Hi I have recently moved out of a privately rented property and have paid the rent up to the 31st of August. I did do the check out last Thursday and have received no information as to whether the landlord is wanting to deduct anything from the deposit (which he shouldn't as the flat was in immaculate condition and clean - unlike when I moved in!). This morning I have received an email from NPower informing me a new tenant has moved in - my question is whether the landlord can legally do this as I am still paying rent? Any advice very gratefully received!

Yesterday booked a vehicle over the phone paid by credit card. Discovered today that I am unable to take the vehicle where I want to so need to cancel. They have said as there is less than a month to when the hire was due to start minimum charge is 7 days, as I booked for only 4 days will lose all my money. I did not see the terms and conditions and was only told my cancellation rights when I tried to cancel. Bearing in mind it is 15 hours since I made the booking, do I have any rights? Thanks

Sorry for the long post.... After a burst pipe (the condensate pipe from gas boiler froze during snow storms) in crawl space above my kitchen the landlord agreed to update the consumer unit in my property [the corrosive water had leaked over two plug sockets and nothing tripped off even though water was inside both]. The guy sent I suspected wasn't qualified [on a previous visit to check for safety he checked the plugs by poking around the sides - and making a hole in the plaster]. I asked if he was qualified before he started [on the previous visit to check damage from the leak he told me 'he shouldn't be doing this' but didn't expand when asked why] and he shrugged; as a tenant, I believed the Estate Agent would have checked and so let him continue. He has changed the fuse box, cut the meter fuse seals, not replaced older wires, not fitted the cover properly, put the switches in the wrong order, left the wires completely messy inside the unit and also labelled it incorrectly - plus, the oven now trips one of the RCD's when it's on for more than three minutes and a plug socket is no longer working - although this may be due to the junction box he put in the crawl space replacing connection taped with electrical tape, leaving a live wire improperly crimped and not connected - he'd stuffed them into the wall cavity. As he left I ask about the 'signing off' and was told 'I have nothing to worry about' several times, because I was worried! I asked again about the certification and he said that wasn't anything to do with tenants. He didn't say someone would be back to carry out any checks, or follow up, or even to sign off on the work. I've complained to the Estate Agents and the following day a guy turned up as I'd had problems with the oven. I asked for credentials, but he'd have to go and get them cos he hadn't bought them with him. I allowed him to look at the issues, but no work would be carried out until I had seen proof of his ability to sign off on the work. He's looked and spouted a lot of blurb obviously covering his firms ass. He looked, said he saw no issues with the work carried out, said the fan was the reason the oven wasn't working properly - it wasn't turned to oven, just grill - he didn't even blush. He checked to see if the wire left out of the crimp was live - it was! He left to consult his boss and turned up 2 hours later with his sons training certificate and a weird looking NICEIC card saying he just needed to connect the crimp and everything would be working for me, which I don't think is true, plus the ID looked pants to me and so I turned him away. I then received an email from Estate Agent - the house owner lives in China - saying the contractors had told them i had not allowed them access and would they be allowed in with a rep from the Estate Agent's local branch. I have replied saying they didn't satisfy me that they were qualified and that anybody coming should be able to sign off on the work done - but hey presto, 24 hours later and I've heard nothing... What can I do next to get my oven working and the electrics safe?

Monday, landlord texts me asks me to call him, I do and get told that someone from his mortgage company, he said they do this every so often and that my house along with 2 others were picked, so i said they can call Friday. Friday, a gentleman turns up and asks if im aware as to who he is and why he is there, i told him what landlord said, and he said not really and explains he working for a company that the mortgage lenders have hired to come and look at the house he shows me ID and tell me the company DMS. I let him in, I've no reason not to, he says he has to take pictures of the property to see if the landlord has done anything to it, im fine with that as in the 5 years being here he has done nothing, lucky had proof which he took and the environmental health report, he took pictures and then he explained that he knows the mortgage will not be happy that he has not carried out any work to the house since buying and that a lot of work is needed, he told us to prepare for the worse. Im devastated as we have been trying for a few years to move house in the area, but no luck, and the local housing association and council said a court order must be given before they will do anything to help us. Any advice would be really grateful, im on edge now, we have changed the locks 1st thing we did, a nd have CCTV on the house.

