The Student Room Group

Landlord not registered, what do I do?

So i live in a weird house, many internal house issues so ive been reading up about our rights as tenants

turns out my landlord has not registered the property, and has not put my deposit in a safety scheme. In addition the tenancy agreement is from the 10/09/2015- 4/09/2015... Is my contract void?

And can I leave?
Not registered the property with whom?

You are vest talking to Shelter or your local law cebtre or your housing advisor at the SU or a specialist at CAB.
Reply 2
Look on the bright side: If you decide not to pay rent anymore, your landlord will have a hell of a time trying to get you to leave legally.

You should be able to leave at any time without any consequences if the tenancy agreement is wrong, as far as I know
speak to cab, he can get fined a lot for not protecting your deposit so you could always threaten him with pusuing that if he kicks off about you leaving
Original post by Petro_99
So i live in a weird house, many internal house issues so ive been reading up about our rights as tenants

turns out my landlord has not registered the property, and has not put my deposit in a safety scheme. In addition the tenancy agreement is from the 10/09/2015- 4/09/2015... Is my contract void?

And can I leave?


Based on the incorrect dates the contract is not void, by you continuing to live there and pay rent you are implying acceptance of the contract that both parties intended to be in place. In a judges eyes this is merely a typo, the contract dates are what you had agreed verbally.
I don't know what you mean by the not registered bit, but as he has not protected your deposit (again I don't think this make your contract void as it is not a major term in the contract) he might let you out of the contract early to avoid you reporting him, so it may be worth bringing up with him.
Reply 5
Original post by Petro_99
So i live in a weird house, many internal house issues so ive been reading up about our rights as tenants

turns out my landlord has not registered the property, and has not put my deposit in a safety scheme. In addition the tenancy agreement is from the 10/09/2015- 4/09/2015... Is my contract void?

And can I leave?


Contract is still legal and binding.

Deposit must be put into a protection scheme, if not then you can sue and could be awarded up to 3x the deposit amount.

What exactly are you aiming to achieve?
Reply 6
Speak to Shelter for advice! If its been signed and it says it ended in 2015 then technically your contract is over and you can leave the property.
Was your landlord a live-in landlord? If so he doesn't need to use a protection scheme. What does your contract say about the deposit scheme?
You can sue him if he's not used one. I've had this issue where my landlord refused to return my deposit but I found out he hadn't used a protection scheme too, so I used that against him and made a court claim. Eventually got my money back. So if you need any help feel free to PM me. :smile:

Are you intending to leave the property?

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Reply 7
Unsure whats going on. I've posted 2 helpful replies to OP but they arent showing on the thread?
Reply 8
Original post by Reue
Contract is still legal and binding.

Deposit must be put into a protection scheme, if not then you can sue and could be awarded up to 3x the deposit amount.

What exactly are you aiming to achieve?


I`d like to end the tenancy immediately. We have no gas/ electric and other tenants living in the property who are refusing to pay rent. It`s like im paying to live in a squatters house!
Reply 9
So the tenancy agreement states the property is from 10/09/2015 to 04/09/2015? Obviously this must be incorrect so when did you move in? How frequently do you pay rent? Is there a minimum term specified in your contract (normally 6 or 12 months)? Does your landlord live in the same property? A tenancy is created on the facts (a written contract is not a necessity) so unfortunately just because there is an error in your contract does not mean it is void and can be ignored. If you answer the above questions I can help you determine what the tenancy is.

If the deposit has not been protected in a government scheme then (i) you can not be evicted and (ii) you can sue the landlord for a penalty of between 1x and 3x your deposit amount (in addition to having the deposit returned). I realise you may not care about (i) as you wish to leave but (ii) is potentially a nice windfall for you. You could potentially ask the landlord to agree to let you leave the property (known as a surrender) but in my experience landlords who dont protect deposits arent normally negotiating types. My suggestion is to arrange to leave the property either by giving notice (legal notice - this does not mean you can just say it and move out when you want) and then after you have left pursue landlord for the full amount of the penalty. In order to determine what type of notice you have to give we have to determine what type of tenancy you have - so please answer the questions in the first paragraph.

There is no general right to simply move out of a property when you want because the deposit has not been protected, so please do not do this. Without giving notice, you will still be liable for rent and may find your landlord pursues you for it.

On your tenancy agreement, does it mention just your name or does it mention the names of everyone living in the property? Is your agreement for a room in a house or for the whole house? The reason I ask is that if you have entered in to a joint tenancy (an agreement with all your names on) then you can be made to pay the missing rent that your housemates are refusing to pay. So it is vital we establish whether that is the case or not.

Lastly, why do you have no gas or electric? If it is because it is not being provided then you need to contact the tenancy relations officer (or similar) at the council immediately as it is the LLs duty to provide these. If it is because you havent paid your bills then unfortunately that is an issue you have to sort with your housemates.
Original post by Another
Look on the bright side: If you decide not to pay rent anymore, your landlord will have a hell of a time trying to get you to leave legally.

You should be able to leave at any time without any consequences if the tenancy agreement is wrong, as far as I know


Please don't make assertions when you don't know the law as it can be very costly for others.

