u/Aggravating-Tea-7042

Usually I expect payment upfront but have become more lax as I have never gotten scammed... never again...

Yesterday I met a student. The dad wants a short 15 min intro call which is as much as I do in terms of discussion and I am rarely requested to do this so I am fine. I had sent bank details and the dad said he will pay me in cash back when he's in town after I completed the sessions. I said politely that I don't accept cash and would like a bank transfer. No payment as of now and was likely scammed.

Just a vent post and a warning

Edit: the dad agrees and the lesson went ahead. Tge paymeby refers to the price of the 1hr lesson after the free 15min call

Agent (landlord’s daughter) deducting her dad’s HMO Council Tax bill from our deposit. Just raised a TDS dispute, how do we win this?

Just finished a student joint tenancy and the agent (who is the landlord's daughter) is withholding £680 of our deposit.

Long story short, she claims the property is classified as an HMO for Council Tax purposes, so the account is in the landlord's name, and it's the landlord's role to collect outstanding balances from the tenant. However, she is pointing to a clause in our contract that says they can recover tax costs from us, and she wants to use our deposit to cover it if we have not met an obligation for our council tax.

We are all full-time students and should be exempt. Early on, she emailed asking for student IDs to check our council tax status. I sent over my actual university exemption certificate, but she rejected it and insisted on seeing our IDs instead (which aren't even valid proof for the council).

Now, she refuses to release the funds until the council confirms our exemption to them directly. The council won't do that because of privacy, and they told us over the phone that the landlord is solely liable for HMO council tax anyway.

We’ve decided to stop arguing with her and have officially opened a dispute with the TDS.

Under the Tenant Fees Act, is a contract clause like this even enforceable through a deposit? What is the best way to structure our evidence for the TDS adjudicator to show they are just using family-backed delaying tactics?

Edit: We even sent the certificate and moved in an adult form to the council as we could do them retrospectively, but the council says that they could not do this.

England deposit return delayed by council tax

Landlord keeping the deposit for possible council tax bill

For context, in October, a few months into the tenancy, the landlord emailed asking for student IDs, specifically saying he did not want exemption certificates.

A week ago, we got proposed deductions with the landlord saying he will keep the undisputed amount until he gets confirmation from the council that there is no bill. We're on a joint tenancy, so we thought it was our responsibility and we retrospectively applied for student exemption with our certificates. We emailed him saying it is strictly between us and the council and so he should not involve himself (but more politely). He replied saying that this is council tax for an HMO, so the council tax account is in his name, but he collects the outstanding balance from us. We thought this was illegal. In the contract it says we only pay him after he has paid. The council confirmed the account is in his name.

We are going to raise a dispute, but I am not sure if what the landlord is doing is reasonable.

Edit: have disputed it

Edit 2: the council replied aksing me to ley the landlord know to contqct them

I was on a joint tennancy. A non paying tenant put the tennacy 1300 in arrears. Thr landlord was claiming this on top of 250 pounds for cleaning. The paying tenant and I accepted the arrears as we know we can do nothing but pursue her outside in court but we disputed the whole 215. We also asked he sent the noney to the lead tenant as we disagreed the undisputrd deposit should be returned in 3 equal shares. The landlord refused and staye firm. The non-paying tenant refused believubg that because she left early she gets more of the deposit and wants us to give her a few more weeks until we raise a dispute. We told her that the 215 is what we're disputing and that helps most of us but she still wants us to wait before raising a dispute. Also after mentioning recovering the debt through small court she suddenly wants to work this out after refusibg to pay rent for 5 months.

What would happen if we raise a dispute, on TDS it says all parties agree, she said if this goee to TDS she will wait but do we have any obligation to?

Also could the landlord or non paying tenant refuse?

Deposit return from landlord - arrears

I was on a joint tenancy (ended earlier this month) with an individual who moved out apparently for financial reasons (not sure if this is true but irrelevant here). We found out she was in arrears but the landlord did not send us the ledger and she went silent in May. A few days ago after requesting he deposit return he finally sent us the deductions including a £1400 deduction for rent. This would leave us with £700.00 which he said he will send us individually afterwards in three shares. We refused the non-rent arrear deductions but accepted the arrears and proposed the remaining money is shared with the paying tenants. The non-paying tenant who ignored our emails telling her to seek financial support finally replied saying she disagrees and that we should wait a few weeks to allow her to review. Fortunately, she is not the lead tenant.

We have given until Monday for the landlord to reply considering we would rather raise a dispute now than never. Do we need her agreement to raise a dispute? Would we get sued if the amount is returned to the lead tenant and share it between us? She still owes us 300-400 each since part of our deposit was taken to cover our arrears and will pursue her for thar.

Should we just launch a dispute Monday and send an acknowledgement email?

We moved out two weeks ago, and yesterday we formally requested our deposit and rent ledger. The third tenant had not paid her bill, and we do not have the information to figure it out. Today we got an email saying our deposit is no longer protected. We have heard nothing. The deposit was in an insured scheme.

Can my flatmates sue me for rent in England?

I was on a one-year joint and several contract until August 2026.

I moved out in March and paid a quarter of the rent from March to June, so the tenancy was in arrears. I offered a replacement, but they refused on the basis of gender, student status, and that couples were not appropriate to replace one tenant. They also told me it was my job to do viewings as I was moving out. I could see at the beginning of May this wouldn't go anywhere, so I gave notice, leaving the contract early, and the others also moved out in July when the contract ended. Mine and their deposit was used to cover arrears when theh left in July.

