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Hello,
This will be the first of what is bound to be a few posts of me seeking advice regarding the situation I find myself in. This will be a long post so apologies in advance for this but I feel like I need to get as much in as possible.
In May 2012 a friend of mine and I decided to move into a house together. A “friend” of ours had suggested we take his place as it was becoming available and he stated that he did not mind us having dogs in the house. We talked it through and made some verbal agreements then progressed. In return for a lowered rent (£100) under market the landlord wanted to still use the address as his personal home address despite the fact that he lives elsewhere and would continue to do so. Given that we were all mates we didn’t see any issues with this and when we moved in we signed an agreement that essentially stated he (landlord) lived at the premises and we were only renting a room each in a shared accommodation. Again given the nature of the friendship (moreso between my then housemate and the landlord) we weren’t put off nor did we question this.
Annoyance with the landlord began quite quickly as he kept “popping in”. At first we brushed it aside but when it got to the point that we had been in the house for three weeks and he had invited himself over every night it got to be a bit much. This then slowed and then became more in keeping with what one would expect from a landlord when you are renting a house. The only times he came over is when we had a problem with something in the house or when he was picking up his post or had otherwise been invited over. This continued fine until the end of 2013.
Nearing the end of 2013 I became aware of a personal dispute that my landlord had previously had with a close friend of mine I often invited over to the house. I wasn’t aware of the severity of this dispute until it was brought to my attention that the landlord had been discussing the possibility of evicting my house mate and I over this.
It was around this time that we started having troubles. The landlord would visit without notice and start complaining about problems with the house. One time he even showed up to do an inspection of the entire house while my house mate and I were both at work without giving us any notice. We complained about this to which he responded that he had the right to do so under the house share licence. When we complained further he then said he wouldn’t visit unannounced anymore and would give us 24 hours warning prior to heading over.
This brings us into 2014 and we have at this point already decided that we were going to leave the property as it was becoming a bit much to deal with. Neither of us had the money though but we started speaking to people and had each made plans to leave by June 2014. Heading towards the end of January 2014 though the landlord sent my house mate and I an email with a long list of problems he had with the house. He gave us a week to sort them else we would be evicted.
Now there were some issues with the house. The carpets in the upstairs at the property (which were worn down when we got the house) were further worn from the dogs walking on them. There was some dirt and grime around the house from the dogs (mostly due to the filthy wet nature of this past winter). The house needed a coat of paint and new carpeting. So my house mate and I set about doing the work to sort the house out. I took that week off work and threw a coat of paint on the walls and my house mate went about sorting the other bits out. A week later the landlord visited for an inspection and stated he was happy to see that work had been done but he was not entirely happy yet. There was nothing that would make him happy. At this point my former house mate and I are confident that he was starting to look for excuses to kick us out.
Now fast forward to the end of February 2014. I was involved in a bad bike accident after a vehicle pulled out of me at a junction then left the scene. I broke my right elbow and shoulder, had to have surgery and spent a few days in hospital. This put me out of commission in a big way. It was around this time that the landlord decided there were more things that needed sorting around the house. I responded that I was unable to complete these works due to the injuries I sustained to which I was told “you still have your other hand”.
My injuries were such that I could not dress myself, I could not wash myself properly and needed help doing pretty much everything. The hospital only released me because my house mate told them he would look after me. As a result of the care I needed I was having friends visit the house more often. About 4 weeks following my accident the person my landlord has issues with was at the house. The landlord called in unannounced to see him there and instantly got rather angry with me. He started asking about trivial problems with the house and at the end of the conversation told me it was time I left. An email followed shortly there after giving my house mate and I two weeks time to pack up and leave the house.
At the time we considered fighting it but we knew if we stayed there he would make our lives hell. So we left. I went to a mates house where I still am now and my former house mate went back home to his parents.
There is the back story. I left the house on the 26th of April. My former house mate left on the 27th of April. I had not heard anything from the landlord until today when I received an email. In the email he states that the damages to the house were above and beyond the amount given as a desposit and that he will be seeking to get money back from us. So what is the likelyhood that he could indeed pursue us and get money from us? The house wasn’t perfect when we left given how little notice we had but I can not possibly think of how anything wrong with the place could extend past the deposit we initially paid.
Further if he were to pursue this matter do I have any recourse to counterclaim? The eviction forced me to give up my job as the only place I could move to with my dogs was over 100 miles away. It also forced me to leave my physiotherapy which wound up taking 5 weeks to get back into after the move. This has put off my recovery to a point where I am currently still not 100% able to work at levels previous to what existed before my accident. The amount of money this has cost me due to loss of work is in the thousands.
I am dealing with other issues stemming from this accident such as creditors chasing me and I just don’t need this. I was hoping it would just go away as a result of just getting out of the house but it does seem as if he is going to pursue it. So where do I stand?
If you’ve read all that thanks! Any advice is greatly appreciated.
