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Original poster

Ex-Landlord Nightmare

44 replies

GinTonicLemon · 01/04/2014 16:02

Not sure I've posted this in the correct place or not but here goes. Apologies if it is long but I need advice.

Rented a property for a year...on commencement of the tenancy, there was no inventory. Paid rent on time constantly, always allowed them fair access to the property as required etc despite having had Environmental Health involved since the start of the tenancy for some pretty grim problems which were never improved.

Fast forward to recently, LL gave 2 months notice for us to leave, luckily we found a new place within a week and wrote to the LL giving our notice via a letter I posted through their door.

On the second to last day of tenancy, I posted the keys to LL Special Delivery and moved in to our new property. Everyone was happy - or so I thought. This is where the problems start...

The LL claimed to never have received my letter of notice (that I posted through the door by hand) and is trying to get me to pay until the end of their notice. They are now saying they also never received the key (Royal Mail say they put a red card through). Obviously I don't have proof of posting the letter as I did it by hand but my boyfriend was there too. Would he be classed as a witness?

The LL claims I have left lots of rubbish in the garden and not removed furniture from the house (both untrue, I left the entire place spotless!) and is claiming I need to pay to get it removed. I'm afraid they are going to use this so they don't have to pay my deposit back - will they be able to do this since there was not an inventory

All communication has been through shitty sounding texts/voicemail messages to which I replied back to politely until today, I had surprise visitors at my workplace...my LL and his wife! Luckily, my colleague knows about the grim problems I had while in the property and since, so sent them away. I feel quite intimidated by this and it could embarrass in front of my colleagues/clients or potentially affect my work. Is this classed as harassment?

Thanks in advance...I could really do with some advice and gin!

OP posts:
expatinscotland · 01/04/2014 16:05

Bumping for you.

BillyBanter · 01/04/2014 16:08

Contact shelter in the first instance.

No inventory = their problem not yours.

thornrose · 01/04/2014 16:10

Your deposit should be with a Tenancy Deposit Scheme do you know if it is?

I believe that without an inventory they won't have a leg to stand on.

There are lots of people on here who will give you better advice, I hope they come along soon!

TeenageMutantNinjaTurtle · 01/04/2014 16:12

Is your deposit held in a secure program? If so, and there is no inventory, then you will be fine.

Definitely contact Shelter just to get some reassurance and they'll talk you through the legal ins and outs.

I think you'll be fine but you just have a couple of shitty weeks to get through dealing with it.

feetheart · 01/04/2014 16:17

Agree no inventory = LL problem and he can't prove anything without one (I'm a landlord and have recently done an inventory course!)

Which deposit scheme is your deposit in? Do you have the paperwork? Did he even use one?
Tell him in writing that you want to go to arbitration about his demands, bet that puts the wind up him.

PS If he hasn't put deposit in a scheme you area entitled to 3 x what the deposit is worth.

Sleazy landlords give us all a bad name Angry

BillyBanter · 01/04/2014 16:18

If the LL has had to fork out money then he needs to prove this before taking money from your deposit. Shelter have template letters to send about this, IIRC. But even if they do as there was no inventory there is no proof it wasn't like that when you moved in.

I would text/email them to say that if they contact you through work again you will consider it harassment and take legal action. You may wish to inform the police that they have it on record in case they do come again.

specialsubject · 01/04/2014 16:22

if the deposit is in a scheme (illegal not to do it) then you have nothing to worry about. The onus is on the landlord to prove.

and yes, that kind of visit is harrassment. Time to call the police (non-emergency number) for advice.

should you be renting again:

  • find out where the deposit is going, make sure it goes there, make sure you get the proof that it has
  • demand an inventory and agree it
  • send notice by recorded delivery, keep a copy. In that notice, say how you will return the keys if they are not collected.
  • take your own photos on arrival and departure.

I agree that this kind of illegal activity by your landlord gives all landlords a bad name.