Morning all after some advice as to what my daughters rights are regarding a privately rented flat that is suffering from extreme mould and damp, this has left the 2 bedrooms as uninhabitable and she is having to live in the living room. The property maintenance company originally said it was condensation but the letting agency sent around someone who confirmed it is caused by damp. She is now stuck in a property that she cannot use half of and paying full rent with £1000's of personal furniture and clothing ruined. Would it be worth with holding rent? who would we claim her personal belongings that have been destroyed? any advice would be gratefully received

I would welcome some suggestions from Forum Members please as to what I should with regards to a landlord who is taking her time in restoring central heating in the house which I am renting. I have been without heating now for a week. Prior to this, the boiler had broken down a number of times and the landlord was told by two of the engineers that the boiler was obsolete and needed replacing. I have been in touch with the LL and made the point that the situation is becoming untenable, but all I got back was that she is dealing with the matter. I would be grateful for some suggestions about what options are available to me so that I can use some leverage to get the LL to act and act urgently? I hope members can help. Many thanks in advance. Mack

Hi all, I rent a house. My landlady has some issue with Npower an an outstanding amount. There was a letter, which I opened at her request, from last month saying they were going to have a hearing on a date now passed (but not when the letter was sent) to gain a warrant of entry to enter your home. I went out today and when I came back there was a gas pre-pay meter installed (outside) and a letter on the table inside. all the windows were closed and the doors were locked. I think they must have picked the lock on the front door. Is this legal? is there anything I can do about it? I am currently on ESA because of serious back issues, and receive housing benefit. as I say it was my landlady's debt, but I am renting the house. thanks in advance

Basically me and my brother have been renting together a few years, made financial sense and we get on well. It is through an agent. He has since had a child(hes not with the mother but they get on) and he has been on the housing association list for a while as he wants to be able to have his son staying over etc. He's over every weekend anyway but stays at my dads. Last week he was accepted for a 2 bedroom flat with the housing association and is going to accept it so will wish to leave shortly. This leaves me in a tricky situation as I would like to stay here, it is his name on the tennancy and he obviously cant stay on it. The reason we went with his name was that I had a lot of recentish adverse credit + was self employed(this was over 5 years ago). I am still self employed and still have some adverse credit but its at the back end of the 6 years, some have already dropped off. The only recent things I have are an ee account which is spotless for 3 years. I believe they probably didnt even check me in any way. I do deal with the agents as much as my brother though if not more + pay half of the rent from my bank. Does anyone know what might happen in such a situation?,we are I believe here till October ie they charge £100 or so renewal fee(excessive I know). I know I can afford to keep the place on my own but again with the knowledge of how agents work I have a feeling I might have to go through all the application etc again. More £££, risk of credit fail and dificulty proving income again. Part of me thinks surely they could swap the names in the knowledge weve always paid without issue and in 5 years only had a washing machine repaired, bathroom floor replaced(due to damp) and a toilet flusher so we are low maintenance. I do know the landlord as he is a friend of my dads if that makes any difference. I presume its in their interest to keep me in as long as the rents flowing, + they still have the deposit + rent advance. I was thinking of maybe saying see where we are in October when the "renewal" comes up. Any views would be appreicated.

