pim Posted August 5, 2006 Share Posted August 5, 2006 We have just been given 2 months notice to leave as the landlady wants to move back in to the house we are renting. The question I have is what to do with the last months rent whether to pay this or not. I'm sure this has been asked on here before. A bit more about our situation. We have payed 6 weeks deposit. We have an extensive itineary. We pay on a monthly basis, which had originally been a 6 month shorthold tenancy. The property has been rented for 7 years of which we have rented it for 3 years. We chose it as it was not spotless and a bit rundown as we have small children. The walls had a few marks on them but now have a few more. The carpet downstairs had a few stains and now after 3 years has more. I'm sure when the landlady moves back she is going to overhaul the house. The landlady has only seen the property once in those 7 years when we had been there a couple of years. The carpets could do with a change, the walls a paint and a new kitchen. SO what is reasonable wear and tear? We did clean up the property and it is in a better state then when we moved in in lots of ways. But with kids there is always more wear and tear. i have a feeling that the landlady will keep the deposit. Can anyone offer any advice as to what to do. pim Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Duff Posted August 7, 2006 Share Posted August 7, 2006 We have just been given 2 months notice to leave as the landlady wants to move back in to the house we are renting. The question I have is what to do with the last months rent whether to pay this or not. I'm sure this has been asked on here before. A bit more about our situation. We have payed 6 weeks deposit. We have an extensive itineary. We pay on a monthly basis, which had originally been a 6 month shorthold tenancy. The property has been rented for 7 years of which we have rented it for 3 years. We chose it as it was not spotless and a bit rundown as we have small children. The walls had a few marks on them but now have a few more. The carpet downstairs had a few stains and now after 3 years has more. I'm sure when the landlady moves back she is going to overhaul the house. The landlady has only seen the property once in those 7 years when we had been there a couple of years. The carpets could do with a change, the walls a paint and a new kitchen. SO what is reasonable wear and tear? We did clean up the property and it is in a better state then when we moved in in lots of ways. But with kids there is always more wear and tear. i have a feeling that the landlady will keep the deposit. Can anyone offer any advice as to what to do. pim Well it sounds to me like reasonable wear and tear that has taken place over the years you have lived there. Unfortunately, unless you have photos of the condition the house was in when you moved in, or have something in writing stating the original condition of the property, if your landlady decides to be stingy you may find it difficult to do anything about it other than take her to the small claims court. I would like to think that she will be pleased she has had people she can trust looking after the property for her for all those years, during which time she has made a lot in equity growth. If you get on with her, why don't you take the initiative and raise your concerns with her. If it were me I'd buy you something nice as a thank you for looking after the place. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pim Posted August 8, 2006 Author Share Posted August 8, 2006 Hi, thanks for the reply. I think in the end we'll just pay it and hope for the best. We had a slight disagreement with the owner early on, which made me realise that she is quite likely to take the deposit. In the end we paid half the cost for something, which she should have paid the full costs for. We were given notice on the first day of our holidays. Luckily my partner had planned to come a few days later. Otherwise we would have come back and had 3 weeks to move out!! So my partner is still in the UK looking for somewhere to rent. pim Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PogoLocky Posted August 10, 2006 Share Posted August 10, 2006 I rent out a house to my sister so not a nasty landlord but know most of the proceedures you could miss the last month rent without a problem and very unlikely she take it further. This would be dependant if she threatened to withold your deposit if she does you have that option. In most cases a tenant has to miss 2 months rent for a landlord/landlady to take posession by court etc. Locky Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrShed Posted August 10, 2006 Share Posted August 10, 2006 In my opinion, as you have no reason to believe she will screw you for the deposit, you should just pay the last months rent. Only in cases where you have strong reason to believe you will lose the deposit should you withhold the rent. If you have an extensive inventory, then you should have nothing to worry about. Just make sure you take some photos/videos on leaving the place. