Where to start.
I have lived at the property just over 3 years with my partner and 2 young children. I have had regular inspections every 6 months. Sometimes by the LL, sometimes by his Mum, as he lives 300 miles away.
When we first saw this property, It was For Sake not For Rent. It was in an ideal area for us so we thought we would try our luck and posted a letter through the door asking if he was considering renting, and that we were interested.
The LL got in touch and arranged a viewing, agreeing to rent to us. When we viewed the property it was LL's Mum who showed us around, and let us know it had been on the market for some time, as there was a lot of work that needed to be done to the property for it to successfully sell.
We loved the house and although the garage door was broken, The extention bedroom was freezing, and the kitchen window was jammed shut with kitchen roll, We decided to snap the opera unity up and moved in. We signed a 6 month short hold tenancy agreement which was a standard printed agreement, Nothing personal was added by the LL.
3 years pass with inspections every 6 months but no renewal of the tenancy agreement has ever been done. All was well, We to this day still have the freezing bedroom, jammed kitchen window and broken garage door, aswell as 2 rooms with no radiators as the LL previously removed them as 'they weren't needed.' Now don't get me wrong, It sounds like the property is a nightmare but it is actually lovely! Fitted kitchen, 3 bedrooms and spacious with a gorgeous garden.
Now, this is where it gets nasty :(
Last week I received a text from LL. he has always been very very blunt, formal and official. Also very very picky and overly critical. His text was to confirm another inspection this weekend which I of course agreed to. I made sure the house, garden and garage were cleaned immaculately with not a thing out of place. It is not furnished so everything inside is mine, and I am the one who has decorated aswell as forked out for an expensive new carpet. This was known by LL and complimented on the previous year.
Anyway, My partner was staying home to allow LL in because I already had plans with the children. I got home that evening expecting a gleaming report, Only to hear from my partner that LL was not at all happy! I could not believe it.
Now, everything said since this day is all very suspicious to me. I believe LL is deliberately hatching a plan to sell the property whilst trying to get me to prepare the property for viewers, but at the same time, not tell me. Let me explain...
LL picked fault with everything he saw. He was furious, suddenly, that I had ran out of paint and left a 5 inch patch about the curtain pole I painted. He was furious that I did not have freshly planted flowers and primed hedges in the garden, but Infact had lovely swings for the children, a sandpit, slide. None on the grass, on the patio, neatly placed and well looked after. We have also recently forked out for lovely garden furniture and a steel cream gazebo. LL did not comment on anything nice, Only bad. He then went on to say when we moved in the property was in selling state, and now it is not. He said if things do not change he will have to issue notice. Just like that, personality change out of the blue. What on earth did we do wrong? LLs Mum is much nicer and has complimented the property many times on her visits, She is always very happy, and on the occasions LL conducts the inspections, he has never made a complaint to me.
When we moved in, behind the back fence, There was a wasted patch of land overrun with large weeds, with ferret cages dumped there. We did not mind, it was concealed behind the fence and the LL said it had been like that for years. After a year at the property, My partner set to work and got the patch cleaned up, and we had plans to make it into a play area. He then go more hours at work and didnt have the time to finish the patch, So the weeds grew back and it returned to previous state. LL has never attempted to have any work done on that patch in the 3 years we have lived here. Suddenly, after this weekend inspection, He has not arranged for a Gardener to get to work on it. He has arranged for someone to come out and check the roof of the house, He has arranged t have the water/heating system flushed. Along with all this sudden property maintenance, He has said he is writing me a letter listing a number if things he wants ME to do to the property, with 'a realistic time frame to complete by.'
There is nothing I have done wrong with the property. Nothing. So last night I received a text stating the gardener would visit today to asses the garden, saying i must ensure i am home. I agreed swiftly, and stayed at home all day. By 5pm still no gardener, so I text LL nervously telling him. He replied 'It is sometime today, Can not be accurate.' So 6pm comes and along comes the gardener. Lovely, lovely man. Turns out he is bit just a gardener. He was responsible for all the work done on the house in the years before we moved in. He was very open and down t earth, and said my LL was very much a hard driving perfectionist and the house was a nightmare to work on. At one point, the huge glass shower installed, came through the Living room roof. I always wondered what the marks were. I told the gardener my suspicions of the LL maybe selling, and trying to get all this work down suddenly, possibly ready for house viewing and a sale. He agreed it did sound like,mans that he hadn't heard from LL in 3 years until yesterday.
