This whole landlord/apartment saga of mine just gets worse....

[ChickenGuy]

(LONG thread again)


As you might know from the previous thread, I made a decision, based on the landlord's behaviour in the house towards myself and another girl, to announce my moving out, which, upon hearing about, he then turfed me out right there and then.


So....


I am due back the deposit I made of £400 ($650). The girl is due back £150 ($250).

She e-mailed me from the house a couple of days ago, telling me that when she requested it, he laughed in her face, and he told her that SHE NEVER GAVE HIM ANY MONEY, AND SHE CAN'T PROVE THAT SHE DID.

An argument then started, he marched into her room and started grabbing her stuff (even though it was late at night and she was in her pyjamas) and it was ONLY the sudden appearance of the third tenant and his friend at the front door that brought on a sudden change of mind by him, and stopped her getting turfed out that night.

It is quite obvious he will make exactly the same claim for non-receival of my deposit.

Even worse, I gave him this month's full rent of £440 in advance.

I am due back half of that for time not spent there, so that makes, to my mind, a total of £620 ($1,000) that this creep has now got from me.

I feel more than a little stupid now, considering that I never insisted on receipts for deposits or rent, and I always paid rent straight up in cash for the entire month in advance.

I know what JUBbers will say - I HAVE sought legal advice, from a man that goes to the badminton group (he is a expert on legal and tenancy issues because it's his profession) and he says I can indeed file an action through the small claims procedure. I will be heading to the local Citizens Advice Bereau tomorrow.

The action, if it comes to it, will be improved by the fact that both me and the girl are in the same boat, and can to a degree corroborate and verify each other's story.


As if this was not trouble enough, there's a second issue that is now hanging over me....


The request I made (with 6-week payment up-front) to move into an apartment has been refused.

This despite the fact that I PROVED I had enough money in savings in the bank to cover my stay for an entire year.

The reason for refusal was two-fold....

First, I am unemployed, and this counts against me. They want residents with proof of income.

And second (are you ready for this) they expect a good reference FROM THE PREVIOUS LANDLORD.

It doesn't matter that I stated I could get one from the previous landlord before that in Edinburgh, it doesn't matter that my dad could get ones from friends and associates at home.

I later on the next day went to the nearest estate agency, and candidly asked the lady there if an unemployed man with no reference from the previous landlord could ever get accommodation. Her answer was immediate. NEVER.

That I am being penalised and prevented in trying to move on with my life directly because I stood up to a verbally abusive landlord is just unbelievable.

The only option now is to try online rental sites like gumtree, for private rentals.


And, just to prove the old phrase correct about bad things coming in threes....


I find out from my dad that three £50 parking charges have been posted to me at home (they have my old address)

Turns out that the fucking car park by the railway station was reading the number-plates of users. I DID TRY TO PAY! The kiosk was empty. The buzzer and intercom had no one responding. The ticket machines at the entrance/exit were covered in tarpaulin and taped over. How the fuck was I supposed to pay?

It's crazy, but this one has actually got me the most annoyed of the three.

I even DID finally work out the third time the way to text the small £2 fee after giving them my payment details. Turns out I paid for the 2 hours ahead of me leaving, not the 2 hours I'd just spent there.

I was told by their man at the call-centre over the phone that I may have grounds to appeal.

I sent a detailed appeal of the charges by e-mail last week.

It was refused.

Unless I want the fine to go up to £90 each, I must pay in two weeks.

Another £150 ($250) away.


It never rains, but it pours.

 

[LilBit]

Oy. I hope this situation improves soon, babe.

In the future, it's definitely a good idea to pay by check or insist upon a receipt. Landlords--particularly of small properties--are notorious for cheating tenants out of deposits. If the landlord won't take checks or refuses to give you a receipt, that's a good sign that you shouldn't live there. In fact, the fact that your landlord didn't *offer* you a receipt is very shady. If anything, the complete lack of receipts for deposit or rent will prove to the court that your landlord was irresponsible in his record-keeping.

As for finding a new place, you might find that a corporate landlord (i.e. an apartment complex) might be more flexible with you (and MUCH more likely to follow all applicable laws) than a private individual.

As for the parking fines, I suggest kicking someone in the shins.

 

[borg69unimatrix]

Wow. I don't even know what to say.

The rental laws here are very specific - and here he would have broken numerous ones. In the future, definitely get everything in writing! I hope the lack of paperwork doesn't bite you in the ass.

Is there some kind of on line rental rating place where you can warn others not to rent from this guy??? He needs to be shut down.

I'd have a hard time not going Predator on his ass!

Remind me... if you're not working, why are you 600 miles from home?

 

[Beachguyj]

Go to court with your roommate, and ask him in court how he would let you live there without a deposit. He won't be prepared with an answer hopefully, also try to secretly record him saying that he did in fact have your deposit.

Do you have a lease? If so it should have the deposit info on there.

Also finding a new place, see if a friend will vouch for you as to having a job, or say you are self employed.

As far as your last place you lived, say you lived with friends or family and give your previous good recommendation.

