To not give my landlady effectively two months notice?

[HappyGoLuckyGirl]

Backstory - lived in the property 15 months. There have been issues with the property from the get go, mainly with the bathroom and little lean to (small extension) where the fridge is kept.

The landlord sacked the letting agency around 6 months into the agreement. Since then she has dealt directly with me.

The reason I am moving is because I can't cope with the state of the house anymore. The toilet is leaking again, the shower is still not working properly and cuts out leaving me with only cold water (has been like this for approximately 4 months), the basin gives off a horrifically strong sulpher smell when used (she has known about this for about 6 weeks). And the little extension flat roof is now leaking!

There have been so many problems with the bathroom and she just gets her handy man guy to botch repair them. There is a hole in my kitchen ceiling because the basin was leaking into the kitchen ceiling void that still has not been repaired. Anyway...

The 12 month tenancy ended and the landlord said she would draw up a new tenancy, but she failed to do so, so the tenancy is now periodic.

My rent is due on 28th of each month, so it serves that the notice period should be 27th - 28th of the following month.

I'm going to view another property tomorrow and all being well, I intend to put in an application. The property is vacant so I can move in before the end of the month if necessary.

I know the legal position of ending periodic tenancies is a month's notice given on the day the rent is due, however, that would mean 2 months before I could leave and two more months stuck with a defective bathroom.

AIBU to give a months notice and pro-rata the remaining days over the tenancy? I would obviously give vacant possession on or before the 28th. So if I give notice on Friday 2nd Nov I would give my landlord £80 to cover those extra 5 days, even though I would still be vacating on or before 28th.

I don't think she will be reasonable and accept this as she hasn't proved reasonable in the past (refusing to supervise her workmen so I had to take time off work) however, I really cannot live there any longer. I don't even know how I'm going to get my deposit back as it was held by the letting agent and I have no way of knowing if it was transferred to the landlady.

AIBU and WWYD?

If the deposit was transferred to the landlady she should have put it into a deposit scheme and you should have been notified which scheme etc.

The terms of the tenancy agreement would still apply to the rolled over tenancy so you may have to pay rent for the full notice period - so be prepared that you may have to take that one the chin so to speak.

Perhaps contact the previous letting agent and ask them what the position is regarding the deposit ie. are they still holding it. If they have passed it to her and not put it into a scheme she can be ordered to pay up to 3 times the amount of the deposit to you. If that is the case perhaps you could use that as a bargaining tool regarding your notice payment etc.

It can't have been pleasant living in those conditions. Make sure you take photos etc as evidence should you require it.

Give her a month's notice now, date it 28 November then post it to her. Then you can move out on 27 December.

Allthebest - how do you know that she could be penalised for not putting my deposit into a protection scheme? That could be very useful!

chicaguapa - I can't do that, as I don't have her address. It isn't in the tenancy agreement.

Thanks for reading that epic post, by the way!

OK.......... Legally you should give her a months notice from the NEXT rent date, yes. But.........

Legally she has to protect your deposit and give you the related information within 30 days.

Legally, she has to have her address on the tenancy agreement.

Spend £4 and look up the property on the Land Registry website. It should have her address on there (which will be useful for future correspondence). It will also tell you if there is an outstanding mortgage on the property, and who it's with.

If there is a mortgage on the property and the address of the owner is the address of the property, then guess what? She is letting the property out without consent to let..... uh oh!

So basically the plan of attack is do the above then call her up and remind her that

1. She has acted illegally not protecting your deposit, and you can very easily take her to court and claim up to 3 times the amount of the deposit,

and

2. (if applicable) You have checked the land registry database and you can see that she doesn't have the correct mortgage in place to rent out the property. You're pretty certain that her mortgage provider, who you know is (insert here), would be very interested to know this, as would the HMRC.

However, as you are a very generous and easy going person, you will be more than willing to turn a blind eye to all of this, as long as she signs a document agreeing to let you out of the lease on a date of your choice, and also refunds your deposit, in cash, and in FULL at the same time.

