Argh! Advice Needed... Sorry bit long winded!

LucyLoo2_3

OK got a couple of questions, bit confused right now :eek: I'll start at the beginning! Myself and a friend currently share a 2 bed property, and have been here for 3 years since it was first built, initially we signed a 6 month agreement, since then have been on a month by month contract, we have recently received a letter from a solicitor stating the house is going to be repossessed due to the LL being in arrears on the mortgage, I contacted the LA imediately who after speaking to the LL assured us it was all sorted and was nothing to worry about, surely he would say that though? If he is in financial difficulty the last thing he needs is us moving out. IF the house is repossessed how much notice would we get? The Court hearing was set for the 17th March, how long would it take for us to find out?

In the mean time been considering the possibility of having to move and have looked at a couple of properties (my housemate has recently had a baby so a bigger house would be needed eventually) Most of the properties we have looked at are empty and the LA involved don't seem to want to wait for us to give notice (one actually suggested we just paid rent on 2 properties alongside for the notice period! obviously not practical with a new baby!) We are reluctant to give notice until we have found somewhere, isn't this normal? Which brings me on to my next question, our LA has told us that we have to give a full months notice from the date our rent is due i.e. the rent date is the 5th of the month, so if we were to hand our notice in tomorrow we would be liable to pay till the 5th May? Is this right? If we handed in our notice on say the 7th April, does that mean we can't move out until 5th June? My interpretation of 1 months notice would be just that 1 month, are we being fobbed off?

The current LA is trying to keep us, and we would be happy to stay with them but they do not have any suitable properties at the moment, am a little scared that they could be awkward if we decide to go elsewhere i.e. with the deposit... Which brings me onto the next one.....

What constitutes general wear and tear? This property was brand new when we moved in and now its far from it, had 3 years worth of use! Other properties I have let in the past have been a bit tatty from day one, but we have looked after them well, same as this one, the whole house was fitted with cream carpets when we moved in (not practical considering it was still a building site) after 2 years of hiring the Rug Doctor every couple of months, the landlord agreed to us fitting a laminate floor (at our expense) just because we were sick of the cleaning, but just downstairs! The carpet on the landing is all pulled and plucked, mostly from us girlies in high heels! Would we be expected to replace the carpet or would this be classed as wear and tear? Would definately need our deposit back, as we are going to have to borrow money for a deposit for a new place? Don't know whether I am getting wound up over nothing, but a bit scared of becoming homeless with a new baby in the equation!! Got a load more questions left but think I have started you off with enough!!

Sorry for rambling... But I feel better already :T

PasturesNew

LucyLoo2 wrote: »

... a full months notice from the date our rent is due ... 5th ...
if we were to hand our notice in tomorrow we would be liable to pay till the 5th May? Is this right?

Yes, but 4th May I believe.

LucyLoo2 wrote: »

If we handed in our notice on say the 7th April, does that mean we can't move out until 5th June?

Yes, but 4th June I believe.

LucyLoo2 wrote: »

My interpretation of 1 months notice would be just that 1 month,

Not with an AST

LucyLoo2_3

OK fair enough, was worried the LA was trying to delay us, not a problem for us, more it seems for the LL of properties we may want to rent! So would we be better to hand in our notice on the 5th and then start looking? Just seems a bit presumtious, when 'we' are in no hurry to move, unless of course the house has been repossessed!

PROFESSIONAL_LANDLORD

we have recently received a letter from a solicitor stating the house is going to be repossessed due to the LL being in arrears on the mortgage, I contacted the LA imediately who after speaking to the LL assured us it was all sorted and was nothing to worry about, surely he would say that though?

Maybe you should contact the solicitor first, try and find out if the property is still going to be repossessed, if the LA is not being honest with you, I would withhold rent in lieu of your deposit, {never thought I would give that advice to a tenant } you may never see your deposit if the property is repossessed.


I don't think the other questions are relevant at this time until you know where you stand with this.

tbs624

What you’ve been told about the Notice period running for a rent period is correct.

