IP Newcomer Posted January 18, 2008 Report Share Posted January 18, 2008 I want to start up a thread as a reasonably definitive source of links to advice on what happens if your landlord is reposessed. This is going to be a big issue over the next couple of years so we should be prepared. If we get enough useful posts could this be pinned? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
IP Newcomer Posted January 19, 2008 Author Report Share Posted January 19, 2008 (edited) Here are some posts from the rental forum: Landlord's Property Repossessed - Can I Sue? http://www.housepricecrash.co.uk/forum/ind...showtopic=64195 How To Ensure A Landlord's Solvency? http://www.housepricecrash.co.uk/forum/ind...showtopic=62975 Urgent Help Required : Rental Property Being Repossessed http://www.housepricecrash.co.uk/forum/ind...showtopic=60418 Having A Little Problem With My Landlord http://www.housepricecrash.co.uk/forum/ind...showtopic=62553 Landlord's Property Being Repossessed - Can I Walk Away? http://www.housepricecrash.co.uk/forum/ind...showtopic=61687 BTLer gets reposessed http://www.housepricecrash.co.uk/forum/ind...showtopic=53082 Landlord Repossessed - Advice? http://www.housepricecrash.co.uk/forum/ind...showtopic=36131 Landlord Reposessed http://www.housepricecrash.co.uk/forum/ind...?showtopic=3832 Edited January 19, 2008 by IP Newcomer Quote Link to post Share on other sites
IP Newcomer Posted January 19, 2008 Author Report Share Posted January 19, 2008 And more from other parts of the forum. If anyone knows other forums I could mine then I'd be glad to do so. This is going to become very common: Landlord In Arrears http://www.housepricecrash.co.uk/forum/ind...showtopic=64420 Banks Looking For False Residential Mortgages http://www.housepricecrash.co.uk/forum/ind...showtopic=64713 Friend Has To Leave Rented Flat http://www.housepricecrash.co.uk/forum/ind...showtopic=65183 Bankruptcy & Support Forum http://www.housepricecrash.co.uk/forum/ind...showtopic=64451 Landlord Being Repossessed (essex), Drowning in a sea of debt http://www.housepricecrash.co.uk/forum/ind...showtopic=61054 Guardian: Vultures Circle Novice Landlords, New entrants expected to default.......... http://www.housepricecrash.co.uk/forum/ind...showtopic=61866 Over Sold, Over Rated, And Over Here http://www.housepricecrash.co.uk/forum/ind...showtopic=59231 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
IP Newcomer Posted January 19, 2008 Author Report Share Posted January 19, 2008 And one from Landlordzone: Landlord's mortgagee seeks possession against tenant http://www.landlordzone.co.uk/forums/showt...ght=reposession Quote Link to post Share on other sites
IP Newcomer Posted January 20, 2008 Author Report Share Posted January 20, 2008 Last post for a while. A couple of bits of legal advice. I was shocked to see how little there is out there considering how common this is likely to come. If anyone maintains a solicitor's website there may be a gap in the market: Lisa Bachelor: What if your landlord isn't paying up? http://www.guardian.co.uk/money/2005/sep/1...rvercashsection If the landlord does not pay his or her mortgage and the lender wants to repossess the property, does the tenant have any rights ? http://www.compactlaw.co.uk/free_legal_inf...ng/privhq5.html Property Repossession.co.uk http://www.property-repossession.co.uk/possession-orders.htm And some other forums: Repossession rights - TheSite.org http://www.thesite.org.uk/homelawandmoney/...ossessionrights Repossession wrangle http://www.askthesite.org/homelawandmoney/...ssessionwrangle Has my landlord been paying his mortgage? http://uk.answers.yahoo.com/question/index...27022727AAbGZag Quote Link to post Share on other sites
MrShed Posted January 20, 2008 Report Share Posted January 20, 2008 If you went through a Letting Agent you are entirely within your right to recover damages from the LA if the LL is declared bankrupt because the LA has advertised a property for Rent. The LA has an obligation to ensure the property is suitable so that means not just a proper mortgage on the property but it complies with current regulations.It doesnt matter whether the LA is just finding a tenant or is managing the property for the LL, its is reasonable to believe the LA has suitable property to rent through them, hence your ability to recover damages and if Trading Standards are notified the LA will get a warning probably a fine or even shut down. Hi IP, Its been a while since I've been on this forum, but your PM prompted me to respond to this post in particular. I would be interested to see any case(or indeed statute) law to base this post on? I fail to see any way in which an agent could be held financially responsible for such an outcome. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
