Landlord changed the locks

[LolaLolaLolas]

I posted a thread back in October about my ex partner, he was the named tenant on the rental house and I was a permitted occupier.

Here is the original thread if you're interested

Urgent help needed, Permitted Occupier http://www.mumsnet.com/Talk/amiibeingunreasonable/4391032-Urgent-help-needed-Permitted-Occupier

Since then I am still in the house, I have been looking for properties but also trying to convince the landlord to let me stay temporarily. I was told my ex had paid the rent up until the end of March, but also told that he had ended the tenancy. The landlord declined my offer and said he wanted to move back into the house on the 1st April.

On Friday 11th March I received an email from my ex's solicitor offering 50k to me if I moved out of the house by the 18th March. I explained that 7 days was unreasonable, and was there any movement on that date.

I never received a reply from her, I sent 2 subsequent emails during w/c 14th March. Again, no reply.

Yesterday morning I was at work and my ex turned up with a locksmith and they changed all the locks, the tenancy was over. I was not allowed any access to the house, not even to collect my cats and medication I need to take daily. . I called the police and they persuaded the landlord to to let me get some things.

All of my things are in that house. Everything I own. I have found an Airbnb locally which I would not have had to do if they had been open with me. No one said at any point that the locks would be changed. I had communicated that I had found a house.

I have been told to contact his solicitor to gain access through a third party and that removals would be arranged. But she is awful and won't discuss anything with me. No one will talk to me.

I really don't know what to do. My things are being held from me. I received nothing informing me about any date to move out other than the 31st March. I didn't decline the financial offer, they never responded. I am living in an Airbnb. My dog was tied up outside the house. My son's girlfriend was in the house when the men turned up. She was traumatised by it.

I don't know why my ex was there, if he had given up the tenancy. But the landlords dodgy mate was there locked in the house. They were all in on it together.

I don't know where I stand.

If somebody offered me £50k I’d be out of here by tomorrow!! (Sorry.. not much help, but that is an insane amount of money.. like two years salary to a lot of people. I get it might not have been forthcoming, but if the landlord had a buyer and the deal falling through could cost him more 🤷‍♀️)

On the 2 November last year you said, on your previous thread, that Shelter said you had no rights to stay in the house. You've been lucky to have been allowed to stay so long.

I have been told to contact his solicitor to gain access through a third party and that removals would be arranged. But she is awful and won't discuss anything with me. No one will talk to me

Stop trying to get legal advice from an internet chat board, find your own solicitor, get them to write a letter requesting a date/time for access to your stuff, and book a removals company to take everything to storage as soon as possible. It's as simple as that, surely?

Why should I have no rights? As a human being? Regardless of what the law says I have been treated appallingly. Why do I not deserve someone to treat me fairly and communicate with me?

This isn't quite so easy to sort out, unfortunately. In order to make (a) work, you might have to chalk (b) up to experience and move on.

@ElegantlyTouched

On the 2 November last year you said, on your previous thread, that Shelter said you had no rights to stay in the house. You've been lucky to have been allowed to stay so long.

They weren't "lucky", they were squatting. Like criminals do.

Thanks for that info WordleGirdle. I CBA to read the other thread but was feeling a bit confused.

So the OPs ex rented a house for his homeless side-chick and paid 6 months rent for her. To give her a chance to get back on her feet, I guess. Or in the hopes of keeping her as an ongoing side-chick. But he didn't continue to live there with her and went back to wifey instead. They break up because she doesn't want to be the side-chick I'm guessing. Puts rather a different spin on things. Maybe OPs ex's landlord friend only agreed to rent the house out in the first place because it was to a friend, then discovers friend isn't living there only the ex girlfriend is possibly feels duped about that situation too and worse than that, he can't get her to leave!

This doesn’t make the slightest bit of sense. Even more so from reading your linked thread.

I’m utterly speechless that you state you had been offered £50k to vacate, especially in view of previous evictions and bad credit ratings, and you didn’t immediately snatch the fabulous offer.

You literally had no rights to stay and it’s ended up in this mess when you had a golden opportunity to leave with money.

@elbea

I’d be careful, the landlord is now storing your possessions at cost and is able to charge you reasonable costs for storage.

But look on the bright side OP. Given the amounts of money involved and what can be inferred about the people's financial circumstances, it's unlikely your ex is currently ebaying all your valuables in an attempt to get back some of the rent he's paid for you.

I hope you get your pets back and they have been taken care of. Did your ex also pay for your bills or just the rent?

You have been happy to live free on your ex's dime since October and I don't know how much you contributed to household expenses before then. You made no effort to move out despite being in a house that was not yours and that you weren't paying for. You should have arranged to move out and find a new place back in October. You have made their lives as difficult as possible and they are done playing ball with you.

OP, you've been asked many times whether you paid the rent while you were there on your own. There's been no answer from you so it's reasonable to assume you didn't. You've got a job so there's no excuse for being a freeloader - get your belongings back and then dig around for a shred of dignity and start taking responsibility for yourself.

You should’ve taken the 50k

To answer your question ' where do you stand'.
No where . You had no right to be there, didn't pay rent and ignore the eviction notice dare ..
where I live your details would be passed between the estate agents to make sure potential landlords know what they are signing up for before they rent to you.
You had months of free rent , count it as a win and move on!

Why should I have no rights? As a human being? Regardless of what the law says I have been treated appallingly. Why do I not deserve someone to treat me fairly and communicate with me?

You are squatting in the landlord’s property, why do they deserve that?

@Billandben444

OP, you've been asked many times whether you paid the rent while you were there on your own. There's been no answer from you so it's reasonable to assume you didn't. You've got a job so there's no excuse for being a freeloader - get your belongings back and then dig around for a shred of dignity and start taking responsibility for yourself.

She didn't - her ex paid the 6 months up front, and the landlord knew she couldn't service the rent herself independently, so refused to negotiate a new lease with her directly.

@BoredZelda

Why should I have no rights? As a human being? Regardless of what the law says I have been treated appallingly. Why do I not deserve someone to treat me fairly and communicate with me?

You are squatting in the landlord’s property, why do they deserve that?

Kind of - the rent was paid up front, so the landlord hasn't been out of pocket. I guess if she had left and he had relet the house, he might have been able to give the original tenant (the ex) some of his money back, but he probably didn't have to.

His only urgency was to get her out by the end of that initial six months. Technically she could have been removed from the house any point but the landlord has been covered.

What resolution do you want?

People might be able to suggest things if you say what it is you want right now and going forward.

First lie, "landlord changed the locks".

Your Ex hired a lock smith and was present. NOT the LL.

So I'll assume you were also fantasising about refusing 50 K to move out.

I'm beginning to wonder whether this is a wind up.

Why wouldn’t you just have taken the 50k and booked the animals into kennels and booked a hotel for yourself for a week?

The 50k offer clearly wasn't genuine and would never have materialised. Why would anyone offer the partner of a former tenant who is effectively squatting and has zero rights 50k??

Was it not the ex that offered 50k ?

Kind of - the rent was paid up front, so the landlord hasn't been out of pocket. I guess if she had left and he had relet the house, he might have been able to give the original tenant (the ex) some of his money back, but he probably didn't have to.

Is she a legal tenant paying rent? No. That makes her a squatter.

Whatever agreement the landlord has with someone else is irrelevant.

OP should have sorted it months ago instead of waiting months and months then whining because they have to leave.

This thread is mental.

Rent was £4k a month so the property must have been worth quite a bit. Could it be that the LL wants to sell and needs to sell it vacant? And the £50K was to get shot of OP?

Your poor LL