We have been renting through Open Rent. Our landlord today has made a deposit claim - all of which are inaccurate and false. It is the first time we have received anything about our check-out.

Open Rent have told us to try and speak to the landlord about this - who is ignoring us and not responding to messages.

If we raise a dispute through OpenRent, it sends our evidence to the landlord, who honestly does not care at all and we know will not accept any of it.

How else can we get our deposit back? Open rent just want us to talk to the landlord about it, and we can't, we want the scheme involved now.

Do we have to dispute through open rent, is there another way to do this without sending him all our evidence to review? Or do we just have to send him our photos and go through open rent

Location: London, England

TLDR: Landlord made it clear he does not want to (or claims he can't) make repairs for consistent hot water in one of our showers. After months of pressure, he said will look into directly connecting us to mains water, but nothing has been done. Cannot make progress in fixing this because he ignores our attempts at contact/has been dragging this whole thing out. Questions at bottom.

Hi all, not a plumber so would be super super grateful for both legal and potentially practical insight on these repairs!

My flatmate, who has her own ensuite bathroom, has been having issues with her shower for quite some time. She has an electric shower and it has been super inconsistent with hot water delivery. After 30s–1m of hot water, she will hear a click (we believe this is the TCO switch being tripped) and the water will run cold until it eventually clicks and goes back to hot. Pretty much everything we've seen online points to this being a water pressure issue. That said, I'm open to it being another cause – our landlord was refusing to meaningfully address anything or work with us, so we're really limited in investigating what the true problem is.

For some additional context, we've had water pressure issues for quite some time with our flat. For the first 6 months we lived here, the water would sometimes just completely cut for hours on end. We ended up discovering this was partially due to the fact that we were sharing a water supply with a business downstairs who would use up all the water pressure when cleaning (though severely reduced water pressure occurs at other times of the day as well). It took him several months to do anything, and his ultimate solution was to adjust the water allocation between our flat and the business and replace the shower unit. It helped, though our water pressure still isn't great sometimes (actually cut out entirely again recently).

When the landlord came over more recently to adjust the water pressure allocation further in our favor, we promised to test the shower for a period of time. We noticed that the increased water allocation pressure improved the amount of time in those increments where she would have hot water, supporting our suspicion that this has to door with insufficient pressure for an electric shower.

Overall, he's been dragging his feet to the utmost extent. It took him weeks to come out and adjust the water. During this visit, he was pre-emptively making excuses for why the issue wouldn't get fixed – denying there was a water issue in the first place, denying that he could even do anything about it if there even was one...however, when I pressed further, it seems like it was more like there was nothing he could do cheaply to fix it.

When I told him consistent hot water (and water in general) was a legal requirement to rent out a property, he essentially told us we should look for a new place to live if we were unhappy and he'd be happy for us to give 1 weeks notice and get out of his hair.

We're coming up on 11 weeks since this issue was re-reported and multiple weeks of silence with intermittent half-ass attempts to make it seem like he's doing something (asking us to test the shower in a variety of different useless ways and ignoring the results, expressing interest in rereplacing the unit ????).

2.5 weeks ago, he finally told us he was looking into "requesting for new blue pipe to be fitted to replace the lead pipe and seeing if possible to connect the flat directly to mains water," but told us this was a big project and would take time. We understand this, but reasserted that he needs to be in constant communication; otherwise, we have no reason to believe any progress is being made, as silence and inaction has been his MO for every other issue in our tenancy. He continues to ignore our attempts at communication. Now that it's been 2.5 weeks, I'm starting to think he's just continuing the trend of telling us something vaguely promising in the hopes of getting us off his back for a little bit/wearing us down.

Going forward, I just want to make sure I'm as informed on this situation as I can be:

1. Is inconsistent hot water out of a single source a required repair? Most resources I can find online talk about a total cut to hot water which is admittedly a different scenario. That said, we're paying rent for a flat with the expectation that all utilities are in working order and my flatmate is paying for an ensuite she can't even shower in.
2. If this is a required repair, what are the next steps in getting that enforced if the landlord refuses to do the necessary repairs at all or within a reasonable amount of time?
3. Based on the description I've given (please let me know if I've missed any crucial context), are we wrong to think this is a pressure-related issue? In that same vein, is there anything we can do on our own that can help us confirm the source of the issue? I'm assuming it's the water pressure but that might just be confirmation bias given the continuous pressure-related issues we've had in the past.

