Overbearing Landlord!! Please help! I'm just writing to get some advice

[lolajane]

hi im new here im just writing to get some advice about my landlord who i am having problems with, many different problems!! beware this list could get long......

i moved here in may this year so have only lived here for 7 months and in this time my mental health has slowly declined due to the stress these land lords put on me on a regular basis but worst since EQC told me i should not b living in the house as the concrete foundations have 2 major cracks threw the length of the whole house and the house will b demolished (2 different people from EQC told me this and my brother who is a builder is not happy with me living here with my 3 children either).

They also informed me that the landlord had known that i shouldn't be living here for 6wks before i rang EQC. When i asked for written verification of this they told me they were not suposed to give me that information and i would need the landlords permission to get written verification. The next day i received a phone call from the landlord who was very angry that i contacted EQC he said its none of my business what the report says and i shudve talked to them(they had lied to me anyway and said the house was fine) this has all resulted in alot of drama and stress, EQC will not talk to me the councel has been warned about me from the landlord and the landlady went to redcross to try and get my details and ask if i had been there and why!! this is a breach of my privacy!!
i am currently trying to find a new safe home for myself and my children but as my town was hit hard by the earthquake and the landlord doesnt want to giv reference for how well i have always paid rent and kept the house and yard immaculate it is proving to b hard. i feel very unsafe in this house as every time a truck goes past the whole house shakes and pictures fall off shelves, but i have no choice i have nowhere to go with 3 children i cant move untill we have somewhere eles to go i dont know what to do or what my rights are.......

there is also alot of issues from before the earthquake quick examples are... i reported in may that the gas elements were faulty and only 1 worked it was not fixed untill november, they txt and rung me repeatedly to tell me to shut a garden shed door for security reasons ( the stuff in the shed belongs to me so this shouldnt be thier concern), when they do inspections the whole family comes and they just leave there baby on the lounge floor for me to deal with while they inspect, they told me i was not aloud to store my old lounge suite (as i purchased a brand new 1)in the garage as its wear and tear,they accused me of putting a small hole in the garage wall and gave me 1 week to fix it even though i told them it was there when i moved in (i got the old owner around and she said her son did it with his motorbike handle before i moved in) but they still said i should just fix it to keep the peace, they brought the whole family to fix 2 window latches that were broken when i moved in and left me to watch their baby while they took 2 HOURS to do it, they leave me to watch the baby whenever they do a inspection which usually takes well over a hour, they told me i couldnt have my friend stay over as if she was here all the time that would cause wear and tear. they constantly phone or txt for simple things that they dont need to contact me for. i have tried to talk to them a few times about them making me feel uncomfortable about living here as they are breaching my privacy and make me feel nervous and they apoligise and say they are happy with me paying my rent with out fail and that i keep the house and yard immaculate yet they still dont stop with all the visits and phone calls and txts, there is much more things but these are just the major 1s that i can think of....

i am a 32 yr old mother of 3 and have rented a few houses and i have NEVER had landlords like this before it has impacted me very majorly and i dont know what i can do if anyone has any advice i would welcome your comments.

thank you Lolajane

[lolajane]

lol sorry for the novel :-)

[Keys]

Are you on a Fixed Term Tenancy or Periodic? That means, does your tenancy agreement state that the tenancy begins on one date and ends on another date or ....... does it say it begins on one date and not have an end date? Go here and spend a couple of days reading. It's mostly accurate.

[lolajane]

im on periodic but the problem is trying to find a house and then when i give this landlords details they are not going to be very pleasant about me so that wont help either. and they have also had the cheek to put rent up as of the 20th of next month which i dont feel is right as the property is earthquake damaged. sooo frustrating its become very upsetting and overbearing. thank you i will read that

[lolajane]

iv just gone to the link and yes i have read alot on there as iv had problems since may with these landlords but everytime i ring tenancy for advice they dont have much to say apart from 10 day notices which i have done and it hasnt achieved anything at all. tenancy cant make them show me the EQC report as they are not legally obligated to show me even though EQC twice told me the house is unsafe and getting demolished she still wont let me see the report to prove them wrong, so i feel extremely unsafe living in a house that i have no choice but to live in with my beautiful babies

[TheLiberalLeft]

Try the media. They love a good landlord-beat up story. Add in the Chch earthquake and they'll be falling over themselves.

Your LL sounds like a prat.