I am a very timid nervous person and have always bowed down to LL. I don't bother him when there are problems, and on many occasions I have paid for drain blockages myself and other things to save annoying him. This time though I have had a wake up call, and I am very very angry. I have 2 little children, I have been an excellent tenant, never ever paid my rent late in over 3 years. The property is a family home, lived-in and not a show home. We have children, We do not worry about tiny patches of missing paint, and we struggle financially anyway.
I text LL and asked outright 'Are you selling the house, and if so, I would like reasonable notice to find a new home.' His reply to me was 'I did not say I was selling, I said IF I was selling, the house is not in a sellable state. I will be sending you a written list if things I want done t the property, with a realistic time frame for you to complete them by.'
The utter nerve? I expect, and assume, it is a list of maintenance, painting and decorating perhaps. But clearly he is expecting me to pay for this myself too. With all the evidence so far, and the sudden hostile treatment, I am almost certain LL wants me to do up the property, Get exterior maintenance done himself, ready to sell his shiny looking property without admitting this to me so I will not cause issues and he will not lose my prompt rent payments.
What are my rights please? I have read my tenancy agreement and I know what he is doing and saying is wrong. I have cause NO damage to the property, he is picking at Nonsense and I feel he is creating issues to evict me easily. I have been very stressed with not much else on my mind these last few days. I do not have a renewed agreement, not since the very first one we signed 3 years ago. I fear this means. Have no secure rights. I have read through this forum and see I have 'quiet enjoyment' rights, So can refuse entry to viewers and such. I have read a few posts on here which thankfully, make me see I do have some rights, and that LL is being unreasonable and obviously see's me as a pushover because I have never stood up for myself and have been a quiet tenant who pays and shus up. Until now anyway!
I am ready to exercise my rights and protect my small family from being turfed out, and treated with such little thought. LL will not admit his plans, and I am waiting for his letter to arrive in the post with baited breathe. I will absolutely not be conducting a make ver on the house, with my own money, for him to sell and do no work himself or provide me with honesty in the process. I feel very upset with this sudden change.
I plan on taking the letter to C.A.B and emailing LL with an informative reply expressing I know my rights, As I'm sure he is expecting me to lay down and roll over as usual. He has never been a LL before. As I said at the start, The house was for sale not rent. I expect he will have been doing some research this week in preparation to issue me with these surprise demands and 'warnings'. I do not deserve this.
So sorry for the essay!
Any advice will be very grated appreciated, Thank you.
I have lived at the property just over 3 years with my partner and 2 young children. I have had regular inspections every 6 months. Sometimes by the LL, sometimes by his Mum, as he lives 300 miles away.
When we first saw this property, It was For Sake not For Rent. It was in an ideal area for us so we thought we would try our luck and posted a letter through the door asking if he was considering renting, and that we were interested.
The LL got in touch and arranged a viewing, agreeing to rent to us. When we viewed the property it was LL's Mum who showed us around, and let us know it had been on the market for some time, as there was a lot of work that needed to be done to the property for it to successfully sell.
We loved the house and although the garage door was broken, The extention bedroom was freezing, and the kitchen window was jammed shut with kitchen roll, We decided to snap the opera unity up and moved in. We signed a 6 month short hold tenancy agreement which was a standard printed agreement, Nothing personal was added by the LL.
3 years pass with inspections every 6 months but no renewal of the tenancy agreement has ever been done. All was well, We to this day still have the freezing bedroom, jammed kitchen window and broken garage door, aswell as 2 rooms with no radiators as the LL previously removed them as 'they weren't needed.' Now don't get me wrong, It sounds like the property is a nightmare but it is actually lovely! Fitted kitchen, 3 bedrooms and spacious with a gorgeous garden.
Now, this is where it gets nasty :(
Last week I received a text from LL. he has always been very very blunt, formal and official. Also very very picky and overly critical. His text was to confirm another inspection this weekend which I of course agreed to. I made sure the house, garden and garage were cleaned immaculately with not a thing out of place. It is not furnished so everything inside is mine, and I am the one who has decorated aswell as forked out for an expensive new carpet. This was known by LL and complimented on the previous year.
Anyway, My partner was staying home to allow LL in because I already had plans with the children. I got home that evening expecting a gleaming report, Only to hear from my partner that LL was not at all happy! I could not believe it.
Now, everything said since this day is all very suspicious to me. I believe LL is deliberately hatching a plan to sell the property whilst trying to get me to prepare the property for viewers, but at the same time, not tell me. Let me explain...
