Rental property advice

[IronMike]

Hello all,

 

I moved into a rental property on the 1st of February, it was handled by a local estate agent. I signed a 6 month AST and paid a deposit. When I moved in, the landlord met me to hand over keys etc and told me I could stay as long as I wanted, his last tenants were in for 4.5 years, make the house my own etc etc. 6 weeks later, he rang me to tell me he was selling the property. Clearly this put me in a predicament as I needed to find a new place to live so I could set down some roots for me and the children. I parted ways with my former partner in December, all very amicable I must add, but kids taking it badly as can be expected. Rental properties around my way are scarce, with demand outstripping supply about 4 to 1. Luckily I managed to find somewhere, but I had to move in on 1st of June or risk losing it. I approached the landlord to ask if he could help me by releasing me from my tenancy early. I was only in this situation as he had suddenly decided to sell the house. He said the best he could do was let me off with the last months payment, but would return my deposit (which is being held by a company called My Deposits).I was proposing to leave after 4 months, so 2 months left in original AST. I figured if this was the price I had to pay, so be it. I have found out today he has now taken the house off the market, and a new tenant is moving in tomorrow on a 12 month AST! So he has taken an extra month payment off me, and is being paid by new tenant also. 
 

Have I just been unlucky? Or do I have some legal right to challenge him? I’ve not got my deposit back yet. 
 

I’ve never resorted to aggression but I am very much tempted to drive to his house and forcibly remove my deposit and the extra month he has taken from me in blood.

[Steven P]

If I understand it right, signed up for 6 month and he will let you out of the contract a month early - you don't have to pay for the last month.... so you will have paid rent for 5 months... so you are entitled to stay for 5 months. If he wants you out a month earlier then he has to allow you to pay only 4 months rent and all is then fair and even.

 

Keep everything in writing, copy in the agent and ask the contract to be cancelled at 4 months so he can get his new tenant installed. If you still have an agreement I would be tempted to be in the place tomorrow, unfortunately keys went back.

 

Shelter have a lot of good advice - you don't need to be homeless and I think have tool kits and template letters to cover a lot of situations. The agents know the form and that the legal advice you are getting is generally sound using these.... which might prompt them to pay up. I think something like give them 3 chances, chance 3 is saying "settle up or small claims court" and then start proceedings - minimal costs involved. 50-50 that when the agency gets the legal papers they will settle, if it goes to court and it goes your way you can claim time and expenses - court decides this I think but add it into the claim... but shelter has good advice.

 

After that citizens advice are also very good - I've never used the though

[Muddy42]

READ THE LEASE, in particular the landlords ability to end the lease early, it probably lists sale as a trigger.  But this would be exactly that, ending the lease, probably having given at least two months advance notice of the new lease end date.

 

I'm not clear what date the landlord proposed as a new end date?  You shouldn't have to pay rent beyond this date. Likewise if you are still paying for the property, its yours to occupy or leave empty, the landlord cannot get new tenants in.

[Trailoftears]

This makes me Mad.I'm presuming you're in England-do correct me if I'm wrong!As early as 2019-this bunch of clunts currently in charge of the U.K 'Government' promised to end the ABSOLUTE scandal of no fault evictions and to action a parliamentary bill in place to end these manifold abuses by private landlords.Have they done a damn thing in the interim?well,no.Quelle suprise given their loyalties/lies and of course they ARE generally the property owning class and are heavily funded/lobbied by private property firms with thousands of tenancies on their books.My advice-fight your case as cheaply as poss and make it as awkward as you can- its deeply cynical behaviour,but no surprise sadly-they will always rape tenants to the permissable amount-just because they can. Thank God,Here in Wales there's at least been an improvement.No fault evictions are STILL allowed,but its a 6 month notice period now rather than a single month.Also,You can now move in a partner/child in without negotiating a new agreement.Also you can at least 'ask' to be allowed a pet -and its slightly harder for the landlord to refuse.Still not good enough safeguards imo,but it is at least a start.Good luck with your current travails-and dont go quietly.

