Suspect Landlord

compuser

Hi I just moved into an apartment and didn't check everything(oops) before I signed the lease because the guy seemed like and alright guy. But there are a few problems.

Before I moved in he told me the apartment it was at a different address and when we met we walked to a different apartment and he said that this is the one I'll be renting...The heaters aren't connected to anything...they don't even have plugs on the end of the cables...the wires are just hanging out. The electric shower doesn't work.I told him about the shower and he just said "I'll send one of the boys out to fix it"...and I've heared nothing in a week from him. Also the key hole on the door is very loose...probably going to stop working soon.


He's always late/irresponsible on every request I make so it makes me not want to call him for anything because it's really annoying. After being late he then rings me afterwards asking me to open the front door for him again because he doesn't have a key... so he can knock on the neighbours door for something. He asked for my details twice and I gave them twice and he still put wrong information on the lease and spelled my name and the apartments name wrong. It says on the lease that I currently reside at my last address but two doors down. (Last address was a number 22 and he put 24.)

On the back of my contract he stapled two copies of a previous tenants details...(phone number address, pps, etc) and I rang about it and he says.."oh sorry are they stuck to the front of it?", "no, I said...the back", "oh that was a mistake sorry..he was going to live there but decided not to.". Just two A4 pages of his information...


Also I don't know if these are bad things or not...

There's no microwave, no hoover (only the pipe of a hoover) and the carpet is very dirty. The tv has no cable to connect to the aeriel and there's no saorview box. I out a dvd in the other day and it wasn't reading it.

He also uses two first names for everything interchangeable...sometimes one sometimes the other...and the ad on the website promised internet(there is none) the phone cables is actually pulled out of the wall and lies across the room) ...electric shower etc.

No tenants boards registration either.

I wont mention any names to anyone or address but want advice on this situation. Is this illegal? I've only been living here a week and payed my first months rent today. I paid a deposit.

Thanks.

djimi

To be honest the whole things sounds extremely dodgy. If the address on the lease is wrong then I cant imagine it is in any way legal. You might want to give Threshold a call and see what they reckon, and maybe seek some legal advice about the lease, as if it is invalid then it might be an out for you if you want to leave.

foggy_lad

OP the LL showed you a different apartment but you moved into this awful place and signed a lewase with the wrong address and someone elses details attached to it? Contact the PRTB immediately!

Richard Dower

^ better yet....GTFO of dodge pronto!!....i know and dealt with LL like that, they'll break your heart, you'll end up paying for everything in the flat yourself. You'll never be able to get in touch with him....and i'll **guarantee** right now you will NEVER get your deposit back!!

Wait and see........

the_syco

compuser wrote: »

The heaters aren't connected to anything...they don't even have plugs on the end of the cables...the wires are just hanging out. The electric shower doesn't work.I told him about the shower and he just said "I'll send one of the boys out to fix it"...and I've heared nothing in a week from him. Also the key hole on the door is very loose...probably going to stop working soon.

Sounds like a possible way to scam to beat the PTRB, as anyone problems he'll say were fixed, giving evidence that they were fixed in the apartment on the lease, not the apartment that you're in.

compuser wrote: »

On the back of my contract he stapled two copies of a previous tenants details...(phone number address, pps, etc)

Ring the number on the lease, let them know where you got the number, and ask are they still living in the same address, or not. I'm thinking that several people are "living" in the same house, but are actually in several holes around the city. I'd say he's declaring only one house to the tax man, if event that.

compuser wrote: »

He also uses two first names for everything interchangeable...sometimes one sometimes the other...and the ad on the website promised internet(there is none) the phone cables is actually pulled out of the wall and lies across the room) ...electric shower etc.

I'd wonder if either are his real name.

compuser wrote: »

I've only been living here a week and payed my first months rent today. I paid a deposit.

The landlord sounds like a complete scumbag. Contact Threshold, and see what they can do, as I doubt you'll see the deposit again it almost sounds like he leaves the place unwashed to get peoples deposits when they leave in the first few weeks.

compuser

the_syco wrote: »

I'd wonder if either are his real name.


The landlord sounds like a complete scumbag. Contact Threshold, and see what they can do, as I doubt you'll see the deposit again it almost sounds like he leaves the place unwashed to get peoples deposits when they leave in the first few weeks.

He's saying now that the other name is his "business associate".
And I said today that I want my deposit back on monday and want to leave then because the place is substandard and he said that its not that easy, there's a whole procedure to go through and I'd have to leave and give him the keys back first then in a few days he'll call me to give the deposit back and issue an electricity bill(some company they use does the electricity and they'll send me a bill).