Just wondering if any of you could tell me where we stand with this one. My elderly father has terminal cancer and wanted to move 250 miles to be closer to us, we initially tried to get him into a nursing home but found this difficult due to the homes needing to assess him first. The only option we had was to sign a tenancy agreement (in our name due to him being 250 miles away) with my father as the named tenant. As expected he was unable to care for himself and within 4 weeks we were able to move him into a nursing home. The tenancy was an assured shorthold taken out from the 1st June 2016 for 6 months. We paid deposits (which I have never recieved a TDS reference for) and we paid the entire 6 months rent due up front as this was the only way we could secure the property quickly. We kept the estate agents in the loop and they knew the situation from the outset, we had the property cleaned and handed the keys back into them on the 26th June. I last contacted the estate agents on the 3rd August and have been told that the property is now under offer (as in being sold not rented again) but because the sale is not likely to complete within our tenancy period which ends 30th November we will not get any of our pre-paid rental money back. They have also refused to give back our deposit money until the tenancy ends even though we no longer have access to the property and they were happy with it's condition when we gave the keys back. Now on face value, I do know that technically we are liable for the 6 months rental but I'm hoping you may be able to direct me here as to what (if anything) I can do? Many thanks in advance for any advice/help you can offer Dydie

I am asking this on behalf of someone else. Basically they rent a house, it is in need of a number of repairs, such as back door, living room ceiling bowing and shower room tiles need replacing. To date the landlord has not doen any of these. My question is what can be done, can they withhold rent or what actions could they take.

Hi Rented home evictions hit record levels in 2014 according to this Guardian article - amongst other issue its worth noting the sections regarding 'social landlords' http://www.theguardian.com/money/2015/feb/12/evictions-rented-homes-record-levels-2014 My opinions as per usual W

Hello every body, I am hoping to find some help with my situation. I rented a flat through a letting agency, with a one year renewable contract which finished a few months ago. Before the deadline of my contract, I tried to contact the letting agency because I wanted to renew it, but all my mails bounced back, nobody was answering the calls. I went to the agency shop only to discover it totally shut down, with just a paper telling us that it was out of business, and we should contact a banking institution for questions. That institutions is not answering any of my questions, I can't contact the landlord as the only mail address I have is not on use anymore. I am feeling totally lost, as I am still paying my council tax, the water and electricity bills, but not my rent as I don't know where is that money going. My deposit is supposedly protected as it is say in the contract. It feels utterly weird for me that nobody is trying to contact me since I have stopped to pay the rent, that I have no way to contact the landlord and nobody knows nothing. All I want is to have a new contract and stay in this flat, as it is perfect for my needs and I am happy here. I don't know what to do next, I feel like a squatter and I am afraid I could be asked to leave the flat without notice one day. Someone recommended me to go to the land registry and see who owns the flat, to contact him. Do you think it could be a good idea? thank you very much for any kind of opinions and help you could provide me with. jenn.

Can I ask for some guidance here please. My son is finally moving out into a rented property, it's part of an extension which was once a care home. The flat is a studio type apartment with a kitchen area, living area, bedroom area and a separate bathroom. It looks like a terraced bungalow. Anyway, I don't trust the letting agents one bit.....maybe I'm being a little picky! We have had a look at the tenancy agreement which looks ok but they have also said that he must take out insurance to cover the property in case he damages it, is this correct. I would have thought that it is the responsibility of the owners to pay for buildings cover and that if my son did do any damage to the property that it would be paid with the security deposit which is £500. We are also concerned that the letting agents have passed my sons details to an insurance company who have sent him a quote for the property for 12 months, the tenancy agreement is only for 6 months. We are also concerned that the property does not exist on the post code that they say relates to the property. The property is still being renovated, the main part of the house is nowhere near being completed it's just the flats at the rear of the property that have just gone on the market. So my questions are Does he have to take out buildings cover Is it legal for the estate agent to pass my sons details to an insurance company for a quote. How is it possible for said company to quote on the property when it does not have a valid post code. What happens if he does take out the insurance and the tenancy ends after 6 months, what happens to the rest of the 6 months insurance. Does anyone know of a decent insurance company that we can get insurance from. Thanks peeps x

