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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

To think my landlord is a heartless b*****d

23 replies

sb6699 · 29/12/2007 13:46

Last night we got a phone call from our very apologetic letting agent saying our landlord has served us with 2 months notice to leave our house

Apparently he wanted the papers served on Christmas Eve!!!

Thankfully our letting agent thought this was unreasonable so he gave them until the end of the week hence the phone call last night.

He suddenly changed our 6 month contract to a rolling contract in September and we asked then if he had plans to sell cause we were a bit worried and he said no, that is was just to far for him to travel twice a year to sign papers. Obviously this has been his thought all along and was just worried that we would move before he was ready to sell and he would lose a couple of months rent.

OP posts:
Twiglett · 29/12/2007 13:48

maybe if he lost a couple of months rent it would cause him severe hardship though

2 months notice is pretty good isn't it? why would you need more?

yes wanting papers served on christmas eve is totally out of order ..

but I don't see how anything else he has done is .. you could have left when he changed the contracts after all

(and no I don't own any property that I let out)

HappyChristmasWalrusIsOver · 29/12/2007 13:49

{angty] for you

This happened to us when I was 7 months pg witrh DS1. I don;t think I stopped crying for a week

We were lucky to have a good letting agent, who let us trnsfer our deposit accross onto another property on thier books so we didn;t have to find all the money you need when moving to a rented house

Can your letting agent do someting similar?

It will be OK

HappyChristmasWalrusIsOver · 29/12/2007 13:50

2 months notice is standard procedure

vitomum · 29/12/2007 13:53

even if it's all legal and above board, blah di blah, it's still duff for you to have to start the new year house hunting. hope it works out.

VictorianSqualor · 29/12/2007 13:57

It's incredibly annoying, yes. Although it is normal procedure unfortunately. We had the same issue lastyear. Our tenancy was due to run out, werre told it would carry on by the letting agents, then we asked the landlord if we could turf the garden and told him the windows upstairs needed fixing as they were warping with the damp. Next thing we have to be out in two months. Bastard.

constancereader · 29/12/2007 14:12

Although landlords are perfectly within their rights to do this it is still really depressing when you are on the receiving end of this. It also happened to me when I was seven months pg, and I was gutted. It was the fact that they have misled you that is so annoying, our landlord assured us we could rent for at least three years. He obviously knew all along he was going to curtail our tenancy.

Original poster
sb6699 · 29/12/2007 14:15

I understand its his house and if he wants to sell thats his right - its just the timing that has pissed me off.

Why wasn't he upfront about it when we asked him.

The letting agent haven't got anything big enough on their books atm but are keeping their ears open (although they have said its unlikely anything will come on before mid-Feb as nobody wants to move at this time of year!!)

Have tried other agents as well who are all giving me the same story.

I have an emergency appointment on new years eve with council housing but think this is a long shot - what are we going to do?

OP posts:
Original poster
sb6699 · 29/12/2007 14:15

I understand its his house and if he wants to sell thats his right - its just the timing that has pissed me off.

Why wasn't he upfront about it when we asked him.

The letting agent haven't got anything big enough on their books atm but are keeping their ears open (although they have said its unlikely anything will come on before mid-Feb as nobody wants to move at this time of year!!)

Have tried other agents as well who are all giving me the same story.

I have an emergency appointment on new years eve with council housing but think this is a long shot - what are we going to do?

OP posts:
Upwind · 29/12/2007 14:19

YANBU

A decent individual would have been more honest about his intentions when you asked him in September.

As your landlord does not appear to have much integrity I would consider not paying any more rent than your deposit will cover. Otherwise you may find that he has spent your deposit or intends to use it to cover normal wear and tear.

Check your lease as well to see if you have to let potential purchasers view the property. If you don't have to, don't do it unless convenient.

Best of luck in finding a better landlord next time.

HappyChristmasWalrusIsOver · 29/12/2007 14:21

I know it doesn';t seem like it, but you will find something

We aere in the same boat, only everyone I rang didn;t want a baby in thier house, so was pointless us looking

we found our house at the last minute (I think we had a week left) and I was due to give birth imminently.

Just keep your eyes open, and slavishly peruse rightmove every single day. Something will turn up.

