Worried lodger needs help :-(

[Dahlia M]

Hello all, is there any chance someone can advise me about leaving a room in a shared house during the initial rental period?

Edited October 23, 2014 by Dahlia M

[BankFodder]

I'm afraid that your solid block of text will make it very difficult for people to follow what your trying to say and to offer you the help that you need.

[Dahlia M]

I tried to edit the text - will do it again

[Dahlia M]

I'm afraid that your solid block of text will make it very difficult for people to follow what your trying to say and to offer you the help that you need.

 

I can't edit the text no matter how many times I try. I guess nobody will help me

[*RainbowTears*]

So you signed a 6 month contract, with a 2 month notice period. You paid a full months rent in advance & 1 months rent taken as a deposit, this all sounds correct so far.

 

Were you given any copies of the Rental agreement & were you provided with the deposits receipt?

 

If not ask your LL for all relevant copies of the paperwork.

 

Here is a link from Gov.uk. As it also gives you advice regarding ending your Tenancy etc.

 

https://www.gov.uk/rent-room-in-your-home/your-lodgers-tenancy-type

 

Taken from the site itself;

 

Your lodger ends the tenancy

 

Your lodger can end the tenancy by giving you notice. They can’t do this during the fixed term of the tenancy, unless there’s a break clause.

 

The amount of notice they need to give depends on the tenancy agreement, if there is one. Otherwise, it’s usually at least 4 weeks (if they pay weekly) or 1 month (if they pay monthly).

 

You and your tenant can end a tenancy at any time if you both agree.

 

 

If I'm honest I can't see how or why your LL mothers benefit fraud conviction has anything to do with yourself. You were never involved & it happened way before you moved in.

 

It sounds like she has signed her house over to her son & he is now the legal owner & its from him your renting a room. So he is your LL & he also resides in the house along with his mother & a few (1/2 or more other lodgers).

 

As for "things" being dodgy as you call them, how would you know if the LL mother is involved in anything untoward?? Have you absolute proof or are you guessing, due to the LL mothers previous Benefit fraud court case? I personally would have thought a person who has been convicted for such a thing would be on their best behaviour, rather than to do anything else that's dodgy!

 

I can't see what your actual problem is, as you had to have seen the house & the room being offered to rent before you accepted it & the living arrangements regarding who else resides there.

 

So has the LL said or done anything to you that has made you feel this way?

 

I'm sure others will be along to help you further.

 

Good luck!

[Dahlia M]

Ah ok, well thanks for that virtual slap in the face. I shan't bother wasting further time on this. Nice to know whose side you are on.....

[*RainbowTears*]

I'm afraid that your solid block of text will make it very difficult for people to follow what your trying to say and to offer you the help that you need.

 

It was a tad BF, but found me way through it..

 

A cuppa Tea did help!

[*RainbowTears*]

Ah ok, well thanks for that virtual slap in the face. I shan't bother wasting further time on this. Nice to know whose side you are on.....

 

Sorry was this aimed at me??

 

If so, I don't get it.

 

I ain't on anyone's side, I actually tried to help you.

 

Instead of having a go, try saying thank you. Not all answers will be "exactly" what you want to hear!!

 

That's not what we do here, we help anyone & everyone no matter what, by being honest.

 

Would you rather I'd lied to you & then you find yourself in a worse off situation, like being in Court for running out on your contract or not paying your rent??

[*RainbowTears*]

As the OP has removed their original post, I've a copy which I've posted here for completeness; (I added the paragraphs).

 

 

Hello all, I'm hoping someone can give me some advice and/or reassurance about the situation I find myself in.....

 

I'll try to keep it as brief as possible, although that might be difficult!Earlier this month I relocated and moved into a 'shared house' and started to rent a room from someone who I had found through an accommodation website.

 

Let's call her Mrs B. Mrs B lives at the property along with her adult son and a number of lodgers. She told me that she had signed the house over to her son some time ago because of illness, and that although I was doing everything via her, in fact it is her son who is effectively my landlord, and it is he who I should pay my rent to so she is, in effect, just another "housemate".

 

On the day I moved in she asked me to complete and sign a document - it was a kind of tenancy agreement (although not the kind I have seen before) and the front page was a sort of application form asking for lots of details. I haven't been given a copy of the document and have not chased for one.I remember that the document made mention of the rental period being for 6 months with a 2 month notice period on either party.

 

I did not ask her to elaborate on this.Since moving in, I have had one or two concerns/issues. Nothing too major, but I don't feel particularly comfortable in the house for various reasons. As part of my concerns, I did some 'digging' on the internet and have just found out - to my horror - that Mrs B was in fact convicted a couple of years back of massive benefit fraud relating to rental income, and given a suspended jail sentence (which is still in force).

 

This would explain her signing the house over to her adult son, and the scrubbing out of her name all over the place on the tenancy documents (and replacement with his name). The bank details I was given in order to make my rental payments is in the son's name and not Mrs B's, so from the outside it all seems perfectly reasonable to assume that the son IS the landlord.

 

I am now even more anxious to leave the property as soon as possible - I do not want to be linked with Mrs B or her property address as this could possibly affect my employment if it were discovered. I also feel very unhappy about living there because of the dodgy arrangement.

 

However, I am unsure how to proceed now because of the document that I signed, because they are all obviously dodgy, and because as a single female I feel vulnerable because of the adult son also living at the address.

 

On the day I moved in I had to pay one month's rent up front and a further month's rent as a deposit. Where do I stand if I want to leave the property ASAP? Do I really HAVE to give two months notice? What if I don't do that? Can they retain my deposit?

 

Can they also come after me for the rest of the rent they will say is owed for the remainder of the initial 6 month period mentioned in the document?

 

I am very wary of all concerned in this situation. I know for a fact that Mrs B is also involved in one or two other dodgy things (TV licence, that kind of thing).

 

I have been wondering whether it would be likely that they would try to pursue me through the courts for unpaid rent due, in view of the fact that Mrs B is still serving a suspended jail sentence. I would think it unlikely, but I don't trust them.

 

Friends have told me that I should get hold of a copy of the document that I signed, however I would argue that the fact I was not given a copy would stand in my favour? Does it not show there is possibly something to hide?If needs be I am willing to forego my deposit if it means getting the hell out of there, but obviously I need to be sure what my rights are before I do anything, and I will be very unhappy about giving them any more money than I already have done in view of what I have discovered.

 

Any help much appreciated, and apologies for the lengthy post!D xx [/Quote]

[king12345]

Why don't you make up a sob story and tell LL that you need to go?

Better if you tell him that you're completely broke, so he won't come after you for 6 months rent.

You will lose your deposit, but he will surely let you go if you can't pay rent.

Maybe you could tell him you are about to be made redundant, your cat is sick, your parents are moving abroad and taking you with them, the more dramatic the better.

He will probably ask you to leave asap so he can rent the room to someone who can actually pay or will not disappear in a foreign country.

Good luck

[Dahlia M]

Why don't you make up a sob story and tell LL that you need to go?

Better if you tell him that you're completely broke, so he won't come after you for 6 months rent.

You will lose your deposit, but he will surely let you go if you can't pay rent.

Maybe you could tell him you are about to be made redundant, your cat is sick, your parents are moving abroad and taking you with them, the more dramatic the better.

He will probably ask you to leave asap so he can rent the room to someone who can actually pay or will not disappear in a foreign country.

Good luck

 

Thank you king12345