Hi, We have a routine house inspection planned for this coming week which has happened every six months for the last 5 years. During the last inspection the estate agent said it is now part of their procedure to take pictures of every room, which they then forward onto the landlord to show them what their property is currently like to give an impression of the type of people living in it. We agreed because we felt very on the spot but rang up later to say we weren't happy & they said this is the case with many of their tenants and they will have to rethink. Now, they have hired an external agency called Pinstripe to carry out inspections. On their website it says they too take pictures of the house. We have rang them to say you can take as many pictures as you like of the walls/doors/curtains everything that belongs to the landlord & the landlord is welcome round in person anytime, but we don't want our personal possessions in the pictures. They said we (as tenants) have no choice that is what they do and we have no right to stop them. If we had young children would we have more rights? Or can random people come and take pictures of their bedrooms? We will have all of our electrical goods and personal items on display to a number of people who have access to our house! Please can someone provide any info on this subject and of any rights we do/don't have. Thank you

Hello! I'm hoping someone can advise - I've been Googling but can't find an answer! I'm in rented accommodation. We pay our own utility bills, and there's nothing in the contract to state we can't change suppliers. If we were to change to a fixed tariff contract, what would happen if we were to move out? Would the new tenant be lumbered with it, or would we have to cancel? It's a daft question - but is the contract for the property, or for the people who live there? I've done the price comparison thing and know we could save if we switched, but never having done it before I'm a bit confused! Thanks!

Who pays to get rid of these vermin ? The landlord says I have to pay, and replace all damaged wiring etc. I didn't bring them into the building so surely it is risk the landlord should have managed? Does anyone have any experience of this problem?

Hello I'm new to the site and any help would be great. I have been given a possession order from court - landlord issued section 21 using accelerated process as I am on Assured Short hold Tenancy Agreement. I'm not objecting to going, however, I defended my case by asking for extra time as I will be homeless. I have managed to find a new property which is not easy as I have just lost my job and receiving benefits now, but I cannot move into property for another 3 weeks. I have been told that I can apply to court using N244 form asking for possession order to be suspended for a while. does anyone know if this is possible? I have been dealing with Shelter who have told me they cannot help as I filled in a defense (on their advice) and they cannot help defend again! so any help here would be great. I am panicking now as the possession order is for this week so I need to act urgently. Thank you so much Lily

Hi I have rented a house for the past four years and am happy with the conduct of the estate agent and response to issues I have highlighted during this time. Within the last week both the washing machine and fridge freezer have broken down. The estate agent has told me that the landlord will not be repairing or replacing these items and I will need to go and buy my own new appliances. These two were in the property when I moved in and are listed on the inventory. I selected this house as semi furnished as I didn't and still don't have the money to go and buy my own. I don't want to make an issue of this if its going to result in my rent going up but id like to know where i stand on this issue. Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Thanks Steve

Sorry if I have posted my concern at wrong place. I slipped in my bathtub and it got a crack. Couple of months ago landlord has to reseal the bathtub and his contractor sealed this crack as well. Now we are moving out after 2 years and 4 months, but the estate's agent saying that landlord has to replace it with new one and we have to pay for it. My questions are-: Do I have to really pay for it? If yes then... Do I have to pay full amount of a new shower bathtub and costs for fittings? Or Do I have to share? If I have to share what is the legal percentage of the cost should I pay? Thank You

