Mazda Rotary Club

General => Rotary and General Chit-Chat => Topic started by: Mikey22 on May 18, 2012, 08:57:05 AM

Title: Landlords!!! Who hates them???
Post by: Mikey22 on May 18, 2012, 08:57:05 AM
Is it me or do landlords have nothing elsebetter to do than moan about stupid insignificant things!!!
 
I live in a little cottage at the front of a caravan park. Its nice and quiet, the cottage is owned by the people who own the caravan park. They bought it some years ago to stop people from finishing dog kennels at the rear of the building as the noise would disturb the caravan site.
 
Ok so this is what he is moaning about,
 
For a short time i had some clothes piled on the wondowcills until they were put away. He said from the outside it looked untidy.
 
My kersone tank is getting lowish on oil, he now thinks im not heating the house because i\'ve stopped using the kerosene to heat the house. Instead im using the coal fire which also heats the house. Due to the age and structure (no foundations) the cottage has 1 spot of rising damp. He says thats my fault for now heating the house.
 
He\'s complaining that the inside of the house is untidy, despite the fact i hoover atleast twice a week and clean up. Its just lived in.
 
They say i pay late desite the main bulk of the money is paid by direct debit and is always paid on time. The only other bit is i pay a seperate amount for the shed thats out the back, which currently is filled with his families property from months ago when they moved house and havnt been back to collect their stuff.
 
Lastly is the one that annoys me the most. My GF moved in with me about a year ago. They are only just complaining now the fact she is living with me as in the beginning i rented it by myself. there is nothing in the contract to say i have to live alone or cant cohabitate with anyone. I just cant sublet. Its strange they would wait a whole year to complain about this.
 
Is this just me of have other people had experiences like this?
 
Cheers
 
Mike
Title: Landlords!!! Who hates them???
Post by: wolfie1 on May 18, 2012, 09:55:58 AM
that is petty! i own my own house and my g/friend lives with me so she lets out her flat, to begin with it was just the a guy and his cat that lived there and his g/friend has moved in with him in the past 4 months and the problem being................................ nothing, they pay the electric, council tax etc so whats the problem!
Title: Landlords!!! Who hates them???
Post by: hayden on May 18, 2012, 09:56:25 AM
leave....................
Title: Landlords!!! Who hates them???
Post by: Mikey22 on May 18, 2012, 10:13:41 AM
This is why i cant understand it......I have no arrear in council tax or rent. Everything is paid. After that for coal and heating etc it has to be paid in advance anyways.
 
Despite the fact they live only a matter of 400-500 yards up the road (caravan site is an old farm with a farm house and my cottage is the old game keepers cottage) they have never been to inspect or see the house since i moved in.
 
But i dont want to leave because i really like it there. Had a look at others on the market but theres nothing in the country like this one.
Title: Landlords!!! Who hates them???
Post by: neil_jdmr on May 18, 2012, 09:46:59 PM
Yup im a landlord too and tbh you just have miserable wankers for landords there by the sounds of it. My tennants are great with me and i return the favour by just leaving them alone to do whatever they like really, any changes they want to make (paint the walls, chuck the washer away to buy a new one etc) they ask first but i cant see why its a problem. My opinion is while they are paying its their house, they both smoke but not in "their" house their choice not mine.

Moving is really your only option, wanky miserable people usually dont come around to seeing anyone elses point of veiw ime
Title: Landlords!!! Who hates them???
Post by: Mikey22 on May 23, 2012, 11:52:31 AM
Neil jdmr i\'d appreciate you feedback on this one,
 
My landlord had a \'word\' with me last night because i sent them a \'snotty\' lever in return of their \'stndard\' (very snotty letter) to me.
 
First he asked if i intended to stay.....i was like yes i really like it. He then asked me who wrote my letter and i said me but i did have professional help. He then had a huge go at me for sharing his business with other folk. One of my requests in the letter was i pay £75 in cash which upto now i dont get a reciept for, I said from now on i want one.....his reply....\'no\'.....\'i cant do that\'.....apparently if i get a reciept he has to rework the contract which means i have to pay more for the cottage.
 
They are working on all the grounds at the moment painting fences and trimming trees etc and i have a funny feeling that i\'ll get the blame for that too. Even tho its not my responsibility.
 
He\'s complained about the state of the inside again and the biggest complaint he had was!......\'dust\' The house was dusty.....and its olny dusty because......it has an open fire place and soot goes everywhere. I got a new TV and stand from my mum and Dad at the weekend.....Black glass stand and very nice it is......i\'ve dusted it 3 times since getting it on saturday and i left a game case out last night and picked it up to put it back on the shelf this morning....You could see the dark square where it had been sitting.
 
