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

14:25 PM, 10th June 2018, About 6 years ago

Reply to the comment left by H B at 09/06/2018 - 14:55
Don't tell tax man until after yo have settled; tax man is likely to have first call on his assets.

Art

19:43 PM, 10th June 2018, About 6 years ago

Link to the video. I saw the locksmith van outside my property and used my key to enter then engaged the landlord and his son in conversation.
They were claiming that the windows were open and they gained access through the open windows. But then why were they drilling the locks.
They are now allowed to enter the property by any means unless they have first given me notice to leave and I have agreed to leave.
The link
https://youtu.be/jWDRBkzc0e0

Art

19:46 PM, 10th June 2018, About 6 years ago

Reply to the comment left by rita chawla at 09/06/2018 - 18:22
If he magically produces a building control certificate it can only be fraudulent because the house clearly has a damp problem, and there is a leak in the kitchen ceiling and the water is going into the electric socket

Robert M

20:51 PM, 10th June 2018, About 6 years ago

It appears that the property had been vacated, as most furniture and possessions had been removed, and there was just the usual bits and pieces that tenants often leave behind. I'm not saying that the landlord had any right to enter or change the locks etc, but if the landlord had good reason to believe that the property was abandoned then it may not be an illegal/unlawful eviction.
In relation to the "damp", there does appear to be some flaking or staining on some of the walls which could perhaps be either penetrating damp or condensation mould, but I also noticed a small tumble dryer in the lounge, and a drying rack, so I would guess that clothes were being dried indoors and this could have caused a lot of condensation (humidity) which then produces mould.
Apart from the things now scattered around the rooms, and the possible black mould on the walls, the house looks like it was originally provided in good condition, but of course the video only shows a small part of the house, and a lick of paint and new carpets could simply have been covering up other problems.
None of this affects the fact that the landlord should have served the appropriate notices, protected the deposit, and ensured that possession was regained in a lawful manner, e.g. with a court order, so of course it will be up to the landlord to explain himself in any court proceedings and the judge to make a ruling based upon the evidence from both parties.

Mark Alexander - Founder of Property118

20:54 PM, 10th June 2018, About 6 years ago

Reply to the comment left by Art at 10/06/2018 - 19:43
Art, I’ve watched the video.

It looks like whoever was living in this property has left.

The sound is unclear but my general impression is that the property was not your home.

What was the position please?

Robert M

20:57 PM, 10th June 2018, About 6 years ago

Reply to the comment left by Mark Alexander at 10/06/2018 - 20:54I also noticed that towards the end of the video clip there was some mention of "the other people have left now" or something to that effect, which would indicate to me that this could perhaps be an unauthorised sub-let, but not enough is said to make it clear whether this was the case or not.

If the property was apparently vacated, and left unsecured, e.g. windows or doors left open by whoever had been living there, then this could affect the whole situation.

Mark Alexander - Founder of Property118

21:21 PM, 10th June 2018, About 6 years ago

Reply to the comment left by Robert Mellors at 10/06/2018 - 20:57
I concur.

Luke P

22:11 PM, 10th June 2018, About 6 years ago

Whilst I completely agree the property very appears not to be lived in, if I were the Judge presiding over such a case, I would ask the LL for either a Deed of Surrender, a County Court Possession Order and/or a bailiff certificate. Without one of those, I’d be inclined to accept the property was still in the possession of the tenant.

Art

8:53 AM, 11th June 2018, About 6 years ago

Reply to the comment left by Robert Mellors at 10/06/2018 - 20:51
I had just vacated the property as I was moving out. I was going to give him the keys within the next few days after I had cleaned up. I had told him this. No official notice had been served by either party.
I still had some items there. I had written permission to sub-let, and the lodgers had just left. I was also living there before I moved out and was also storing some of my items there. It was not condensation as a damp specialist came and gave him a report two months ago and told him the ground level outside was higher than inside so would need to be dug up and tanked outside.

Art

8:58 AM, 11th June 2018, About 6 years ago

Reply to the comment left by Luke P at 10/06/2018 - 22:11
I had just moved my things out in the previous four days and had intended to leave, but that does not mean he can change the locks before I leave. The lodgers had just left a few days earlier. It was a mission getting them to leave as they were not paying rent and I still served notice on them. I had changed to locks.
Then they barricaded me out of the house and that was when I managed to get the police to intervene. They left and I just had to make arrangements to let them take their belongings

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