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.

the bigger problem is not paying your rent as per schedule. Maybe combine assurances regarding being on time going forward, with discussions regarding losing shared space. If the LL has resorted to speaking to your employer the situation is obvs already tense. Sort this cos you won 't be getting a good reference otherwise. If you are in London you'll be aware that room rents are now a reported minimum of £800 pcm.

So you are 1750 in arrears, but haven't made a payment for 7 weeks.

Has it occurred to you to think she may have rented out the lounge because she can't rely on your money?

I think you're on a very sticky wicket. I think it's completely irrelevant whether the deposit was protected in a timely fashion or not. You can't expect to live there if you're not paying your rent in full and on time. I imagine your LL is feeling very stressed about the situation.

OP said she signed an Assured Shorthold Tenancy Agreement and what is the accommodation for which you are paying rent?

First off read the agreement. If it is an AST then the LL may not be able to serve a section 21 for rent arrears if deposit not protected or protected late.

Then bank statements listing dates of rent payments. Were they late?
Why didn’t you set up a DD or SO?

Then read up on Shelter website and arrange appointment and attend with your documents

OP is starting to sound like a chancing scammer.

She rents the room. No mention of livingroom. Late protection maybe. But doesn’t matter for a section 8 with how much rent the op owes.

Makes zero difference that the LL was late putting the deposit into a DPS, it only needs to be in a DPS at the time the eviction notice is given.

But it doesn't matter. All she needs to do is to move back in, you will become a lodger automatically and she can give you 2 weeks' notice.

👋

Why don't you just have a standing order set up? No one reminds my ADHD brain to pay our mortgage, it just happens!

This is my worst fear - is it true?

Yes it's true. You need to either clear your arrears or move out.

Of course it's true.

shame it has taken you 22 pages to decide to take any of this seriously.

you have been given so much good advice in these 22 pages...

Well that's just tough luck I'm afraid. The rest of us manage to pay our rent, whatever is going on in our lives. You seem to think you should be entitled to live there, not pay your rent, and are scrabbling around worrying about the legalities of what your ll is doing. Unbelievable. You either get your rent arrears paid and then pay your rent on time, or you find somewhere cheaper to live. There are flats in my town I would love to move into, but I can't afford to so I stay where I am - and pay my rent on time.

So @littledragon99 what's your plan? Are you now going to pay up, whilst seeking help for your other debt issues?

If you don't want to move out, you must pay your rent. I would love to live somewhere in London, but can't afford to, so like PP, I have to stay put. It's real adult life.

Also worth bearing in mind that when she evicts you, and your poor references prevent you from a private rental, the council will consider that you made yourself intentionally homeless by not paying rent.

Yep that’s about the sum of it . I’m a good person I’m just freaking out and do want to make this right. I know the ll is a good person too

Sounds like you can’t afford to be a DJ. Get another PT job with regular income and put the records aside. Part of being a grown up is making grown-up decisions.

You sound like a relative of mine. They pay everything late, then refuse to communicate with the people they owe money to. And they never think anything is their fault. It's infuriating to deal with someone like that. I think your landlord has been more than reasonable so far, but I expect her patience is running out.

You aren't a good person. A good person would prioritise rent and communicate with the landlord.

Is she right? Do you pay your rent on time? If not then she needs to cover her bills in whichever way possible if she can’t rely on your income. And I would say what you pay is cheap. I’m sorry you’ve had a difficult time op, but that isn’t your landlord’s fault.

Just to chime in. Stop looking for loopholes. You’re not withholding rent due to a genuine dispute (for which you’d still be on shaky ground). You’re just not paying rent ergo you will eventually be evicted.

You need to drop the DJing and get whatever job helps you keep a roof over your head. I am mid-40s and I don’t know anybody who can sustain themselves on gigs DJing gigs (and they were relatively decent in their heyday!)

In fairness DJ’s can make pretty good money. And honestly this may be the OP’s salvation.

@littledragon99 you need quick cash book some gigs and offer a discount for cash up front. (Yeah yeah totally make sure you pay taxes and all that). Call your contacts, toss your name out there for last minute cancellation cover, hustle to find some work. You need cash!

Oh chase anyone that owes you like they owe you money

@littledragon99 ADHD is not an excuse to not pay your rent on time! You set up a direct debit so this isn’t an issue!

Yes, it's true, and perfectly legal, she's quite within her rights to do so.

You need to pay what you owe, along with an apology. Set up a standing order.
She's likely not going to renew your AST (why would she continue to rent to you, when she can replace you with a decent tenant that does pay on time?).

You say you want security but you're not going about this very well at all.

The thing is you want security and the only way you can get that is by renting something you can afford with your salary. There are many cheaper places you can rent.

i think it’s too late now to try and stay where you are as you’ve burnt your bridges there now.

Someone else has probably mentioned Acorn already (I haven't got time to read through) but I recommend joining - they are a brilliant union supporting tenants in the UK and have achieved some fantastic results. https://www.acorntheunion.org.uk/