Witholding my rent AIBU

How on earth did you pass the security and financial checks?

You're very irresponsible and a nightmare tenant.

Pay your rent.

The LL has every right, morally and legally, to evict you.

Well, that sounds like a plan. 🙄

I'm a retired homeless officer, the first rule in respect of finance/debt is that you pay essential debt first. So you keep the roof over your head, you pay utilities, food, and, if you have to get to work you set money aside for that. Credit cards, and debt not secured on a house are way down the list. You can be taken to court for those but you won't lose your home, it will just be a money judgement. I've known lenders take much reduced payments or even hold off adding interest because they know that if you don't have the money, you can't pay and they might end up with nothing if bankruptcy happens. So, they agree a small sum until you are back on your feet. If you have debts that you can't service ask the CAB for advice and if they, or another agency, can assist you in dealing with the debts.

Ironically, if OP had paid her rent on time the LL would not have started thinking about renting out the lounge 🤷‍♀️ We reap what we sow.

Don’t be so belligerent! The landlord will be left with a hefty asset once the mortgage is paid off.

tenants have an obligation to pay their rent. But landlords should have an obligation morally to be decent landlords who recognise it’s their tenants who are ultimately paying for their pensions. Removing communal space is a greedy money grabbing, could not care less about the people who rent from me thing to do.

whether or not contractually they have done anything wrong is another thing though.

im a property owner before you come at me. I don’t have skin in the game. But I don’t come from a property owning family, and I remember the hussle 15years ago of renting. It looks bleak still…

The time limit is from when the owner received the deposit, not when the tenancy started. Deposits have to be placed in one of the 3 government - approved schemes - TDS is one of those.
The National Residential Landlords ' Association says :
Section 21 rights where prescribed information is not given

If the deposit was not protected within 30 days of receipt, the landlord cannot serve a Section 21 notice until the deposit is returned.

In addition, if the deposit was protected but the prescribed information has not been served within the 30 days from the receipt of the deposit, then no Section 21 will be valid until this has been served. In the cases, the landlord can regain their Section 21 rights by serving the prescribed information. However, they will still be open to the financial penalty.

OP can you make a part payment of rent? Email apologising and promise to payday asap the arrears. Then look for somewhere else to live.

The court can order possession on ground 11 if the tenant has persistently paid their rent late. The tenant does not have to be in arrears on the day of the court hearing.

https://england.shelter.org.uk/professional_resources/legal/possession_and_eviction/possession_process_for_rented_property/rent_arrears_possession

It’s not entirely irrelevant. It does apply to mandatory ground 8, but not to discretionary ground 10.
I think it’s fairly unusual for eviction to be ordered on a discretionary ground, but it wouldn’t be in the legislation if was not possible.

This is correct.

@littledragon99

They are right. Did you read the bit underneath? They can serve a S21 after they have return the deposit. However, OP owes so much rent that will wipe that out. People are giving op false hope.

They don't but a shared house of 2 other long term tenants is different to someone new appearing every couple of weeks.
I wouldn't sign up for that.

Actually I did, and was vetted myself. A bit Shallow Grave, but the landlady thought it worked, and it did.

safety. You don't know which randomera are staying there. A long term tenant is a different kettle of fish. This would concern me more than losing the living space.

A tenant of a room in a shared house doesn’t get to vet the other occupants

Suggest Shelter webchat for specific advice: https://england.shelter.org.uk/get_help/webchat

You may be entitled to some local housing allowance if you’re struggling with rent.

It's your day job? What's your day job? Hopefully not housing law.

It does sound like you may have created a bit of a nightmare for your landlord by not paying on time. Did I read correctly that you were once a whole month late?

Having said that, have you a copy of the original advert, screen shots etc as that is surely what you signed up for?

I think what you've ended up with is very different for two reasons.

1. safety. You don't know which randomera are staying there. A long term tenant is a different kettle of fish. This would concern me more than losing the living space.

2 if the advert reverted to living space and that is no longer available then that is not what you paid for.

Not a lawyer though but my plan would be to get into the habit of paying on-time.
Then negotiate for your living space back.
In the meantime seek some legal help if you can access some.

https://england.shelter.org.uk/housing_advice/tenancy_deposits/what_to_do_about_an_unprotected_tenancy_deposit

It sounds like you are a nightmare tenant. You are unreliable , the LL is entitled to the rent........

The roof over your head should be a priority. You should have set up a DD .

Maybe get some debt management support so that you can organise yourself to pay your bills.

TBH I feel sorry for the LL having to deal with this, it is so unfair.

How do you remember to pay your other debts but not your rent?

No it isn’t, please do not give erroneous info, it’s bad enough without misleading her. The landlord has to give the full deposit back before she can serve a 21, and she can reduce it, by any money owed.

It depends what type of tenancy you have: joint (for the house) or sole (for your room) and if the latter, whether access to a shared living room is included in that.

Don’t withhold rent. Once you’re in 8 weeks rent arrears, the court has no discretion to order possession.

england.shelter.org.uk/housing_advice/repairs/withholding_rent_for_repairs

But if the deposit hasn’t been protected, a possession notice (section 21 notice) is invalid.

Other debts can’t possibly be more important than the one that keeps a roof over your head, especially when it includes all your other bills too.

Deliberately not paying rent and actively looking for ways to justify that is the behaviour of scummy, nightmare tenants. Why would you want to be one of those when you sound like you ideally want to stay beyond the initial six months?

Op , the landlord can serve a section 21, but a late protection of deposit means they need to give you the full deposit before they can serve it. However they can reduce this by the amount of late rent, and any damage you may have caused. As such, the landlord can serve you a section 21 without giving you the deposit as you owe it to them in rent.

they can’t do it for four weeks, but i assume you will,be late paying again, as this months rent will come out of your wage in 2 weeks, and then you’ve your debts. Now you can pay 2 months but you’re robbing Peter to pay Paul and it’s weeks till you are late again, can’t pay and she will serve.

id recommend emailing her and simply explaining you will pay in 2 weeks and look for somewhere else to live, and ask for a good reference. Then urgently find somewhere cheaper and leave.