Lanlord not replying to end notice letter

[carlos]

I have been renting a property over two and a half years. Since I moved in the heating has not been working. I complained to the landlord and he sent somebody to fix it. The engineer told me that the heating was beyond repair, we could get some heat from it but nothing else. He told the landlord that he needed to change the heating but he refused because it was too expensive. Since then I phoned him several times and he always had excuses : buying a house in another country, he said he had called an engineer that never came (this excuse happened a few times), there was an engineer the other they in the morning but nobody was in (I don't believe it and during the day I am not at home), etc...

Last january was very cold and the heating broke down completely. I phoned him several times for three months but he never answered the phone. I had to buy an electrical heater that didn't do much. In April I was so feed up that I made a mistake that I now regret. I did not pay the rent that month believing that he would contact me and I could get the heating fixed. He didn't! I felt guilty and I paid May thinking that he would come asking for the other month. He didn't! Very upset I didn't paid June and I started looking for a house to buy. I paid him July and after that he came requesting the two months that I owed him. I did not want to argue because I was very close to exchange contracts for the new house. So I paid the rent I owed him. I asked him why he didn't answer the phone and he said he had lost it (could be true, but after all the other excuses...)

Anyway, at the end of july I wrote a letter giving him the one month's notice period stated in the contract. He did not reply. I phoned him ten days latter and he insisted I had to pay two additional months because the notice period is 2 months in the UK. I wrote him back that same day (this time recorded delivery) pointing out what the contract says, but he did not replied. I checked with Royal Mail after another week and they told me he had received and signed the letter. He is just ignoring it.

I am sending him another letter today, but I am certain he will not reply. I want

to vacate the property and return the keys but he is refusing to do anything. I do not know what else to do. I am sure he will not give my deposit back (1 and 1/2 months), and I am very reluctant to pay him the last month and loose the full deposit.

Do you have any advice?

Cheers

[Trenners]

Hi Carlos,

My advice is stop paying the rent altogether and remain in the property until an eviction order is served by the court.

Greedy landlords who do not maintain their properties deserve everything that the tenant throws at them. Maybe the landlord will start communicating if the rent stops being paid !!

I reckon you should be able to stay put for at least another 4 - 5 months without paying any rent. When you get to court - if you bother showing up - explain to the judge that the property was not fit for human habitation and the landlord refused to communicate with you or fix the problem.

You could vacate the property on the morning of the hearing .....

Good luck,

Mark