I don't know if I'm allowed to name names, but I would like to forewarn any tenants from renting property owned by our previous landlord. We dealt with him through an agent, but we lived on his land. The tenants in the other 3 properties on the same land deal with him directly.

We would have loved to have stayed in the same place had he not made it impossible to live there. We still have some outstanding issues that I hoped others on this forum might have some advice to impart.

The property was a very dated bungalow and we were told when we moved in that the roof would be finished and the bathroom completely redone. Neither were completed when we received the keys. We had a leak after the first rainfall and a month later the roof was patched up. But no clean-up was performed on the inside. Periodically, the landlord would send a plumber to come look at the bathroom when the agent tried to chase him up for the work. We were stuck without a shower and had to bathe when we needed to. The doors and windows were so old that it was excessively draughty. We were not allowed to use the fireplace and only had two storage heaters, one in each bedroom. It was like heating a bus shelter. We had to place plastic covers around the windows and one door, using the other door. We all moved into one bedroom, as well as bringing in the dining table, to conserve heat. In our last 4 months, the floors caved in in the kitchen and bath. There was also a weakness in the hallway. All problems were reported timely to the landlord, but when we checked out, none of these problems were addressed. The agents were shocked at the condition when they came to check out.

To make things worse, during the tenancy, we discovered that we were being billed for electric based on a main meter at the landlord's mansion. This meter measures use by by the bungalow as well as several other buildings. To make a very long story short, it has now been determined by the agent and the electric company that the landlord owes a proportion of the remaining bill; however, he is refusing to pay it. In the meantime, our name remains on the account because of this unresolved issue.

He had refused to refund our deposit because of this electric bill; however, the agent said that was not allowed. So, he decided to hold our deposit because of a water bill that he never presented. They sent a partial refund of our deposit, while keeping 3x the amount of what we owed for water. After weeks of wrangling and reporting him to the Tenancy Deposit Scheme (showing how we calculated our water usage because we kept track of the water meter and we knew the rate), the agents said they would return the remaining deposit. Still not done, but we can keep the pressure on with TDS.

We are new to this whole letting business in the UK, so we were not aware of the many things we should have reported to government authorities while we were tenants and it is now too late. Moreover, since we lived in close conjunction with the landlord, we did not want to cause disruptions to our relationships with him and other tenants on the land, so we put up with a lot. But, we are broke, living a hand to mouth existence and just want to go on with our lives. The agents have put the responsibility on the electric company to chase the landlord (it shows how much trouble the landlord has caused, not just for us, but the agents and the electric company as well). But, after a year dealing with this issue, I'm not sure the electric company will have much success. They had already tried, in that same length of time, to explain the situation to the landlord and he is still in denial over the whole business. Where else can we turn for advice?

Hi Broken
I am sorry to hear about your experience. As the property was rented through a letting agent, they have to try to rectify the problems. Bills however, are complicated issue as they are on your name. Still, you are not too late to get to the bottom of it. Have you tied Citizens Advice Bureau? They have offices in most towns and should be able to give you a free legal advice on the matter.

I agree that CAB is one of the places that can offer you advice and guidance on how to deal with your landlord and the utility company. It seems that you have sufficient evidence already from your records and your letting agents and hopefully your deposit will be returned to you in full. I also think that forum users should be able to share their experiences (both negative and positive) and to name particular organisations, etc.

We've been to the CAB many times during our tenancy but they can't help with legal advice. Our agents have not been successful and they have turned it over to the electric company to chase the landlord. Since you're the administrators, then I guess I'll take your advice and share the names of the agents and the landlord.

First, I would caution against anyone renting from a landlord named Michael Stone. He has other properties on the estate and they are not well kept up. In fact, a side building to one of the other properties collapsed in front of our eyes. Nothing was done about it.

The real estate agents we went through was Alexandre Boyes. They were completely incompetent and we even considered reporting them for maladministration, but the ARLA seemed to discourage that.

I know the primary problem rests with the landlord because he has deliberately been obstructing any progress, but during the course of our stay, the agents were hopeless in getting anything accomplished. I feel we should be compensated for distress and living in neglected conditions, but I'd settle just for the landlord to pay for his part of the electric bill. There should be some legal recourse against keeping our name on the account. We can't have it removed until the bill is paid. The EDF agent had told us not to pay until an agreement has been reached, but the landlord, for reasons of his own, will not even name his price.

All i can say is, dont give up your fight with the utility company. I had battled with npower for billing me after i left my rented property. It took a lot of time and was emotionally draining, but in the end it was worth it. Good luck!

Broken i feel your pain my landlord is an absolute tube as well!
All i can say is keep fighting and be prepared to go to court and fight tooth and nail there too.
If your in the right there can only be one winner.
My landlord will have a shock in July when we sue him for six unregistered deposits.
I know its easy to say but dont let it get you down.