LL picked fault with everything he saw. He was furious, suddenly, that I had ran out of paint and left a 5 inch patch about the curtain pole I painted. He was furious that I did not have freshly planted flowers and primed hedges in the garden, but Infact had lovely swings for the children, a sandpit, slide. None on the grass, on the patio, neatly placed and well looked after. We have also recently forked out for lovely garden furniture and a steel cream gazebo. LL did not comment on anything nice, Only bad. He then went on to say when we moved in the property was in selling state, and now it is not. He said if things do not change he will have to issue notice. Just like that, personality change out of the blue. What on earth did we do wrong? LLs Mum is much nicer and has complimented the property many times on her visits, She is always very happy, and on the occasions LL conducts the inspections, he has never made a complaint to me.
When we moved in, behind the back fence, There was a wasted patch of land overrun with large weeds, with ferret cages dumped there. We did not mind, it was concealed behind the fence and the LL said it had been like that for years. After a year at the property, My partner set to work and got the patch cleaned up, and we had plans to make it into a play area. He then go more hours at work and didnt have the time to finish the patch, So the weeds grew back and it returned to previous state. LL has never attempted to have any work done on that patch in the 3 years we have lived here. Suddenly, after this weekend inspection, He has not arranged for a Gardener to get to work on it. He has arranged for someone to come out and check the roof of the house, He has arranged t have the water/heating system flushed. Along with all this sudden property maintenance, He has said he is writing me a letter listing a number if things he wants ME to do to the property, with 'a realistic time frame to complete by.'
There is nothing I have done wrong with the property. Nothing. So last night I received a text stating the gardener would visit today to asses the garden, saying i must ensure i am home. I agreed swiftly, and stayed at home all day. By 5pm still no gardener, so I text LL nervously telling him. He replied 'It is sometime today, Can not be accurate.' So 6pm comes and along comes the gardener. Lovely, lovely man. Turns out he is bit just a gardener. He was responsible for all the work done on the house in the years before we moved in. He was very open and down t earth, and said my LL was very much a hard driving perfectionist and the house was a nightmare to work on. At one point, the huge glass shower installed, came through the Living room roof. I always wondered what the marks were. I told the gardener my suspicions of the LL maybe selling, and trying to get all this work down suddenly, possibly ready for house viewing and a sale. He agreed it did sound like,mans that he hadn't heard from LL in 3 years until yesterday.
I am a very timid nervous person and have always bowed down to LL. I don't bother him when there are problems, and on many occasions I have paid for drain blockages myself and other things to save annoying him. This time though I have had a wake up call, and I am very very angry. I have 2 little children, I have been an excellent tenant, never ever paid my rent late in over 3 years. The property is a family home, lived-in and not a show home. We have children, We do not worry about tiny patches of missing paint, and we struggle financially anyway.
I text LL and asked outright 'Are you selling the house, and if so, I would like reasonable notice to find a new home.' His reply to me was 'I did not say I was selling, I said IF I was selling, the house is not in a sellable state. I will be sending you a written list if things I want done t the property, with a realistic time frame for you to complete them by.'
The utter nerve? I expect, and assume, it is a list of maintenance, painting and decorating perhaps. But clearly he is expecting me to pay for this myself too. With all the evidence so far, and the sudden hostile treatment, I am almost certain LL wants me to do up the property, Get exterior maintenance done himself, ready to sell his shiny looking property without admitting this to me so I will not cause issues and he will not lose my prompt rent payments.
What are my rights please? I have read my tenancy agreement and I know what he is doing and saying is wrong. I have cause NO damage to the property, he is picking at Nonsense and I feel he is creating issues to evict me easily. I have been very stressed with not much else on my mind these last few days. I do not have a renewed agreement, not since the very first one we signed 3 years ago. I fear this means. Have no secure rights. I have read through this forum and see I have 'quiet enjoyment' rights, So can refuse entry to viewers and such. I have read a few posts on here which thankfully, make me see I do have some rights, and that LL is being unreasonable and obviously see's me as a pushover because I have never stood up for myself and have been a quiet tenant who pays and shus up. Until now anyway!
I am ready to exercise my rights and protect my small family from being turfed out, and treated with such little thought. LL will not admit his plans, and I am waiting for his letter to arrive in the post with baited breathe. I will absolutely not be conducting a make ver on the house, with my own money, for him to sell and do no work himself or provide me with honesty in the process. I feel very upset with this sudden change.
I plan on taking the letter to C.A.B and emailing LL with an informative reply expressing I know my rights, As I'm sure he is expecting me to lay down and roll over as usual. He has never been a LL before. As I said at the start, The house was for sale not rent. I expect he will have been doing some research this week in preparation to issue me with these surprise demands and 'warnings'. I do not deserve this.
So sorry for the essay!
Any advice will be very grated appreciated, Thank you.