Witholding my rent AIBU

[littledragon99]

I'm a woman in my late 40s, living in a 3-bed Victorian terrace in West London, where I pay £1,200 a month with all bills included. I signed an AST in May.
I work in recruitment and DJ on the side. Despite being skilled in my job, financial difficulties have arisen following my mother’s death, and I've struggled with timely rent payments. I’m currently in therapy to manage my depression.
Recently, my landlady has begun Airbnb-ing the living room, removing the communal space I was paying for. Given this change, I believe the £1,200 rent is no longer justified.
Additionally, she inappropriately contacted my boss, (my boss was my reference) about paying rent directly and has threatened eviction. I’ve consulted Citizens Advice and suspect my deposit wasn’t placed in a Tenancy Deposit Scheme (TDS), which may breach legal requirements.
Due to these issues, I’ve withheld my rent since August 1st and am prepared to take further action if needed.

sorry it’s ADHD. I definitely signed the contract in march. My deposit was protected 2 months later in May. It feels like the landlady moved out very recently since cupboards & shelves are still full of her sh**. She also pays for a cleaner weekly who doesn’t give us notice she just lets herself in

TPS rules are compensation of between 1x and 3x the deposit & a deposit cannot be more than 5 weeks rent (AST)
So the maximum a LL would have to pay back would be approx 4 months rent (England) but might be just 5 weeks and even that depends on the deposit paid.

Eviction orders can take a long time but at the end of the day, you'll be evicted and will need to find somewhere else only now you have added stress and strain to your life, have a court order against your name and no private LL will touch you.

I think you re being v optimistic if you think you'll get a years rent back.

Also OP, is your employer your guarantor? If so, that's why the LL has been in touch with them. LL wants her rent. If you don't pay it, the responsibility falls with the guarantor?

' It feels like the landlady moved out very recently since cupboards & shelves are still full of her sh**. '

sigh, what cupboards and shelves.
you are not being nosy / snooping are you

sigh oh another issue ' She also pays for a cleaner weekly who doesn’t give us notice she just lets herself in ' You didn't realise the rent which you don't pay on time and apparently never have includes cleaning ? bargain !

of course the cleaner has a key, you don't think the landlady expects professionals to be home during the day to let a cleaner in ?!!!
I guess the landlady thinks her tenants/lodgers are at work through the day.

You will be evicted if you don't pay your rent.

Like I said, you're just not taking any advice on board. This thread seems pretty pointless if you are just not listening to any of the advice you've been given. In fact you are just ignoring the people who keep asking if you have heeded the advice yet and rattling on about cleaners and cupboards instead. It's a wonder how some people navigate adulthood in the real world.

It is untrue that you cannot legally withhold rent.

But OPs reasons fall into none of the legal occasions you could potentially withhold rent. That's the problem here.

I’m a renter, but I understand that I need to pay my rent. Every month. So I have a DD set up. Whoever the LL is, they require payment. Regularly.

My DH died suddenly last year. Grief and shock threw me off of my feet, along with a halving of income, and trying to sort out work pension etc.

Added to that I had the so called “Widow's fog” mentally. It was traumatic.

But, I got a notebook, wrote down everything that needed paying, that wasn’t on DD, what date they needed paying, and looked at it daily. That way, everyone got paid, and I didn’t have the additional stress of people chasing me for money.

If you can hold down a job, then that should be manageable for you to do.

Contact Shelter/CAB to find out your rights - but contact your LL, and sort out your arrears. If she evicts, you will need good references.

Withholding rent is a double edged sword. Withholding if repairs are not being carried out is about the only 'good' reason and that is fraught with issues. If the landlord issues notice then courts tend to take a dim view of not paying rent. If you have 1 specific repair and have a paper trail of requests for repairs , a paper trail of the cost, quotes re the repair and the tenant advising that the withheld rent is being used for that specific repair then it might be OK, but really it's a last resort, not the 1st.
Just for info.

Excellent advice from @Boomer55 OP! Instead of worrying about the cleaner, get down to CAB!!

