So my landlord has put in a money claim against me claiming I owe them money.
About a year or so ago I told the letting agency that the property was no longer what I signed up to when I first agreed the rent. It was dirty, unmaintained, tenants were not being managed and were running amuck - smoking in the house, making loud noise in the middle of the night. And the agency had also moved in some unemployed tenants. This property was sold to me as a flat for professional working tenants only.
So I said I would pay X less rent per month than originally agreed or else I would move out out, given the property was nowhere near what I agreed to when I moved in.
No one ever said no to that, so I took it they accepted it and paid the lower rent accordingly from then on.
Now, well over a year later the landlord is claiming I own the full amount and claims there was never any agreement to pay less.
So now I’ve got to reply to this money claim very soon.
Surely this is just dishonest on the part of the landlord? To wait over a year later and pretend they didn’t agree to it.
You are making up stories to yourself to try to justify breaking your word and not paying the money you owe. There is no justification. If you are unhappy with the way the property was being managed you should have given notice to quit or try to negotiate your way out of it.
You obviously weren’t too concerned if you carried on staying there for over a year.
You cannot just lower the rent you pay because you feel things no longer suit your needs, it MUST be agreed by both parties. How do you know they even received the letter? Oh by the way I sent you a letter last month saying Im having your car for free, as you didn’t reply I assumed you had agreed….
Read you tenancy agreement, I bet it says you must “pay rent without deduction” somewhere. I bet it doesn’t say working professionals anywhere.
Imagine if you could just lower the rent without agreement!
Are you discriminating against the unemployed there? Pay your arrears and move on if not happy, or report your grievances to management.
