Should you ever find yourself as victim of your landlord's dubious property management practices then it is essential you understand your rights as a tenant, and be aware of the various bodies and organisations to which you can turn for help and guidance.
On this page we give you practical advice on how to deal with a rogue landlord or tenancy issue. Here we have listed the tactics you can adopt when putting together a strategy to resolve your problem.
For contact details of the organisations and web links referenced here, go to our Contact page.
If there is one thing the rogue landlord detests, then it's general administration. Their remit is to make money, and they don't make money spending time in front of a computer keeping records, answering tenants' enquiries, logging or recording conversations and organising house repairs and fixes.
Admin is anathema to the lazy landlord and as it's often at the very source of a tenancy issue, it can be their achilles heel. This can work in your favour.
Our advice is to keep a log of your tenancy from the moment you sign the agreement. Record and date relevant phone conversations, events, texts and emails which may have a bearing should a problem arise.
The well-organised tenant, with copies and back-ups of documents, certificates, agreements and emails, will be in a stronger position in a tenancy dispute.
The dodgy landlord avoids sending emails, text messages or any written form of dialogue for obvious reasons. Their preferred method of communication is the phone which is not only less likely to be recorded but means the landlord is more able to intimidate, bully or influence the tenant through the power of speech.
Avoid incoming landlord phone calls if at all possible. Reply to voicemail messages with an email. If the landlord is successful in phoning you, don't get flustered, don't argue or lose your temper, stay calm and follow up the call with an email referencing what was said in the conversation.
And remember, be careful how you respond in your emails. Let the landlord make legal faut pas, not you.
There are a number of organisations which may help you, depending on the nature of the tenancy issue.
Citizens Advice Bureau - this charitable institution offers advice to tenants. It's worth a phone call to arrange a free consultation at your local branch.
Shelter - the registered charity offers advice on renting agreements, deposits and landlord responsibilities. If you phone then be prepared for a 20-minute wait before someone attends to you.
Which? Legal - an online service with phone access to their team of legal advisors. £88 for a year's subscription.
When does a tenancy problem warrant the introduction of a solicitor? It's a tough question. Often, it's the amount of money involved in the dispute which will determine whether the expertise of a legal professional is required.
If you do require a solicitor choose one who specialises in landlord/tenant disputes. We use a firm of solicitors with an office in Tooting. We can recommend them for no other reason than they provide us with sound practical legal advice at an affordable price, and they are familiar with the dubious operations of certain landlords in the Clapham-Stockwell-Balham-Tooting area.
It's worth remembering, rogue landlords try to avoid the legal system like the plague. Having their business practices interrogated by a lawyer is for many a risk too far, so in most cases a letter from your solicitor is all it might need to resolve the problem.
Also, don't threaten your landlord with legal action. If you are going to instruct your solicitor to send a warning letter, then keep it as a surprise!
Local councils are very sensitive when it comes to upholding the rights of their private tenants. They require landlords to meet certain standards and will enforce them to attain minimum decent homes standards, follow fire safety regulations and perform annual gas safety checks.
If you have concerns in your rented home regarding damp and mould, gas supply, electrical faults especially where water is involved, sanitation and overcrowding then discuss this with your Council's housing environmental officer.
Well, why not ? Isn't this why we elect them ? We haven't actually explored this one but making your local MP aware of the improper practices of private landlords within the boundary of their constituency, may make the Right Honorable Person sit up and take notice.
We're not joking ! We're not suggesting you hire a double-page spread in the Times but there are opportunities for venting your spleen publicly against a rogue landlord.
The BBC Watchdog programme has a team of analysts which scours consumer complaints for suitable televisual features. Go to their web site or email them at watchdog@bbc.co.uk. They may be interested in your story, moreso if you network other aggrieved tenants to do the same.
Dominic Littlewood's Don't Get Done Get Dom series recently featured a programme exposing the sharp practices of letting agents. Contact Dom Littlewood directly.
Although landlords are not obliged by law to take out insurance on their property there may be a clause in your tenancy agreement which refers to such. If so, ask your landlord for a copy of the policy document to ensure there is adequate cover on the building and rooms, otherwise the landlord could be breaching their own contract.
