My landlord has been receiving mail at my address regarding non-payment of mortgage. I passed this on to the estate agents wwe rent the property through, and requested that the landlord let them know his current address. I am rather concerned that the mortgage company are not aware he is renting the property out, and understand he has some obligation to tell them.

I am also rather concerned for the safety of my possessions within this property. Can I get some sort of protection to stop them reclaiming everything within the flat? It was rented to us as a 'fully-furnished' property, but some things - fridge, washing machine, a few bits of furniture and all the elctrical goods - are our own, along with our clothes and such like.

I understand that I am only owed notice from the estate agent through whom the flat is rented, so I am not concerned about that. However, is there any way we can offer to purchase the property at this late stage?

I am sorry I do not have any specifics as regards when action started and such like, but obviously I am not permitted to open the mail to get any details.

Thanks for any advice you can offer. All would be gratefully received.

Sarah Walters Manchester, UK

-- sarah walters (s.walters1@ais.salford.ac.uk), September 03, 1999

Answers

I will try to answer your query as fully as possible so that you can make an informed decision as to what to do next.

If the lender has not started possession proceedings yet, then if you were to contact the lender it may have repercussions for your landlord. The lender can take possession proceedings against your landlord for breach of contract - ie renting the property out without agreement. Courts take a dim view of borrowers doing this.

If the lender takes possession proceedings in the county court, they must serve a notice to the occupiers 14 days before the hearing takes place - so look in the post. The letter should tell you the time and date of the hearing and the address of the county court.

The court has discretion as to whether you can attend; however most courts will let you into the hearing so that you know what will happen.

If the possession hearing has already taken place and your landlord has not kept up the payments, the lender can ask the court to enforce the order by means of a warrant. The court bailiffs should either visit your property or write to you to tell you the date of the eviction. Such letters are usually addressed to the occupier.

With regard to your own belongings if eviction goes ahead, the best advice is to contact the lender directly and arrange a date to remove your stuff. If you can, show the lender's representative a copy of any inventory of furniture and fittings given to you by your landlord when you took out the tenancy so that you can establish ownership.

If you want to buy the property off the landlord it may be difficult in practice to do this. The lender is unlikely to agree to sale if the price you are offering will not cover your landlord's outstanding mortgage to them. Also your landlord may not want to sell, preferring to hang on to the property at all costs.

Hope this helps.

-- Sue Edwards (sue.edwards@nacab.org.uk), September 13, 1999.