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Help Needed - Possible Eviction
Comments
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Cellars are damp you should not be storing things in them unless you don't mind them getting damp. That is nothing to do with the landlord and everything to do with you storing things in damp places.
In your tenancy agreement does it say the amount of rent that is due and have you been paying that exact amount every month? Check the rental agreement that you signed in June to make sure that the rent is still £430 per month in advance.0 -
Write him a letter (yes a letter) and send it to the address on your tenancy agreement 'for serving notices'. Send him a copy by email for speed, but send the letter too.
"Dear Mr landlord,
Further to our recent communication, please find attached a rent statement. You will see from this that my arrears are currently £200."
(create a spreadsheet or similar showing
* each date rent due from start of tenancy
* amount due on each date
* each date rent actually paid
* amount paid
* amount of over-payment or arrears on each date rent was paid
The final entry will, presumably, show the £200 arrears)
"As discussed, I will clear these arrears on Thursday 5th Sept, and rent will thereafter be paid as per the tenancy agreement. I apologise for the inconveniance, but as discussed have had some recent personal issues.
Regarding your proposed visit on Tuesday, unfortunately this is not convenient."
(change the locks on Monday - see links below)
The fixed term of my contract with you expires on Xth December 2019. I will, of course, be in touch with you shortly before that date to discuss renewal, or return of the keys, as appropriate.
Yours sincerely,
John"
* change the locks
* create spreadsheet to prove your arrears are only £200.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LA580cRHXDY
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V1WP3o4jAFc
The landlord can only evict you following a S8 Notice ground 8, giving 2 weeks notice AND then going to court. The arrears must still be owed on the date of the court hearing.
Is there a 'Break Clause'in your tenancy agreement? Read it and check. If yes, you can be evicted using it via a S21Notice. Quote the Break Clause for us here in full.0 -
I will forward him my E-Mail.
However my landlord has invited himself around to the house on Tuesday.
Do I answer or not?
I want to pay him the £200.
However if he still wants us out, what's the point. I'd have to find money for another rented house.
The point is that you owe him the money. Whether he wants you out or not is academic, you still owe him the money. Paying it will also make it more difficult for him to get you out.
Have you asked him for a breakdown of where he gets his £980 from?
Stop panicking and read the guides already referenced before you do anything else.All shall be well, and all shall be well, and all manner of things shall be well.
Pedant alert - it's could have, not could of.0 -
Follow the advice of gm0
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When did your wife's mother fall ill/How long has the amount owing been unpaid?
Are you sure you have been paying the rent monthly in advance?
If the amount owing has been unpaid for some weeks/months, this is why your LL has had enough. It is understandable from this perspective.#
I am saying this so you can take on board you may need to take another perspective than 'the LL agreed to this initially but is now being unreasonable' - that is the way to resolve this. And you need to because the LL can evict you very easily at the end of your fixed period (although this will take some months in all likelihood).
Pay the £200 as soon as you possibly can. It has to come before food/other bills/anything else. I am speaking from experience, my income was halved for a while, I paid rent before anything else.
Look at your budget, go on the debtfreewannabe board if you need help organising your finances. There may be more room to manoeuvre than you think. Its important to do this as if the budget is strained now, how is it going to be when your wife has the second child?0 -
Thank you to G_M for the advice given, I have one question about changing locks.
I am not that type of person to change locks on someone else's house, I thought this was illegal as it is not my house and do not want to dwell further into an argument with the landlord if I do change locks.
My wives mother fell ill around 2.5 weeks ago and I booked the flight around 2 weeks ago.
I will definitely have the £200 by Thursday, I Will pay it to try and avoid an eviction. However he has made himself clear that he wants us out.0 -
Thank you to G_M for the advice given, I have one question about changing locks.
I am not that type of person to change locks on someone else's house, I thought this was illegal as it is not my house and do not want to dwell further into an argument with the landlord if I do change locks.
It is your home, and you have exclusive rights to it for the duration of the tenancy. It is the landlord's property, but they only have very limited rights to enter your home during your tenancy.
