Hi all,
I'm feeling frustrated and confused and would really appreciate some external views/advice (or just a virtual hug).
We have been living in a rented flat for the last year and decided to move because it was too small. The relationship with the landlord was always on the tense side, mainly because when we moved in he refused to do an inventory (I had to take pictures instead), then it was always hard to get him to do small repairs quickly and at the same time he was often snooping around and texting us to come and see the flat or one thing or the other. Just a big source of mental fatigue. When we said we would leave, he arranged visits almost every day, which we agreed to and helped him hoping that he would find new tenants.
As for us, we have already found a new flat, and there is a month overlap with the previous tenancy. We paid the landlord the last month in full, telling him that we would be happy to move earlier if he found new tenants that were willing to cover the difference.
I hope you're still following me :)
OK so the landlord found new tenants and they want to move in 2 weeks earlier, and I thought it was great news for everyone, but here's the thing: LL refuses to pay/return the money for those 2 weeks and has only offered a small amount which doesn't even make up for half of what it should be (I used a pro-rata calculator to figure out the daily rent and sent him back our numbers).
Considering everything we had already put up with, I politely but dryly refused, told him we weren't interested and that we would wait until the end of the tenancy to leave. This is bad for us because it means we're paying a month in both flats, but at least I don't feel like he is abusing his position and ripping us off.
Since I told him, he has been texting us about petty details. For example, he keeps enquiring about the end cleaning, although we already told him we would be hiring a professional agency and that he doesn't need to worry. He wants to come over for whatever reason (i.e., 'to measure something') and keeps asking about dates and small things I don't know why. Given the number of notifications was driving us crazy, we have asked him to only text us for urgent things, and leave all other communications via email.
I don't know if I am doing the right thing, or if there is anything else I could have done. Leaving aside the waste of money, this is being very draining and tiresome, and it adds up to the already stressful experience of moving out and into a new place.
So I don't know what my question is. AIBU? Am I overreacting? How do I stop this from ruining my day(s) and keep my mental health? Is there anything you would have done differently? Does anyone have advice in dealing with this type of situations?
Thanks for reading.