 

[T-Rexx]

I'd let you stay in my spare room, ChickenGuy. But I live a few thousand miles away.

 

[MindBlast]

All you need to do is make sure you've got a recorder on in your pocket, go see him and ask for your deposit back. He'll likely incriminate himself. Then you sue him for damages (deposit, month of rent).

Also, it's extremely unlikely that he would even let you live there without a deposit, so the courts will probably find you did in fact pay a deposit, even without a recording, but the question they will have to answer is "how much?". That's harder to prove. If you have bank records of how much you withdrew on the day you moved in, you could win the case. Also, make sure you first get him to admit in court when you moved in to the place.

I'm not a legal expert at all, but these are just things I've learned through friends who have gone through the process.

 

[star-warrior]

I'm sorry to hear about your recent troubles, ChickenGuy. If you're going to the CAB, perhaps you can mention your problems about references to them and see if they can help in anyway.

 

[Harke the Boeotarch]

Have you tried to go to the Police Office with the other tennant?

The request I made (with 6-week payment up-front) to move into an apartment has been refused.

Never say you're unemployed, say you're a student or a temp worker.

If they fear you might not have the money ask a good friend with a steady income (e.g. your father) to sign a document in which they state that they guarantee payment of the rent for you.

If they want a reference, give them one from the landlord in Edinburgh.

If that's not good enough for them, just leave them be.

 

[freefall]

I have no idea what to say for this entire mess you are in. I just hope things will get better and resolve.

Perhaps you could ask someone you know to assist you in applying a new apartment so you give out eligible impression? Like what Harke said?

 

[mbamike]

I feel your pain ChickenGuy. I had my own issues with a landlord that resulted in me moving out and moving on with my life. I now have an legal action against her.

I hope the best for you.

 

[unloadonme]

Do you think your former landlord has reported his letting income to Her Majesty's Revenue & Customs?

Do you think he should?

http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/tax-evasion/hotline.htm

 

[swerve]

Wait a second...

Multiple people are MESSING with JUB's VERY OWN CHICKENGUY???

Well -- they don't know WHO they picked a fight with...

And...

I DO!!!

I KNOW FOR A FACT that you are going to see ALL of these issues resolved -- and HOPEFULLY in VERY SHORT ORDER...

You're a BRILLIANT guy with the EXTRA TIME needed to challenge each and every item...

I'm SURE that your tenant expert badminton friend can help you with the refund of deposit -- possibly even steer you towards a new apartment...

And file an APPEAL ON THE APPEAL regarding your parking -- go and take some pictures to show how DIFFICULT it was to understand how to pay...

I KNOW that YOU won't take this sitting down -- And I look FORWARD to hearing about how you've RESOLVED ALL of these offenses towards you...

SOME fights aren't worth the hassle -- but in EACH of THESE instances -- YOU were the victim -- and NO ONE wants to live their life like that...

 

[levenshulme31]

Sounds like you were illegally evicted and may be able to sue him for compensation.

It goes without saying that not getting receipts for rent payments and your deposit was foolish, but if, as it sounds, you have witnesses to corroborate your payments and can show bank statements showing cash withdrawals of similar amounts each month, that will help.

Did you have a rental agreement? If so what was the nature of the tenancy?

If everything was done by cash without paperwork, grass him up to the Inland Revenue and Trading Standards. There are very strict rules govenring what landlords can and can't do to their tenants. For a start, deposit payments should be held in separate accounts and not treated as revenue for the landlord. If you paid £440 per month and he has other tenants, then he will be exceeding the £5600 (I think) annual limit which is tax exempt.

Even if you didn't have a written tenancy agreement, the fact that you lived there (presumably you will have utility bills, council tax, tv licence or bank statements in your name with that address), in law, a tenancy will exist as both you and the landlord will have acted in a way which implies the existence of a contract - i.e. you have lived there and paid rent, he has allowed you to live there and accepted rent from you.

He cannot kick you out in the way you describe. He has to give you legal Notice to Quit or a Notice Seeking Possession with a specified date on which you should leave. Even if you then do not leave, he cannot throw you out. He must then seek a Possession Order from the County Court, then an eviction warrant. This can take several months.

Get some legal advice and good luck.

 

[levenshulme31]

As for the parking tickets, if it is a private carpark and not a ticket from an actual traffic warden, I suggest telling them to go fuck themselves. My understanding of it is these shifty car parking companies have no legal right to levy fines. If you just ignore their letters, they eventually give up - they rely in the fact that many people will send a cheque when they receive an official looking 'fine', especially when they are threatiened with ever increasing fines if they don't pay up.

A Google search will yield much info about how to avoid paying such fines. (Obviously if they are legit tickets, i.e. council issued, probably best to cough up the £150 and try not to kick the cat too hard.

 

[borg69unimatrix]

You could always do the dance of 1,000 Chickens on his front yard.

 

[StlKj]

Contact the wimpy lover of the landlord and tell him you expect a good letter of reference from him, seeing as how he does not stand up for the other people who live in the house. He can at least act on your behalf to provide you with a good reference.