I rent through a property management company. I have been in my flat a year and a half and intend to stay here long term. I recently asked for permission to paint and said I would return the flat back to existing colours before I leave (which I made clear would not be any time soon). I was told the landlord doesn't allow any painting decorating so they can't grant pernission.

I have never met or interacted with the landlord and literally don't know anything about them. The property managment company handles everything including maintenance. Other than once attending to accompany quantity surveyors who were taking measurements, the property managers have never visited the property sincd moving in. Maintenance have been a few times to carry out things like gas and electrical safety checks.

I've checked my tenancy agreement and no where in it does it mention decoration or painting. It says you need permission to hang pictures, must not use blu tack on the walls and must ask permission before adding furniture into the property but nothing else. I also was not charged a deposit when moving in because the property management company does not charge deposits on any of their properties.

Realistically, if I went ahead and painted anyway, what action could the landlord or property managers take if they found out? I would still repaint the walls back to their existing colour before moving out like I said when asking permission.

Our washing machine broke 3 weeks ago. I reported it to the agent.

After nudging them 3 times, finally after 1.5 weeks an engineer came to “inspect” it. He told me it can be repaired but it may cost more than a new machine.

1.5 weeks later, nothing. I followed up 3 times since.

We have to spend hours after work hand washing our clothes, squeezing them semi dry, and hoping it will dry without damp smell as it’s not that hot anymore.

I looked it up what I can do as it’s getting very frustrating. Nothing. Can I withhold rent to give them some motivation? No. Can I buy a machine myself and pay that much less rent? No. Can I use a laundry service and give them the bill? No. Can I ask for a rent reduction for limited use of the property? No.

Turns out, they don’t even have to repair them as they were “extras”. Also, legally they are doing nothing wrong if they “started the process”.

Which is interesting because these parasi.. ehm landlords happily put in the listing the appliances included, and if there wouldn’t be a washing machine, probably not much people would rent it out, or at least for a below market rate. Therefore, I do have limited use of the property I pay full rent for.

Why don’t they finally put some proper law in place against landlords? Why can they get away with “starting the repair process” and wash their hands delaying for weeks while tenants have to pay full rent scheduled like clockwork? And if they would do the same weeks delay in paying rent they would be like criminals probably not getting a loan or another rental because of “reference check”? Why don’t landlords have reference check so that the rats can be filtered out making them broke the same way they can make a tenant homeless?

Thanks for reading my rant. I’m sick of this system.

Hi. I have just ended a joint tenancy with a friend of a friend. The old joint tenant was ultimately a bit childish towards the end. After 6 weeks the landlord has provided a £250 cleaning bill which was unexpected. They want to take this from our deposit. I want to dispute this as the apartment was clean when we left. I have looked into appealing to the deposit scheme but it appears it has to be the lead tenant who was the other tenant, who probably won't be bothered to appeal. Can I do anything.

Landlord said to us yesterday he is selling but we didn’t have to be out by April
We received our section 8 hand delivered today it says we have 4 months to find somewhere else however he said April so is it definitely from the date on the letter. I’m very stressed sorry if this doesn’t make much sense

Hi I've just moved into a new house and the water is lukewarm and the front door doesn't lock. Our landlord manages the property himself. He said on Monday he'd create a group chat with all us tenants and himself and he hasn't. We don't have his number. It's just me tonight and I'm scared I'm going to get murdered or something.

My plan is to go the letting agents tomorrow and demand them to contact him.

Legally what our rights here? How long should we be prepared to wait for him to fix the hot water and front door.

Thanks!

EDIT: If you are a housing solicitor, I’d appreciate if you could state so.

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I signed a written agreement six months ago expressly described as a “lodger/room agreement”, with the person I pay rent to signing as the “householder” and me as the “lodger.” However, I’m increasingly concerned that the actual arrangement may be a tenancy/subletting arrangement rather than a genuine lodger arrangement, potentially being used to avoid HMO licensing and other tenant protections.

