Active discussions

Meet the Other Phone. Flexible and made to last.

Meet the Other Phone.
Flexible and made to last.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Talk
Property/DIY

Join our Property forum for renovation, DIY, and house selling advice.

Original poster

Horrible tenant, changed locks & Giving notice,

108 replies

Sillysausage12345 · 20/09/2018 20:40

Evening everyone,

After a little bit of advice here

A “friend” in need needed a place to live at short notice and at the time my tenant was due to leave. I therefore let my house to this “friend” temporarily at a reduced rent as I let it privately and it does need a redecorate.

Anyway,

The new tenant changed the locks as he said someone stole the keys... a story which I now know was rubbish. However I let it slide as he got into an argument with some friends of mine and I ended up in hospital with suspected broken wrist as he pushed me over a few months ago.

So I just didn’t want the confrontation at the time as I was/an imtimidated by him.

Anyway I was hoping to let the dust settle and then to increase the rent to the proper market value and get a spare key from him to keep on file. Not for any other reason.

Last week he messaged me saying there was a radiator leak, I sent a plumber round that day, he wasn’t in.

I’ve rearranged the plumber for tomorrow and he’s saying he has plans.

I said that if he can give the plumber the spare key he can sort the leak. And I would then have said spare key.

I just received an awful phone call from him shouting down the phone about this key, I have given him 7 days to sort the key out, and he has at no point said he would do it so I have asked again today. Well he flipped out and ended up putting the phone down.

I messaged him after and asked him not to ever speak to me like that again and explained AGAIN that the key was the for agent I do not want to go into the house at any point.

He replied saying that he suggests that I don’t tell him what to do.... which not once have I done, only asked what is legally required.

I will however be giving him 1 months notice of a rent increase as I have done him a favour and he has just been awful to deal with.

I would ideally like to get him out but think he will refuse to leave and I will have a battle on my hands.... if he agrees to paying the correct amount of rent then I would be sort of ok for him to stay... I do however still need a key.

Just some words of advice or wisdom would be great, I know I’m in a difficult situation with a horrible bloke. Just wondering what they best way to go about this is.

OP posts:
Original poster
Sillysausage12345 · 20/09/2018 22:35

He has a large inheritance behind him so he could go and buy or rent another property without any trouble.

Our arrangement was purely until he sorted himself out, which I was happy to help out with but the turn of events have made me think twice about helping this man out for much longer.

Yes he had paid his reduced rent on time each month however that is all he has done.

I will if I have to issue him with 2months notice and follow all the correct procedures but if I can somehow get away with only giving him 1 month then I will.

If I give him two months notice I am just worried he won’t pay for the second month and cause damage to the property.

OP posts:
Sparrowlegs248 · 20/09/2018 22:35

OP I work in housing law. What you describe in your last post is a periodic tenancy . Same rules apply. Section 21, 2 months. Or section 8 but you must have grounds. You CANNOT rely on a section 21 if you haven't issued the info at the start of the tenancy.

Shelter has a very good website.

Original poster
Sillysausage12345 · 20/09/2018 22:40

Is assaulting the landlord & changing the locks without permission enough grounds to use the section 8 notice?

OP posts:
Original poster
Sillysausage12345 · 20/09/2018 22:41

I know it’s usually based on not paying rent on time or at all...

OP posts:
Original poster
Sillysausage12345 · 20/09/2018 22:42

And neglect to the property... nothing about what I’ve endured.

OP posts:
CountryPlumpkin · 20/09/2018 22:44

He has exclusive possession of the property and he is paying an amount of rent on a regular basis. He therefore has a periodic tenancy based on the payment pattern (weekly/4 weekly/monthly).

You must serve him an official Notice to Quit which should give him a minimum of 1 month notice, the notice period should end on the first or last day of a rental period and should also contain info on his legal rights ... check out some proper Landlord websites for the full details as I’m a bit rusty with my L&T law!
Has he paid you a deposit? If yes, did you protect it in the Deposit scheme?
Sympathies for you, he sounds horrible. Take good proper legal advice if you can. I would also involve the police re him assaulting you as it might help focus his mind on buggering off out of your property.

Original poster
Sillysausage12345 · 20/09/2018 22:46

No deposit was paid, just a monthly rent at the beginning of each month.

OP posts:
CountryPlumpkin · 20/09/2018 22:48

NB if he doesn’t have a written tenancy agreement, you can’t serve a Section 21 or Section 8 notice.

Original poster
Sillysausage12345 · 20/09/2018 22:53

“If you are a tenant at will (no lease):
Your landlord must give you either a 30-day or 7-day written notice to leave, or they can combine both of these into one notice. Any notice must advise you of your right to contest the eviction in court. This is called a "Notice to Quit."
30-day written notice
Your landlord can evict you with 30 days notice for almost any reason or no reason.”