Hi, I'm having problems getting things repaired in my rented flat. First, our boiler broke and was pumping out carbon monoxide. We had five electricians/plumbers come round to look at it (none had spoken to each other, so it was five individual assessments), which took weeks. During this time we were without heating and with very limited hot water. The last gas certificate for the property was done in 1995. I rang the estate agents every couple of days to check progress, and they said they were unable to contact the landlord and were therefore unable to do anything. We stayed in for four consecutive weekends to let the plumbers in as the estate agents said they didn't have a spare key and we had to be there. Eventually, after 4 weeks of no heating or hot water, a plumber finally replaced the entire boiler. We thought that was the end of it, until over a week ago, when I went into the bathroom to find the carpet completely soaked. I did some investigation and found a leak coming from the pipe that runs behind the toilet, boxed in and tiled over. I called the estate agents... We've since had three plumbers come and look at it and nothing's been done. Each say this and that, and send quotes, but nothing is fixed. The flat now stinks of rotting carpet (one plumber wretched when he came in) and it's unbearable to live here. We also cannot use the toilet, shower or sink because this creates more water and we're concerned that it will leak into the flat below. We've explained all this to the estate agents and they do nothing. When I call them, they say they'll call back and they never do. No one is communicating with each other and the upshot of this is we're left to visit our friends and family for showers and use the neighbour's toilet when we need to. Not an ideal situation. Yesterday we went to the estate agents and sat in their office. I said I wanted it fixed asap, that I would like to request a rent reduction for the two months we've had problems in this flat (I suggested the landlord half the rent for next month, but didn't ask for more) and that if it wasn't fixed soon we would be moving out. My question is, do we have a right to move out? Are there any specific laws that say problems with heating/burst pipes etc should be fixed within in a certain period of time? I would happily get the repairs done myself and take that off the rent/be reimbursed by the landlord, but I simply can't afford to do this. I'm in the process of packing a suitcase and going to stay with my parents until this is fixed, but it is likely to be at least two weeks, according to the estate agents. I feel completely stuck with no recourse to the law. I can't threaten anything in order to get my point across, it seems. I've also sent a letter to the estate agents requesting the name and address of my landlord, who lives abroad. I suspect they'll give me a UK address and I won't be able to contact him. Other problems we've had with the property are: it was supposed to be a furnished property, and we sat with the estate agents highlighting all the things we wanted the previous tenants to keep in the property. When we moved in, the flat was empty, as the cleaners had got the wrong idea and taken everything that was highlighted to the dump. We were told there was nothing the estate agents could do, they refused to contact the landlord, begged us not to tell him and we had to go out and buy loads of furniture at vast expense. We have also been asking where our car parking space is for six months (as we live in a communal flat area, where the car parking spaces don't seem to correspond to the flats) but the estate agents have never asked the landlord and never call us back. We've asked where it is about 20 times. Last week, the car was inevitably clamped for being in the wrong place and the estate agents say there's nothing they can do. I would really appreciate any help or advice anyone can give me. I'm extremely angry and frustrated with the whole thing and don't want to pay nearly £1,000 a month to have no hot water, heating, no use of toilet or showers at various times during our tenancy. Thank you, Lottie

I know the topic of meter access has been covered but my situation is a little unique and I'm at a complete loss. When I first moved in to this apartment I had noticed that just as I was signing the lease and itinerary that meter keys would not be included... I asked then in my confusion, but was blown off as something normal by my (now former) letting agent and everything progressed as such. My first snag happened as I was setting up my power, I was provided with an estimate to which I would pay until I got my initial meter readings and the current ones at the time I was setting up the new account, I phoned the letting agent to request the initial readings and was told back I should have received them when signing over the lease. They told me they would send another copy of these... they never arrived. Since then it's been a mater of constant estimated bills and no response from that letting agent. The management company will only take notice of faults to the communal facilities, stating that all matters relating to individual flats need to be directed to the landlords or letting agents... ...though there was one instance according to my bills that Scottish Power (my supplier) managed to get hold of my meter readings and increased the charge... it wasn't much so I wasn't that phased by it, but there it was. I still wonder how to this day. Anyway, back to the main problem... As of recently the said letting agent quite silently (with massive amounts of suspicious fraudulence) went bankrupt and liquidated, a few months passed, the agent was switched, and the new agent doesn't know anything at all in regards to the property management or it's meter access, I finally got to talk to my landlord for the first time in 2 years of living here, only to find she's rather stressed out from loss of rent, loss of deposits for pretty much all tenets and she also didn't know about property management OR it's meter readings... ...And just in time when all this is happening I get contacted once again by Scottish Power, asking for them and wanting to send someone to take them themselves. Long story short, I now have a letter from Scottish Power almost demanding meter readings since they couldn't get access, and all persons involved with the property at a loss of what to do (and my landlord is a few hours away by car in another city, so it's not really that easy to involve her directly), and the only people that do are out of the question. I honestly don't currently mind the estimates, they don't break the bank, and would be willing to leave it as is... So what are my options? M.