I presume you have a phone number for her. Can you not ring her and ask for the address to send your notice to quit to?

The rules are to give notice. It doesn't matter what she's doing wrongly - that's blackmail. By all means pursue it if she hasn't protected your deposit, but don't use it as a bargaining chip.

Give the correct notice.

You can send the notice to the letting agency as that will be the last contact address you have.

lougle get off your high horse....seriously!

the LL is renting the property out , it seems illegally, and the OP should stay there, risking her health because the LL won't carry out repairs? I don't think so.

PS....just to let you know, I'm a LL and think that this course of action is definitely the best one to go down!

I'd write a letter giving notice, and date it 28th, then ring her and explain the situation and tell her that as she forgot to give you her address, she either needs to call and collect the notice, or let you know her address for you to post it

Here is some information on the tenancy deposit protection scheme. It is an obligation, not a choice, and if the letting agency or landlord have not put your deposit in the scheme, you can indeed take her to court for 3x the amount. www.gov.uk/tenancy-deposit-protection/overview

If you've just paid rent then give notice of a month, it just means for the two days you've overrun are charged pro rata, not a whole extra month

grey....... legally that's how it works. A month's notice must be given on the next rent day. LL is under no obligation to accept a pro rata payment.

I'd be very surprised if the deposit isn't in a scheme; as this was originally managed by a letting agent. The agent should have removed themselves from the record but shouldn't have given the money to the landlord.

Okay, so I checked with the DPS and they do have a deposit matching my details, so it looks like the letting agency didn't transfer it across to her when she ended their management.

Whilst I was reading up on this, the website mentions an inventory of the property, but there isn't one. Does this mean she will be able to keep my deposit because of the damage to the property?

If I didn't give her full notice would she be able to keep my deposit to cover the extra month's notice? Or could I say that as her address isn't on the tenancy agreement, I could not send her notice?

I can't wait until I can buy

Sorry, maybe I worded that incorrectly..... NOT a month's notice "must be given on" the next rent day, but "is applicable from the next rent day"

Whilst I was reading up on this, the website mentions an inventory of the property, but there isn't one. Does this mean she will be able to keep my deposit because of the damage to the property?

Exactly. If she tried to dispute any of your deposit the DPS will reject it, as there is no inventory to prove the original condition of the property or the contents.

I'd still do a bit of investigating to make sure that she has the correct mortgage to legally rent out the property though.

No the opposite. If you haven't signed an inventory then she can't prove you've removed or damaged anything.

And, yes....the LL can use your deposit to cover any rent owed.

If you don't get anywhere with my other suggestion, another idea would be to suggest to the LL that if she lets you out of the contract early (so to speak), then you will be very accommodating re allowing viewings and keeping the place tidy for them (which legally you are under no obligation to do, no matter what it says in your lease!). This may be a sweetener for her, as no doubt she will want another tenant in ASAP.

Oooooops sorry OP, I read your comment re no inventory wrongly! Barbarianmum is correct!

I'm not on a high horse The rules are there for a reason. If the OP has issues with her landlord she needs to deal with them properly, not by blackmailing her into reducing the terms of her notice.

If tenants want a fairer deal, they have to play fairly. I say that as a (fortunately, LA) tenant.

That would be all well and good lougle if dealing with issues properly for the past 6 months had got me anywhere.

lougle......how do you suggest she "deals with them properly", in order to get the positive outcome that she deserves?

I would chance it. If you can, keep two months rent aside in case she pursues you. Take photos of all the problems before you leave as well!

Waggy problem is, if the OP just leaves, then the LL can keep her deposit for the months rent that's owing.

19lottie82 is totally correct and I too am a LL of multiple properties. It makes my teeth itch when LLs don't maintain a property.

Document all the issues via pictures and video. You will have a hard time getting out of this because Jan 1st is typically the hardest month to get new tenants.