Does anyone know where I stand? Problems with renting (LONG)

megsykins

I know this isn't quite the correct place for this, I'm asking for some advice from any kind MSEs who can help, and as it's house related, I'm putting it here (mods - feel free to move it, it may be a 'student board' issue but I thought I might get more help here)

Bascially, I signed a contract in March for a house - me, my fiance and two other girls. All our names were on the contract but he said he only required one signature (mine). The contract was from Sept, however, we verbally agreed that me and my fiance could move in in August (2 weeks time). I sent mine and FI deposit (£180 each - first month's rent) and one of the other girls sent hers almost straight away. THe other girl sent hers at the beginning of June (about 3 months late) after much nagging from the rest of us.

I rang the landlord two weeks ago (5 / 7) to confirm when me and FI could move in. He said he wasn't sure as there was builders in and to ring in 2 weeks. Last week I was on holiday and returned on Saturday morning (16 / 7) to find a letter dated 13 / 7 saying "Your deposit has not been paid in full. Letting terms have not been met. I will return the deposit which has already been paid." I rang him immeadiately and was told that this was a standard letter as the second girl's cheque had never been received. He said sometimes people pay part-deposit and then changed their minds and he thought this is what we had done, even though I had spoken to him 8 days before and asked when we could move in. He claimed to have been trying to ring me during the week, although I received no missed calls or messages from him. He never asked for anyone else's contact details (which I thought strange at the time), he only had my mobile number because I had rang him in the past.

Although the landlord lets the houses, he also has a letting agent and on Saturday he was unsure as to if the house had been re-let. He said to ring back Monday morning. He told me this morning that the house has been re-let, leaving us homeless in 2 weeks (our current contract runs out on 6 / 8)

I have a copy of the contract, which states "before the end of the Period", one month's written notice is required, however, the Period is defined as 'Sept - June'.
There was no date by which the deposit must be paid - only '1 month in advance'.

Is there anything we can do? He is sending our deposit back, but that doesn't solve the fact we are soon to be homeless. He was recommended by the University, and I will be speaking to them tommorrow to see if there is anything they can do (and if not, if they will refuse him accreditation next year - he owns a lot of student houses)

chugalug

Hi, having read your post, there is a lot to think about. I'll just put my initial thoughts on your situation. It would be a good idea to get proper advice from your local CAB or housing aid centre ie Shelter. -

If your contract starts in Sept there is no obligation for the landlord to let you move in before that. Indeed, if he did and then became difficult you could be regarded as trespassers. If you signed the contract in March, there was plenty of time for him to change it if he knew you wanted to move in earlier. Perhaps something to think about?

You also need to get your contract looked over by someone who knows what they're doing (student adviser?) You say that only you signed the contract - this would mean that you alone are responsible for the tenancy as you cannot sign a contract for others. You need to check that you aren't the sole tenant. If this is a 4 way joint tenancy you would have all had to sign. If you are the tenant then you would be responsible for the deposit etc at the property.

As regards being homeless - have you had notice at your current property (Section 21)? Have you given notice? If it's just the end of the tenancy you don't have to move out. It may be that your current landlord would be willing to let you stay on a 'periodic' tenancy. This is where you don't sign a new agreement but stay on a month to month basis. Have you asked about this? If they are not willing to let you stay as a last resort you could just not move out. This is not something anyone would want to do but the bottom line is you have nowhere to go at the moment and your current landlord cannot remove you without a court order. Perhaps if you explained the situation they would be accommodating knowing that they would have to go to court to gain possession of the property. That costs time and money and the chances are you would have found somewhere else by the time the process had rolled on anyway. Try and see what happens.

Just my initial thoughts but do take independant advice on your situation as you probably won't want to upset your current landlord. HTH