Landlord is named wrongly on Court Claim Papers

[Herilsamika]

Help needed CAggers!

 

I've got a situation on my hand that I need some advice with - I'm a tenant and have been for a few years under a periodic tenancy or month to month. I receive housing allowance and have paid that to the landlord in excess for the years that I've been in residency.

 

The landlord is saying that I owe arrears however, based on the lease we signed when I moved in, the rent I pay the landlord is far in excess to the lease.

 

The landlord wants to serve me notice to say that I am arrears (a section 8) but he claims he wants my employers to pay the arrears as my housing allowance is given to me by them. I find this proposed action a bit of a threat, considering my lease is not signed by my employers but by me!

 

I have already written a LBA but he just keeps harping onthat my housing allowance increase is a rent increase!

 

What do I do now? Serve a claim for my money? All attempts at negotiating has failed.

[mariner51]

Start by asking LL for a current rent statement from the month when arrears first started accruing.

 

 

What does your rent statement give as your rent and when due eg £xxx in advance due on 10th of each month

 

 

How much does LL think you are in arrears? How much do you top up HB to pay rent due?

 

 

Why is HB being paid to your employer and not to you or LL direct?

 

 

If rent is payable in advance, one complication can be that HB is paid fortnightly in arrears, so rent atatement will show you perm in arrears each month.

 

 

IMO Increase in LHA cannot be a rent increase unless your AST states rent due = prevailing LHA rate (+ £x top up.)

[Herilsamika]

Thanks so much forthe quick reply!

 

I have a rental payment statement from the LL already. The LL statement shows that the rent amount "due" was changed and increased to be in line with the increase from my personal housing allowance. The statement has rent due on 1 of each month - rent is payable in advance.

 

All of the rent is paid directly by me - the LL does not receive any payments from my employers. I have signed the rental contract.

 

It's not UK government HB Mariners, so the HB is not paid to my employers. I work privately and get an allowance as part of my salary package to assist with rent and living expenses. When my allowances increase, I pay weekly amounts to my LL. The LL has changed the rent due on the statement to correlate with my increases.

 

The rental agreements has 1000PCM to be paid on the 1st of each month. Some months I've paid 1000pcm, some months I've paid less like £840 or £960 for the month and the other months, I've paid £1200 or £1170 or £1050pcm. I've always paid differing amounts each month.

 

So the calculations I've made show that if the rent due is £12,000 per annum and I've paid some years £13,900 and £11,000, then surely the LL should balance out the rent to reflect the figure in the rental agreement?

[mariner51]

Is the rental property in UK, which part?

 

 

If E&W, rent is due monthly, not per year, and LL can serve a s8 g8 as soon as cumulative rent owing exceeds 2 mo rent.

[Herilsamika]

Yes - I am in England - the South East - Kent.

Edited March 1, 2014 by Herilsamika

[citizenkain]

don't understand this,do you work for a company that sets your rent?,your landlord wants as much as he can get?

[stu007]

Could you please give us some more information.

 

1. When did your tenancy start? (from - to) then went periodic?

 

2. Were you notified in writing of any rent increase?

[Herilsamika]

don't understand this,do you work for a company that sets your rent?,your landlord wants as much as he can get?

 

 

 

Yes the landlord wants to keep all the money paid into his account so he wants as much as he can get!

 

The company does not set the rent, but gives an allowance that is comparable to the London Weighting.

[Herilsamika]

Could you please give us some more information.

 

1. When did your tenancy start? (from - to) then went periodic?

 

2. Were you notified in writing of any rent increase?

 

 

Hi! Thanks for the reply. The rental agreement was for one year from 2006 to 2007, then lapsed into periodic tenancy. I received no notifications of rental increases from the LL.

[stu007]

Did you at all pay a Deposit and recorded as deposit?

[Herilsamika]

Did you at all pay a Deposit and recorded as deposit?

 

The deposit was paid at the start of the tenancy in 2006. I don't have any information on the deposit being protected and I have not written to the Landlords to request this information as it is their legal responsibilty to provide that information (correct)? I don't believe I should have to chase the LL for information they should legally provide.

[stu007]

These links may be of use:

 

https://www.gov.uk/private-renting

 

https://www.gov.uk/tenancy-deposit-protection

 

http://england.shelter.org.uk/get_advice/private_renting

[Herilsamika]

If you pay rent weekly your landlord has to provide a rent book.

 

Thanks Stu007! I read something on shelter that caught my attention - about paying weekly rent. If my tenancy agreement calls for payment by each month and I've been paying each week, should I have been given a rent book even though I was under a monthly contract?

[Herilsamika]

Does anyone have any advice re: the LL threat to approach employers for payment of rent? The rental agreement is signed by me, not my employers. They are not guarantors on the rental agreement.

Would he be breaching data protection or some other law when he approaches my employers? Is that considered harassment?

[mariner51]

If ASTrent to be paid other than per week then rent book not required.

