grumpystaffordguy said:
Hi
So it sounds like your landlord doesn't know what he is doing. He probably didn't know that he needed to formally give you two months notice when he gave you notice (6 weeks was it?). Not every landlord is a wealthy business person. A lot of them end up renting out due to relocation or relationship break ups and hence they may not know the exact ins and outs of what they should do.
However your landlord is bang out of order for not fixing the heating. Its really stupid of him as he will have to spend the money anyway when he moves back in. Whilst it is not right it sounds like he may be using this as an excuse to potentially get rid of someone who wont leave. Its wrong and very bad of him to do this.
Have you answered the question with regards the gas safety inspection? As said previously you should have a certificate for that.
With regards electrics I dont believe they have to be certified. I made sure I got mine certified prior to renting my house out for peace of mind, but I'm fairly confident I didn't need to do so. Some agencies insist on you having it done though.
It sounds like there has maybe been some poor communication on both sides here. If your landlord has formally given you the 2 months notice now and you say you are not moving out regardless until you are sorted then I think you are now in the wrong. I find it hard to believe that there are not any suitable houses for you to move in to. I think you are saying you wont budge, because you are struggling to find the deposit for somewhere else. I can totally understand this as its a hell of a lot of money to find. Nobody wants you to be out on the street and you have an obligation to your child.
As a landlord myself I have to accept that people will potentially spoil the house. If nothing else when the tenant moves out there will be wear and tear items. You have to be reasonable with people.
I can see both sides of the argument though as I used to rent a house and I got totally stitched up when I moved out with the landlord keeping all my deposit money. This is why we now have the deposit safe scheme.
I think the best way to resolve this all round might be if you phone him and agree a date to move out. Once this has been agreed then ask him to send out a heating engineer ASAP.
Just thought I'd respond to this because I can understand as a landlord wanting to give the possible landlord's perspective, however from what Alee has said the landlord is most definitely in the wrong here. For one this is a "professional" landlord - Alee has said he has other properties in Stafford and the council are "aware" of his behaviour so he will know what he is doing - he makes a living from renting out properties. He will have knowledge of what he should and shouldn't do and is hoping tenants won't know their rights. Also, ignorance is not an excuse in the eyes of the law. Another thing is he back dated the eviction notice by 2 months which is illegal and thus did not give Alee the time to save up a new deposit and find a new property. He has not (as far as I'm aware) given Alee a new, updated, legal eviction notice.
You are correct, electrics do not have to be certified but it is a good idea because if there is an issue it will be on the landlord's head for any damages - you are wise to get your certified!
I would also recommend not having any phone conversations, especially not with agreeing move out dates as unless you can record the call it is a case of "he said she said". When things get difficult like this is is always best to do everything in writing.
Though it is always lovely for landlords and tenants to be friendly I would always recommend having a more professional approach between them - then in cases like this where there is an issue it will be easier to deal with. It is much harder on both parties if there is a falling out when they are so friendly. No one may start out to upset but it easily done.
I do understand where you are coming from and why you want to give a landlord's perspective but in this case Alee's landlord is in the wrong.