Your landlord may well have other properties in the area let out to tenants. Check out the letting sites for an advert similar in format and style to the one you originally replied to. If you find a match, ask a friend to make a discreet enquiry as to the location/address of the let and ascertain the name of the landlord. If the advert has been placed by the tenant (a landlord's self-replacement scheme frequently requires the sitting tenant to find a replacement) you may be able to investigate their own situation and relationship with the landlord.
There's strength in numbers and reaching out to tenants who have also fallen victim to the landlord's wily ways can be a reassuring prompt for collective action.
What if you want out and wish to end the tenancy agreement ? The bad news is if there is no break clause you are bound by the terms of the contract and a 4-year fixed period means exactly that. The law sides with the landlord in this respect.
We do not advise you 'doing a runner'. This opens you up to legal action and a possible County Court Judgement against you which persists on the Register of Judgements for 6 years. It still means the outstanding debt has to be settled. However, issuing a CCJ can be an expensive business for a landlord chasing relatively small amounts of unpaid rent. In most cases it is not worth their trouble and cost.
However, all is not lost. Rogue landlords are people too (!!) and they don't want hassle anymore than you do. So, make a nuisance of yourself !
How can you do that within the framework of the law ?
• Put together a plan of action. A strategy of slowly turning up the heat on the landlord can put you back in control.
• Communicate with your landlord through hard-copy or email only. Telephone conversations are lost in the ether ! Save all correspondence. Even text messages. You want written evidence of your landlord's negligence.
• Don't bombard the landlord with wild threats and accusations. Act professionally, take the moral high ground and be selective what you email. Sometimes, a silence is worth a dozen emails.
• Study each clause of the tenancy agreement and determine if the landlord has breached the contract in any way. If you believe this is the case then it may be worthwhile to discuss the matter with a solicitor. A letter from your lawyer indicating potential legal action may just be the trigger for the landlord to back down.
• Seek out deficiencies in the safety and security of your living environment. That faulty light fitting needs attention. The leaking tap requires repair. Why are there no window locks? The front door needs a safety chain. Is mould in the bathroom acceptable ? Why has the landlord not fulfilled these obligations ? These things could decide whether the contract is void and invalid ? Take photos to corroborate your claims.
• Don't lie! Don't exaggerate! Don't resort to violence ! Don't be abusive ! Don't give the landlord any reason to accuse you of breaching the contract. Just turn the screw slowly with your rightful demands.
• If the landlord imposes the self-replacement scheme by inflating the proposed rent above the local market rate for the property, contest it. Send screenshots of similar properties in the area advertised at the going rental value.
• Seek out advice from your local council. If you have a genuine complaint about your living conditions they will be interested. Contact advisory organisations.
• Make demands on the landlord. Don't let him/her control you. A landlord has an obligation to you as a tenant and may well think you are more trouble than it's worth.
And finally, be persistent, determined, and resolute. Rogue landlords hate that.
And so, when you finally achieve your goal of terminating your tenancy, get written confirmation from your landlord so there's no comeback in the future. An email will do.
Prior to leaving make sure the property is left in a state comparable to, or better than, when you arrived. Take photos of the rooms, especially of those areas or items where there may be a dispute.
Your deposit should have been protected in a government-backed Tenancy Deposit Scheme and at the end of the tenancy your landlord should return the deposit.
The rogue landlord may attempt to retain as much as, or all, of the deposit with the flimsiest of excuses or just refuse to reply to your enquiries and requests.
In this instance contact the Tenancy Deposit Scheme and raise a dispute. It's free and the organisation will arbitrate between yourself and the landlord. Be patient, though. With the rise in the number of private landlords in the country there are a lot of deposit disputes being processed at present.
Most landlords are decent people and doing little more than trying to get a return on their investment. This web site is dedicated to those tenants who have suffered real hardship and anxiety at the hands of greedy manipulating individuals who push the boundaries of what is decent and fair.
We have no legal expertise, nor do we pretend to. But we do have the interests of those innocent tenants who have a genuine grievance of being 'ripped off'.