An unprotected deposit does not grant a right to leave a tenancy whenever you wish. If the OP is in the fixed term of a contract he is still liable for rent even if he leaves and no longer lives there. If someone took your advice and just left you could potentially be costing them 6 or 12 months of rent, potentially several thousands of pounds.

Further, whilst the landlord will find it difficult to evict a tenant if the deposit is unprotected - when they eventually do it all that previously unpaid rent can be sued for. Just because a deposit is unprotected does not mean that rent is not due.
Original post by Mathmoji
Please don't make assertions when you don't know the law as it can be very costly for others.

An unprotected deposit does not grant a right to leave a tenancy whenever you wish. If the OP is in the fixed term of a contract he is still liable for rent even if he leaves and no longer lives there. If someone took your advice and just left you could potentially be costing them 6 or 12 months of rent, potentially several thousands of pounds.

Further, whilst the landlord will find it difficult to evict a tenant if the deposit is unprotected - when they eventually do it all that previously unpaid rent can be sued for. Just because a deposit is unprotected does not mean that rent is not due.


Yep. Court's will still evict you regardless if the deposit is protected or not. The landlord will have to pay the deposit in full back to you though.
Original post by Petro_99
I`d like to end the tenancy immediately. We have no gas/ electric and other tenants living in the property who are refusing to pay rent. It`s like im paying to live in a squatters house!


Go and talk to Shelter, Law Centre or CAB (Housing specialist), .
They need to interview you to get all the relevant details, which seem to be only partial at the moment.
Your local council will have a section that deals with 'Houses of Multiple Occupation' (HMOs). Look then up on the council website and phone them. Or if you are a student, just go and see your own Uni's Student Accom office. They will know the issues with contracts/landlords and be able to advise you. If you go and see them, take your tenancy agreement with you.
(edited 7 years ago)
Original post by Mathmoji
Please don't make assertions when you don't know the law as it can be very costly for others.

An unprotected deposit does not grant a right to leave a tenancy whenever you wish. If the OP is in the fixed term of a contract he is still liable for rent even if he leaves and no longer lives there. If someone took your advice and just left you could potentially be costing them 6 or 12 months of rent, potentially several thousands of pounds.

Further, whilst the landlord will find it difficult to evict a tenant if the deposit is unprotected - when they eventually do it all that previously unpaid rent can be sued for. Just because a deposit is unprotected does not mean that rent is not due.


I was talking about the fact that the dates on the tenancy agreement are wrong, not the deposit - but thanks for the assumption that I don't know anything about property law anyway. The "fixed term" of the contract has apparently already expired for about a year now, if the OP hadn't made a typo and those are the actual dates printed on the contract

Secondly, the "advice" of "Free boarding for a year while your landlord agonises over legal fees because he dun goofed on the contract" obviously wasn't serious advice.
Original post by Another
I was talking about the fact that the dates on the tenancy agreement are wrong, not the deposit - but thanks for the assumption that I don't know anything about property law anyway. The "fixed term" of the contract has apparently already expired for about a year now, if the OP hadn't made a typo and those are the actual dates printed on the contract

Secondly, the "advice" of "Free boarding for a year while your landlord agonises over legal fees because he dun goofed on the contract" obviously wasn't serious advice.


Incorrect dates on the written contract also do not make a contract void.
Original post by Another
I was talking about the fact that the dates on the tenancy agreement are wrong, not the deposit - but thanks for the assumption that I don't know anything about property law anyway. The "fixed term" of the contract has apparently already expired for about a year now, if the OP hadn't made a typo and those are the actual dates printed on the contract


I have unfortunately been beaten to it, but to re-iterate; incorrect dates on a contract do not render a contract void. The dates are gibberish since to be true it would appear one would need a time machine. Tenancies are not entities that exist by contract alone; judges will look at the facts and use them to determine the basis of the tenancy. That is why I asked OP if they had agreed to a 6 or 12 month tenancy.

I realise you don't like to hear this because of your ego, but this is a fundamental mistake that someone with knowledge of property law would not make. I'll repeat that making statements like this can have profound consequences if someone follows it - especially since its a human condition that OP might want to listen to the 'easy path' rather than the consensus.
Original post by Another
Secondly, the "advice" of "Free boarding for a year while your landlord agonises over legal fees because he dun goofed on the contract" obviously wasn't serious advice.


It did not sound or read like a joke. I'll reiterate that people can act on things that sound like what they want to hear and if OP had taken this advice it could potentially have cost them thousands of pounds. Does that sound like a joke?
Hi there! Not sure if you're still able to answer this post, but I'm about to make a court claim about the same matter too. Unfortunately I'm not able to find any useful info, even tho it's been days I've been searching. (I'm not in Scotland anymore so that makes it even more difficult). Would you be able to give me some help? That would be more than appreciated, thanks!Regards Eleonora
Reply 18
Original post by EleonoraC
Hi there! Not sure if you're still able to answer this post, but I'm about to make a court claim about the same matter too. Unfortunately I'm not able to find any useful info, even tho it's been days I've been searching. (I'm not in Scotland anymore so that makes it even more difficult). Would you be able to give me some help? That would be more than appreciated, thanks!Regards Eleonora


Why don't you make a new thread?

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