DrGUID Posted January 22, 2008 Report Share Posted January 22, 2008 I've just been through this. Here's what I did when the repossession court hearing letter arrived: * Stopped paying rent. * Wrote to court to tell them I was renting the place. * Told landlord not to expect any more rent. * Found somewhere new to live. * Attended the court hearing (it looks very good if you attend, especially if your landlord doesn't ). * Moved from the property. I got 28 days notice from the date of the court hearing to move, and the bailiffs haven't repossessed the place a week after that deadline. Here's some good advice: * Before renting, check with letting agency or landlord to see if landlord has a BTL mortgage. * Be particularly wary of new build flats. * Find out price landlord paid for property and work out yield (price/annual rent * 100). If it's below 5% landlord is much more likely to experience pain. * Shelter or CAB can offer advice. Your local council may also be able to help if you have low income, health problems, kids etc. * If you have health problems or kids you may be able to prolong the eviction. * If landlord has not got BTL mortgage then your tenancy agreement is not valid. Here's what's probably not worth doing: * Spending money on solicitors. * Suing the letting agency (but threaten it if they withhold any of your deposit). * Suing the landlord (see above). * Trying to get any useful information out of the landlord's lender's solicitors. I should add that I'm showing a slight profit from the shenanigans, so if I get my deposit back it's not worthwhile me taking it further. The property wasn't being managed by a letting agency. If it was I would have let them sort it out for me. Also, the property may or may not actually get repossessed. You will not be able to know until the court hearing. But in general, household name lenders (e.g. the high street banks) will be more willing to come to a compromise than specialist mortgage lenders. My biggest issue is now trying to get the deposit back from the deposit protection service. They want evidence what's happened, but as a 3rd party to the proceedings I don't have any. Incidentally, if a letter comes addressed to "The Occupier", OPEN IT!!! Hope this helps! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
IP Newcomer Posted January 22, 2008 Author Report Share Posted January 22, 2008 I've just been through this. Here's what I did when the repossession court hearing letter arrived:* Stopped paying rent. * Wrote to court to tell them I was renting the place. * Told landlord not to expect any more rent. * Found somewhere new to live. * Attended the court hearing (it looks very good if you attend, especially if your landlord doesn't ). * Moved from the property. I got 28 days notice from the date of the court hearing to move, and the bailiffs haven't repossessed the place a week after that deadline. Here's some good advice: * Before renting, check with letting agency or landlord to see if landlord has a BTL mortgage. * Be particularly wary of new build flats. * Find out price landlord paid for property and work out yield (price/annual rent * 100). If it's below 5% landlord is much more likely to experience pain. * Shelter or CAB can offer advice. Your local council may also be able to help if you have low income, health problems, kids etc. * If you have health problems or kids you may be able to prolong the eviction. * If landlord has not got BTL mortgage then your tenancy agreement is not valid. Here's what's probably not worth doing: * Spending money on solicitors. * Suing the letting agency (but threaten it if they withhold any of your deposit). * Suing the landlord (see above). * Trying to get any useful information out of the landlord's lender's solicitors. I should add that I'm showing a slight profit from the shenanigans, so if I get my deposit back it's not worthwhile me taking it further. The property wasn't being managed by a letting agency. If it was I would have let them sort it out for me. Also, the property may or may not actually get repossessed. You will not be able to know until the court hearing. But in general, household name lenders (e.g. the high street banks) will be more willing to come to a compromise than specialist mortgage lenders. My biggest issue is now trying to get the deposit back from the deposit protection service. They want evidence what's happened, but as a 3rd party to the proceedings I don't have any. Incidentally, if a letter comes addressed to "The Occupier", OPEN IT!!! Hope this helps! Thank you for the good advice, does the court case help you to hold up the eviction? How do you get heard and what arguments do you use? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
