but rather than go down the hard route we might write her a softer letter highlighting that she doesn't accept the hike in rent and list the repairs that remain unaddressed. 

I'll get her to gaffa tape the doors! She actually had the wind howling through the property last night!