Can I take this NIGHTMARE landlord to court?

[DisgracefulBehaviour]

We sold our house last year to release funds as we inherited a house in a different area that we wanted to live in ourselves due to position, large plot etc, as our forever home but the house itself needed fully gutting and we also wanted to add on a self contained annex for our disabled adult son which we needed planning permission for. Our youngest son was also due to start GCSEs so we decided to rent while we completed work on inherited house and he finished school when we will then move up there.

We found a rented property literally a few streets from our old house and stressed that we needed to rent for two years, landlord wanted long term renters so no problem.

Within a short time after moving in it became apparent there was a major issue in the house, house was tenanted previously but letting agents apparently were not aware. After months of toing and froing, landlord had to get builders in and complete costly work which took 8 weeks. We’d been in the property 3 months.

Landlord not happy as said he could not afford to do the work.

We’d requested compensation for the inconvenience as having builders in was a major disruption and we had issues with them leaving mess in the house. I was very upset that we had to leave people we did not know in the property while we were all out.

Landlord said compensation was not justified! Decided not to pursue it as we didn’t want to antagonise the landlord and get kicked out.

A month ago, I contacted environmental health due to a further issue the landlord has refused to deal with. The officer also noticed a major issue that needed immediate rectification so landlord had to do more work.

We have now been served with a Section 21 - no reason given - after 6 months.

I am absolutely furious I have to say. Rent paid on time, house immaculate etc.

We put up with all the work being done as we expected when it was done, we’d be left to it and obviously didn’t want to move again in such a short time considering our timescale. We’d never taken the property if we had known this would happen. It’s a high rent for our area too!

We also never had a copy of the EICR, a serious safety hazard pertaining to that was what was picked up by environmental health, so we are assuming a report was never done.

I have an online court claim prepared to sue the landlord for all 6 months rent in compensation, for stress and breach of quiet enjoyment. I think I have a chance of success.

AIBU?

Agree with this.

Theres no case
You brought up issues which were dealt with. That’s it.
He should have issued you with the Gas certificate but tbh it’s not that big a deal as he has actually had the gas checked. No cert is not the big deal you might think it is. The landlord will just issue it as soon as he realises or is told to. He may have to start the s21 again that’s all.

You can have a case I would go forward with the claim .

There may have been an up to date cert from the previous tenancy though.
So it’s not necessarily a case of no cert. Just no cert issued with the tenancy.

This in itself is an issue but not one that can’t be rectified by the landlord issuing it now and then the s21 again. A delay for the landlord but it won’t make much difference to OP.

Solicitor here.

This is the legislation the OP is referring to (I think):
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/homes-fitness-for-human-habitation-act-2018/guide-for-tenants-homes-fitness-for-human-habitation-act-2018I

Tenants may have an entitlement to compensation (as well as enforcing repairs to dangerous defects/conditions).

I'm not sure what OP could expect to be awarded - will depend on type of danger, how long it lasted before being addressed and what risk of harm to health (and if harm actually suffered). I would say it's probably not worth the hassle of court for a probably token award, unless the motivation is for the satisfaction of having the landlord publicly rebuked by the judge in court.

This is separate from the s21 process.

I was getting electric shocks off a shower in a rental. Called agent repeatedly about it and the landlords mate kept being sent round to fix it and it was never fixed. Then we discovered there wasn’t an electrical safety certificate nagged for that and landlord dodged it despite it being legally required. Paid for our own one and he disconcerted the shower and told us it was dangerous surprised no one had died the shower wasn’t earthed and had a live wire getting wet every time we used it. Landlord paid for his own electrical test got the same results and then evicted us I guess when he heard the cost to get it safe. My partner sought advice on it and we were told we could get the money we paid for our electric test back but unlikely to get anything else.

makes me wonder if you rented the same house! It’s shocking landlords can just get away with this

This

Yes correct. OP needs to establish whether there was a certificate and it just wasn't given to her or if there was no valid certificate in existence at that time.
She should contact the landlord let them know that she has not been provided with a certificate that was valid when she moved in and therefore will not be leaving in line with the invalid Section 21.

entirely upto you if you want to bring a case, but bear in mind the costs involved, which you will need to cover assuming small claim, unlikely costs will be awarded, and also that cases are taking along time to get to court atm. Personally I wouldn’t bother.

There is a way around... Whicb gives you more time.

##Double check with shelter though. ##

No gas safety it means the s21 is invalid.

Wait til s21 expires.

They'll have to serve again... Then they will have to go to court.

