Think we're illegally in this house.

[Beccy82]

Hi guys. Really need your help plz? I moved into this house in February 2020 with my 4 children, private rental. Haven't had a tenancy agreement but I didn't when I private rented yrs ago either so no problem. In march I had a letter address to my landlord and his ex wife. I told him but he hasn't collected. Since then i've had 9 unopened letters for him.
Yesterday my daughter told me there was a letter in the door so I said "open it and pass it here please" I was washing dishes. It was one of the letters for my landlord. Obviously I shouldn't have read it but seen it said from mortgage express so I did read it. It said this.

Following our previous correspondence with regards to the possible lettings of the above property (my house), to date we have received no further contact from you.

Please note that it is a condition of your loan that you cannot let this property without our permission. To date, this permission has not been granted and you may therefore be in breach of your mortgage conditions if you are letting the property.

Wtf do I do? He's obviously letting the property to me and my family. The previous tenants lived here for 10-11 yrs. Are we going to get kicked out? I'm on tenterhooks here now. I finally found the house i've been looking for and i'm worried sick we'll get kicked out.
I have proof from bank statements that i've paid him rent every month since march. I don't have proof for the first months rent or the bond that was paid in february because my parents paid that but they'll have proof. But again, I don't have a tenancy agreement. All I have is the rent payments and all our messages from him saying what date I can have the key etc.

Please can anyone help?

When did you last contact your landlord? If I were you I'd be looking for a new rental and a proper tenancy agreement next time.

OP I'd get yourself some advice from Shelter.... they'll be able to give you some sound suggestions.

In the meantime I'd request from your landlord a tenancy agreement, along with confirmed dates of you residing there so far, moving in date etc.... just tell him you need it for school applications or something?

If he's not permitted to let this property under his current mortgage terms he will either need to gain an amendment or indeed an alternative provider. If he's not able to do either of these I'd seriously suggest gaining some formal advice as you may not receive much warning when all this finally catches up with them.

Also build up a file if all your council tax, utility account records in order you're able to prove the fact this has even your rented home all this time.

Best of luck!

@sunshinesupermum I txt him this mornin saying about the pile of letters here and could he collect in case they are important. The only reason I haven't bothered him for a tenancy agreement is because the previous tenant is my friend. Been friends with her for over 20yrs. She said he's a decent landlord and never had any problems with him etc. So she gave me his details when she said she was moving. So she moved out, he fixed things and repainted etc then we moved in.

You need a tenancy agreement and confirmation your deposit has been put in a tenancy protection scheme.

Those bank transfers could be for anything really without the above.

Definitely contact CAB and Shelter for advice.

Definitely ring Shelter. If you're very lucky, the acceptance of rental payments may mean you have a secure tenancy!

Best say you opened the letter in error though.

@doubleshotespresso that's a good idea about the bills etc. My gas and electric is a smart never so I top up through txts. I'm pretty sure it shows on there all my payments with dates. With the council tax I told them on the monday because we moved in on a saturday.

Next payment ask the bank to add on 'rent for x address' as the reference...
Did you pay deposit /bond?

Honestly OP, I'd be making plans to move sooner rather than later. He's a dodgy landlord if he's not willing to give you a contract.

@LakieLady i'll def say I opened it in error.

@FlameFartingDragon I have no idea where my deposit is. If it's gone into a scheme then I don't know where.

Also you are not “illegally” in the house because the mortgage company has not given consent to let. It seems from what you’ve said that the landlord is the owner and has given you consent to be in the property. Yes you should have a written tenancy agreement and deposit in a bond scheme (assuming you are in scotland or England) but you’ve done nothing wrong.

I'd start getting yourself moved. This happened to my Mum and I. The mortgage company checked the electoral roll against their records and realised the flat was being let out.

We had to leave quickly and fortunately managed to find somewhere and they rescinded the mortgage from the landlady.

@Sunnydayshereatlast from my very first payment in march I put rent and address as the reference so should be ok with that.

The arrangement is dodgy and this is because your landlord doesn’t want to officially admit to letting the property to his mortgage company (as he will need to switch to a btl).

@CarelessSquid07A I really hope it doesn't come to that! Especially with 4 kids. I knew this house was too good to be true.

The presence of a tenancy agreement does not supersede the fact that the bank is not in agreement as yet with the landlord letting the property.
Wonder if he/ she has spoken to the bank and they refused?
Speak to him and start looking to move.

@ladybirdsarelovely33 I don’t think right now that the main concern tbh. In theory the landlord could just switch lender and go for a bit to let mortgage (assuming he can etc).

I’d be more concerned about where the deposit is.

Don't ask for a tenancy until you've checked your legal position with Shelter or some other housing advice agency, OP.

Make sure they know that you've paid a deposit but have no idea whether or not it's in a protection scheme and that you can evidence both occupation and that you've been paying rent.

Have you got a gas safety certificate?

There are circumstances where you can be in a stronger position without a written tenancy.

It looks like you have a tenancy in law as you are paying rent and the landlord is receiving it. However, if he has not protected your deposit, given you a contract, done the gas safety inspection etc then he will not be able to legally serve notice (Section 21) to you to leave. His mortgage status is none of your business but I would be worried about safety first and foremost. Definitely contact Shelter for advice but he won't be able to get you out any time soon.

No I don't have a gas safety certificate. He said he had it checked before I moved in and it was fine, no proof though. I just assumed i'd wait a yr for the next one.

@Lightsabre that's good to know thank u. He wont try getting us out. He wanted a long term tenant and is happy for us to stay here forever. My fear now is the mortgage company or whoever telling us we have to get out.

😳

No tenancy agreement and no safety checks? You are putting your family massively at risk here. I’d be looking for a new home with a proper tenancy agreement. You have absolutely no protection in your current situation

You may be entitled to compensation if he hasn't put your deposit in the DPS, which is likely the case.

Pretty sure that you would be provided with a copy of the DPS when the deposit enters the scheme.

The other thing you could potentially think about doing is writing "return to sender" and posting the letters back with a "not at this address". I would get some legal advice though first on whether you will be kicked out.

@Paddingtonthebear, on the contrary, the OP has more protection. The landlord can not legally ask her to leave at the moment.

@Beccy82, in theory the mortgage company could find out and discover the landlord is in breach of his mortgage conditions. He would probably then need consent to let or a more expensive buy to let mortgage. None of this should impact you for a while. As a previous poster said make sure your rent payments are referenced as rent with the landlords name.

Tenancy agreements are more to protect the landlord than tenants.

If the landlord hasn’t registered the deposit then he is must give you back all your deposit regardless of any damage you may have done.
Also because you probably haven’t signed an inventory so there will be no proof of any damage anyway.
The landlord is in a very vulnerable position, he should be careful because you sound like a trustworthy tenant and he may not be so lucky in the future.

As your friend has said, he’s a great landlord then he’s more likely an “accidental landlord” than a dodgy one.
For your peace of mind ask for a tenancy agreement and a gas check. And really every house should have a smoke and CO2 alarm.

If I like the place, I wouldn’t worry about moving out anytime soon.