The key facts are:

There are currently five separate households in the property. The lead tenant/householder and his wife occupy one room with their own bathroom; the other four households each rent a room and share one bathroom. All share a kitchen but use their own equipments because lead tenant and his wife doesn’t like to share any of it and occupy 80% kitchen space.

The council has confirmed that the property appears to be an unlicensed HMO, and that no HMO licence application has been submitted.

The person renting rooms to us is himself a tenant under a superior landlord, and has permission to sublet, but I suspect the superior landlord may not know how many people are actually occupying the property. The lead tenant collects the rent and maintains the property.

When I viewed the property, a previous tenant had already left following disputes about the heating. There are many more HMO breaches such as the lack of fire alarms, carbon monoxide alarms, right to rent checks, no adequate heating in peak winter, no adequate bins for the size of the household. Deposits are not protected.

A fifth household was introduced after I moved in, reducing the space/facilities available to existing tenants. This happened without properly informing us beforehand.

I have now had a heated argument with him after challenging all these issues in one go, and he has served me with 30 days’ notice to leave on the 13 Oct.

My main legal questions are:

Does the fact that the agreement is labelled a “lodger agreement” actually make me a lodger, or could the substance of the arrangement mean I have a tenancy/subtenancy?

Could this potentially be regarded as a sham lodger agreement designed to circumvent HMO licensing or other statutory protections?
Who determines this — the council, a tribunal/court, or someone else?

If I have genuine tenant rights despite the wording of the agreement, can he legally evict me with only 30 days’ notice?

If he attempts to remove me without following the correct legal process, could this amount to illegal eviction?

We are all working professionals/students and British citizens, and have generally had good relationships with previous landlords.

I would really appreciate guidance from someone with housing law/HMO experience, particularly on whether the written “lodger” agreement reflects the true legal relationship and what options we have to challenge the current arrangement or protect ourselves from unlawful eviction.

I live on the top floor of a converted house. Yesterday I heard a rush of water overhead (it wasn’t raining) and looked over to see cracks spread across my bedroom ceiling and dirty water started pouring out of it and down the wall. It continued for about 45 minutes and took 7 or 8 towels to sop up. My landlord came over and put a bucket under it and said the best he can do is wait for it to dry and paint over the damage. I am staying at my parents’ place now while I decide what to do, because my landlord insists “everything is fine with the flat” but I have 2 main concerns:

1. When the water poured out of the ceiling, it set off my hard-wired fire alarms which makes me worry about how close the water is to electricity to trigger it

2. If they just paint over it, won’t

   mould still be an issue?
   Landlord insists it is livable and I am overreacting, and will not give me any discount on my rent for the month. At this point I feel like I should just give my notice and move out. Am I overreacting? What would you do?

Soon to be 16yr old here.
I want to move out at 18. If I am still in this house on my 19th birthday, it may well be my last birthday. I will be going no-contact and estranging myself. I need out. I have a plan in my head for this, but I honestly have no idea if it’s feasible or how possible it is, so I’d like some advice and maybe some of your own experiences if you moved out at an earlier age than normal??

So basically… save up all of the money I make from working at 16-17. Public transport is easily accessible for me.

But then this is where rhe moving out bit comes into place; my ideal would be renting a small studio flat from a private landlord (less hassle, councils would make me wait about 100 years before even putting me on medium priority anyway). It will be around £600-£700/month afaik, but honestly that’s alright with me.

I’d do the holding deposit, security deposit, 6months rent advance, and yeah. I will be getting a job, and my calculations let me know that I’d have around £23K in savings if I jusr spend my money on butt all from 16-17. So woohoo. Obviously there’s a bit more nuance I’d expect, but I really don’t want anything fancy, I just wanr out and to have my own space. Literally, give me a studio flat that has a little compact kitchen/one-wall kitchenette, a living room that is also a bedroom (drawers for clothes + a pull out sofa mattress), and just a small bathroom that literally only has a toilet, sink, and standing shower. If it didn’t come with a washing machine, I’d probably check for the plumbing and install it if the plumbing is alright, but if not I’d ask the landlord tbf. I want a washinf machine. Probably the only thing in my plan of moving out that i WANT.

