Newbie help, where to find info on landlord issues pleeeease!

[choripan]

Hi all would someone be so kind as to direct me to where I can get some advice on landlord not showing interest in his tenants in flat above (his family to be precise) making noise and indirectly harassing tenant

[honeybee13]

Hello and welcome to CAG.

 

I'll move your thread to the lettings forum and leave you a link to follow.

 

Please tell us more about the story, it will help the guys to advise you.

 

My best, HB

[choripan]

Hi HB!

 

I have a very very good friend who suffers from a load of health problems and lives with neuropathic pain 24/7 for the last 5 years.

 

She rents a ground floor flat and before renting the place asked the agency if anyone lives in the house upstairs (its a house with the ground floor converted to a one bed flat) and was a young single mum lives there. Fair enough, the agency was then asked is she noisy does she have parties every day/weekend does she have pets whats she like, the normal thing any body wanting to rent a place to call home and sanctuary would ask. Were told that there has never been a problem and is very quite etc so ok fine, money was exchanged albeit a little rushed and pressured as agency insisted LL was going away in less than a month.

 

She meets LL who informs her that his daughter will be living up there with her small three year old. She felt helpless as contract was signed money was handed over to the tune of 700£ and something in contract to say that she waives any right to cooling off period by entering into contract. As you can imagine her situation is a precarious one as she is a vulnerable person with no family and no chance of being in a position to rent a property without some sort of guaranteaur (me) so took it any way hoping for best.

 

First weekend there lady and/or friends have gathering make noise until 5-6 am and when mention to LL dismisses by implying that this in fact did not happen. Every now and again his family i.e. daughter ex wife and little grandson appear and go upstairs to their home. Little boy runs about for2-3 sometimes 5-12 hours! He jumps and plays the sound it causes is a thumping banging sound which leaves her and myself as I have witnessed it a a wreck.

 

Mentioned it to LL who is not in the least bit interested, it doesn't happen every day but when these people turn up and Im there our hair stands on end. Back in Oct last year I was going to accompany her to a very important and expensive app and as I stayed over and the people upstairs partied until gone 7am she missed the appointment as could not sleep, I then had to take my father to hospital and as he was dying did not sleep a couple of hours until Tuesday. True story.

 

Recently my friend finally snapped and banged TWICE on the ceiling out of frustration because the thumping the child was causing with his jumping caused a short circuit in the brain and lo and behold the LL turned up later on in the day and as I was helping her move stuff about her place went outside and was surprised to see him out there.

 

He mentioned that she should be aware that any damaged caused shes liable, he was very agressive towards me and what irritated the hell out my friend and myself was that they have on and off for the last few months psychollogically tortured and tormented my friend with these issues and make out that SHE is the problem and LL advises her to "thrash it out with the agency"

 

My reply to this was no way YOU are the landlord you need to sort this and show a little manners and respect by taking her concerns seriously not dismissing it as if its small potatoes. To me it sounds like a case of pay up and shut up.

 

For the record the rent is always paid ON TIME the flat is well looked after and he will be hard pressed to find an exceptional tenant like her. Now the specific requirements to qualify for the flat were: NO PETS NO CHILDREN NO SMOKING yet as far as I am concerned he has broken the contract by A not disclosing these facts in his advert and B the agency did not fully tell her any of this despite asking the agent that she (my friend) needs to know as much info as possible before she even thinks of committing to a contract.

 

Now she is more of a wreck p**ssed off and wants to leave if possible in a month if not she is willing to suffer until October this year as the contract is two years long.

 

Please forgive the length of this post but I can only do so much as I live with my mother and keep her company because I swear to me it seems that they have taken a chauvinistic dislike to her. By this I mean that when they (the upstairs tenants) think Im not there they let the child run wild I mean, Im not saying tie him up but if she's in her bedroom the kid jumps up and down in the room above hers, she goes to the living room, the same thing again.

 

HELP!

Edited March 14, 2015 by honeybee13
Paras.

[honeybee13]

Hello again.

 

I've put some paragraphs into your post to make it easier for the forum guys to understand. They should be along later.

 

HB

[choripan]

Wow thank you Im terribly sorry but I did space and paragraph it so have no idea why you had to do it for me.....very very sorry

[honeybee13]

Don't worry about the spacing, it happens sometimes. You could try pressing the enter button twice between paragraphs, sometimes that works.

 

HB

[choripan]

Noted and thank you!!

[mariner51]

I have no doubt your friend is a model T and her upstairs is not, but unless a previous T had formally compained about upstairs T, there was no requirement to divulge info. LA does not live in flat. LA did not mislead friend, upstairs occupant is single mother with young child

It is possible LL may have provided his dau with rent free accom or a different TA to your friend. Even so, this is a 'neighbour dispute' and LLs would be advised not to get involved, other than to caution their Ts on behaviour which may lead to Breach of Contract. A LL cannot evict without 'due process', which can take several months.

Your 'friend' to Council noise abatement team during a late night party or 'nuisance' to local RTO, who will prob require a date/time log over several weeks, before any action can be taken.

If 'friend's' fixed term expires in Oct, then she can vacate T on last day of fixed term, without Notice, but I would suggest informingLL/LA by letter 7 days in advance.

Tell friend to stop hammering on ceiling, the Law operates equally in both directions.

Maybe not the answer you hoped for? Sorry.

[choripan]

Thank you for your reply and clarification and guidance in how these things work, any answers are appreciated

 

Nobody wants to see people evicted especially in this climate of capital before human capital I certainly don't and Im sure she doesn't either but come on, a little consideration from the upstairs tenants wouldn't go amiss and the hammering on the ceiling as mentioned in the first rant is the result of nearly six months of hammering from the flat upstairs. Once in six months is understandable in my opinion.

 

 

Also perhaps leaving a note through the letterbox that they will be partying until the morning would be a good heads up so that she could arrange to stay elsewhere, that way they can carry on as if there was never anyone downstairs, that wouldn't be a bad idea.

 

The way I see things is that nobody can expect them, the upstairs Ts to change the way they live their life because someone lives below that has constant migraines amongst other things and tiptoe around, no that would be ridiculous and unfair. This is why a lot of questions were asked when the place was viewed, I was under the impression that the agency has to give a prospective tenant as much info as possible and to some extent the LL too.

 

 

This is what I have been told by other ex renters unless the rules changed overnight? Also the agency wants to know as much as possible about the prospective tenant short of giving him/her a proctology exam I think it's only fair the tenant asks just as many questions.

 

 

 

Thanks again

[camptownraces]

What mariner said.

 

Many flats in converted houses have almost no sound insulation - even the normal noise of shuffling round in slippers can be transmitted at a distressing volume. The only defence at this stage is to involve the Local Authority (Environmental Health?), and keep a log of noise. But I wouldn't bank on that leading to a cessation of the issue.

 

It does seem unusual that the friend entered into a TWO year contract, with you as guarantor. Who wanted the two year term - LL or T?

Nevertheless, you would be held responsible for her rent until the end of the two year term, should she leave early without LL's agreement to surrender the tenancy.

 

It's not clear from your post what "other ex renters" have told you about rules being altered overnight. Also, the reference to a "proctology exam". Would you kindly clarify?

[choripan]

Thats what I thought thanks for your input.

 

Regarding procto exam its ok I was having a rant