Property case study: Landlords Vs Tenants: Chloe Case Study

As part of our Landlords Vs Tenants campaign, we asked tenants nationwide, to answer a series of questions where they’ve been on the receiving end of Landlord Scams.

Look below to find Chloe from Leeds’s response.

1. In any previous tenancies with landlords, have you ever lived in unsatisfactory conditions that your landlord took a long period of time to fix? If so, what were they?
2. Have you ever not received your full deposit back at the end of the tenancy? If so, what were the reasons for not getting a full deposit?
3. Have you ever had to take legal action following trouble between you and your landlord? If so, what was the reason behind the legal action?
4. Following your previous negative experiences, do you now research potential landlords?
5. How long on average does it take your landlord to deal with a complaint or maintenance issue?

Chloe, Leeds -

1. I wish I still had photographs of the first house I rented a room in; the bathroom wall was literally green with moss. When I viewed the house I saw my room and the living area/kitchen and didn't even think about the bathroom. I complained constantly when I realised how disgusting it was, someone did come out to give us a quote once but nothing happened. 4 months into my contract I told the landlord I was going to move out if they didn't fix it. 2 months later I left. And she took me to court for breaking the contract. The judge didn't care about the conditions of the house. I had to pay the remaining 6 months fees plus costs.

2. I was charged £65 for a light bulb once. And £50 for "removal of personal items" which was a carrier bag full of carrier bags we kept hooked on the back of the basement door.

3. I tried to after the whole false negative reference but was told by the lawyer there were no laws to protect me, so nothing to fight.

4. I will ask friends if they've had experience with specific letting agents, but they're all as bad as each other so not sure it does much good picking and choosing. I need somewhere to live, beggars can't be choosers.

5. 2-4 weeks. I had a window smashed recently and after 6 weeks of my landlord not answering texts and calls not connected I held back my rent. Still took her two weeks after that to contact me to say she had been out of the country! The whole time I was left with an unsecured home.