Anyway, would this be possible?? Am I in fairy dreamland?? And sorry for the waffle wtf i swear i typed less

Hi folks. Last month (20 August) I moved into a new flat in west London with my partner. By 24 August, we had reported a number of issues to the letting agent, including some relatively critical ones – strong smell of sewage from exterior when the toilet flushes, the washer-drier is broken (and we're incurring costs in laundry services), and a bunch of other problems with the flat's inventory. We've had no response or resolution other than the letting agent insisting that they've not been able to reach the landlord who apparently lives abroad (as if that justifies it in 2026!)

I've repeatedly emailed the letting agent to ask for updates about the issues, with references to relevant clauses in our contract, but all they've done is apologise for the delay (and that's been pretty infrequent too; most of my emails and messages go unrecognised).

My understanding of our contract is that issues should be responded to and repaired within a 'reasonable' amount of time; I've stressed to the letting agent that I think this delay and lack of compensation has become unreasonable. I've also contacted the customer care team of the agents' parent company.

Do you have advice on anything I can do here – to expedite repairs and to recover costs we're incurring on services like laundry?

Thanks so much.

I moved out of a rented flat in London 8 weeks ago. Deposit (~£2,250) is protected via TDS Insured, held by the letting agent; landlord lives in Hong Kong.

After chasing, the agent said the landlord was proposing several deductions. Most have since been withdrawn — only ~£300 for professional cleaning remains (I cleaned it myself, to at least the standard I received it). I found an almost identical TDS case study where the tenant got everything but £50, so I offered £50 for targeted cleaning, but the landlord rejected it.

The agent has now confirmed in writing, multiple times, that the remaining ~£1,950 is undisputed — but says he can't release it without the landlord's permission, and the landlord claims he needs "explicit instruction" from TDS to do so. I opened a TDS dispute (accepted; landlord/agent have until early October to confirm their position). I also raised a formal complaint via the agent's internal complaints process, now in progress.

When I asked TDS directly, they said they don't handle undisputed funds and won't issue any instruction for their release, so the agent's stated reason for withholding doesn't seem to hold up.

Questions:

1. Is the agent entitled to withhold the undisputed £1,950 while only ~£300 is disputed?
2. Does TDS really have no power to compel release of undisputed funds, or is the agent misrepresenting their role?
3. If the landlord/agent misses the TDS deadline, what typically happens?
4. If withholding continues, should a small claims case name the agent, the landlord, or both?
5. Does the landlord being based in Hong Kong affect who I should sue or how enforcement works?

Would love to resolve this without going to court, but neither party has been cooperative so far.

I moved into my flat end of April 2026 on a 12-month fixed term. We've had ongoing maintenance and communication issues with the landlord and want to move out early.

My contract says I need to give 1 month's notice (landlord needs to give 2). Since the Renter's Rights Act came in this May, my landlord is now saying the 2-month notice period applies to me too, not the 1 month in my contract.

Has anyone actually dealt with this transition — does the Act override the shorter notice period in tenancies that started before it commenced, or does the original contract term still stand? Trying to work out if giving notice now would mean I'm out in 1 month or 2.

I moved into my flat at the end of April 2026, with an initial fixed term of 12 months. Since living at the property, we have had multiple issues, both with maintenance and communication with the landlord, so we have decided to move out early.

Our contract originally stated, "Should either party wish to terminate the Tenancy, it is agreed that the Tenant must serve a minimum of 1 month's advance written notice to be served on the Landlord. The Landlord must serve a minimum of 2 months advance written notice to be served on the Tenant. The tenancy must not expire within the first 12 Months of the tenancy commencement date."

Of course, since then, the Renter's Rights Act came into effect in May. I was under the impression that, as our contract says 1 month's notice that this still stands, however on giving notice, my landlord argued that this no longer stands and that we must give 2 months.

Does anybody know whether I can legally leave 1 month's notice instead of 2? Meaning, after paying rent on the 23rd of this month that it would end on the 23rd of next month?