Upwind · 29/12/2007 14:30

"only everyone I rang didn;t want a baby in thier house"
I've heard of people being asked to leave because they had a baby. Surely there is some law against this? Or should be.

I think gumtree or ads posted in shops are better than rightmove. In my experience dealing directly with the landlord is much better than through agencies.

Original poster
sb6699 · 29/12/2007 14:33

Thanks for your positive thoughts. I think I needed that more than agreement I was being unreasonable.

We were supposed to be travelling to Glasgow for new years eve to attend the funeral of our friends ds who passed away last week age 11 and now we can't go as we have to find a home for our children. I'm feeling really guilty about this.

We've also all been ill over Christmas and still feel pretty crap so its probably everything just getting on top of me.

Hope this isn't a sign of how 2008 is going to be for us.

OP posts:
HappyChristmasWalrusIsOver · 29/12/2007 14:33

I was asked to leave because I was pregnant - what pissed me off as the the landlords knew for a good 5 months before they decided to kick us out

wankers.

HappyChristmasWalrusIsOver · 29/12/2007 14:35

Oh love, you don;t need this on top of everything esle do you?

FWIW, I'd go to the funeral. You do still have 2 months, and a couple of days of not searching won;t make a great deal of difference

Original poster
sb6699 · 29/12/2007 14:38

Upwind, the letting agent deals with the deposit and things and they're being v. good with us atm so don't think they'll allow him to do anything untoward.

We have been good tenants (I think), pay the rent on time and treat the house with the same care and attention as we would our own so I suppose its in their best interests to be kind to us so we keep letting with them.

OP posts:
chocolatespiders · 29/12/2007 14:39

start looking online

rightmove.co.uk

yourmove.co.uk

best of luck

Upwind · 29/12/2007 14:43

sb6699

I hope you are right.

From my personal dealings with agencies however, I think their main concern is making money and new tenants will pay a substantial referencing fee.

But if you have had a good relationship with yours, I would send an email straight away asking if they have any properties that might suit.

And I would go to the funeral - two months is a long time and you will be in a better negotiating position when you are able to move in quickly.

Best of luck!

Original poster
sb6699 · 29/12/2007 14:48

Walrus if I went to the funeral the council wouldn't be able to see us until 17th Jan which would only leave a few weeks until our moving out date which is what worries me.

I can't believe they would make you leave cause you're pregnant!!

What did they think was going to happen - your newborn was going to hold a party for his other newborn friends with loud music, trashed house

I can understand why a landlord wouldn't want a toddler in a top spec house but surely the lease would have made you pay for anything that little hands could have broken anyway. Would have been kinder just to point this out and let you stay.

OP posts:
Upwind · 29/12/2007 17:44

Are you dss then? That could complicate things as far as private rentals go.

Really wish there was still safe, stable, social housing available.

LIZS · 29/12/2007 18:06

tbh it is perfectly normal after the first 6 months of Assured Tenancy to go onto a rolling contract with 2 months notice on hsi side and one on yours. Maybe he wasn't as upfornt as he could have been or maybe he changed his mind , after all if he had renewed for 6 months in September that would only have made a few weeks difference and you'd still be in the same situation . Sorry the timing is so cr&p though.

Original poster
sb6699 · 29/12/2007 18:39

No we're not DSS but finding a house within budget is proving difficult - hence why we've contacted the council.

The six month contract would have given us 3 months notice which is why we kept paying extra for this type rather then the rolling one.

As we're finding to our cost those extra few weeks could have made all he difference as according the agent things will really pick up at the beginning of March.

OP posts:
discoverlife · 29/12/2007 18:49

We were given 2 months notice in January last year, we contacted the local housing association and put on their books. Their adivice was 'DONT MOVE OUT UNLESS YOU HAVE A PLACE TO IMMEDIATLY MOVE INTO' honestly. As long as you keep paying the rent after the end date it will take a court order for him to make you move and even then the court will take your condition (pg) or babe in arms into consideration and give you a few months more to get sorted. Even if you have to pay court costs, a couple of hundred at most, it will be worth it, rather being in a grubby bedsit or guest house with a newborn.
But obviously you are not welcome there, so have a good look around and don't panic, he CANNOT FORCE YOU ON TO THE STREET.

ThrowbackTo07 · 10/11/2022 23:36

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