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pim Posted August 11, 2006 Author Share Posted August 11, 2006 Hi, Thanks for the replies. I have another question to ask. What would happen if we overstayed by a few days or a week over the date we are asked to leave? Our situation has changed in that we have found a house to buy. I've been looking for over a year now and now have just seen something we've been looking for a while. We are overpaying but it's the sort of house we want. The owners have said they would be able to move out on the last day of our tenancy. We are in a good position as we are still in rented, just and are cash buyers. But it's tight if something goes wrong. The other option is take on another 6 month lease and rent. But it will be so disruptive to the children to move twice in such a short space as well as the additional costs involved. We have again asked via the estate agent, if the landlady would let us stay a bit longer just in case there is a delay. But I think her answer we will be 'no'. We asked her this last week as we were given notice on our first day of our holiday and she wouldn't extend it by a day. But my partner stayed on in the UK to find somewhere to rent but instead has found somewhere to buy!! But we have a very valid reason to ask for an extension. The letting agent have been quite frumpy and rude to me, which has made me realise that they are not going to ask the landlady in a way that will get a positive reply. We have been good tenants for 3 years with them. We rather do it the proper way. The reason we have been asked to leave is that the landlady wants to move back into her house. (I have met her once before, she is a single women in her 30's and rented her place out to have a stint working abroad). I'd appreciate any advice. pim Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PogoLocky Posted August 11, 2006 Share Posted August 11, 2006 Hi, Thanks for the replies. I have another question to ask. What would happen if we overstayed by a few days or a week over the date we are asked to leave? Our situation has changed in that we have found a house to buy. I've been looking for over a year now and now have just seen something we've been looking for a while. We are overpaying but it's the sort of house we want. The owners have said they would be able to move out on the last day of our tenancy. We are in a good position as we are still in rented, just and are cash buyers. But it's tight if something goes wrong. The other option is take on another 6 month lease and rent. But it will be so disruptive to the children to move twice in such a short space as well as the additional costs involved. We have again asked via the estate agent, if the landlady would let us stay a bit longer just in case there is a delay. But I think her answer we will be 'no'. We asked her this last week as we were given notice on our first day of our holiday and she wouldn't extend it by a day. But my partner stayed on in the UK to find somewhere to rent but instead has found somewhere to buy!! But we have a very valid reason to ask for an extension. The letting agent have been quite frumpy and rude to me, which has made me realise that they are not going to ask the landlady in a way that will get a positive reply. We have been good tenants for 3 years with them. We rather do it the proper way. The reason we have been asked to leave is that the landlady wants to move back into her house. (I have met her once before, she is a single women in her 30's and rented her place out to have a stint working abroad). I'd appreciate any advice. pim Hmm they would have to serve 7 or 14 day notic to leave i believe should you have not left on the due date so there you go. If you have not gone in that time you may get a court date that will normally be in a couple of weeks also. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pim Posted August 11, 2006 Author Share Posted August 11, 2006 Thanks for the reply. That's quicker than I had expected. If everything goes to plan then we could be out before the end of the tenancy. My sister sold her house in 6 weeks from the day of accepting the offer to the people moving in. We'd rather not outstay the deadline, but if it is a matter of a couple of days then we might. I was more shocked at the letting agents attitude. She made me feel like a second class person. pim Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrShed Posted August 11, 2006 Share Posted August 11, 2006 It will take at least a month to get you out if you stay after the notice expires, depending upon your local authority and how busy the courts are. But bear in mind if you do this, you will become liable for any costs incurred - court costs, baliff costs etc. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iangilb Posted August 11, 2006 Share Posted August 11, 2006 Thanks for the reply. I was more shocked at the letting agents attitude. She made me feel like a second class person. pim You probably are in her eyes, simply because you rent. I have come across this a lot and think it is due to the fact that most letting agents are EAs. These people are not particularly well educated, at least not those who are just glorified admin clerks, and actually believe the home-ownership ******** they feed to all their clients. I believe that as part of the HPC shakedown that is going to occur, we need to make sure we develop a proper private rental sector that treats its customers with the respect they deserve. