Landlord has rented us a house he knows was repossessed

[Jimmy Neutron]

We moved into a rented 3 bedroomed house on 28th April 2012 and paid a deposit of £700 and one months rent in advance of £700. I came home from work last night and found a letter from Eversheds addressed to the Tenants advising that we face eviction.

 

It turns out that there was a repossession hearing in January 2012 and my landlord was meant to give back possession of the property by 22nd February 2012. I can only imagine the LL would have been aware of this? On the day we moved in I found an eviction notice and asked the LL about it he advised me that it was for his previous tenants as they hadnt paid the rent.

 

By the looks of things the Lender now owns the property, but where do I stand? Is this fraud / Deception to obtain money?

 

Shall I notify the Police?

 

I really dont know what to do please help

[raydetinu]

you need to speak to Eversheds/lenders and explain the situation in the first insatnce.

Do not pay any more rent the your LL untill you know the exact situation.

If you get the confirmation that he know longer owns the property the yes inform the police and ask the LL for your money back ( contract void ).

Any monies paid should go to the legal owners.

[Aequitas]

Despite the possession order the owner remains an owner and any tenancy he grants is, as between the landlord and tenant, valid. No fraud is involved. However, if the lender secures possession against the tenant the tenant is entitled to damages for breach of contract, though whether it is worth pursuing a landlord who has a possession order against him is another matter.

[Jimmy Neutron]

LL claims he knew nothing about this despite previous tenant bring it to his attention in March. Eversheds advised that they had spoken to him before we moved in and he was well aware of the situation, cannot delay possession as they have been here before with this LL. I Have asked for my money back and proof of deposit scheme. He has until 4pm on 1st June or I will start legal proceedings.

 

Letter from eversheds and also hand delivered eviction notice arrived yesterday, eviction date is 13th June @ 10am

 

Anything else I can do?

[Bang!]

Is your deposit in a protected scheme?

 

Was the "eviction notice" issued by a court and state "possession order"?

 

Also - I don't know your circumstances or finances but presume you have children.

 

It could make sense to speak to the council and inform them you are currently seeking advice on how to prevent homelessness, but have an eviction notice dated two weeks away, and the circumstances behind that "eviction" were entirely outwith your control.

 

Do you know the lender who ordered the repossession?

 

As the lender has a duty to mitigate their loss, by evicting you they may have an unrented, unsold property for quite a long period of time. By evicting you they are potentially failing to mitigate that loss.

 

This needs to be approached in three ways and you can try with both the solicitors and the lender. Initially ask nicely if you can stay and say you will be happy to leave "during the school holidays to prevent disruption to the kids, or until they have a date for a buyer to move in" etc. Also ask if they would be willing to sell to you, as this can buy more time too. If they seem unwilling with both, start pushing towards it being their failure to mitigate their loss, as if its empty for two years before a sale, its a 17K loss they created themselves (this is unlikely to work if your LL owed far more). You pretty much need to play it by ear - and pitch to a member of staff with sufficient seniority to be able to make the decision.

 

Its worth remembering they are all in business to make money, and despite eviction being their short term target, you were not their problem, and you could be the person to prevent them making a loss.

[mariner51]

IMO Bang's option 3 is not viable. Lenders don't want to be LLs and a Ts rent is not going to mitigate their loss.

They want repo & a quick sale at auction, even if below equity owed. The mortgagee remains liable for any shortfall.

Though if OP has ability to purchase, he may win at auction.

[Jimmy Neutron]

Just an update guys... I got out of the accommodation and it was repossessed. LL failed to place the deposit in a scheme and even more put a false address on the tenancy agreement. I reported his to the HSE as he failed to supply a gas cert. The guy has return £700 out of the £1400 owed and he has today texted me saying he will sue me for 12 mths rent. The guy is clearly deluded, however it still sits heavily on my mind, can he do this and is he likely to win? Any thoughts please.

[Ell-enn]

He's obviously trying to scare you into giving up on the remaining £700 - how can he sue you for 12 months rent on a property that isn't available for rent ? , he breached the contract - not you. Send him a letter before action (by recorded delivery and keep a copy) giving 7 days to pay you then issue a court claim.