Wise mnetters please help with my landlord issues..

[StrawberrytallCAKE]

Thank you in advance for reading this monster post. We started renting a beautiful farmhouse in the country in December on a 6 month contract followed by a 3 month 'get out' contract period.

Since we have moved in the landlord has 'popped round' on numerous occasions, if I don't answer the door he will ring the doorbell more than once. Most of the time he does this without notice but sometimes he will send my husband a text message to let him know he would be popping round the next day. He text my husband last week to say he would be coming round to garden the next day and as it was the first sunny day we'd had in ages I wanted to spend it outside with dd and we asked if he could come another day. He called my husband and told him he would be there on Thursday morning and for every Thursday morning going forward. I am quite a private person and really don't appreciate rings of the doorbell or someone inviting themselves in when I am in a towel.

Another issue we had is a faulty gas appliance which was found to be 20 times over the legal limit by national grid. The landlord was on holiday at the time so we didn't disturb him but when sheep appeared in the field we thought we were also renting (according to the letting agent she has no recollection of telling me this) we called him. He came round when he got back and accused my husband of instigating the gas leak himself and trying to blow the house up!? (with me and dd inside??).

We also spoke to the letting agent regarding bills and were told they would be on average what we were paying at our old house which was around £90 per month. We were quite surprised that our monthly gas/electric comes to £500 per month. There are other issues regarding mould on the ceiling and a constant damp and musty smell in the house but I have listed the biggest issues.

We decided this house and landlord wasn't for us, I am also pregnant and although just into my second trimester I have a risk of going into labour early. My husband is away a lot and I want to move closer to my family and the hospital. We have found a house and wrote to the landlord to request he shorten the 3 month period to a 2 month period due to my pregnancy circumstances. He has refused this. We need out in two months or we will lose the house we have found. The reason we went to him first with our personal circumstances is that we wanted to leave on reasonably good terms but I can see this might not happen now.

Do we have grounds to exit our contract? Practically what do I need to do next? Will he be able to withold our deposit?

I am quite stressed about all of this so really really appreciate any help offered.

[suburbandweller]

Short answer: no, you don't have grounds to exit your contract early without giving the landlord a chance to remedy the issues you have raised, and no, the landlord isn't able to withhold your deposit arbitrarily. You will hopefully have signed an inventory indicating the state of repair of the property when you moved in, and nothing can be withheld from your deposit other than sums required to put the property back into that state if required. Even then, the LL can't withhold part of the deposit without your agreement - it should be held in a recognised scheme and therefore protected.

The issues you mention are all separate and should be capable of being dealt with easily:

1. LL popping around - speak to the agent and remind them of your right to quiet enjoyment of the property. They should be prepared to tell the LL not to pop over uninvited/without reasonable notice and grounds. If you don't want him doing the garden tell them you will look after it yourselves - it's presumably in your lease that you will do so anyway?
   

1. Faulty gas appliance - the LL should have provided you with a gas safety certificate when you moved in. If he didn't, he has nothing to prove that the appliance was ever safe. He certainly can't withhold your deposit for this without proof you caused the problem.
   

1. Bills - have you spoken to the gas/electricity companies? Are you on a meter? These sounds extremely high but this could be caused by the faulty appliance at least in part?
   

1. What to do now: the LL is under no obligation to shorten your notice period, but if another tenant can be found to take on the lease you should be able to leave early. Is it being re-advertised? Otherwise if you can afford it your other option is to simply pay rent for two properties for a month, although I realise this might not be viable for you.
   

HTH

[StrawberrytallCAKE]

Thanks suburb we have spoken to the landlord and the letting agent about him popping round and it hasn't been remedied, seems to have become worse.

I was under the impression that he was breaching his contract as we are not being allowed 'quiet enjoyment' of the property. This is only what we have been told by other letting agents encouraging us to move into their properties.

It was agreed that the rent covers the gardening but we were not told the gardener would be the landlord who insists on ringing the bell and coming in every time he comes to do the gardening.

[suburbandweller]

I see what you mean, I would be pretty annoyed about that too. The LL isn't entitled to come into the house whenever he feels like it (I assume he can access the garden without coming into the house).

Have you framed your complaint to the LL/agent in those terms? I.e. LL continually breaching your contractual right to peaceful enjoyment of the property? If not you could try writing and saying that unless you receive written confirmation within 7 days that he will stop turning up arbitrarily and/or entering the house when he comes to do the garden, you will be considering your legal options.

The problem with breach of contract is that it doesn't necessarily mean you can escape the contract as opposed to claiming damages - hopefully there are some MNetter LL/tenant lawyers out there who know what the position would be in your case.

[holidaysarenice]

One poster talked about ur deposit being held in a tenancy deposit scheme, that depends on where u live. Not all have to be.

With regards to the high bills and what the agent said, not a case to get out of the contract. The agent can say what he likes really, it wud be diff if the ll had said this.

For the field, if its not in the contract its not urs and its not a reason to leave.

The gas appliance maybe, was it fixed? If it broke, u have the national grid ppls reading and it was fixed its not a reason. If he refused and u have an unsafe reading then yes. However I think u shud have tried agent or ll before fixing. If its now fixed its not a ground.

The ll can be the gardener if he wants. I am for my tenant but I don't go in. When its hedges I do knock and ask for the clippers to be plugged in, no other way. I wud ignore the door, refuse entry unless its a viable reason eg water for windows or a plug. Is he comin in to look around? Cos that's an inspection and shouldn't be weekly.

Your personal circumstances won't make a difference to exiting.