Find out the backlog at local court. This gives you more time.... When we looked into ours (advised by lawyer) it would likely be almost 9 months.

It also gives you negotiation position.

Dear landlord
The s21 you served is invalid.

However we are willing to vacate by (long time ahead) as long as you pay for xyz (for us when they sold a place from under us we'd been in for 7 years... We got them to pay for our 2k of moving costs....

It gives you lots of time, hold your nerve.

You should like a nightmare tenant. Asking for compensation for repairs you forced to get done and then sending Environmental Health around all within a few months of a tenancy. You are very new in your renting relationship with your landlord no wonder he’s trying to cut his losses God only knows what you will complain about next!

It looks like you might as well move into the house you own...

I've had an ex tenant successfully claim against me for much less in the small claims. Of course if he's not inclined to pay, it might be a successfully in paper only.
Is the person you know as the landlord the person named as such on your tenancy agreement?
Get some decent legal advice, and don't rush to pack as theSection 21 is unlikely to be valid.

PS advised by a property barrister that at least 1/3 of all s21 aren't legal so therefore would be struck out if got as far as court.

The dates must be exact.

You're just being vindictive.

Hardly. Sounds like the landlord is though.

Why have successive governments tolerated this for so long.

Taxi's have a proper licensing regime but of course taxi drivers are working class so need it unlike middle class landlords?

You are angry because he has evicted you which you believe is unjustified however surely you’d be giving him notice given the house is legally uninhabitable or were you expecting him to rehouse you, get the work done & move you back in? Which is ridiculous

Sounds like revenge eviction england.shelter.org.uk/housing_advice/repairs/revenge_eviction_if_you_ask_for_repairs

I can't believe some of the responses you've had on this thread OP. You should have received the guide to renting, your deposit should be protected, etc, etc. Unfortunately too many tenants don't have any alternative to renting and therefore don't hold landlords who break the law and those who don't properly maintain their houses and flat to account.

Retaliatory eviction only applies if the council issued an improvement notice.
Did they?

That's not true. So long as you had the gas cert before the section 21 was served, the notice is valid. He might be on shaky ground for not having an EICR though as that has been a legal requirement since around 2020. You may also know that Section 21 is due to be abolished under the imminent Renters Rights Bill so it's likely he's decided to evict you now as once the bill comes in, it will be much harder. He's probably hoping to get some "easier" tenants who don't highlight issues. You don't say what the issues are and why the previous tenants never complained about them. Not saying you are in the wrong at all, but it's not unusual for a property to be let for years with no complaints, then new tenants move in and bam, issue after issue. Some landlords don't like it! Again, not saying that's OK, just a fact. Many landlords like easy tenants that don't complain!

Yes, nightmare tenant for expecting to live in a habitable, safe house. People nowadays are so picky.

Astonishing amount of people confidently saying completely different things on here! OP I'm a landlord, not a lawyer but it's legally imperative that your gas and elec certificates are done before the property is tenanted and your deposit must be protected by one of the many schemes that cover it. You should have been given details of this within 28 days of your moving in.

The people saying she's costing him money by demanding repairs-um no, this is maintenance that must be done for him to legally maintain his business. I appreciate that it was disruptive but I don't think you can fault him for fixing everything you ask. He's evicting you so he can put the rent up to cover his costs. My property cost me 14k in maintenance and repairs this year but I see it as an investment and my tenants are great and appreciated it so while I haven't hiked their rent, I also haven't offered them any compensation as they get to enjoy a new kitchen and bathroom.

However, many councils now require landlords to sign up to their own licensing scheme. I'd imagine that if you contact your councils licensing dept, they will investigate and advise accordingly. This happened to a property on my street where the landlord hadn't provided any decent heating or the safety checks for years. The council took him to tribunal and the tenants got a full rebate or their entire rent outlay for their tenancy. It was in v poor condition, though. As others have said, if you take this to tribunal, be aware there is a large backlog.

Best of luck with the new house, your situation sounds v stressful, especially with disabled dc

You say you wanted a 2 year rental - how long is your fixed term? If you signed up to less than that being served notice earlier was always a risk for loads of different reasons irrelevant of any issues with the house itself?

I agree that she doesn't need to be physically provided with it upon move in, as long as she is before the notice is served. But a valid gas certificate must exist on the day she moved in. If there wasn't one in existence, the landlord cannot evict her using Section 21, as per the case law in my later post.

Source: I'm a lawyer specialising in landlord and tenant law.

Its only a revenge eviction if Environmental Health served an improvement order