DrGUID Posted January 23, 2008 Report Share Posted January 23, 2008 Thank you for the good advice, does the court case help you to hold up the eviction? How do you get heard and what arguments do you use? In my case because I had found somewhere else to live, I agreed to the 28 day notice being served. You need to write a letter to the court to tell them you are living at the property. I handed in my letter in person to make sure they got it. I've put my letter as a template below - just fill out blanks. Note I didn't get legal advice on this, but I'm not sure it would make much difference anyway. As to the court hearing, the judge will have been given a copy of your letter. Go to the court about 30 mins before the hearing date and time and tell ushers you wish to attend. In my case I met with the lender's solicitor before the hearing. The hearing itself was in the judge's office, it felt a lot like going to a doctor's surgery to be honest. The lender's solicitor will ask for the repossession, and the judge will decide. He will take your letter into consideration. In most cases I assume the landlord will plead their case as well (mine didn't bother turning up!). No doubt if the tenant and landlord are both present they could get a more favourable outcome. Hope this helps. <<Your address>> <<Date>> <<XXX County Court Court Address>> Ref: <<Property Address>> Dear Sir/Madam, With reference to the court proceedings scheduled for <<Date>> at <<Time>>, I would like to draw the court’s attention to the fact that I am currently residing in the above premises, having signed a <X> year assured shorthold tenancy agreement <<change tenancy type as appropriate>> with the landlord on the <<date of tenancy>>. The tenancy agreement was arranged through <<letting agent name and address>. As the landlord can no longer guarantee my right to quiet enjoyment of the premises, my legal advisors have recommended that I end the tenancy agreement and move to a new residence. Accordingly I have selected a new property and I am currently waiting the outcome of my credit referencing checks before I can proceed further. Should a possession order be granted on <<address>>, I would be grateful if any subsequent eviction be delayed until I have moved out of the property. Your faithfully <<You>> Quote Link to post Share on other sites
IP Newcomer Posted January 26, 2008 Author Report Share Posted January 26, 2008 I've found a few landlordzone threads on this topic: http://www.landlordzone.co.uk/forums/showthread.php?t=8383 http://www.landlordzone.co.uk/forums/showthread.php?t=3271 http://www.landlordzone.co.uk/forums/showthread.php?t=3024 http://www.landlordzone.co.uk/forums/showthread.php?t=7438 http://www.landlordzone.co.uk/forums/showthread.php?t=5874 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
IP Newcomer Posted January 28, 2008 Author Report Share Posted January 28, 2008 Here's three more from consumeractiongroup.co.uk http://www.consumeractiongroup.co.uk/forum...d-mortgage.html http://www.consumeractiongroup.co.uk/forum...ars-tenant.html http://www.consumeractiongroup.co.uk/forum...-mortagage.html Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Imp Posted January 29, 2008 Report Share Posted January 29, 2008 A while back I e-mailed the council or mortgage lenders to find out what their member's policy was regarding repossessing a rented house, and whether they would let a prospective tenant know if the mortgage was a BTL or residential. I got a standard response saying they only reply to their member's queries. I was planning on e-mailing all their members, but have not got round to it. I'll sort this out in the next couple of months. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
IP Newcomer Posted January 29, 2008 Author Report Share Posted January 29, 2008 A while back I e-mailed the council or mortgage lenders to find out what their member's policy was regarding repossessing a rented house, and whether they would let a prospective tenant know if the mortgage was a BTL or residential. I got a standard response saying they only reply to their member's queries.I was planning on e-mailing all their members, but have not got round to it. I'll sort this out in the next couple of months. If you do email any of them could you ask them to ask the CML on their behalf? You could try with your bank first and then go to the "ethical" banks such as the Co-Operative bank. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
IP Newcomer Posted January 30, 2008 Author Report Share Posted January 30, 2008 (edited) Some more links, this time from Money Saving Expert: http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.html?t=589041 http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.html?t=583344 http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.html?t=459410 http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.html?t=247153 http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.html?t=647847 Edited January 30, 2008 by IP Newcomer Quote Link to post Share on other sites
