No notice, because “it’s my house”!

No notice, because “it’s my house”!

8:34 AM, 8th June 2018, About 6 years ago 59

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Sounds unbelievable, but my landlord just called a locksmith to come and change the locks and has taken possession of his house without any kind of legal process.

I caught him in the act and made a video. He thinks he can just do this because “It’s my house”.

  • He called a locksmith and drilled the locks and installed his own locks to exclude me from the property.
  • He served no notice, no section 8 or section 21, not even any kind of written or even verbal notice.
  • He has not even returned my deposit and did not even register my deposit even 7 months later.
  • He also did not give me the written tenancy agreement. he got me to sign it, but did not give me my copy.
  • He always wanted the rent is cash and gave no receipts.

Only five months into the tenancy I finally had enough and got him to sign a “Confirmation of tenancy agreement” letter I wrote up to protect myself. In that letter, he confirmed that he was renting the house to me, with the start date of the agreement. He also confirmed I had paid him a £550 refundable deposit.
The letter also confirmed that I had paid all rent up to date, in cash.

He also confirmed that I had permission to sub-let the property if I chose to.

I had paid all rent up to date except I was now 8 days overdue, because I intended to return the property to him within a few days, so it made no sense to pay rent in the last month as he already had my deposit.

Once he broke in, and changed the locks I logged the incident with the police and am now in the process of taking legal action.

Here’s the fun bit:
The reason he had not given me the tenancy agreement was because he actually was NOT ALLOWED to rent the property to me because…..
wait for it…..
it had not been signed off by the council as habitable.

They were waiting for (1) proof that he had DAMP COURSED the property
and (2) installed the required amount of insulation in the kitchen ceiling.

He had done neither of these, and no council tax was being charged as it was UNINHABITABLE. I was not aware of this until I had already taken possession.

Then the damp appeared, and paint began to flake off and the electrics would turn off because of damp in some sockets.

I still paid the full rent.

As far as I can see, he has broken just about every rule in the book.

Yet when I spoke to some lawyers, they seem to think I have a weak case, just because he had not given me a copy of the tenancy agreement.

Let’s see how many of the rules he has broken

1. Rented an uninhabitable property when expressly not allowed by the council
2. Taken a deposit and not registered it for 7 months
3. Served no notice of any kind on me to leave the property
4. Always insisted on a CASH payment – maybe so they could deny I was even a tenant. However the signed letter proves I was
5. Drilled the locks while I was away from the property.
6. taken illegal possession without any legal right to possess.

When I caught them in the act of changing the lock, all they said was “It’s OUR property, not YOURS!”
They said I was not allowed to change the locks. The reason I changed the locks was because they had entered my property several times without my permission.

Has anyone ever dealt with such a landlord, who flouts all the rules?
and thinks he can just get away with it?

Art


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Comments

Michael Barnes

19:57 PM, 8th June 2018, About 6 years ago

Reply to the comment left by Simon Williams at 08/06/2018 - 11:14
You almost certainly breached the tenancy contract by changing the locks

I believe that provided the tenant replaces the original locks before vacating, then s/he is entitled to change the locks for her/his protection and peace of mind.

Michael Barnes

20:00 PM, 8th June 2018, About 6 years ago

If this is for real, then
1. Council for illegal eviction, etc. (criminal case)
2. Civil case for illegal eviction and deposit issues (tenant gets no damages awarded in criminal case)

Art

3:11 AM, 9th June 2018, About 6 years ago

Reply to the comment left by terry sullivan at 08/06/2018 - 11:31
He was renovating the house and to be signed off as habitable, he needed those documents. As it happens, he did not do the damp proofing at all, nor the kitchen ceiling insulation. I guess they were building regulation requirements

Art

3:13 AM, 9th June 2018, About 6 years ago

Reply to the comment left by Michael Barnes at 08/06/2018 - 20:00
I am going down the civil litigation route and will sue for damages. I have a signed statement that confirms I was a tenant and had paid the deposit. I cannot be a lodger as landlord was not resident there.

Art

3:16 AM, 9th June 2018, About 6 years ago

Reply to the comment left by Michael Barnes at 08/06/2018 - 19:57
I changed the locks for a very good and valid reason. He was entering my property without my permission, and was also turning the heating on (I was paying the bills). The reason he was turning the central heating on was to try to "Dry out" the walls as he thought is was the plaster drying out, not damp.

Art

3:18 AM, 9th June 2018, About 6 years ago

Reply to the comment left by Kate Mellor at 08/06/2018 - 09:00
I am more interested in civil litigation, as I want to get paid for all the hassle, rather than get him fined for a criminal offence.

Art

3:21 AM, 9th June 2018, About 6 years ago

Reply to the comment left by Simon Williams at 08/06/2018 - 11:14
I don't see how I breached the contract by changing the locks because he has no contract in place that states I am not allowed to change the locks.
And in addition I have a good reason to, because he entered my property without permission and cost me money by turning on the heating.

Art

3:25 AM, 9th June 2018, About 6 years ago

Reply to the comment left by Robert Mellors at 08/06/2018 - 11:45
The lawyer I spoke to said the judge will want to see the tenancy agreement, and since I don't have one, my case is weak.
He said he would argue it was an implied tenancy.
However, i have a signed paper stating I have a tenancy agreement and the terms of is which I wrote out briefly. I got him to sign it because I refused to pay the rent unless he signed it.

Art

3:31 AM, 9th June 2018, About 6 years ago

Reply to the comment left by David Lawrenson at 08/06/2018 - 13:19
I actually found it very hard to get any decent legal advice. Most solicitors are on £200+ per hour and just the initial letter before action will cost me over £200.
Then the court case preparation may be £1000+ and finally the court case if the solicitor attends could run into several thousands.
I can't claim this back from the landlord unless it is beyond the £10,000 small claims limit.
I can afford it - but even if I win (which is likely), I then have to enforce it. More expense again.
It is all worth it?

Art

3:39 AM, 9th June 2018, About 6 years ago

Reply to the comment left by rita chawla at 08/06/2018 - 13:48
The house was not rented to me "On a cash basis" and with no agreement.
It was just a normal rental. I paid cash first as it was reasonable to do so. I also expected to be given the tenancy.
Only later did the landlord say he wanted only cash. It was not an agreed condition. I can only guess he doesn't want to pay tax. He is also a taxu driver - so used to cash payment and no tax.
I did not refuse to pay rent, just didn't always pay on the first of the month as he wanted it in cash. I told him I would be happy to set up a standing order, but he insisted on cash.

I just told him that since he had my deposit money, there was no need to panic if I paid a week late, since he still had my deposit. There was not going to be any damage to the property as it was already in a bad state!

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