Hi,
I have been in a property with my partner for nearly 11 months now. Our landlord owns the newsagent we live on top of, and also lives in the house next door. We are only 19/20 and feel like he is exploiting us.
Now 2 months ago he said it was £550 from April...Despite the rent is cash in his back pocket, he said his accountant said its just now paying.
Now some problems...
- We don't have a tenancy agreement
- The tenancy is totally unofficial
- He wouldn't let us register for council tax, if we did he said the rent would have to go up. He lists it as empty.
- He will only be paid cash, there was also no deposit.
- Council tax have been around once before, we were out and landlord told me he told them his mate had been kicked out by his wife and was staying for a week. The council tax people seen washing, etc etc through window. Last we have heard from them.
Plenty of times he has opened the door connecting the flat and the shop and dropped mail in, we have just found a iceland bag full of letters from a month ago under a pile of mess we have left in the hall by this door!! Invasion on privacy.
Problems with property...
- Gas fire is dodgy, only burns 2 out fo 4 bars and barly gives out heat
- 2 patio doors from living room bolted and screwed shut, fire hazard! if kitchen is on fire there is no way out. Tts got gaps which let cold in also, house always cold.
- 2 double glazed windows now popped.
- Broken latched on windows.
- No water pressure on shower, hot water tank is next to the shower
- Dodgy Electrics, lights always popping, which also blow his electricity in the shop.
Now we have our friend living with us, he wants £600, which he says is a nice, round figure, £200 each. I am shocked, this isn't a bedsit! We have all bills to pay also. We didn't tell him until he knocked on the door and only she was in, he said to her "who are you???" It annoys me as what does it matter to him who lives in my house, its my house
Totally not worth £600 in this state.
He has refused to remove his (one of his 3!) Landrover from my garden for the past 6 months, its H reg, ugly, broken down and rusting, 5 feet from my door!
We have had enough and found a georgeous £550 city centre apartment and are moving at the end of the month! We have now had enough
I am thinking of blowing him to the council, what rights do I have? He doesn't declare the rent as income either. He has made our life a misery,
He deserves it, you thoughts please Thanks.
Landlord - private agreement - taking the **** 
...doesn't matter) so if you want to leave you need to give your landlord a notice (read the sticky about Notice above). Because you have no worries about not getting your deposit back and also because you could "persuade" him not to pursue you for breach of contract by leaving early- leave as soon as you can BUT before you do, find out if the landlord of the new pad will want references! Understandably, need for references would have to modify your behaviour or can be included in negotiation (let's not use the word blackmail, hehehe) with your current landlord.
