No Landlord address

[Reneerana]

Hello All,

 

I am posting for the first time but have been reading previous posts and am very impressed with the advice and suggestions being given in this forum.

 

I have an AST for a fixed term of 12 months. It is a written agreement but doesn't provide landlord's address - just a mobile number. I know for a fact that the landlord has a history of not returning deposits with one excuse or another. Previous tenant did not see a single penny of £1200 deposit because he failed to prove his bills were all settled and then left UK minus his deposit beccause his work permit could not be renewed. I am due to vacate property in 3 months time and am worried my deposit may not be returned. I have therefore on numerous occasions requested that I be supplied an address as per Section 47 and 48 of The Landlord and Tenant Act 1987. No results! The landlord says he doesn't want to divulge his personal details and has become very confrontational. I am seeking advice on following points here:

 

1. What should I do to get an address out of the landlord?

I have tried land registry, it shows his address as the house I live in! In absence of address, I can not even take him to court. I pay rent by Standing order each month, always on time.

 

2. He has not protected my deposit in any Deposit Protection schemes. I would like to sue him because he tells me he'll return me my deposit only if I provide him my forwarding address, show all bills are settled and he has checked the property and new tenants been in it for a month. I have no problem with the bill part although I think it is none of his business especially since he did not even provide me with utility providers' name in the first place. I had to ring several to find out who serviced the property. However, I am not willing to wait till the house has been occupied for a month as I need my money back asap. Also, he took deposit 24 days before the tenancy commenced and made me sign on inventory list without allowing me any time to check if things were working or not! When complained later about the state of cleaniness and faulty equipments, I was told you have signed on the inventory and you were shown round the property.

What is the best course of action here regarding protection of my deposit? I can't even sue him as I don't have his address.

 

3. If my rent period starts on 20th of the month, what should be my last day in the house? Is it 19th morning or 20th morning? I feel I am paying for 19th so I should be able to stay the night there if I wish to but the landlord has asked me to vacate by 11 am on 19th August.

 

4. He has already started showing the place round although my agreement says he can show round in last 8 weeks of the tenancy. Should I refuse entry or to keep peace, just allow him to carry on with this? It is highly inconvenient because he arrives almost a minute after I get back from office which is around 7 pm although he does give me 24 hr notice.

 

5. What can be done to explain to next landlord/agent if the present landlord gives bad reference? I have found that he is very rude and argumentative and might not give me a good reference just to get even. He wasn't very happy to know I didn't want to extend my contract further. I have bank statements to prove I have always paid rent on time. Do you guys think it would be sufficient to secure new accomodation? I am very worried about this aspect too.

 

Any advice/suggestions you can offer me will be very gratefully received. I had to fight for my deposit from previous LA for 5 months. I got it in full in the end as I had wisely kept all correspondence safe but it was a stressful and time-consuming process. I will be halfway though my pregnancy by the time I leave this property and am worried I might not have the energy to go through it all again. Hence, I want to do all I can now to save me trouble later.

 

Many Thanks, Reneerana

[JonCris]

Before responding can you say why you left it 9 months before chasing for the address. Did you not want to risk upsetting him & if so why ??

[Reneerana]

I had asked on two occasions soon after moving as well but the LL got annoyed and said best way to contact him is through his mobile which he has provided. At that point, I couldn't have said that I might have to chase him for my deposit later. I wanted to keep a good working relationship. The house was in a bit of state when viewed and I was told it will all be tackled before I moved but that didn't happen. On complaining, things got ugly and he even said I can leave if I am so unhappy but he wasn't willing to return my deposit of £1200 and I couldn't afford to lose it. He was very keen for me to continue here further which clearly shows I have been a good tenant. I keep the property clean and tidy and pay on time. Basically, the house was mis-sold (my fault really, I should have known better ), for e.g. he advertised windows as double glazed but found they were single glazed.

[JonCris]

It sound as if you now going to have to bite the bullet if you want to have any chance of getting your money back as no matter what you do he will react badly.

 

1st you need to get down to the your local housing authority who will advise you as to what steps you can take. I suggest this because they need to know what's going on as should they become involved anyway it's better that they have some kind of knowledge as to whats' happening rather than coming in blind

[Reneerana]

Thanks, JonCris. I have booked an appointment with the Tenancy Relations Officer but it is long way off and meanwhile the LL is flooding me with viewings. I am hoping to get some direction from the members in this forum so that I make it clear to the LL in the right manner that he shouldn't take me for granted. I am also anxious to know what to do about a reference because he won't give me one for sure after knowing my intention to involve the authorities.

Any thoughts?

[davethorp]

Just a thought but if it came down to it couldn't the OP sue the landlord at the address of the property they are renting and then obtain a charging order against the property

[JonCris]

Yes if that's their registered address & the fact that they might not collect their mail is their problem ............... although I think the OP would have to avoid any contact as it may be asked why they didn't tell the LL of the litigation.

 

Good thinking dave:-D

[davethorp]

Well they could quite easily demonstrate to the court if needed that that was the only address they had for the landlord and I think it would be reasonable to expect any new tenants to forward the mail on to him.

 

Certainly one approach should litigation be necessary and charging orders are a pretty effective method of enforcing a CCJ (certainly more so than sending in bailiffs who have no more right of access than a blueberry muffin (actually blueberry muffins probably have more rights of access on the grounds that they are pretty yummy))

[Reneerana]

Thanks, JonCris and Davethorp. It is something I can consider doing if Tenancy Relations Officer is unable to have any breakthrough either. Anyone knows of any case as to what happens to landlord reference in such cases?