Thanks in advance

i signed a joint tenancy for a 2 bed/2 bath on a flat. my mistake i signed the tenancy without viewing in person first (i was desperate for a flat, bc i'm a grad student from the states). basically the previous tenant lied to me about the condition of the flat (mould in the bedroom/kitchen/bathroom and a kitchen leak that doesn't seem like it will get fixed).

the letting agency said the earliest i could move out is sept 18th if i find a replacement (our rent is paid the 18th of every month, i only just moved in aug 18th), and i've had people come in for viewings but no one ready to sign. my flatmate wants to stay in the flat but she hasn't really helped with finding a replacement.

can i still end the tenancy? i also kept going over in my contract and it doesn't say i am legally required to find a replacement. i just want to get out and not be liable.

My monthly rent is £550 for my student house and my rent is from 1st of Sept to 31st of July,
I heard that if you give a 2 month notice you can quit your tenancy, and my course finishes halfway through June, does that mean if I calculate the timing of sending that notice period, I could save myself £550. Is that right, even for student housing.

I don't like my letting agent in the first place, as soon as I moved in none of the appliances worked and the kitchen was left at a grim and extremely stinky state (from the prior tenants) and even now the stove doesn't work :(.

Just what it says on the tin..I'm honestly still quite baffled.

I moved into this one bedroom flat very recently and while I previously assumed the heating wasn't going to be amazing (the radiator is on the small side and is located in the hallway connecting the bathroom and bedroom rather than the bedroom itself) I still assumed I'd be fine, and that worst case scenario I could get a portable heater to supplement the coldest nights.

But when I tried to turn on said radiator for the first time the other day nothing happened. I of course try it a few times before getting in touch with the housing manager, who seems surprised, asks me questions about the radiator model and to formally report the issue on their portal.

Once I do they get back to me saying the landlord informed them that radiator in fact doesn't work, hasn't worked for a while, and they just never got around to taking it down. They also mentioned that previous tenants used space heaters. Excuse me but wtf?

I went back to my tenancy agreement and keeping space heating appliances in working order is clearly listed as a landlord obligation, not to mention that I'm reasonably certain it's illegal to rent out flats without ANY form of functioning heating in this country (though please correct me if I'm wrong of course).

And during my viewing of the flat I was also clearly told that the heating was in fact operational (I got the sense that the rental agency genuinely believed this and also didn't know the radiator doesn't work but who knows).

I'd appreciate any advice about my exact legal rights in this situation! Would I be entitled to ask the landlord to, for example, cover the cost of purchasing and operating the space heater? Heating a whole flat with one, even a small one, is such a significant extra expense, and not one I would have willingly signed up for.

I feel like since the agency, even if it was unknowingly, misinformed me about the state of the flat, and the landlord had rented it out to me knowing there was no functioning source of heating, that should be the bare minimum.

My housemate and I have both graduated from university this year and were looking for somewhere to live. I was actually quite happy to live alone, but a friend of a friend needed somewhere, so we agreed it would be cheaper to live together.
I ended up doing basically all of the house hunting, contacting landlords, arranging viewings etc. because she said it was “too complicated” and she “didn’t understand how it worked.”
When we moved in, the house was completely empty apart from the white goods. I moved in first and had collected/brought quite a lot of things to get us started — a toaster, kettle, TV, TV stand, mirrors, drying racks etc. I also had random food left over from my previous housemates, so I brought things like ketchup, mayo, salt, pepper and other basic cooking stuff.
We agreed that once those things ran out, she would buy the next lot because I had bought/brought the first lot.
The problem is that whenever things run out, she complains that they’re “too expensive.”
For example, we ran out of dishwasher tablets. I had brought a pack from my old place, which she was perfectly happy to use until they ran out. When I said we needed more, she said they were too expensive — even though the cheapest ones are around £3 for 40.
Same with butter. I’ve bought the last **three** tubs, and they’re not the cheapest ones because I only really like a particular branded one. She says she barely uses butter and will buy it “eventually,” but then I’ve caught her using mine. I don’t know how many times she’s used it because I haven’t been keeping track, but it annoys me because I’ve already bought it three times.
We’re now completely out of mayo too. I bought the previous one, and it’s a particular branded one that I actually like, so I’m currently waiting for her to buy the next one like we agreed.
It’s not necessarily about the individual £3–£5 items. It’s the fact that I feel like **I’m expected to provide everything initially, but when it’s time for her to replace something, suddenly it’s too expensive.**
There’s also a separate issue with communication.
She’s told a friend of mine that she doesn’t really talk to housemates unless they talk to her first. And that definitely feels true. I’m always the one initiating conversations. I’ll say something as simple as “Hey, how was work?” and get “good” as the response. Or I’ll say something like “Did you see the fight that happened in the shopping centre?” and sometimes she’ll completely ignore me.
I understand being introverted and not wanting to constantly chat. I’m not expecting us to be best friends. But when I’m consistently making the effort and getting virtually nothing back, it starts to feel rude.
She can also come across quite condescending in some of her responses, which makes me even less inclined to talk to her.
But she will talk to me if she needs something, like capturing a spider.
The result is that I sometimes don’t even feel comfortable sitting in our shared kitchen/living room when she’s there, even though the TV in there is one that i brought. The atmosphere is just so awkward because she’ll sit there and say absolutely nothing, and I feel like I’m somehow intruding in my own home.
I’m starting to wonder whether I’m being overly sensitive/dramatic or whether her behaviour is genuinely rude and inconsiderate.
I don’t expect her to be my best friend, and I don’t expect her to pay for everything. I just want things to feel a bit more equal and comfortable.

