Landlord vs Tenant - advice needed

[Warrior1952]

Hi all. After some advice. I'll try and compress this as much as possible. Our landlord has been a nightmare. He left the property in a mess the day we moved in, left repairs untouched, refused to remove his belongs from the house (two tall cupboards worth, one in and one out), been aggressive over text, refused to speak to me over the phone and the final straw was when we found out that he hadn't paid the gas and electric bill since November then put my name against the £1,000 bill whilst we were in the middle of applying for a mortgage. We have had enough and have decided to move in with friends until the completion date comes through for the property we are buying, however, I feel as though he is going to walk away from this without a care in the world. Is there anything I can do?

Didn't you have a contract? Is your deposit in a scheme?

Why would the landlord be paying your gas & electric? If that's written in your contract then it will be easy enough to move the debt back over to him

Also make sure you give proper notice as per your tenancy agreement, otherwise he could rightly sue you for rent owed

I assume you have an Assured Shorthold Tenancy? When did it start and for how long is it? What is your earliest you can get out of it? Usually it would be give 4wks notice as the initial period comes to an end. Also

1 Condition /belongings. You should have had an inventory at the start of the tenancy with a schedule of condition which should have been signed by both parties and a copy returned to landlord. If not, did you keep photographic evidence at least?

1. Gas/electric - does your contract state that your are responsible and if so, did you take meter readings and contact the suppliers when you moved in?
2. What sort of repairs? The landlord is obliged to ensure property is safe. He has to show you an EPC which must be Category D or above and also a valid Gas Certificate.

This is very odd. I feel like this is the Daily Mail fishing. However... Let's assume not.

1. Your landlord is entitled to leave belongings in the property. That's generally known as part furnished. If you don't like it you can request they move it but its not mandatory.

1. Not fixed repairs. Not on. They should fix things that aren't working or unsafe.

1. Refuses to speak over phone. That's not uncommon. Given the litigious nature of the tenant landlord relationship these days a lot of landlords are asking tenants to communicate in writing except in emergencies. I always communicate over text with my tenants and its never a problem.

1. He hasn't paid the bills? Unless you're on a student type all bills included rental, and you'd know about that, you are responsible for paying your own bills! You're also responsible for. Notifying the energy companies which it sounds like you didn't.

1. You're moving out. Did you sign a contract? If so, then you should abide to the terms of that agreement and give them the necessary notice.

1. He left the place in a mess. Again not OK. I assume you took photos and logged in the inventory?

To be brutally honest. It sounds like you havent bothered to check what your legal rights or obligations are at all. Have you received a gas safety cert, an epc, a right to rent guide and a notification your deposit is protected? All these are important and if not, should tip you off the landlord is dodgy right at the start.

If however they have done all these things, and you breach your contract as you state by leaving, your landlord will be entitled to sue you for the remainder of the rent.

It depends really on when you moved in and what was expected of you on the bills.

Did you move in at November and you were expected to pay the bills? Then yabu.

Or did you move in a few months ago, and he put an old bill against your name? Then yanbu.

We need more information. This is too vague.