Or

“ 7-day written notice

To evict you with a 7-day notice, your landlord must have a reason and state that reason in writing. If you are a tenant at will (no lease), the reason must be one of these:

You have seriously damaged the apartment and have not repaired the damage.
You have been a "nuisance" to other tenants or neighbors. (Examples: You pick fights with your neighbors, don't let them sleep, or destroy their property.)
You have made the apartment unlivable or unfit to live in.
You have changed your door locks and have refused to give your landlord a duplicate key. (Read more about this rule).
You are 7 days or more behind in rent.”

OP posts:
Iwantaunicorn · 20/09/2018 22:53

You can serve a s21 even without a written tenancy agreement, you just can’t use the accelerated process.

Original poster
Sillysausage12345 · 20/09/2018 22:53

This info states that if the tenant has changed the locks and has refused to supply landlord with a spare key then landlord is entitled to give just 7 days notice.

OP posts:
CharlotteFlax · 20/09/2018 22:54

Serve notice (if it's got to be two months then so be it) and get him out. Don't bother asking for a rent increase.

Why would he be more likely to damage the property and not pay for the second month if you gave two months notice than if you gave him one months notice? He sounds like a proper nasty piece of work and could well do all that with only one months notice too!

Please get proper legal advice and follow it scrupulously.

70isaLimitNotaTarget · 20/09/2018 22:54

Are you able to force entry for an emergency?
If the radiator leaks is there a risk of damage ? Affecting the electrics if it leaks through to another floor?

Forced entry might just be for gas leaks or fire though?

Original poster
Sillysausage12345 · 20/09/2018 22:54

I think he’s classed as a “at will tenant” (no tenancy)

OP posts:
Original poster
Sillysausage12345 · 20/09/2018 22:56

He would be just as likely to damage the property with only one months rent but I would have that months rent already paid.

OP posts:
Joe66 · 20/09/2018 23:01

On no account change the locks and exclude him from the property. The most recently reported case for illegal eviction cost the landlord in excess of 20,000 pounds. He has an assured shorthold tenancy by default under the statutory law whether there is a written tenancy agreement is irrelevant if he is being charged rent. You cannot serve a s21 no fault notice until 4 months into the tenancy. Unfortunately you will not be able to serve a s21 notice until you have complied with your statutory duties as a landlord. These are he MUST be served with the latest edition of the how to rent booklet, a copy of the Energy Performance Certificate and the gas safety certificate if there is gas In the property. Unfortunately if there is gas In the property and no gsc any s21 notice will be invalid. As the tenant is being awkward, in your position i would serve a s21 notice (if you can). If you can' you're a bit stuffed. You can increase the rent by agreement but if he doesn't agree you will need to serve a notice. Can't remember but might be a s13. PM me if you want if you don't have a gsc and I can give you further info.

Sparrowlegs248 · 20/09/2018 23:05

Where are you OP and where did you get that info? He's a tenant, with an assured shorthold tenancy. It doesn't matter one bit that he has no written tenancy agreement.

I really think you should seek some legal advice from a solicitor specialising in housing law. You wouldn't believe how many solicitors give dopey advice about housing. The legislation had changed quite a bit in recent years too.

Look at the grounds for serving a section 8.

Sparrowlegs248 · 20/09/2018 23:06

To see if any apply I mean
.

wowfudge · 20/09/2018 23:08

As a tenant with a valid tenancy he has the right to quiet enjoyment of the property - you don't have the right to have a key to enter whilst he lives there. He should replace your original locks when his tenancy ends. Only a tenant or a court can end a tenancy. Get legal advice. And report his assault on you to the police.

lll77 · 20/09/2018 23:11

the stuff you posted at 22:53 is from an American site by the looks of it (Americanised spellings) so prob not UK law

TwistedStitch · 20/09/2018 23:13

I'm pretty sure there are no circumstances in UK law where you can evict a tenant who is paying rent for exclusive use of a property with only 7 days notice.

CountryPlumpkin · 20/09/2018 23:15

Apologies Iwantaunicorn, you are correct re Section 21 notice Blush

Original poster
Sillysausage12345 · 20/09/2018 23:16

He’s on a periodic tenancy as there isn’t a tenancy agreement written up.

I could inform him of the raise in rent to the market value and hope he doesn’t agree and therefore leaves the property on his own accord.

Or issue him with a notice to quit as he has changed the locks without my permission and then refusing to supply a spare key. The likely event of him allowing me into the property for inspections is pretty slim, so is that not going against tenancy/landlord laws?

OP posts:
Original poster
Sillysausage12345 · 20/09/2018 23:19

This is taken from the shelter website

Periodic tenancy

If you have a periodic tenancy, for example month-to-month, your landlord must give you a written 'notice to quit'.

The notice must also:

end on the first or last day of a rental period
be for a minimum of 4 weeks or 1 month, depending on how often you pay your rent
contain certain legal information, such as telling you that you should get advice if you're not sure of your rights

OP posts:
Joe66 · 20/09/2018 23:21

I really do think that people who rent out property would do well to appraise themselves of the law and their statutory duties. It actually isn't a difficult subject but an awful lot of people get it wrong (including in my experience some solicitors) and the result is an awful muddle like this.

Swipe left for the next trending thread