[lolajane]

thank you i have thought of this but im worried that the landlord is right and EQC have lied to me but i dont understand why she wont let me see the EQC report it seems like she is hiding something, i just dont want to look the stupid 1 if she is right. i have contacted clayton cosgrove the waimakariri MP but he was so busy with earthquake stuf that he couldnt get back to me. i guess im pretty much stuck in this unsafe and extremely stressfull place untill someone finally accepts me as a tenant

[BusyLizzy]

If you are a good tenant with a good payment record, you shouldn't have any problem with a new landlord accepting you. (This assumes that there is a supply of rentals down there at the moment).

If you are worried about your current landlord providing a bad references because of recent events, be sure to take copies of a rental statement or bank records to show your prospective that you have paid your rent on time and invite them to do a search on the Tenancy Tribunal database to show that you don't have any TT orders in your name.

And if you haven't always paid on time ... well, you might be stuck. But honestly, park the emotional stuff and get on with finding somewhere new to live.

[lolajane]

thank you lizzie i gues im going to have to pay for statements from bank as i asked for a rent statement from landlord and they will not give me 1. i seriosly am a good tenant and am tryn to put the emotional aside and move on its just very hard to find a house round here at this time and is very stressful when you know you are living in a house with your children that is unsafe, and i have heard there is many other landlords out there doing the same thing to their tenants following the earthquake its just not right i wonder how they would b held accountable if we had another major aftershock and the house collapse on someone!!

[TheLiberalLeft]

The thing I can't quite align is why the EQC won't give you the information? They cite privacy, but surely safety of an inhabitant in an unsafe building (that they have confirmed) is far more important. I'd put that to them.

Elaborate on the issues to them. Tell them you hear creaking at night over your child's bed. Tell them that if it collapses and hurts anyone, that they'll be the one of the parties you sue.

[eri]

lola you are between a rock and a hard place here being in a damaged house but finding it difficult to find alternative housing

same goes for the EQC. they would no doubt put you into another house if they had any spare, but they don't. they could put up army tents but would you want to move into those?

and same again for the landlord, he can't get the foundations fixed while people are living in the house

to do all the rebuilding chch is probably going to need hundreds? of out of town builders, who will have to live somewhere too.......they're probably not going to want to live in tents either........

i don't think officialdom can do much to help you right now

could you move in with your brother?

would that be better than staying where you are?

[One]

The landlord is legally required to give you a rental summary. Write them a 10 day letter (or is 14-day now?) and include requests for:
- the rent summary
- all the EQC info
- quiet enjoyment of the property, including that they only phone/text you for emergencies and otherwise they write to you, and that they give correct notice for visits and inspections
- that you dispute the rent rise because it puts the rent above market value for a damaged home.

Then if they don't comply fully, you can take them to the tribunal. You should be able to negotiate an accurate reference at the very least, and you'll have the tribunal's report in writing to show potential landlords. If it comes to that, come back here and ask for help before you apply to the tribunal.

Did the house get green-stickered by the council?

If you want to, paste your 14-day letter here so we can comment (but don't include names or addresses!)

[graemeh]

One of your concerns was that your current landlord would give you a bad reference.

You could always give your previous landlords as references and say you don't want to give your current landlord as a reference as you don't want them to know you are moving until you find a place.

[Shalodge]

EQC do not decide if a house is safe to live in or not. Please contact your Council Building Inspector and ask if the house is safe to live in.. I suspect the answer will be yes or you would have been told to move out by now..

[cube]

The purpose of the 10/14 day letter is to give the LL a time frame in which to fix something.

You have to follow through, however, and use the Tribunal if the LL does not do whatever it is that you want them to do. Obviously, the Tribunal will decide if what you are asking is reasonable or not, but assuming it is I think you have to go to that next step.

Create your own 'EQC' report by taking photos of the visible damage and writing down (as you have above) the shake-rattle-and-roll effect of traffic passing by.

The LL is allowed to enter the property with suitable notice, as are tradesmen providing a service, but I think that the tribunal would take a dim view of inspections involving the whole family including baby!

However, all this may just create more stress. My advice (from the privileged position of bystander!) would be to find a friend or family with whom you can move in temporarily, give the LL three weeks notice and leave it all behind you. From the safety of you new accommodation, you can then focus on find a new place to live, rather than dealing with your current LL.

Good luck - let us know how you get on.

cube