I pressured him for it and he said he'll send out an electrician to fix the problems in the apartment tomorrow(i bet he wont or he'll 'forget') and I have to text him the problems with the place...so I did that...



" I've only been living here a week and payed my first months rent today. I paid a deposit."

SORRY I said that wrong I've been living here a week and paid my first weeks rent today was what I meant to say. I didn't pay the first months rent, just the first week so far.

Citycap

The best thing you should do now is go back home and don't leave without a minder or responsible adult.

Victor

Citycap wrote: »

The best thing you should do now is go back home and don't leave without a minder or responsible adult.

Your post doesn't help the OP. Do not post like this.

Moderator

the_syco

compuser wrote: »

He's saying now that the other name is his "business associate".

Contact Revenue. Using two names smells of fraud.

compuser wrote: »

I'd have to leave and give him the keys back first

The moment yo give him the keys back, is the moment you lose any leverage. He can then ignore you.

compuser wrote: »

" I've only been living here a week and payed my first months rent today. I paid a deposit."

SORRY I said that wrong I've been living here a week and paid my first weeks rent today was what I meant to say. I didn't pay the first months rent, just the first week so far.

How much of a deposit did you pay? He sounds like a (noun, one word, offensive, sounds like; runt), and if it's not more than a weeks rent, look elsewhere for a new place. The LL sounds like a total cowboy.

Wabbit Ears

This will end badly. Realize you were scammed badly, Realize your deposit is gone, GTFO and cease all and every contact with this person.

Sure you could do lot of things like fight it, try to get your money back, report them to any number of bodies but seriously, life is too short, there is no good resolution to this, get the hell out of dodge.

compuser

I've nowhere to go...and no money left ****...

maringo

Sounds like the worst kind of a total dodgy sc**bag landlord. Awful situation for you to be in. Would you consider sitting tight and not paying any more rent till you get the value of the money you paid out over a few weeks while you look for somewhere else to stay. Threshold should be able to give you some advice so I'd say contact them immediately. But I'd say looking at your comments that his guy is probably taking deposits left right and centre and refusing to refund them. Could be quite a lucrative operation if you have a few apartments and you take deposits for what proves to be shi**y apartments and people move out quickly once they see the situation when they move in and you keep their deposits. Have heard of two people having trouble getting deposits back even though they gave notice according to their rental agreement. Make a list of all the faults that need fixing if you are considering staying and give it to the landlord telling him he will get paid rent as soon as they are sorted out - that's if you are considering staying there?

quietsailor

make a list of all the problems and post it to the LL, registered post is even better,

Depending on the seriousness of each job give him time to sort it - bare live electric wires need to be sorted immediately, a non-working shower needs to be sorted immediately, a broken front door lock needs to be sorted immediately - within 2 working days at most.

Other jobs - eg badly closing internal doors, dirty carpets can be sorted at a longer period, maybe one week.

Tell him if the jobs aren't sorted you will get quotes yourself, get the work done and use the rent to pay the bills. MAKE SURE YOU GET SEVERAL QUOTES - that's important as if you are in a hearing at the PRTB it proves you acted responsibly.

Start keeping records of everything - I'm 99% sure that you will have hassle getting your deposit back so you'd better start saving now for the deposit for your next house as you'll be months with the PRTB if you have to take a case to get your deposit back. Try to have witnesses if he's calling over.

The best advise I can give you though is to write off your deposit as long gone and get out of there as soon as possible, from what you've written this LL is the kind of scum that gives every decent LL a bad name, I really hope you report him to the PRTB and he is fined.

Hre's some more info:
Residential Tenancies Act the actual law about tenancies
Housing Standards Act - the minimum standard the house should have
Housing standards simplified A government document explainig the min. standards expected in rented acomodation, a bit easier to digest than the SI above
Threshold advice page about ending tenancies

quietsailor

Citycap wrote: »

The best thing you should do now is go back home and don't leave without a minder or responsible adult.

Although that isn't very nice advice OP I'm afraid there is some element of the truth in it, look at it this way, your after learning a damn valuable lesson from this. No matter what the LL/agent swears they will do to fix the property before you move into it assume nothing will be done, now - will you be happy to move in there with the property in this state - if the answer is no the don't move in or work out a deal - written & signed by both sides - where you won't pay rent until the work is carried out.

A dodgy LL won't agree to this as they have no intention of carrying out the work, a decent LL might as they won't want to rent a badly maintained property.

One final thing I'll say and again it'll be hurtful to you, you did get yourself into this mess by not knowing enough about what to do/look for when renting a property. Take a read of the links I posted, that'll give you an idea what to look for in future. Next time when your looking at a property bring along someone who's rented a lot of different properties, they're usually wise to the tricks the dodgy LLs get up to.