Please help with tenancy dispute

[Tenant_B]

Hello everyone

 

I hope someone can give me some advice on how to resolve a dispute we are having with our landlord and estate agent.

 

Mid-July my girlfriend and I signed an Assured Shorthold Tenancy Agreement to rent a one bedroom flat with sole use of an external store room/study (outside flat but still in building) and sole use of a terrace. Since then everything has started to go wrong.

 

The landlord came in the day after we signed the tenancy and removed the keys for the store room/study, post box and terrace. We returned to the property a few days later and found these keys missing so asked the estate agent to enquire as to where they had got to. The estate agent acquired the terrace keys and brought them round to the flat about a week later.

 

About a week after this the estate agent came round again to remove some furniture that had been left in the flat, even though we let it unfurnished, so we asked about the remaining keys. They became very shirty and said that they were not even managing the property and they were doing us a favour in removing the furniture. Once we managed to calm them down they said that the landlord had posted the post box key to us! This was obviously a problem and we asked about the store room key, to which they did not give us an answer.

 

This is a problem because the landlord has stated that she does not want to let us use the store room, even though it was advertised for our sole use and the estate agent has confirmed this in writing. Eventually the landlord conceded that we can share it with her but this is not what we agreed and now she is storing her belongings in there and will only let us have a key if we agree to her terms and go and get a copy cut (at our expense) from another estate agent she is trying to sell the property with. We rented the property under the assumption that we would have sole use of the store room as there is inadequate storage space within the flat.

 

Additionally neither the estate agent nor the landlord is accepting responsibility for managing the property and we have contacted them stating that we no longer wish to live there and have tried to negotiate terminating the contract. They have flat out refused to negotiate and now want to take us to court.

 

 

So:

 

Do we have grounds to terminate contract due to misrepresentation and insufficient keys being provided?

Are we obliged to get our own keys cut at our expense?

Can the estate agent take us to court when the rent is paid directly to the landlord's bank account?

 

 

Any help/advice would be greatly appreciated whether it is in our favour or not.

 

 

Thanks in advance

[MrShed]

Is this a self contained flat, in a block/building within which your landlord also lives...?

 

Do we have grounds to terminate contract due to misrepresentation and insufficient keys being provided? - IMHO, no.

Are we obliged to get our own keys cut at our expense? - No, but pick your battles - the few quid itll cost for a key isnt the right battle to pick.

Can the estate agent take us to court when the rent is paid directly to the landlord's bank account? - Take you to court for what exactly?

 

Personally, I would be inclined to get the locks changed on the store room......

[callumsgran]

~Personally, I would be inclined to get the locks changed on the store room.~

 

Oohh MrShed!!!

[MrShed]

Why the :O CG?

 

The store room is part of the exclusive occupancy of the tenant

 

however, I was perhaps a bit rash to say that, or at least word it differently - although I would do that, I'm not advising you do it in this situation - it will likely result in a tit for tat repeat changing of locks, and will no doubt not endear the landlord!

 

Is the store room mentioned in the tenancy agreement itself?

[callumsgran]

Just surprised to hear you say that, thats all lol!

It's the sort of thing i say, not you!

[seftonview]

How long is the AST for - 6 or 12 months? It makes no difference to your rights either way; I'd just like to gauge how much longer you're staying there...

 

My initial view is that if the tenancy agreement/written representations indicate sole use of the areas, then you are entitled to peaceful occupation/sole use of the areas. I would personally be minded to threaten to seek an injunction against the landlord if they won't accede to this.

 

SV

[Tenant_B]

Thanks for all your repsonses.

 

Mr Shed:

 

It's a self contained flat in a block but the landlord does not live there. We do want to pick our battles and that is why we are trying to negotiate with the landlord but she is being very unreasonable and will not negotiate even tohugh we simply cannot afford to pay the whole amount plus live somewhere else. The estate agent wants to take us to court if we move out and do not pay rent but we want to negotiate settlement or reduced payment for the time being. We don't really want to change locks because we want to be as amicable as possible.

 

 

Callumsgran:

 

The store room is in the inventory and is in the advert for the flat which we still have.

 

 

Seftonview:

 

The AST is for 12 months. The AST states it is for our sole use and the landlord is interfering with our enjoyment by storing her belongings there and not providing us with a key. We do not want it to go to court and are trying very hard to negotiate. We are prepared to make some very fair offers. E.g. 6 months rent up front in full and final settlement OR two thirds of the rent each month for the entire term of the contract.

 

 

Are these terms attractve or fair or should we offer less????

 

Thanks for the help guys!!!

[MrShed]

You have a problem here. I appreciate that you are trying to be amicable and resolve the issue out of court, but on the flip side of this you have to be aware that NOTHING is enforceable without doing so.

 

I feel that you have to resolve the storage issue, as opposed to moving out and making some settlement offer. I do not think a court would look favourably upon you unilaterally terminating the tenancy.

 

As such, I would, at this stage, write a polite but firm letter to both the agent and the landlord, stating that as the storage was advertised for exclusive use with the property, you expect them to honour this arrangement. Failure of them to do so will mean that they are breaching their covenant of quiet enjoyment of the property, as well as exclusive possession, and you will unfortunately be forced to take relevant steps in order to enforce your legal rights as tenant.

[Tenant_B]

Hi Mr Shed

 

Thanks for your help. I will consider doing what you have said but before I do, have they not already broken the terms of the contract by not providing keys and refusing to remove theri possessions from the stroe room that was adverttised and let for our sole use?

[MrShed]

Yes they have.

 

But (I mean this in the nicest way BTW!)...so what?

 

It is a common misconception that breaking a term in a contract allows the "ripping up" of the contract, it does not. It merely allows you to enforce the applicable contract term (and claim financial loss due to the breaking of the term).

 

What you are saying is that by breaking a term in the contract, the contract is effectively null and void and so you cannot be held liable for your obligations under said contract. That unfortunately isnt the case.

[wheelergeezer]

Question. How exactly does the LL get access to the storage? Do they go through your flat, have access via another flat, climb over a wall, etc etc?

[MrShed]

Good question WG.

 

I was assuming it was off a communal area, but you know what assumptions make...!

[wheelergeezer]

Something to do with Ladies with chidren, all rubber duck and vertical direction IIRC!

[Tenant_B]

Fair enough, it seems I will just have to remain there and do as you said, write a letter to obtain sole use of the store room. If she still refuses to remove her possessions from the room and give me a key, what are my legal rights? What can I do to enforce these rights?

 

 

BTW the access is off a communal area.

 

Thanks guys!