No address for landlady

[meagain]

I have tried to get an address for my landlady for future reference (just in case she tries to swallow my deposit), she directed me to the letting agent. Approached the agent, whose address appears on the tenancy agreement, and he told me that because he wasn't managing the property it wouldn't be appropriate to deal with him, and that also for reasons of confidentiality, he couldn't pass on an address. Having met the agent on a number of occasions while sorting things out while moving in, I've established he's reasonable, and don't particularly want to push him into anything.

It has been brought to my attention that if I don't have an address for my landlady, under the Landlord and Tenant Act 1984(?), ss.47-48, rent is not legally due. Given these circumstances, am I legally entitled to withhold rent until I get an address at which I could send correspondence, or (should the worst happen) serve documents? Given these same circumstances, am I entitled to claim any rent which may have been paid to date as being monies not legally due?

Thanks,

*goes back to poring over bank statements*

[comanche]

I don't know about the path your suggesting but you ought to be able to find out who owns the property you are living in and their address by doing a search at the Land Registry website.

[Nightmare4banks]

Hi all!

Meagain, very sorry to hear about your concerns about your landlady.

To begin with,it is a criminal offence to not disclose the owner's address to the tenant(s) under the Landlord & Tenant Laws - not sure which law exactly.

Before I can hopefully assist you further,please answer the following question:

What type of tenancy do you have at the property which you are currently renting?

[meagain]

Originally Posted by Nightmare4banks

What type of tenancy do you have at the property which you are currently renting?

Can you clarify this a little please?

[Nightmare4banks]

Hi all!

Meagain,do you have:


1.a Regulated Tenancy? - these type of tenancies can no longer be issued.

They give the tenant a maximum security of tenure and further rights.

or

2.an Assured Tenancy? - these types of tenancies give tenants a high level of security of tenure i.e.the tenant cannot be evicted very easily unless it is under certain "Mandatory Grounds".

or

3.an Assured Shorthold Tenancy? - these types of tenancies are the most popular now which do not give the tenant any security of tenure whatsoever.

[meagain]

Without the agreement to hand (I'd have to do a lot of digging to locate it), given it's one room in a shared house, individually let (as opposed to the house let whole), it's probably Assured Shorthold.

[Nightmare4banks]

Hi all!


Meagain,when did you sign the tenancy agreement?

[meagain]

Last September.

[Nightmare4banks]

Hi all!

Meagain,I would do as seminole suggested and obtain details of the owner via the land registry.These details can be obtained for a nominal fee.You will need to request details of the proprietor.These particulars will show on the document plus details of any parties that have an interest in the property - namely mortgage companies.

Regarding non payment of your rent I personally believe the law is an a** in this case as on one hand you are allowed to withhold payment of the rent.However,I can conclude that you have an Assured Shorthold Tenancy which means as I mentioned before that you have no security of tenure whatsoever.

Please bear in mind the following points:

1.Once 2 months rent arrears accrue your landlady can obtain a court order to evict you on the grounds of 2months rent arrears because of your Assured Shorthold Tenancy status.In this case the owner may not always get the possession order but the judge gives the tenant a chance to repay the owner the arrears and keep up to date with the current rent payments.

2.Also,your landlady could apply to the court for a possession order under the "Accelerated Possession" process and because the Assured Shorthold Tenancy is in place the judge has no option but to grant the landlady a possession order.
The possession order in this case is absolute i.e. the landlady would be in a position to easily evict you - of course not by force but using court action.This type of process is used by owners to "get rid of" the tenant/get the possession order(using bailiffs and change the locks if needed) and not to persue rent arrears.

3.In both cases,the paperwork issued by the owner must be correct mainly giving the tenant 2 months notice.

4.In conclusion,I would be very careful if I were in your shoes for not paying your rent (regardless of the stupid a** laws) because your landlady could evict you and you lose your home because you have an Assured Shorthold Tenancy Agreement and no security of tenure whatsoever.

I hope you find this information useful.

If you need any further help,just ask.

All the best!

[meagain]

2 months, you say?

That's fine, I've only got another 6 weeks to run before the tenancy expires, so I figure it's at least safe to "negotiate" on this month's rent

[Nightmare4banks]

Meagain,do you plan to leave the property?

[meagain]

Originally Posted by meagain

I've only got another 6 weeks to run before the tenancy expires

Does this answer your question?

[blazing-badger]

You are entitled to your Landlady's address under Sections 47 and 48 of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1987. However this need not actually be her own address - the agent's address would fulfil this requirement. The point is that notices sent to that address are deemed to be served upon your Landlady - so if you needed to sue your Landlady that would be the address to state on your claim. If there is no reply you can then still claim judgment by default.

In my experience the Land Registry will just turn up the address of the property as the owner's address.