[Muddy42]

Be careful what you wish for.  Landlords aren't stupid, if you make the law too tenant friendly, introduce rent controls or keep yoyoing between policies, the supply of rental housing just dries up and landlords either sell or holiday lets.  These sound like great vote winning policies but achieve completely the opposite outcome of what was intended.  Something like this happened in the 60s,70s,80s and history is probably repeating itself now. A functioning private rental market requires a clear and fair lease and some certainty that things won't be meddled with by each successive government.

[Stere]

 

 

Quote

But bluntly, pointing to the relative decline in the PRS as evidence of the failure of rent controls is either a complete misunderstanding or a deliberate lie.

 

Rent controls - mythbusting

WWW.LIVINGRENT.ORG

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We believe in the collective power of tenants to come together to fight for their rights, and use diverse tactics – including...

 

[pleasant]

Well, I for one would love a tenant like you OP.

 

Having gone through a year of hell experiencing my first tenant, then someone who wants a place for 4 or 5 years and look after it would be a dream.

 

I was lucky. I inherited some money from my late parent(s) and it sat dormant in a bank account earning nothing for nearly a year while I thought about what to do with it (yes it's a nice problem to have, and I acknowledge that)

 

So I went out a bought a little one bed starter home.Thinking I would rent it out for 5 years or so until one of my pensions comes out then sell it and put my feet up and maybe enjoy a bit of retirement. I had quite a few applicants, some eastern european fruit pickers, some who had pets, some who were young couples and wanted to start a family....and one guy. A young lad early 20's who had been kicked out by his girlfriend after they had just had a baby and he needed a place where he could have his child over the weekends etc. I thought providing he passes the managing agents credit checks he would be ok...I felt sorry for him and thought I would help him out as he was the most deserving of the applicants to my mind.

 

Anyway.....I was told he had passed credit checks and it was a green light. He moved in and paid the first two months on time, third month was two weeks late, fourth month same again, then nothing. Taken me 7 months or so to get him out- finally gained access and the place is trashed inside. Currently having all new carpets fitted as well as total redecoration. It would seem he has some sort of hoarding issues as we removed nearly 50 black sacks of rotting food- all leaking on to the carpets and marking the walls......not forgetting to add the smell. So all curtains and other soft furnishings now ruined.

 

Looking at some of the opened letters he left behind, it would appear he has done this at 2 previous rental addresses and there are multiple unpaid bills being chased. In fact yesterday there was a letter on the mat from a bailiffs visit......trying to collect 12 months of unpaid council tax on my property.

 

The stress of all this is not doing me any good at all.

 

I just want a decent tenant.......I don't agree with no fault evictions, but I do agree it should be easier to evict quicker, idiots like my tenant

[doobin]

2 hours ago, Muddy42 said:

Be careful what you wish for.  Landlords aren't stupid, if you make the law too tenant friendly, introduce rent controls or keep yoyoing between policies, the supply of rental housing just dries up and landlords either sell or holiday lets. 

What happens to the houses that aren’t suitable for holiday lets, do they just disappear? 

Edited June 4 by doobin

[Muddy42]

27 minutes ago, doobin said:

What happens to the houses that aren’t suitable for holiday lets, do they just disappear? 

Sold to another mug landlord, sold to second home owners, airbnb, demolished, left vacant even.
 

In remote rural areas sometimes the cost to fix up and meet various energy and compliance regs makes no sense compared to low rents or pay the mortgage. Construction and labour costs have rocketed in recent years.

[doobin]

35 minutes ago, Muddy42 said:

Sold to another mug landlord, sold to second home owners, airbnb, demolished, left vacant even.
 

In remote rural areas sometimes the cost to fix up and meet various energy and compliance regs makes no sense compared to low rents or pay the mortgage. Construction and labour costs have rocketed in recent years.

Or you could even try the correct answer on for size….the house price drops slightly as it now makes no sense to rent it out and people who previously rented can buy their own houses. 
 

 Landords keep trying to push this fallacy that if they sell up the house will just disappear. It will only disappear from the rental market- for which demand will shrink by one unit as the house becomes owner-occupied instead. 
 

You are being utterly ridiculous suggesting that they would be just left vacant (with who paying the mortgage??) or demolished if the landlord couldn’t make profit from them and decided to sell. Neither of those options would ever happen.