I have received a letter today stating that from next Monday all residents will be issued with a parking permit for there allocated space. They have also stated that the allocated spaces do not allow parking for commercial vehicles, caravans, trailers, horse boxes or boats. The other thing they have said is that visitors will not be able to park on the road but only in the 12 visitor bays. The problem with this is that they are giving them on a first come first served basis to only 12 residents out of approximately 150. Any other vehicles will be clamped. I have a nanny for my children that parks in my space during the day and my friend who also lives here has a commercial van. We both rent our properties and none of this was in the contracts and has never been an issue before. Could anyone tell me if they are able to do this? Many thanks Zoe

Hi all, First of all, thanks for this useful website. It´s really appreciable to have website like this one, where consumers can access to information about their rights. Thanks! My problem is the following: I rented a car in Enterprise recently, The renting was just for one day. I consider myself a sensible driver, fortunately, I have never had an accident so I took the basic insurance. Unfortunately, that day, I was hit by other driver when I was getting home. Enterprise car was lightly damaged, it was not too much, the other car did not damaged even. The other driver blamed me of the guilt, but I think that it was her fault, therefore it was her words against mine. , so after giving us each other our personal details (Name, address, telephone number, etc ..) each one carried on its ways. Next day , I returned the car, I let them know about the incident, and gave them the details of the other driver, I make a statement and drawing of happened. That junction is recorded by cameras of Council so I told Enterprise that they could ask for the images. The thing is that Enterprise has not refunded my deposit (£200), after claiming for it, I have been said this: ****************************************************************************** Hi Oscar As mentioned when in the office, I was going to collect the £600 excess while we process the claim. I will check again for you later today and see how the claim is coming along, these things normally take time when dealing with multiple insurance companies. I have retained the £200 as your card declined for the remaining £400. We take this excess as this is the proportion of the repair which you are responsible for, you will receive a refund once the claim has been resolved and the third party has taken full responsibility. If you would like to call the DRU yourself you can do on number below; 08456042881 Thanks *********************************************************************************** I truly consider that it was not my fault, I was hit by the other car, my worry is that Enterprise insurance does not worry in defending my position, and maybe the easiest thing is assume the guilt and don´t refund the deposit, or even claiming me more money. What do you think? What can I do to defend my rights here? Does anybody happened this? Thanks all in advance. Regards Oscar

Hi, I rented an item with the option of purchasing the same, it was a minimum rental period and then there was the option to upgrade, return or purchase. I decided to purchase and thought I had paid my last instalment when the company informed me that I had only been renting the item, if I wanted to have purchased it I should have signed a hire purchase agreement. I could not find my paper work so asked them to forward me a copy which they did, it does state it is a rental (hire) agreement and that the goods belong to the company at all times, it also states the purchase price. I was never told at the outset that I needed to inform the company that I wanted to buy the goods after the initial rental period and transfer to a hire purchase agreement. My questions are these:- 1). Is there any redress in law for the company misleading me at the beginning. 2) If the company want to reclaim the goods what are my rights 3) Do they need a Court Order to take back rental goods. 4) If I stop payment the rental payments, where does that leave me, do I have any redress at all? 5) What about putting the sale price on the rental agreement? 6) Is the rental agreement covered by the Counsumer Credit Act as it does not state it is and if so what should I be looking for to render the agreement unenforceable. Many thanks for your help.

Hi We live in a 2 bed terraced house with single glazing and night storage heating. We pay £500 rent/month We had to turn off the night store heaters over 2 years ago due to being unable to afford to run them. However wqe have now had to resort to putting them on and have endured some very cold winters. Today, I know it is cold outside but my feet and hands are literally blocks of ice, the heat from the heaters is escaping through the single glazing and poor insulation around windows and doors.....surely we should not have to put up with this? Any help appreciated, cheers x