On the carpets, there isn’t a firm definition of what constitutes “fair wear and tear” other than, for example, a House of Lords statement about the "reasonable use of the premises by the tenant and the ordinary operation of natural forces (i.e. the passage of time)".

ARLA’s guidance on what should be taken into account includes:

· The original age, quality and condition of any item at commencement of the tenancy
· The average useful lifespan to value ratio (depreciation) of the item
· The reasonable expected usage of such an item
· The number and type of occupants in the property
· The length of the tenants’ occupancy

LLs aren’t entitled to charge tenants the full cost for having any part of a property, or its fixtures or fittings “put back to the condition it was at the start of the tenancy” (classed as betterment) and there is generally no requirement for tenants not to wear shoes indoors. I would have thought that unless there are holes ripped in the carpet, anyone letting to women would expect there to be some impact from heeled shoes on any floor covering.

Do you have a signed inventory from when you first moved in? If there isn’t one the LA/LL will struggle to justify deductions from your deposit. You may be worrying unnecessarily because if one of my properties was being repossessed I don’t think I’d be focusing too much on the state of the carpets. Good luck with sorting it out.

tbs624

PROFESSIONAL_LANDLORD wrote: »

if the LA is not being honest with you, I would withhold rent in lieu of your deposit, {never thought I would give that advice to a tenant } you may never see your deposit if the property is repossessed.

The OP says that she uses a Letting Agent so it may be that the LA has the deposit in their client account, well away from the financially troubled LL.

Any Tenant contemplating withholding their rent for the last month of their tenancy because of worries about depsoits needs to balance the temptation to do so with the fact that it puts the Tenant in breach of their contract and can lead to court action for recovery of unpaid rent, plus a referencing issue for future tenancies.

clutton_2

find out if the LA or LL holds the deposit. If you know which Lender your LL has his mortage with, write to them - they may not know you exist - and they need to know. If the LA will not tell you - you can find out for £3 on the Land Registry site.

LucyLoo2_3

Thanks, for your advice I rang the solicitors today who because of the DPA couldn't tell me anything other than to speak to the LL, so back to square one! The court date was set for the 17th March, would we have been informed yet? Does anyone know what our rights, as tenents would be if the house has been repossessed? How much notice would we get?

nixinix

Could you contact the court clerk? Hopefully they could tell you the outcome of the hearing but if not, they would at least be able to advise what happens next in the process...i.e. when you would find out. I would have thought it would happen quickly.... sounds like the sooner you can find somewhere else the better... Good Luck

barnaby-bear

LucyLoo2 wrote: »

Thanks, for your advice I rang the solicitors today who because of the DPA couldn't tell me anything other than to speak to the LL, so back to square one! The court date was set for the 17th March, would we have been informed yet? Does anyone know what our rights, as tenents would be if the house has been repossessed? How much notice would we get?

If the mortgage company didn't agree to tenants then legally they can repossess with no notice and the AST isn't worth the paper it's on - you need the mortgage co. to know you are there and agree to stay. The land registry will sell you the deeds for a few quid online - this will tell you the mortgage company - then phone them up and tell them you are there - write to them and plea baby etc... this isn't an eviction situation this is a you are a random person with no rights ever to be there if the mortgage co. didn't know it was let (if they did they would have contacted you so it's likely). Next stop shelter and CAB for proper advice. One of the rare situations to ignore notice and withold rent and just go, if the LL witheld the deposit you have recourse in small claims but if he is bankrupt/going broke unlikely....

clutton_2

contact the local authority homeless unit and tell them your circumstances - baby etc repossession of property etc - they will advise you what to do - and they may offer you emergency accommodation - it wont be the best quality thats for sure, but it may be a roof over your head.

i would also write to the court immediately and tell them that you are in the house and appeal the decision made on 17th March - even tho you do not know what that decision was - judges do have the authority to "stay" a decision (extend the time) if the think you have a good case - and if you did not know anything about it - that seems like a good case to me -