to think my landlady was an absolute cunt?

[TeenTwinsToddlerandTiaras]

Apols for the 'c' word but I need to rant and I can't call her that in RL.

We came back from living abroad in April and had to stay with relatives initially as we had sold our UK home before we went (we did not intend to come back).

DH was offered a job in another town so we had a couple of trips travelling up and down to find a house to rent. We found the perfect one, fully furnished as well (we did not have a stick of furniture!) and LL said she wanted a long term let and was so happy to find a family who would look after it! We had to pay a large deposit though but we hoped to stay there for a few years and save for furniture and start again. We also got the DCs into the school that was 5 mins walk away.

Four months in, lo and behold, we get served a section 21 as the LL had decided she wanted to sell and expected us to show round her potential purchasers which I refused to do! I believe she actually got a quicker sale as I kept the place immaculate. She invited us to repaint the bedrooms as she had'nt got round to it which we did as we expected to be there a while. The house was also pretty grubby when we moved in (stuff you don't notice on viewing like the oven being caked in grease, carpets & curtains filthy and window frames mouldy) and I spent hours scrubbing and having the carpets professionally cleaned.

She even had the fucking cheek to withhold some of the deposit as she accused us of stealing some of the 'ornate' pebbles in the garden (DCs has checked them in the pond), not as if she counted them though is it?

She knew we had moved from abroad with 4 DCs and needed to settle somewhere. AIBU to think she is as the title?

I really can't imagine doing that to someone, my blood is still boiling several weeks on. We are now stuck in a grotty house (all that was available) far away from the DCs school and don't even get me started on what we had to go through to raise the deposit on the new place as we did not get the deposit on cunty LLs place until 2 weeks later, the latest time possible!

Yanbu. It's one thing to sell the house 4 months in, not at all nice for you but circumstances change (maybe). But letting you decorate for free, clean for free then with-holding deposit? That's disgusting. She should have compensated you for the decorating/cleaning! Hope you get somewhere nice to stay soon. Private renting can really suck, you're at the mercy of the landlord and some are good but many (in my experience) are awful.

'Are landlords allowed to break a lease because they want to sell? I think this two motnhs notice doesn't apply to leases with a fixed term - you can give notice but the date of possession is after the end of the fixed term. We are landlords as we moved abroad, have a lease for a year with tenants. I understood we cannot break this lease, even if we sell.'

If they put a break clause in, then they can usually serve you notice after 4 months.

LL was disgusting. Not for selling, if her circs changed. But for allowing you to pay for her maintenance, and to do her job for her. And then to withold deposit. I don't know how she lives with herself.

It sounds like she got you in with a lie. Got you to do up her house and clean it ready for selling and then when you had made it all nice put it on the market.

Yes op I think she's vile if that's the case.

Hope things get better for you now. Horrible times.

YANBU - private renting in the UK is a total cunty experience. I really feel for you all.

Landlords need to bear in mind that what tenants are looking for is a HOME. Tenants aren't just a way of providing income/topping up your pension pot.

WAS YOUR DEPOSIT IN A TENANTS' DEPOSIT SCHEME? People have asked this question several times because it is important. If it was then you will have a copy of the registration details and it would be very hard for her to retain any of it because of alleged stolen pebbles. If it was not then you have redress under the law and should pursue this. Maybe start at the CAB as a first point of call, but if you just Google you will be able to get a lot of information about what to do.

I think it's all done and dusted - the OP has moved out, accepted the deposit deduction, and come on here to complain about what a cunt her LL was.

If the OP had come on here at the time and said "I don't think she should be keeping any of my deposit" we would have been able to give useful advice.

Thems the breaks renting i am afraid. But re the pebbles, did i miss something? If they were chucked in your garden pond and she was withholding deposit for that petty reason alone i would be donning wellies and retrieving them: and then billing her for your time/materials re paint job , then, going Small Claims Court if she still went with deposit deductions ... Small Claims concentrates LL's minds something wonderful ime ...

Tee your response seems a bit OTT. Rules are obviously different in Britain from NI. I rented for twenty years ((ffs all that rent!!) and not once in all that time did I get anything more than a 6 month lease. Sometimes I didn't want more, soemtimes I did but couldn't have one - but was told it would be okay to extend (and it generally was). But I was at the mercy of the LL to honour that. In some places the rental market was ferocious and I'd be in a queue of 3 or 4 people looking at the same house and hoping the others didn't want it (they usually did if I did). Times my lease had run out and I was looking for a new place - it was pretty hairy finding somewhere not a shithole getting all the paperwork sorted and arranging to move within the notice period. And I never had to do that with a family thank goodness.

If you've not had to either then count yourself amongst the very lucky.

Renting in NI is worse because the LL/agency is under no obligation to put the deposit in a scheme. Then when you move out they make up crap to keep the deposit knowing full well most people cant afford to go to Small Claims. I have had that happen more times than I can remember. I have never left a house in a bad condition.

Or you can be illegally evicted. Which we were. Luckily we have proof and will win our case.

Renting is truely shit. But not all LLs are crap. The worst ones are the ones who care too much about the house though. They dont seem to understand that while its their property its your home. And nipping round when the grass is a millimeter too long for their tastes isnt appropriate.

it's not a landlady's or landlord's fault if they genuinely need to sell. But a fulsome apology costs nothing. I've had landlords and landlady's needing to sell. I don't resent any of them because they were NICE about it, gave us time to move, and gave the deposit back. In return, we showed buyers round.

I think you're entitled to be hopping mad.

I do sympathise.

But I would have been immediately suspicious if the LL didn't back up their desire for a long-term let with a 12 or 24 month contract.

May be making this up, but I think even if the tenancy has concluded, if your deposit was not in a protection scheme (which it doesn't sound as if it was as you mention she witheld some of the deposit), that you can take her to court.

My BIL did this recently (don't think he did it until after the tenancy was over either - although I'm prepared to be corrected if it doesn't work like that), and got the full compensation of 3 x the deposit back.

You are right Anne, but the op wouldn't answer my question about it.

You can get longer term leases if you want one and the LL is willing. Our tenants have a 2yr lease and we cannot serve notice until the 18m break clause, as they wanted to be sure that they could actually settle in one place for a reasonable length of time. On the house we are renting, we actually asked for a 6m break clause as we want to be able to move out if our dream home to buy becomes available (some hope!). The LL wasn't that keen but agreed.

Yes that is true Timothy but it depends on being able to get near the landlords in the first place! When you begin a tenancy you usually deal only with the letting agency. We are settled and secure here because my LLs come in person fairly often and we have built up a trust and respect, they are happy to acquiesce to my requests because they value me as a tenant. When it's all done through agents there is no personalisation and it's more businesslike. Plus letting agents don't have any investment in long term tenancies, especially if the LL manages the property themselves.

Sheer cuntery, although in my experience its rare to find a LL who isn't one.