Original poster
GinTonicLemon · 01/04/2014 16:47

Many thanks for your replies. My deposit is protected, I'm not sure who with off the top of my head but I will dig it out - the agent sent the paperwork once the rolling contract started. Am I entitled to request the deposit back myself or do I have to wait for the LL to do so?

I feel so stupid for hand posting my notice to leave - I guess it means he can claim I owe an extra month or two in rent? I just wanted to ensure he got it but obviously should have posted it instead.

I didn't realise the inventory was so important in these matters, this was the first property I rented (I had to leave my previous home/partner due to DV). I suppose it makes it a his word vs mine situation.

Him visiting me in work has really shaken me, I will contact the non-emergency police number tonight and send a message to warn against him doing that. It was really intimidating and I ended up eating lunch at my desk rather than popping out in case he was waiting around. I'm worried he is going to be waiting for me to leave/for me to get home. I don't know him other than the couple of times he inspected the property, so it has made me a bit anxious.

I will contact Shelter too, see what they can advise. I'm so annoyed as the work Environmental Health requested him to do was never done yet I continued to pay rent until I could afford to move. I can't wait until the stress is over...I was just finally starting to feel happy too.

OP posts:
Crutchlow35 · 01/04/2014 16:57

Did you sign for 12 months or 6 months and then rolling? If you signed for 12 months then they can hold you to 12 months. If 6 months then yes, you only need give 4 weeks notice - however the date you can legally leave depends on your rent date so, for instance say your rent date is today 1st April then to give 4 weeks notice you should have given notice to quit on or before 1 march. If you did it on 2 march then your tenancy runs until 1 April. Hope that makes sense.

BillyBanter · 01/04/2014 17:06

I didn't realise the inventory was so important in these matters, this was the first property I rented (I had to leave my previous home/partner due to DV). I suppose it makes it a his word vs mine situation.

No it doesn't make it a his word v yours situation. It's his problem. If he hasn't got an inventory signed by you then he can't justify any charges for how you left the property. It's up to him to prove you left it in a worse state than you found it and without an inventory he can't.

Mention EH stuff to Shelter too.

Original poster
GinTonicLemon · 01/04/2014 17:11

It was originally a 6 month contract, then I signed another 6 month contract which ended on 20th January. I hand posted the letter giving 1 month notice on the 18th February stating I would be leaving on the 20th March (I actually moved out on the 16th March but posted the keys Special Delivery on the 18th so they would get there on time - RM tracking shows they tried to deliver on the 19th).

The LL is now saying he never received the hand posted letter of notice. He then gave me 3 months notice on the 1st March and I assumed that was to cover himself in case I didn't leave on the date I had written IYSWIM.

OP posts:
Original poster
GinTonicLemon · 01/04/2014 17:15

Billy That's good to know. I left the property spotless and took photos but I doubt I will need them if it is his responsibility to prove rather than mine.

I will be sure to mention the EH issues to Shelter too, I have a letter from the council stating that the property has Category 1 and 2 hazards and a formal notice to say they should have been completed by early December...the works weren't completed and EH never got back to me when I chased them up.

I thought Shelter were only for homeless people for some reason!

OP posts:
BillyBanter · 01/04/2014 17:17

Start with a look round their website. If that's not enough give them a call.

Protecting tenant rights is a good way to prevent homelessness.

LIZS · 01/04/2014 17:21

He can't issue notice on 1st if your rent date is 20th/21st and should be 8 weeks' not 3 months' so his isn't valid anyway.

Original poster
GinTonicLemon · 01/04/2014 17:28

Does that mean he won't be able to to claim any more rent from me. I don't really know where I stand as I hand posted the letter of notice and the LL is claiming he did not receive this. I feel so stupid.

I don't think the notice he gave was valid anyway as he put his address as his old address and when his wife delivered it, scribbled it out and wrote their new address. Wow...he sounds worse and worse the more I write.

OP posts:
BillyBanter · 01/04/2014 17:35

He's not quite got the hang of it, has he?