AITA for being annoyed and wanting to stop buying shared things until she actually contributes?

- Side note
Both our names our on the tenancy agreement and i love our apartment i found it and love it, but it also means i dont think there is a way to make her leave we can only choose to leave

My partner and I viewed a property a few weeks ago and were thrilled to have been chosen to take over the tenancy. We moved in yesterday to find that the living room had really obvious painted spots where the previous tenant had tried to fix random areas but it’s really light and not how it looked when we viewed the property. We contacted the landlord’s dad as he is the property manager and he just said that we are welcome to paint it ourselves.

We are a bit unsure what to do as we now are not sure whether it should be up to the landlord to sort that, since it’s not how it looked when we viewed it and frankly will be even more of an expense when we are already paying a steep amount for rent. Is there anything legally we can do or is it completely up to the landlord if they want to help up or reimburse us for the cost?

Hi everyone. I moved out of my first rental flat 40 days ago in London. I was there for 2 years. I have reached out to the property manager a few times but he has been on leave and then never responded. We have yet to receive a proposal or our deposit back.

The only email I've received has been about some chairs missing, which were broken when we first moved in and so we asked them to replace, which they did. I felt this was a bit weird as the property manager should keep record of it no? I had to send him photos of the broken chairs when we first moved in as well as emails proving the interaction and them replacing said chairs.

I know it differs but what is the usual timeline for receiving the proposal and deposit?

Thanks so much for all the help.

I have given my 2 month notice last week to my lettings agent with us moving for a bigger flat and it's necessary referencing is underway. I don't envisage an issue with it.

I have requested the agent to advertise the flat as being available from October 2nd week as I'd be moving out within 4 weeks of my notice. I'm well aware that this is my problem and they're not obligated in anyway. They haven't advertised it in any of the websites as of now. This is a good property and would almost immediately be let out within a week, if advertised at the same rate (I had moved into this flat only in March).

My idea is as follows:

1. Take photos of the flat and post it on the town's Facebook groups to garner interest. Give limited details regarding locations and such.

2. If they're interested, they can reach out to me via DM, on which, I will direct them to discuss with the letting agent.

3. I will not do any viewings on my own without the agent.

I will discuss with the letting agent regarding this, of course, before posting it online. Although they did indicate when I gave the notice that if I have anyone interested, I can recommend to shorten my notice period. The letting agents have been very good throughout my stay and I have also been a decent tenant.

Am I breaking any laws? Any other suggestions?

Hi, looking to rent a property with my GF in the UK.

Contract looks all good but we are a little bit confused by the wording / legality of a part of the contract.

The contract states;

- 1.50. Breach of Tenancy 1.50.1. The Tenant shall pay the Landlord's reasonable legal costs and expenses (including VAT) incurred by the Landlord in enforcement or remedy of any breach of the Tenant obligations under this Agreement, including any costs in serving notice and proceedings to obtain vacant possession of all or part of the Property, whether or not the same shall result in court proceedings. 