I just dont get it.
 
I would however like to say that i am looking for somewhere else to live. However i dont want to cause problems as it might come back on me if the new landlord needs a reference etc.
 
I\'ve only just found out that he is breaking the law due to not having any smoke detectors in the cottage at all.
Title: Landlords!!! Who hates them???
Post by: JohnnyP on May 23, 2012, 02:49:30 PM
Is your deposit held in the Deposit Protection Scheme? If not then he will find it very difficult to evict you anyway. Ask the question at Moneysavingexpert.com, they are very knowledgeable on tenant rights. Also, how does he know your house is dusty? He shouldn\'t be entering the house unless it\'s an emergency.
Title: Landlords!!! Who hates them???
Post by: Mikey22 on May 23, 2012, 02:55:39 PM
This is what i\'m trying to figure out. He was in twice 2 weeks ago. To fix the emersion heater and that should hopefully be it. However its sad that fact i may need to go to the extent of setting up things to see if anyone enters the house whilst im not there. No my deposit is held with the landlord himself. They want nothing to with any outsiders, i think thats why he bit my head off about who i\'d asked for help in case it was a soicitor etc. To me its like hes trying to hide something.
Title: Landlords!!! Who hates them???
Post by: JohnnyP on May 23, 2012, 03:00:42 PM
If he\'s not using the DPS then he\'s breaking the law. If he gives you any more grief then you could mention this.
Title: Landlords!!! Who hates them???
Post by: Mikey22 on May 23, 2012, 03:09:53 PM
Im pretty sure he\'s breaking several laws. Its just a shame i cant affrord to move at this moment in time otherwise i would in a heartbeat.
Title: Landlords!!! Who hates them???
Post by: Grizzly on May 23, 2012, 03:11:10 PM
So am i Correct in saying this is a Privet landlord (not through an Agent?) that way does save you some money in the long run but tbh you are asking for trubble if they turn out to be bad landlords, it often means the Landlord wants to sell in the near future but doesn\'t want to get hit with a big tax bill.

I was Under the impresion the Landlord shouldn\'t be holding your Deposit?

We rented a few years back and found that it\'s not very nice when you know the landlord lives Localy (ours couldn\'t help driving past all the time trying too peer in) so the next house we rented off a Landlord with a Portfolio of 20 or so houses, this worked out very well because he just saw it as a Number rather than his house he saved for years to buy with some one he doesn\'t know living in it.

What i learnt from my Renting days is... Buy a house if you can. Costs about the same and you don\'t have people coming round wanting to inspect every other month.
Title: Landlords!!! Who hates them???
Post by: Mikey22 on May 23, 2012, 03:25:40 PM
Well i know my landlord will never want to sell the cottage as this cottageis at the front of the Caravan site that he runs. The person who owned it before built a huge shed at the back and was in the process of changing it into dog kennels. He wanted to breed grey hounds. The landlord bought it to stop people from finishing it as its in the contract i cannot use it as dog kennels. So he wont sell as he thinks it will ruin his buisiness.
 
Unfortunately i\'ve rented four houses and most landlords lived locally. I alsmost had to do one for harrassment as like you said everytime he went passed he peered in which i know a landlord is not allowed to do.
 
I\'m not sure who is supposed to hold the deposit but i know i paid it to the landlord and i know they have no involvement with anyone else about it. I\'d love to buy a house but due to a business deal that went very bad my credit is so low i cant even pay with money!
Title: Landlords!!! Who hates them???
Post by: neil_jdmr on May 23, 2012, 03:46:11 PM
A few things Mikey,  A landlord is not allowed to hold your deposit , By Law!!! It must be held by a DPS
A landlord is allowed in the premises but ONLY by pre-arranging a time suitable for yourself.
I can tell by what you have said ( the receipt thing ) i expect 99% he is not telling the Tax Authorities that he is receiving an income from property rental.
All rental properties must have current building insurance, smoke alarms, electrical test cert and registered gas safety cert in place.  

Your landlord is acting completely outside of the law and any of the above points should have him :censored::censored::censored::censored:ting a brick.  My advise would be since you cannot move out, politely point out the above and if he continues to harrass you then you will seek legal advise as he has a lot more to lose and you can easily get a new accomodation (just a threat as i know you dont want to move right now). I believe this should bring him into line as he will know he hasnt got a leg to stand on.
Title: Landlords!!! Who hates them???
Post by: Mikey22 on May 23, 2012, 04:10:35 PM
Thanks Neil You\'ve been a great help. About the reciept thing i agree totally with what you have said. Weird thing is tho they have put it in the contract so there is written proof of what they have asked me to pay.
 
