i have been currently renting from our landlord, since we have moved in they have promised that the bathroom/bedroom/kitchen would be redecorated, the bathroom and bedroom were done eventually after about 10months of moving in, it ended up being messed up and taking twice as long as we were told it would leaving us without a bedroom or bathroom for 3 weeks. They constantly enter the property at their own will with NO notice, they have even given our keys on a couple of occasions to other people who have then enetered our house, on one occasion i was alone and only in my nighty and a man entered through my front door. I then found out the landlord had given the keys to him and he had been told that all tenants were aware of him coming round, which we were definetly not.
OUr kitchen cupboards are falling apart literally, the front door is not secure and the landlord had oin several occasions mentioned repairing it as of yet nothing has happened. to make matters worse the carpet throughout is infested with moths - they know this and have said about treating the carpet but nothing.

We are leaving and have given notice but should i pay the outstanding 19 days rent after all that has happened and the constant contract braking they have occured?
Can someone please tell us what we should do?
taylor13800 xx

Hi Taylor - wow, you have one special kind of landlord! Basically, by entering the property without giving you 24hrs written or verbal notice and without your prior consent and with no emergency (ie flood, fire, destruction of property etc), they have broken the law. Whilst morally, you would be well within your rights to withhold any oustanding rent, I'm presuming they still hold a deposit (which should be held in trust under new laws introduced just over a year ago). I would advise that you pay the 19 days outstanding but make sure you've logged all the problems that have occured and when, take as many photos of unresolved issues and then make a beeline for your local Citizens Advice Bureau, who will be able to advise you how to take legal action against them and if you are eligible to apply for legal aid funding. Good luck with finding a new landlord with a decent property who respects it as your home and not just their investment!

Couldn't agree more with the answer above, but the thing you cannot afford to miss is to TAKE PICTURES.

Take as many as you can and put newspapers (with the date showing) in the picture for date verification or make sure your camera puts a date-stamp on the photo. Also videos are great too.

I had a very similar experience with a landlord who i normally describe using words not fit for this website...

The landlord got someone to break in to our house and steal items of value because we were withholding the rent as the house fell into disrepair. The police were useless as usual.

I personally just withheld the last months rent and completely trashed the property on the day I left (very satisfying). All this was after they passed the law banning landlords from withholding deposits, clearly some landlords think they are above the law.

As a tenant you have a responsibility to educate yourself about your tenancy rights and I hope for your sake you read the contract thoroughly as it's not uncommon for landlords to draft their own contracts, normally with made up clauses to exclude them from having to repair your rented place. Although the law does protect your statutory rights to an extent.

Don't make the same mistake with the next landlord, that would then be your fault.