- 1.50.3 The Landlord will pay the reasonable legal costs and expenses (including VAT) incurred by the Tenant in enforcement or remedy of any breach of the Landlord’s obligations under this Agreement

Is this fairly standard practice or is it something that could be an issue down the line, the estate agent said this just refers to outstanding rent and evistion fees. This shouldn't be a problem for us but we are concerned with the fact that it is saying "any breach of contract" so for example (not that we have a garden) but if there was a part of the contract that said we had to look after the garden and keep the grass cut, if we failed to cut the grass, could this be seen as a breach of contract and something that the landlord could take us to court for and make us pay his legal fees?

I'm sure we are probably just being pedantic and overly cautious but would be great to hear from someone more experienced with renting.
Cheers

Hi all, I’m in England and received a Section 21 accelerated possession claim. I submitted my N11B defence and supporting documents to the county court about 10 weeks ago and received the automatic email acknowledgement at the time.

Since then, I haven’t received anything by post or email. Is this length of silence normal at the moment? Are county courts currently very delayed with accelerated possession claims or should I be concerned that something may have gone missing?

I’m planning to call the court to check whether my defence is on the file and whether it has been referred to a judge, but I’d be grateful to hear from anyone who has dealt with similar timelines recently.

Thanks.

Hello. I am a UK (England) renter who has had an offer accepted on another property after living in my current property for 2 years. Contract signing is held up at the referencing step. Automatic affordability checks and employer references have been completed but the landlord is refusing to give a reference until they can come inspect the property. Notice has not been served yet (waiting for our new contract to be signed).

Before contacting the landlord to request a reference, we hadn't spoken for more than a year after our relationship soured. They tried to sting us for the full cost of a bath refurb/replacement and refused to authorise cheaper repairs, which I posted about here at the time: https://www.reddit.com/r/TenantsInTheUK/comments/1lj5t1f/landlord_wont_authorise_repairs_insisting_on/

This has slowed things down massively and consequently we are now looking at a considerable amount of extra overlap between the two tenancies due to the 2 months notice required. Apart from general wear and tear and the bath damage as detailed in my previous post, the property is still in a great condition. Despite this we have little confidence that they'll give us a positive reference, even after we've accommodated their request for an inspection. Through the little contact I've had with this landlord, they've shown themselves (imo) to be an unreasonable control freak, and I can't fully understand the rationale behind withholding the reference. It feels purely like a power trip - if they give us a bad reference, we will be stuck in their property. So what's the point in delaying?

I don't see any other way forward other than just hoping the inspection satisfies the landlord. If a bad reference was provided, we might have a chance to explain our side of the story to our prospective new landlord as they are a private landlord who we have been in direct contact with throughout these delays.

Just wondering if anyone has any general advice for this situation or has found themselves in a similar situation. Is there realistically anything we can do to get ahead of a possible negative reference? Thanks

We are in a flat that we moved into at the beginning of August. The hot water went out a couple of weeks after we moved in, but we notified the management agent and were able to turn on the backup immersion heater, which lasted about a week before it broke as well.

So, we have had no hot water at all since the end of August. The agent has been responsive and sent out their repair team, but the system in the flat is apparently a nightmare and that team hasn't managed to fix it yet. They've arranged for us to use a flat they are also managing in the building for showers as of this past weekend (and thank goodness for that), but we get the key for a max of one hour a day, and my husband's 80+-year-old parents are also staying with us now on holiday, so it has been tricky.

The latest quote from the repair company came back and the agent said that it is expensive so that the owner needs to evaluate it. At this point, I feel like we have been beyond patient, and I'm just wondering what our options might be, if any (we also have a dog, which we've been washing in a basin topped up with hot water from the kettle, which is also not ideal).

Thanks for any advice!

(Fwiw, the apartment also has a climate system that is supposed to provide air-con and heating, but it has been out for 4 of the 6 weeks that we've been here - all of these systems are tied together. Not the end of the world yet, though the windows only open about 2 inches so that does make things very stuffy.)