unreasonable landlord

shar64

my daughter and her partner rent and their landlord has sent a letter setting out what I think are unreasonable demands, they are scared to say anything as think he may chuck them out if they do so am asking for thoughts on following

he says garage is only for car and not to keep gardening tools or lawnmower in, he says they have to get rid of pots, barbecue and garden furniture and that they have too many ornaments, books etc indoors and have to reduce them by June, this is a 94 year old man and sounds like an idiot but what can they do? by the way they rent a semi detached bungalow so anything in garden does not cause any danger to anyone else, also said they have to move bookshelves out as they cover a wall but not to use front door for removals!!

user1977

They can ignore him.

TroubledTarts

I wonder if this elderly gentleman is a little too old to be dealing with being a Landlord. Jave any of his children or other people been involved in the tenancy of the property or just him?

I also wonder if he is up to code so to speak with electrical checks, yearly gas services and certificates? You should check this all out.

I also doubt if he is ready for the changes 1st May. Have your daughter and partner both received the new renters rights act information from the landlord?

Could be a tricky situation

_Penny_Dreadful

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/6665220/unreasonable-landlord

Sometimes the best course of action is to do nothing.

Assumimg the rental property is in England then in less than 2 weeks the section 21 can no longer be used so that Sword of Damocles will disappear. Unless trades people have complained that they can’t get access to carry out maintenance work due to clutter the most I’d do is file the letter away.

Grumpy_chap

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/6665220/unreasonable-landlord

How does the LL know what is stored in the garage or how many books they have?

I assume the number of books is not to such an extent as to be a candidate property for the next episode of Hoarders Nextdoor.

The Ts are entitled to quiet enjoyment. Have they changed the locks? Keep access to rear garden and garage secure / bolted.

Out of interest, is the bungalow the former home of the LL? Is that influencing the comments?

No need to respond to the LL. Could move some minor stuff about if it will help to show willing. It might be considerate if the LL has reducing mental capacity and unaware of the real situation with having let the property and actually think the Ts are guests in his home.

Another 'out of interest' - do the Ts know what the plan is when the LL is no longer around to continue in role?

GrubbyGirl_2

I'd be concerned as to how he knows what they have in the garage and what books they have. I'd be changing both the lock on the garage and the house immediately then simply ignore his letter

la531983

I would agree its an elderly landlord who likely isn't "with it" anymore, and he can safely be ignored.

silvercar

He can certainly be ignored in the short term.

In the long term, either he will sell up or whoever eventually inherits the property will decide to sell up or continue to rent. Their decision may be made on how they view you as a tenant…

elsien

It’s a bit of a jump to say he’s not with it anymore / losing capacityjust because he’s being unreasonable. There are many younger landlords who also make unreasonable request and think they can just stroll into a property whenever they feel like it. There’s been one or two on here.

Just check that your daughter knows her legal rights and upholds them. Because the landlord can’t just chuck her out as you put it. They have to follow due process.

penners324

It'd take the landlord 6 months + to evict.

Tell them to ignore him. If he persists they write back saying saying he's impinging on their right of quiet enjoyment and any further requests will be deemed harassment and the police may be involved

la531983

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81972910#Comment_81972910

no judge in the land will agree to an eviction based on "they have too many books".

Again, this sounds like dementia or he is just an idiot. Or both.