This will be the first of what is bound to be a few posts of me seeking advice regarding the situation I find myself in. This will be a long post so apologies in advance for this but I feel like I need to get as much in as possible.
In May 2012 a friend of mine and I decided to move into a house together. A “friend” of ours had suggested we take his place as it was becoming available and he stated that he did not mind us having dogs in the house. We talked it through and made some verbal agreements then progressed. In return for a lowered rent (£100) under market the landlord wanted to still use the address as his personal home address despite the fact that he lives elsewhere and would continue to do so. Given that we were all mates we didn’t see any issues with this and when we moved in we signed an agreement that essentially stated he (landlord) lived at the premises and we were only renting a room each in a shared accommodation. Again given the nature of the friendship (moreso between my then housemate and the landlord) we weren’t put off nor did we question this.
Annoyance with the landlord began quite quickly as he kept “popping in”. At first we brushed it aside but when it got to the point that we had been in the house for three weeks and he had invited himself over every night it got to be a bit much. This then slowed and then became more in keeping with what one would expect from a landlord when you are renting a house. The only times he came over is when we had a problem with something in the house or when he was picking up his post or had otherwise been invited over. This continued fine until the end of 2013.
Nearing the end of 2013 I became aware of a personal dispute that my landlord had previously had with a close friend of mine I often invited over to the house. I wasn’t aware of the severity of this dispute until it was brought to my attention that the landlord had been discussing the possibility of evicting my house mate and I over this.
It was around this time that we started having troubles. The landlord would visit without notice and start complaining about problems with the house. One time he even showed up to do an inspection of the entire house while my house mate and I were both at work without giving us any notice. We complained about this to which he responded that he had the right to do so under the house share licence. When we complained further he then said he wouldn’t visit unannounced anymore and would give us 24 hours warning prior to heading over.
This brings us into 2014 and we have at this point already decided that we were going to leave the property as it was becoming a bit much to deal with. Neither of us had the money though but we started speaking to people and had each made plans to leave by June 2014. Heading towards the end of January 2014 though the landlord sent my house mate and I an email with a long list of problems he had with the house. He gave us a week to sort them else we would be evicted.
Now there were some issues with the house. The carpets in the upstairs at the property (which were worn down when we got the house) were further worn from the dogs walking on them. There was some dirt and grime around the house from the dogs (mostly due to the filthy wet nature of this past winter). The house needed a coat of paint and new carpeting. So my house mate and I set about doing the work to sort the house out. I took that week off work and threw a coat of paint on the walls and my house mate went about sorting the other bits out. A week later the landlord visited for an inspection and stated he was happy to see that work had been done but he was not entirely happy yet. There was nothing that would make him happy. At this point my former house mate and I are confident that he was starting to look for excuses to kick us out.
Now fast forward to the end of February 2014. I was involved in a bad bike accident after a vehicle pulled out of me at a junction then left the scene. I broke my right elbow and shoulder, had to have surgery and spent a few days in hospital. This put me out of commission in a big way. It was around this time that the landlord decided there were more things that needed sorting around the house. I responded that I was unable to complete these works due to the injuries I sustained to which I was told “you still have your other hand”.
My injuries were such that I could not dress myself, I could not wash myself properly and needed help doing pretty much everything. The hospital only released me because my house mate told them he would look after me. As a result of the care I needed I was having friends visit the house more often. About 4 weeks following my accident the person my landlord has issues with was at the house. The landlord called in unannounced to see him there and instantly got rather angry with me. He started asking about trivial problems with the house and at the end of the conversation told me it was time I left. An email followed shortly there after giving my house mate and I two weeks time to pack up and leave the house.
At the time we considered fighting it but we knew if we stayed there he would make our lives hell. So we left. I went to a mates house where I still am now and my former house mate went back home to his parents.
There is the back story. I left the house on the 26th of April. My former house mate left on the 27th of April. I had not heard anything from the landlord until today when I received an email. In the email he states that the damages to the house were above and beyond the amount given as a desposit and that he will be seeking to get money back from us. So what is the likelyhood that he could indeed pursue us and get money from us? The house wasn’t perfect when we left given how little notice we had but I can not possibly think of how anything wrong with the place could extend past the deposit we initially paid.
Further if he were to pursue this matter do I have any recourse to counterclaim? The eviction forced me to give up my job as the only place I could move to with my dogs was over 100 miles away. It also forced me to leave my physiotherapy which wound up taking 5 weeks to get back into after the move. This has put off my recovery to a point where I am currently still not 100% able to work at levels previous to what existed before my accident. The amount of money this has cost me due to loss of work is in the thousands.
I am dealing with other issues stemming from this accident such as creditors chasing me and I just don’t need this. I was hoping it would just go away as a result of just getting out of the house but it does seem as if he is going to pursue it. So where do I stand?
If you’ve read all that thanks! Any advice is greatly appreciated.
maybe he will back down if you hint about challenging him??
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