Landlord Problem

[Buzz]

Hi All,

Wonder if anyone can help.

Last year a friend of mine sold her house to a private landlord (sell and rent back) as she had mortgage arrears and a repo order.

In hindsight she realises she made a big mistake.

Her house was worth £130,000 and she sold it for £105,000.

Anyway, she pays £600 to rent it back a month.
Soon after she sold it she lost her job and had to apply for Housing Benefit.

By the time they have paid anything, she now owes £2300 in rent arrears but the landlord is adding £20.50 A DAY in interest charges because of the arrears.
In effect, until the arrears are paid, the landlord is charging almost £1300 A MONTH. (with the interest included.)

Does anyone know the legalities of this excessive charge?

Many thanks in anticipation for any replies.

Buzz

[Paule]

Re: Landlord Problem

As far as I know there is no proper regulation in place for 'sell and rent back' properties and the procedures that they do.

I am sure someone who is more knowledgable than me will give you some advice.

What I would say is that some of these companies are notorious for trying to get tennants out once the properties are bought, so you need to get as much info on the situation as you can.
ie dates, any scans of contracts(remove names etc), any letters etc

Then we can start helping you and help get you sorted

PKea

[Buzz]

Re: Landlord Problem

Thanks PKea for your reply.

The relationship with the landlord went sour due to this.
He was hassling her all the time on the phone and making threats.
After that, she said she would only communicate by email and forutnately has kept a record of all received and sent emails.

Hopefully emails are evidence as written letters would be.

Even then, many of the emails he has sent are headed like "Your leaving date on **/**/2008.
Another says "We need the property emptied by this weekend "

It is turning into a harassment issue. She is very down because of it.

With her permission I will try to copy some of the emails on here (obviously with personal data removed)

Buzz

[deemac]

Re: Landlord Problem

Thanks PKea for your reply.

The relationship with the landlord went sour due to this.
He was hassling her all the time on the phone and making threats.
After that, she said she would only communicate by email and forutnately has kept a record of all received and sent emails.

Hopefully emails are evidence as written letters would be.

Even then, many of the emails he has sent are headed like "Your leaving date on **/**/2008.
Another says "We need the property emptied by this weekend "

It is turning into a harassment issue. She is very down because of it.

With her permission I will try to copy some of the emails on here (obviously with personal data removed)

Buzz

Make sure she prints them off also as they may get lost on the PC

[Amethyst]

Re: Landlord Problem

Buzz - do you know what company she sold to on the rent back scheme? and do you know what kind of tenancy agreement she has ? If Assured shorthold do you know how long for?

Landlords are entitled to charge interest to mitigate their losses,,,,but I would assume there are some rules governing how much interest they can charge. £20 a day seems excessive.


FAQ - LandlordZONE - Assured Shorthold Tenancy Ends. What happens when my AST comes to an end ? Will I have to leave or do I need to sign a new agreement ?

[Buzz]

Re: Landlord Problem

Hi Deemac & Amethyst.

Thanks for your replies.

Will ask her about the landlord details and tenancy type.

Will come back with it later.

Ta,

Buzz

[cinders]

Re: Landlord Problem

Any update buzz?

L x

[P.Pilcher]

Re: Landlord Problem

Oh dear! Sale and rent back schemes are unregulated and, as they stand, are open to abuse by the landlord. You get into financial trouble and under the pressure of this you reluctantly agree to sell your house at a well below market price to a landlord purchaser. Despite what he says with his silver tongue, he normally offers a six month Assured Shorthold Tenancy agreement. In the worst case, you pay all your rent as agreed and four months after signing the agreement, he gives you two months notice and there is nothing you can do to stop him putting you out, putting your old home on the market and taking his profit! It is only the slow down in the property market which may be making some landlords think twice about taking this action as a matter of course.
In this case, the landlord has been exceedingly patient in letting your arrears get as high as he has and despite the interest he is charging being excessive and probably would be reduced by court action, should he get any hassle of this nature, he would probably start eviction proceedings, which he probably will anyway due to the outstanding debt.
Your only hope is that he has granted you an assured tenancy as opposed to an assured shorthold one, but this is unlikely. If this was the case, then he couldn't use the process described above to get you out (known as a section 21 action) he could only take you to court because of your rent arrears and the judge just might be lenient.

If you owe two or more months rent, then expect a section 8 notice which means pay up within two weeks or expect court action to commence. Unless your tenancy agreement is assured, you can expect a section 21 notice which gives you at least two months notice (which cannot end earlier than the end of the fixed period granted in you lease) before court action. This one you cannot stop by paying your arrears.
I don't think that your landlord knows the legal ways of regaining possession of his property yet, but he will soon find out!

Sorry to be the bearer of bad news.

P.P.