Illegal Eviction 6 weeks into 12 month Tenancy

[Neptune]

Thank you for your reply.

I have zero sympathy for the landlords stress and legal costs, as that is their choice, they have done this themselves and I should not have to pay their costs. I would also argue that possession proceedings are a million times more stressful, time consuming, and expensive for a tenant. There is no bigger threat than losing the roof over your head and no bigger hardship than homelessness.

Given that they know I cannot move home without paying 6 months rent in advance, due to my extremely poor credit history, they should therefore know that I am unable to just move home again on their demand, having also just paid them approx £11,000, and should also know that they would have very little chance of being able to recover any of their legal costs from me. They knew this information before agreeing to a minimum 12 month tenancy and I was assured that this would be a long term let of several years. They are deliberately trying to make me homeless and cause me even more financial hardship and further damages to my credit, making it even more difficult to secure accommodation.

Continued on next post....

[Neptune]

I have written a long reply but will not allow me to post, as keeps flagging up as potential spam and says moderator will need to approve?

[Neptune]

Continued from previous post...

I am a good tenant. I am clean and respectful. I do not complain about small things. Since moving in I have replaced a shower head and hose that needed replacing. One of the internal doors jammed shut as the latch mechanism had crumbled inside the door - It took me 2 hours to carefully remove the fixings and open the door and I paid for the replacement new handles & fixings. I spent considerable time washing, drying, neatly folding and boxing up all of the landlords mouldy curtains. The driveway, patio and gardens are covered with extensive weeds, making it more difficult and expensive to maintain. I haven't complained about any of that.

Tenants have no security and can be kicked out on a whim and have to live with that constant fear of being evicted for any perceived slight or for complaining about anything.

Continued on next post....

[Neptune]

This home move was the 5th time I have had to move since the start of the pandemic. One landlord did not have BTL / consent from their mortgage lender to let the property and within weeks of moving in I started receiving letters from their mortgage lender, addressed to occupier, informing me that they were intending to evict me without notice. They also had an outstanding electric bill of over £4000 and within 1 week of moving in, I had an aggressive debt collector smashing on the door and terrorising me, chasing the landlords debt.

Continued on next post....

[Neptune]

I am having some technical difficulties posting my full reply, so have attached as a word document. Maybe somebody else could copy and paste as a post on my behalf?

[PallasAthena]

Maybe somebody else could copy and paste as a post on my behalf?

I can open and read your document no problem so it doesn't need copy+paste into your post as well.

[Neptune]

My posts are not showing, could anyone resolve this?

[Neptune]

What should I write in reply to solicitor? I do not know how it should be set out, or whether it should be marked without prejudice or not? Any help would be greatly appreciated, as I cannot sleep or function properly and would like to get a reply sent as quickly as possible. Could anybody possibly help with this?

[atticus]

you have been given suggestions about the content of your letter. Definitely not "without prejudice".

[atticus]

Reminder:

An attempt to help Neptune. I think that she should begin her letter with:

1. A statement of her willingness to allow inspection, by agreed appointment. She should offer 3 or 4 dates/times.

2. A statement that the landlord and his agents were sufficiently aware of her previous problems, and that these were overcome by her offer to pay 6 months' rent in advance. That payment is what influenced the landlord to let to her. [check this is all correct]

Only after dealing with the case being made against her should she continue with her counter allegations. If she is going to say that things were misrepresented to her than she needs to say what was said, and when, how, and by whom, and in what way they were incorrect.

[Neptune]

you have been given suggestions about the content of your letter. Definitely not "without prejudice".

Could you please explain a bit more - What are the positives / negatives of using without prejudice proposal, and when should a without prejudice be used?

[Neptune]

Reminder:

Thank you for the replies.

With regard to inspections, they claim I am in breach of tenancy agreement regarding this, but I am not. They even quote the clause relating to access for inspections, which states a mutually convenient appointment should be made.

Inspections are very intrusive and most agents do this at 6 months, not 6 weeks. The agent contacted me via email and stated an appointment had already been arranged for inspection at a specific time and stated that if I was not available they would be entering with their own keys. I replied politely that the day and time they had arranged was not convenient for me, and that I felt an inspection at 6 weeks was a bit too soon, considering I have only just moved, but that I would be more than happy to accommodate inspection at 6 months, with a mutually convenient appointment, and that I do not consent to anybody using their own set of keys to enter without being present. The reply I then received was that they were still attending on the day/time they specified and would be using their keys to enter, along with a veiled threat of eviction if I did not comply. I then replied again that they do not have consent to do that and that they would be in breach of contract.

They also argue that there is no specific frequency in the tenancy agreement of how often they can inspect, which is correct. I consider an inspection at 6 weeks, and also the manner they have communicated and threatened to be unreasonable. No frequency of inspections was discussed or agreed prior to beginning the tenancy, which is negligence on the part of the agent.

With regard to the allegation of making a false statement during application. They also claim that I stated I was the landlord of previous property, suggesting that I claimed I owned the property, which is not true.

Would it be acceptable to enclose a letter with my letter for the previous LL to sign and return, retracting his false allegations? And how much detail would I need to go into regarding damages I claim from him?

With regard to current LL, In addition to stating what refund, compensation and other terms I would accept to end the tenancy agreement early, would it also be acceptable to state that I would be willing to consider continuing the tenancy on the following terms: a... b...c...d....e, ?

Can I do a SAR request to a solicitor who is acting for another party, to see all communications exchanged between the solicitors and the landlords? I would like to know exactly how current LL was contacted regarding previous tenancy.

[islandgirl]

We are going round in circles. Read the previous posts. All the advice you need is there. We have told you what we think. If you do not agree fine - write a letter arguing frequency of inspection, retraction, compensation, SAR etc etc. All are a waste of time. The content you need has been spelled out to you by several posters. The ball is in your court. I doubt you will get much further advice until you post up the text of the letter you have sent. Get a certificate of postage by the way (free at the post office)

[Neptune]

We are going round in circles. Read the previous posts. All the advice you need is there. We have told you what we think. If you do not agree fine - write a letter arguing frequency of inspection, retraction, compensation, SAR etc etc. All are a waste of time. The content you need has been spelled out to you by several posters. The ball is in your court. I doubt you will get much further advice until you post up the text of the letter you have sent. Get a certificate of postage by the way (free at the post office)

Some of the things you say are a waste of time, is what has been advised I should do by other posters - Such as responding to their false claim that I have breached agreement and another poster advised setting out proposed refund / compensation.

The text of my letter is what I am struggling with and would appreciate some help with, as I do not want to make a mistake and want it worded as clearly, professionally and strongly as possible. Due to the nature of the circumstances, I am not currently capable of drafting a letter myself. I am under immense mental pressure and stress and suffering sleep deprivation.

I don't see how any of that is a waste of time, as is the only way I can see forward and don't see that I have much other choice. If I don't then I will clearly have to suffer again with the stress of this being dragged through the courts and at huge risk of homelessness, with no way of securing other accommodation.

The previous LL needs to be stopped immediately and I require compensation for what he has done.

[islandgirl]

For the text of the letter see Atticus above or previous versions suggested in this thread. It will not be written for you in its entirity although you are welcome to write it and post here for improvement. You are able to express everything you believe should be in it on this thread so just put it into a letter. Do not worry about legal jargon. The compensation etc as Atticus says are clouding the issue - it is the eviction you need to deal with first.