Sorry for the long story, but I don’t want to drip feed. I had a very bad experience with a landlord last year. Moved into a flat and was told the landlord was selling within the same month that the tenancy started. They claimed this was a “sudden decision”, but coincidentally they had just redecorated the whole flat, put down new flooring and installed a new boiler before I moved in. I’m sceptical of how sudden this decision was and suspect they just wanted someone to pay rent and council tax and babysit the property while the property was on the market. Unfortunately the new progressive Scottish housing law means that there’s no minimum term and in the first 6 months a landlord only needs to give 28 days notice to get a tenant out.
After a couple of months of uncertainty and estate agents turning up without notifying me first, I said enough and found a new flat. A couple of weeks later I was asked for my bank details to give me my deposit back. It hadn’t been protected, which is illegal. I applied to the housing tribunal as this is a very clear breach. After a very unpleasant meeting where the landlord and her daughter behaved pretty appallingly towards me, I was awarded just shy of £1000 due to her failure to put my deposit in a scheme.
That was 6 months ago. The payment order was issued. It was ignored. The landlord had the chance to appeal if she disagreed with the decision and chose not to. I’ve tried writing letters asking for the sum to be paid only for these to be ignored too. It looks like i’m going to have to pursue the debt though the sheriff court. I will do it, but AIBU to wish they would just pay? It’s been a year since that tenancy started and replying to the ad and signing the tenancy was one of the biggest mistakes of my life. At the hearing, the landlord actually rolled her eyes and laughed when I brought up the stress that being told my home was for sale only 3 weeks after signing the tenancy had on me.
I’m not planning on stopping until I get the money I was awarded, but why do so many landlords believe they are above the law?