can not pay landlord

[Pen]

Hi.

again this is for my son's friends lol!! who needs them.

 

Ok five of them rented a student house and all paid their deposits. The landlord said he would call each month to check the house and collect the rent. that was 9 months ago and they have not seen anything of him since. They all have the rent £17,000 of it in their bank accounts but are so worried about spending it, They have no way of contacting him, no phone number or address, I think they found the house through an Ad.

 

What can they do. I think he may be in prison or even dead somewhere, lets face it who would not collect that amount of money? If he is just playing silly buggers it's a bit unfair on these guys to be expected to keep hold of it, plus the dept is still growing every month they live there which is for another 6 months.

 

any sujestions please.

 

Thanks

pen.

[Emma1973]

Do a Land Registry check, it'll cost £4 and should list the name and address of the owner. I could go into the whole shebang of 'rent not being due' if the tenant has not been given an address for the LL, but I'd try the Land Reg thing first!

[Pen]

hi emma. doubt that would do as they only have a nick name for him, no surname, I know this because i asked them to check the registry roll but because they didn't have his full name they said they could'nt it only contained previous tenants who they can't contact either because they were listed at the same address, i suppose that was obvious really.

another point is he is not doing any maintenance work which needs doing and they don't know if they can use the rent to pay for urgent repairs.

[AngelofSol]

First things first. I believe the Land Registry will check for who is listed as owning the property. In short you input the address, not the name. Of course once you have the name of the owner it might not give you any address beyond the residence itself, but atleast you will have a name that you can search for.

 

Now, regarding the urgent repairs, yes they can use the rent to carry out the repairs, but you have to be very careful about how you do it.

 

First off, you have no address with which to serve notice so this works in your favor in this regard. If you can't serve notice there is no way to inform the LL.

 

Secondly, have you son and friends get 3 different quotes for the work that needs to be done from 3 different companies. Keep this information and keep it well. If the LL ever comes back for his money then you'll need this to show the LL and if the LL wants to push the issue then you have it when and if he tries to take the kids to court for non payment of rent or tries to withhold it from the deposit at the end.

 

Of the companies they secure quotes from pick the least expensive. Pay them to do the repairs with the money they've been saving up for rent. Keep all invoices and receipts. It is this amount they are allowed to deduct from rent, and no more. As with the above quotes they need to be kept safe and for the same reasons.

 

If they do this it will protect them. It won't necessarily spare them from hassle and if the LL shows up he can still move to evict them with two months notice at the end of or after the end of their fixed term. But if he tries to make issue of this you have followed the rules and procedures and they will have the documentation to back it up.

[Kentish Lass]

hi emma. doubt that would do as they only have a nick name for him, no surname, I know this because i asked them to check the registry roll but because they didn't have his full name they said they could'nt it only contained previous tenants who they can't contact either because they were listed at the same address, i suppose that was obvious really.

 

No - not the voting register - THE LAND REGISTRY. Do a title search and you will get the name of the person who has title to (owns) the property.

 

Land Registry: Buy Land Registry Title Registers and Plans for the UK

 

You need the first search on the list "Title Search". It may only give the property address but you might get lucky and get the owner's actual address.

[Steve__M]

If the landlord does ever turn up, tell them to insist that they get a proper UK address for him *before* they pay him. They are entitled to do so, and they will need the information if there are any disputes about the deposit or repairs.

[45002]

hi emma. doubt that would do as they only have a nick name for him, no surname, I know this because i asked them to check the registry roll but because they didn't have his full name they said they could'nt it only contained previous tenants who they can't contact either because they were listed at the same address, i suppose that was obvious really.

another point is he is not doing any maintenance work which needs doing and they don't know if they can use the rent to pay for urgent repairs.

 

Hi Pen

 

Use this official government website https://www.landregistry.gov.uk/wps/portal/Property_Search

 

All you need is House number and postcode,a debit or credit card and it cost £4.00

 

You can only use the service 7am and 12 midnight, Monday to Saturday.

 

MARTIN

 

PS: you have to register at that government website,but thats easy

[Pen]

Thanks everyone.

I will get them to do the search first. thanks for the link Martin.

 

pen