Well i have a feeling that not having a smoke alarm is gonna FDuk u my contents insurance.
 
I just dont want to cause problems as he literally lives 500yards up the road. He also has a weekend place about 10 miles down the road. But then again i dont want him to think he can walk all over me.
 
So i\'ve began to catalogue everything. If i have to then i will get the officials involved. Although i\'m still wondering if i should do that anyways even when i do move out.
Title: Landlords!!! Who hates them???
Post by: hayden on May 23, 2012, 04:25:43 PM
Quote from: Mikey22;824177....\'no\'.....\'i cant do that\'.....apparently if i get a reciept he has to rework the contract which means i have to pay more for the cottage.

Exactly! He\'s not telling the tax man about the income he receives from renting to you. You have him by the balls big time
 
Tell him to f&*k off
Title: Landlords!!! Who hates them???
Post by: Mikey22 on May 23, 2012, 04:31:51 PM
I wish i had the guts to tell him to f&*k off lol I\'d love to do that.
 
I\'m just glad there\'s something i can do about it. I did detect how concerned he was that i got help from a professional with regards to my letter i sent him. lucky for him my friend is actually retired and has no connection with the authorities any longer.
Title: Landlords!!! Who hates them???
Post by: CTworkinprogress on May 23, 2012, 05:28:30 PM
Just to add, the landlord can hold the deposit but MUST insure it, and provide the paperwork to prove or its at least a 1000 fine. Something to think about!
Title: Landlords!!! Who hates them???
Post by: neil_jdmr on May 23, 2012, 07:02:46 PM
QuoteThanks Neil You\'ve been a great help. About the reciept thing i agree  totally with what you have said. Weird thing is tho they have put it in  the contract so there is written proof of what they have asked me to  pay.

If you have a copy of that contract then obviously keep that at hand for future reference but tbh the contract is only between you and him, overseen by a third party (his solicitor) who i imagine will know full well that his client is dodging paying the tax and probably advised him to do it so. Tbh it only proves that your paying him a fee and not that he is declaring anything to the taxman.

Just be a bit pushy back nothing to heavy but just sometimes a little threat is all thats required.
Title: Landlords!!! Who hates them???
Post by: mowales81 on May 23, 2012, 08:55:59 PM
Mate if that my landlord I will stop pay him rent for start and tell him to go court then I find a nice house in area you like then I knock him out and whatever fallow I had some dickheads like him before and they stop hussling  me when I show my real face and not being nice it just me mate if people don\'t respect me I don\'t respect back anyone even my own family witches never gonna happen but it just my rules in this monkeys land we live on.
Title: Landlords!!! Who hates them???
Post by: hayden on May 24, 2012, 11:57:33 AM
Translation please......
Title: Landlords!!! Who hates them???
Post by: zeppelin101 on May 25, 2012, 10:07:35 AM
Yeah going through some stuff with the old landlord. Apparently we didn\'t clean the place properly and it\'s our fault it\'s an old damp house which has a chronic mould problem...

On top of that, we didn\'t even have a working oven for 3 months and they are trying to get out of giving us compensation for this? It\'s in the legal fine print that any gas appliance is the landlords responsibility to keep in good condition and have serviced, yet when they were told what part was required to fix it, they didn\'t have the part ordered until we had left!

Immensely frustrating, I feel your pain in dealing with this guy. Sounds like a complete tool.
Title: Landlords!!! Who hates them???
Post by: Mikey22 on May 25, 2012, 11:49:51 AM
Wow yours sounds a complete tool as well. At least your out of there now though, my main problem is i dont know what implications there are with me renting and obvious illegal house. It doesnt meet health and safety standards and the landlord is on a obvious con!
 
I\'ve found my contract is a micky mouse contract and about as useful as a condom machine in the vaticant. I feel a bit stupid for getting into it if im honest. The only thing is i know its an assured tenancy.
Title: Landlords!!! Who hates them???
Post by: zeppelin101 on May 25, 2012, 02:31:48 PM
Bugger. I\'d cut and run as soon as you can. It sounds like it could have been a nice place, but with it being so dodgy and the guy owning it clearly being a prize dick I\'d be getting out of there as soon as!
Title: Landlords!!! Who hates them???
Post by: Mikey22 on May 25, 2012, 02:54:18 PM
Trust me im checking all the weekly papers and checking the web sites etc for something as soon as! However i dont want to move into something just as bad so im gonna be doing my homework first before i move