Turning up unannounced or when the tenant has indicated that a visit is inconvenient or unwelcome can be deemed 'harrassment'. Ditto your landlord's threatening texts.
You have the right to change the locks on your own home. You should change them back again when you surrender the property at the end of the tenancy.
One party cannot argue with themselves. Stop reading, stop reacting, stop responding to the threats. Trust G_M: prepare the spreadsheet, copy his template letter, read his excellent 'sticky'.
If in doubt, refer to post 15.
Declutterbug-in-progress.⭐️⭐️⭐️ ⭐️⭐️0 -
Thank you to G_M for the advice given, I have one question about changing locks.
I am not that type of person to change locks on someone else's house, I thought this was illegal as it is not my house and do not want to dwell further into an argument with the landlord if I do change locks.
My wives mother fell ill around 2.5 weeks ago and I booked the flight around 2 weeks ago.
I will definitely have the £200 by Thursday, I Will pay it to try and avoid an eviction. However he has made himself clear that he wants us out.
So two weeks ago you spent £200 on a flight and then on the last day of August roughly 2 weeks later you only paid half of the rent? How are you going to pay next month's rent if you can't afford an extra £200 until you get paid on Thursday. The rent for September is going to be £200 on Thurday out of your wages plus the normal £430 so £630 altogether in September.
In August you couldn't afford to pay £630 out of your wages so what is going to change in September so that you can afford the extra?0 -
In response to Cakeguts.
I get paid fortnightly,
I get paid around £720 a fortnight, so £200 will go to my LL on Thursday for the arrears.
If we don't leave on the 15th he will get the full £430 at the end of the month as agreed.
I have never really had an issue with rent before, was only because I had to pay an extortionate flight (due to Summer I guess) plus transfer to her Mothers Town which was a further £100.
I quote from my LL this "John family comes first, if she needs to go she needs to go, as long as you pay me the remaining once you have it I am fine with it, hope she gets better, talk later" (Sent via Text Message).
____________________________________
Response to Fire Fox.
The locks on the door are not basic locks so I Personally wouldn't change them myself.
If he comes round, then I will just not open the door. Leave the key in so he can't let himself in.
If he continues to harass then I suppose I can threaten him by calling the Police.
I have taken G_Ms advice and I am currently producing a spreadsheet.
Thanks!0 -
In response to Cakeguts.
I get paid fortnightly,
I get paid around £720 a fortnight, so £200 will go to my LL on Thursday for the arrears.
If we don't leave on the 15th he will get the full £430 at the end of the month as agreed.
I have never really had an issue with rent before, was only because I had to pay an extortionate flight (due to Summer I guess) plus transfer to her Mothers Town which was a further £100.
I quote from my LL this "John family comes first, if she needs to go she needs to go, as long as you pay me the remaining once you have it I am fine with it, hope she gets better, talk later" (Sent via Text Message).
____________________________________
Response to Fire Fox.
The locks on the door are not basic locks so I Personally wouldn't change them myself.
If he comes round, then I will just not open the door. Leave the key in so he can't let himself in.
If he continues to harass then I suppose I can threaten him by calling the Police.
I have taken G_Ms advice and I am currently producing a spreadsheet.
Thanks!
The main problem with all of this is that rent is the most important bill so really whatever comes up the rent money has got to be paid. What you have done is to borrow money from your landlord to pay for a flight. You have borrowed £200 interest free from your landlord for 2 weeks. I am not sure why you thought it was alright to do this?
It is possible that the landlord has taken advice about the rent arrears situation that you created. It sounds as if you didn't offer to pay him the arrears when you got paid until he contacted you about them. From what you have written I get the impression that you thought you could make it up at the end of September. So an interest free loan of £200 for a month? Why would you expect him to do this?
From his point of view you have now become a problem because he has had to chase you for rent. Any tenant that has to be chased for rent has the potential to be often in arrears.
Your landlord isn't in business to make you interest free loans.0
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