UnexpectedItemInShaggingArea · 01/04/2014 17:47

You made two mistakes in that you didn't chase for acknowledgement of your notice, and you didn't ask for a check out meeting with the LL.

You should fight it, the deposit schemes are fair to both parties, but you should expect to lose a month's rent on what you've said.

Sorry, you've been unlucky to encounter a shitty LL.

specialsubject · 01/04/2014 17:48

it does indeed get worse and worse! Environmental health notices???

with the deposit in a scheme (at least he did that) you really do not need to worry about losing any of it - that is what the scheme is for. Make it a priority to find the information, get in touch with the scheme TOMORROW and make sure your case is lodged to get your deposit back.

the system is biased to the tenant - and in this case, I am very glad.

UnexpectedItemInShaggingArea · 01/04/2014 17:48

Ah, just seen your latest post.

If he's that disorganised he may not have given you the mandatory information about deposits. If that's the case you can demand 3 x your deposit back from him :)

Original poster
GinTonicLemon · 01/04/2014 18:13

I will have to check about the deposit as I received paper work regarding the deposit from the agent when the first 6 month contract expired. The LL has never actually mentioned the deposit so I will definitely look into this further tonight as I have checked the govt recommended deposit schemes and the quick searches they offer haven't pinged anything back.

The EH issue basically were to do with fire and health risks - they were told to carry out the work on 3 occasions with a formal notice. The work was never completed. My new home is with the LHA - I was given quite a high banding due to the condition of the property.

OP posts:
specialsubject · 01/04/2014 19:13

I also just discover that if the deposit was not protected, you have six years (not 30 days as before) to claim from your landlord.

(any other landlords - make very sure your agent lodges the deposit and gives the required information to the tenant, not only because it is the law and the right thing to do but because getting it wrong leaves you open to a lot of trouble. The responsibility is YOU, not the agent)

OP - the harassment is the most concerning item so please deal with that first.

Sunnyshores · 01/04/2014 20:36

You should also have been sent new prescribed information from the deposit scheme when you renewed the contract (new law just ratified). Without this its 3x your deposit he owes you.

You can contact the deposit people and ask for the deposit to be refunded to you. He will then have to contact them and say no, then its arbitration - without an inventory he is stuffed. Unfortunately this tends to be very slow and will take a couple of months.

So, in the meantime you need to call the police and say you are being harrassed.

Other than this intimidation, I dont think you owe any rent, any of your deposit and all should be well (I'm a landlord and am disgusted by these rougues)

Original poster
GinTonicLemon · 01/04/2014 21:22

I have looked through the paperwork I received and although the agent has sent me a MyDeposits terms and conditions booklet, there's no reference number and the spaces where the agent/LL and I should have signed is blank. All that it has is the property address.

Do I need to ring MyDeposits and find out if was registered with them or do I need to contact the LL and ask? I didn't know about the law about new information with a renewal. When did this come into effect? If he has not protected it, how do I go about claiming 3x the deposit?

I range the police on 101 and they were incredibly unhelpful, they were more interested in why my LL wanted to speak to me rather than me feeling intimidated.

I am really questioning whether him saying I owe rent stands up in court, as not only does he not have an inventory, he had also given me an invalid it seems S21 notice, along with the EH works that he failed to do...it doesn't paint a pretty picture.

I'm glad there are nice landlords out there who are shocked by this, you hear so many horror stories about renting. Equally, I know there are some nightmare tenants out there.

Thanks so much for your advice everyone. I am sure I will have more questions and queries though.

OP posts:
BillyBanter · 01/04/2014 21:34

Have you spoken to Shelter yet?

Maybe they can suggest a letter setting out what shaky ground he's on chasing you for rent when he has failed so spectacularly in his duties.

You need to know where your deposit is, for starters. and have your evidence ready.

CelticPromise · 01/04/2014 21:43

I would say you don't owe him anything. You have evidence of serving notice. Don't let him intimidate you.