AIUI even if AST required weekly rent payments then provision of an actual rent book is not required if AST reproduces the stat info contained in rent book

In 2006,deposit protection was not a legal requirement

[Herilsamika]

Hi Marine51 - I've found this from the DPS website:

 

Deposits taken before 6 April 2007 do not need to be protected by a scheme such as The DPS. However, as an existing tenancy is renewed and a landlord agrees a new fixed-term tenancy, the initial deposit taken must then be lodged with a tenancy deposit protection scheme.

 

I have signed a new 12 month AST, with no break clause, so ideally the deposit should have been protected and the information sent to me which it was not done by the LL.

[raydetinu]

in the new agreement which I presume is post April 2007, then yes deposit has to be protected and the amount to be paid every month; you cannot vary this amount, it does matter what you get in allowances and is if no interest or should be, to the LL. if there is a shortfall in the rent being paid then he can ask for it to be paid.

I cannot see any reason for overpaying rent.

The contract, as you say, is between you and the LL and nobody else.

[Herilsamika]

Is the rental property in UK, which part?

 

 

If E&W, rent is due monthly, not per year, and LL can serve a s8 g8 as soon as cumulative rent owing exceeds 2 mo rent.

 

Thanks Mariner for the reply. I only used a yearly figure above to show an example of how I paid excess rent - see calculations below:

 

Rent due pcm - £1000

£1000 x 12 months = £12,000

Total rent paid for the year = £13,900

Excess rent paid: £13,900 - £12,000 = £1,900

 

Therefore, I have overpaid by £1,900 for the year.

[Herilsamika]

in the new agreement which I presume is post April 2007, then yes deposit has to be protected and the amount to be paid every month; you cannot vary this amount, it does matter what you get in allowances and is if no interest or should be, to the LL. if there is a shortfall in the rent being paid then he can ask for it to be paid.

I cannot see any reason for overpaying rent.

The contract, as you say, is between you and the LL and nobody else.

 

Thank you raydetinu! You have confirmed my position. My allowances are of no concern to the LL - only the rent stipulated should be paid; however, the LL feels as if my increase in my allowances justifies an increase in the rent due. A calculation of rental payments based on the rental agreement shows that the LL received a lot more money than was due under the terms of the rental agreement.

[raydetinu]

May I ask how or why he did get more if you have DD or SO payment authority? for the set rental amount!

[Herilsamika]

May I ask how or why he did get more if you have DD or SO payment authority? for the set rental amount!

 

Hi raydetinu! There was no DD or Standing order set up - the LL simply provided me with his bank details and when I received cash, I would simply deposit it into his account. That is how this dispute has arisen - some months I paid less than the rent and some months I paid more than the rental amount. I have retained all evidence of monies I paid into the LL's account (bank receipt slips).

[Herilsamika]

If ASTrent to be paid other than per week then rent book not required.

AIUI even if AST required weekly rent payments then provision of an actual rent book is not required if AST reproduces the stat info contained in rent book

In 2006,deposit protection was not a legal requirement

 

Hi Mariner51 - I've found something else on this website - http://www.pims.co.uk/Warning_Deposit_before_April_2007

 

So, if my reading comprehension skills are correct, it seems that although the initial deposit was taken before April 2007, the LL should have protected the deposit anyway before I signed a new tenancy agreement in 2013.

[Herilsamika]

Hi Caggers - help once again please! Same issue as above - the new AST was signed in December 2013 for a 12 month period - no break clause.

 

I have not received any PI to this date - I've searched the three websites for the Tenancy Deposit Schemes and all tell me that no information is held for my postcode or name or tenancy start date. To confirm this, I've written them.

 

My question however concerns the S21 notice - my LL has threatened to serve this notice on me to vacate the flat. I have read these boards and it tells me that in order for this notice to be valid, the deposit must be protected. Some posts state that the LL must first return the deposit then serve the S21 - is this legally correct?

 

Can I ignore the S21 that the LL serves as no deposit has been protected?

[raydetinu]

correct S21 not valid unless deposit protected at the time you took out new contract, protecting it now or even if it is and not giving you the PI also invalidates it.

The only way is for the LL to return the deposit in full then he can issue the S21.

You can also sue for him either not protecting or not giving you the PI. and you may get compensation as well ( expensive to do this though ).

In fact there are four schemes.

S8 is not dependant on deposit protection.

see http://england.shelter.org.uk/get_advice/tenancy_deposits/tenancy_deposit_protection_schemes/deposit_protection_and_tenancy_deposit_schemes

[The Carpet Cleaners]

Hi Caggers - help once again please! Same issue as above - the new AST was signed in December 2013 for a 12 month period - no break clause.

 

 

My question however concerns the S21 notice - my LL has threatened to serve this notice on me to vacate the flat.

 

Raydetinu has answerd the question about your section 21 notice.....

 

HOWEVER

 

a section 21 cannot commence during a fixed term. As you have a fixed term until December 2014, the earliest that the section 21 can come into effect is then. It can be issued any time during the term, but the LL cannot act on it by going to court until after the fixed term has ended.