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PogoLocky Posted August 11, 2006 Share Posted August 11, 2006 You probably are in her eyes, simply because you rent. I have come across this a lot and think it is due to the fact that most letting agents are EAs. These people are not particularly well educated, at least not those who are just glorified admin clerks, and actually believe the home-ownership ******** they feed to all their clients. I believe that as part of the HPC shakedown that is going to occur, we need to make sure we develop a proper private rental sector that treats its customers with the respect they deserve. This is one of the main reasons i bought a property for my sister to rent last year i have no plans to buy anymore into BTL part. I completely agree with you. When the fixed mortgage is up on it and my sister decides to buy herself or move i will sell. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
backtoparents Posted August 12, 2006 Share Posted August 12, 2006 Did you sign an inventory on the house? Pay the final month. You are contractually required to pay on time. Withholding rent will not look good at small claims court if you do not receive your deposit, should it go that far. What was the additional item you payed for that in your view your land-l should have covered? What was the amount? btp Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
North London Rent Girl Posted August 17, 2006 Share Posted August 17, 2006 Withholding rent will not look good at small claims court if you do not receive your deposit, should it go that far. But if you withhold the rent the getting of your deposit back will not be an issue! I would urge you to withhold the last 6 weeks' rent if you paid 6 weeks' rent in deposit if you have doubts about your landlady's honesty. They do tend to have an, erm, 'strong sense of entitlement' to other people's money when it comes to tenants' deposits. I've never had a cent of deposit not returned but I have friends who've been thoroughly done over. Take control of your money (remember, the agent's had the interest on it for the past 3 years so you've lost out already) and if the LL gets upset about it tell her you'll be happy to negotiate once you've left if she thinks you've damaged the place. I'm going to be in this position later in the year - I paid 6 weeks' rent and am going to withhold it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pim Posted August 17, 2006 Author Share Posted August 17, 2006 Thanks for the replies. I've had friends done over with deposits. In one case my friend spent 2 days cleaning the house up after they left and the landlady did not give them a penny back. She didn't deserve that. I'm still waiting to hear back from the landlady if we can have an extension to stay a bit longer. The letting agents can't get hold of her and have assumed she has gone off on holiday!!! I'd rather not be in a position to overstay. But if it is a matter of a few days I don't know. I wouldn't let it come to going to a court. pim Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PogoLocky Posted August 17, 2006 Share Posted August 17, 2006 Thanks for the replies. I've had friends done over with deposits. In one case my friend spent 2 days cleaning the house up after they left and the landlady did not give them a penny back. She didn't deserve that. I'm still waiting to hear back from the landlady if we can have an extension to stay a bit longer. The letting agents can't get hold of her and have assumed she has gone off on holiday!!! I'd rather not be in a position to overstay. But if it is a matter of a few days I don't know. I wouldn't let it come to going to a court. pim Hi pim I have had the misfortune of having t require my sisters friend to leave she done me out of a grand. I dont know if you live in my area i could put you up for a wile lol. Anyway i wish you all the best i dont think you will have a problem as i trust my sister and her so called friend. I didnt take deposit's just people taking advantage of my generosity i suppose. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pim Posted August 19, 2006 Author Share Posted August 19, 2006 Well the latest is the landlady phoned and she wants the house back the day after the tenancy ends. I had thought she could have been a bit more lenient as she is a single woman and we have been good tenants for the last 3 years + we have young children. It will be strange as I will pass the house on a twice daily basis to drop the kids of at school. We are going to pay the last months rent, but after having met her once and the way she has been to us. I don't know if we'll get it back. Anyway, I'm hoping our sale goes through alright. pim Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ade Posted August 24, 2006 Share Posted August 24, 2006 Unfortunately landlords are generally a very selfish and greedy breed of person. I would say the lower end of society so I will be taking no chances. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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