DrGUID Posted January 31, 2008 Report Share Posted January 31, 2008 An update: following my landlord's repossession I have now managed to (hopefully) get my deposit back from the deposit protection service! I wrote them a long email explaining what happened and they agreed to return the deposit. Luckily due to a clerical error the letting agency were named as the deposit holders, not the LL (even though they weren't managing it) and they agreed to the deposit's return. The bailiffs still haven't repo'd the property either, and we're now over two weeks past the 28 day possession order date. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Imp Posted February 5, 2008 Report Share Posted February 5, 2008 Got the list of mortgage companies and the database set up for a mail merge. All I need now is a letter. Anyone got any ideas? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
IP Newcomer Posted February 5, 2008 Author Report Share Posted February 5, 2008 Got the list of mortgage companies and the database set up for a mail merge. All I need now is a letter. Anyone got any ideas? I'm trying to get a domain pointing to this blog, but I'm starting a blog on reposessed landlords and tenants in trouble, if anyone wants to contribute on this then please drop me a private message. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
DTMark Posted February 13, 2008 Report Share Posted February 13, 2008 Another one: http://www.consumeractiongroup.co.uk/forum...d-property.html Quote Link to post Share on other sites
DTMark Posted February 13, 2008 Report Share Posted February 13, 2008 Oh dear. And another... http://www.consumeractiongroup.co.uk/forum...d-tommorow.html .. and on a not dissimilar note: http://www.consumeractiongroup.co.uk/forum...possession.html Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Imp Posted February 14, 2008 Report Share Posted February 14, 2008 Dear Sir, Renting a house without the mortgagee’s permission The current legislation and housing market has encouraged more and more people to become landlords. Some of these landlords have rented out houses which have been bought with a residential mortgage and without the permission of the mortgagee. This significantly erodes the rights of the tenant to being given reasonable notice to vacate the house if the mortgagor defaults on his payments, sometime being required to vacate a property with no notice at all. In order to protect myself as a tenant, I would like to be able to check with the mortgagee whether they have given permission for a house to be let before a tenancy starts. I am able to obtain the name of the mortgagee from the house deeds, available from the Land Registry. As a mortgagee, would you be willing to • let me know whether you have given your permission to the mortgagor to let the house? • provide me with a suitable form of words to use for this query? • let me know if there would be any charge for answering this query? This is becoming an increasingly difficult problem for tenants. I am writing this letter to every member of Council of Mortgage Lenders and will be publishing the replies on line. I look forward to your reply. Yours faithfully, etc How's that for a letter? Any changes/suggestions? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
DrGUID Posted February 14, 2008 Report Share Posted February 14, 2008 Sounds good, except you'll probably not get anything out of a bank due to "data protection issues". Don't forget that letting agencies also get their fingers burnt when a property gets repossessed, so they do have a vested interest in checking out tenants. When renting a property (particularly a new build) ask the letting agent if they vet their landlords - an increasing number do. FYI I managed to get my deposit back from the Deposit Protection people, I even got interest with it! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
simhar Posted February 14, 2008 Report Share Posted February 14, 2008 Well done my son for getting the deposit ! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
DTMark Posted April 9, 2008 Report Share Posted April 9, 2008 And another... http://www.consumeractiongroup.co.uk/forum...given-back.html Quote Link to post Share on other sites
gilf Posted April 9, 2008 Report Share Posted April 9, 2008 Sounds good, except you'll probably not get anything out of a bank due to "data protection issues". Thats what we had, they initially were happy to talk to us, but the next time we rang they refused to say anything using "data protection" as the reason. To be honest the Bank/Solicitors were shocking in their treatment of us, didn't answer any of our phone calls or reply to any of the letters we sent them. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
subspace Posted April 9, 2008 Report Share Posted April 9, 2008 I have created a petition on this subject. Please consider signing it if you have not already done so: http://petitions.pm.gov.uk/tenantevictions/ Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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