Count yourself lucky that a cleaner is paid by the landlady! Your sense of entitlement throughout this thread is too much. My adult DD had ADHD but doesn't behave like you do in any way, shape or form.

It is surely her right to move back in? Why are you freaking out? You have been given lots of advice here.

Going forward could you just set up a direct debit so the rent goes on the 1st of the month (or whatever date) do you don't have to think about it?

What are hmo rules for where you live? Shelter or the local council might have a private rental officer to speak to about this change.

If your contract says you have a communal lounge area then this change is unfair.

I think the OP thinks that if her LL has done anything illegal then the OP can stay there for free........ 🙄

Your rent should be the first thing you pay from your salary. The rest of your life needs to be cut accordingly fron what remains. Also £1200 per room in london is pretty good even without a living space. You will struggle finding anything cheaper at your age.

@Andthereitis

The Op admitted in one of her many replies that a communal lounge is/was not in the contract.

and the more replies the Op makes it is becoming highly possible that the Op does not live in an HMO

I do feel the very first thing Shelter will tell her is to pay the rent, and not to withhold it as her reason/s for withholding it are not necessary and/or legal.

Yes, I suspect that's it.

Right now you're practically squatting in her house. Stop moaning about what's in her cupboards.

I'm sorry OP but your ADHD is not a valid reason for late payment. I'm all for giving people the benefit of the doubt when they make claims about their health but I suspect that if you didn't receive your pay from work when you expected it, you'd be quick enough to chase it up. Why should your landlady be any different?

As I understand it, I believe that she will be within her rights to give you 2 months notice as soon as she can. She may do this even if you pay what you owe now as no landlord wants a difficult tenant but if you settle your outstanding debt now then at least she can't use that against you.

How does the rent you pay compare with other similar rentals?. If it's exceptionally cheap I'd definitely pay up, make an appointment with Shelter so that you know your rights, keep an eye out for other rentals coming onto the market and definitely not rock the boat anymore.

I did see up thread that you mentioned that you hardly ever leave your room when you're there so with that said the loss of the living room communal space wasn't perhaps your best negotiating tool for a rent reduction. Apologies if I've missed what other communal facilities you share, but if it's kitchen space and bathrooms then these might have presented you with more valid reasons for seeking a cheaper rent. Personally I think what whatever you say you'd be flogging a dead horse. As a matter of interest thoughwhat do the other occupants pay and what is the living room being rented out for?

Sorry but that's a piss poor excuse for late payment of rent. Surely the rent is due the same date every month? Just set a reminder

OP, pay your rent and find somewhere else to live. You don't like your landlord and you can't afford the rent, why would you stay?

You’re looking for excuses now. You need to prioritise paying your rent on time but I suspect your landlady will just evict you when your term is up. By ‘withholding’ your rent you are only making it much harder on your future self to secure accommodation. I suspect that your DJ income has been a casualty of your depression and you simply do not have the income to pay your rent. Even more reason not to waste your time with CAB trying to get of something you are legally obliged to pay, instead you should be seeking their advice on not repeating the mistakes you have made.

The beauty of DD’s is that you don’t have to be reminded about paying bills because it’s done automatically, so your ADHD isn’t much of a defence because most people set up DD’s for the same reason that you should have set one up. It would take 2 minutes online to set up.

Rather than investing headspace trying to get out of your financial commitment to your landlady, you should be thinking about how you will pay for and secure (I doubt your current landlady will be giving you a favourable reference) your next home.

Yup op doesn’t want help to pay her rent. She wants help to her lodgings.

She won’t listen, she will get evicted one way or another and then she really will have problems because no council is going to help an evicted because they cnba to pay their rent tenant at best stuck in a lodge/hostel forever.

OP…please realise all this is on you. Despite the traumatic things going in your life right now you really must pay your rent (although judging on your opinion of your LL and that fact you clearly can’t afford it I’d pay up and look for alternative accommodation asap)
You simply can’t keep going on living there rent free and making excuses, it just doesn’t work like that!