In all my emails, I have emphasized that the arrears are not solely mine but all of ours as they refused tenants. They said that they will meet anyone if they like the house and are female students because they need to try them to sign rent as they will be signing a tenancy variation. They are now threatening to sue me, legally pulling out an email where I committed to paying rent when vacating and questioning how I am paying for alternative accommodation despite having no money? I live with my boyfriend but did not mention this and said I was paying for alternative accommodation. I told them my guarantor and I have no money as there is a war in my parents' home country. When I told them this, they sent an email to the university financial welfare asking if they were unaware and that not paying rent is putting all of us in arrears.

If they go to court, can they get the full amount? I don't want to pay as my boyfriend has a house, so a CCJ does not matter. Can I claim that since they sent a letter to the address on the tenancy agreement and not my current address, their claim is invalid? If I don't pay, can bailiffs come to my home?

Edit: I did suggest female applicants which they said seemed okay but they told me that I have to do viewings as they have commitments and as the leaving tenant it was in my best interest.

For me its Sandsxfitness aka sandhya

AITBF for complaining about an in-law?

I (28F) got married, and my husband has a massive family. He isn't close with them, but they did attend as my mother-in-law relies on them. There was one person who seemed to hate me—his cousin Rachel, early 20s maybe. At the wedding, she came to give us blessings. She was quite awkward and said, "Congratulations." She threw rice weirdly (it's a blessing tradition), so my husband and I laughed, and as she went off, we chuckled because it was our wedding.

During our wedding, I was also dancing with the bridesmaids, and you could see that she and her family were waiting for a photo. She walked out and was persuaded back in by my mother-in-law. My in-laws later told me that she was annoyed we kept dancing on stage with the bridesmaids and by the fourth song she was annoyed as people were waiting for photos—another tradition—but it was my wedding.

Yesterday she came over for family lunch. She came in and smiled and sat before she was called over immediately for food. She came up with her food and sat next to her cousin. Her mum asked if she had seen me. She turned around, smiled and said hi, and I did too. She talked about football and I said stuff but people were mostly eating. I was waiting for my husband to come before eating and nobody was really talking so I left.

Today one of the older cousins suggested they go to the beach and invited me. We have a group chat and I suggested I can get a discount. I was getting the discount from my brother so it was taking a few hours as we had to wait. The cold cousin asked about the time, sent some screenshots saying it wasn't available for that time, and the other cousin explained we would rent for 24 hours, which she said "oh okay" to. She asked if my discount was NHS and I said no, it was a colleague discount and that I had an NHS discount too. Since she sked thid she seemed eager to organize, I told my brother to relax. Later my mother-in-law and Rachel's mum were on the phone and her mum asked her if she knew about the beach and my MIL said that we were waiting for Rachel to organize. Her mum said no that they were waiting for my discount. Rachel's sister chimed in on the chat and the other cousin agreed they were waiting for me.

I feel embarrassed and felt like the cousin set me up. My mother-in-law also told Rachel's mum that I had said she was cold at the meal and didn't say hi, but the mum said she did. Everyone else is saying she is an introvert who likes to keep to herself but she was comfortable around the aunts and cousins.

For me its Sandsxfitness aka sandhya

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So I l rented a property for an initial fixed term from August 2025 to August 2026. Initially it was via an agent but a landlord took control later. All rent was pooled to a single tenant and paid until March when a flatmate announced she left and we told her that if a replacement tenant was going to come in it was her responsibility to find one. In March she sent a tenant who we were going to meet. As soon as she proposed the tenant we asked our landlord how a contract would work and if we were going to have to sign a fixed contract with a stranger to which he finally replied the day before the meeting and said we needed to sign a tenancy variation which gave joint and several liability with the stranger. Since this new person was also not council tax exempt and could not get us confirmation we will still be exempt we said no and said we would prefer students due to council tax issues and also lifestyle.

The other tenant was not happy and the month afterwards sent multiple workers, older men which again would not be a good fit, couples fora three person tenancy in a small flat and was angry if we took a few hrs to reply. We are mostly away on placements yet expected us to come back early and cancel weekend plans to do last minute viewings sometimes in the next 30 mins. She said she will not as she didn't live with us and it wasn't her job and the fact she posted on spare room was sufficient despite living 10 min cycle away.

In March, April, May and June she put us in a roughly £2000 arrears. The tenancy ended early, and with new legislation, She gave notice, and we moved out at the beginning of July. .She cited financial pressures including having to cover new accom (why did she move out if the move made it to expensive). After refusing to ask her parents also her guarantors we offered to cover the rent and then get compensated by MCOOL to the landlord who did not reply. He did not reply but still used his email to contact us about viewings sometimes with 12hrs notice and also texted me about how I found my car. When he saw me at a viewing in June he said he will contact the guarantors. A week later I asked himi if he had an update, no response. We couldn't even cover arrears as we had no idea of the exact deficit just an approximate amount.

Today we got an email saying they were going to propose deposit deductions meaning we're not going to get any of our deposit back. I emailed asking if he did contact the guarantors and if yes had they refused to see what had happened as well as if he had other options. From what I understand the landlord can do whatever he wants but honestly I don't know how easy a deposit deduction would make MCOL.. The other girl has stopped replying but we have a forwarding address on the tenancy agreement. What would you do?

AITB for making my family wait at my wedding

So in my tradition, it's customary to get photos with attending families and also a large one with the extended family. My family was in the queue to take photos, but they were told photos were not being taken, so they gave their blessings and left. For some reason, some families started taking photos, so my family joined. But as they joined, we were called to go eat and do a shoot. It had been five hours since the beginning of the wedding, so some people were going to leave. Due to time constraints, I told them to take one big family photo, and so they did. My wife wanted her family to be in the picture too. They took the photo, and a lot of my family left soon afterward.

One family was leaving when my mom stopped them and told them to take a family photo. She called them back and waited in line. My friends and my wife's friends were taking photos. They were taking ages because they kept playing different songs and dancing to them because my wife is a content creator. My cousin decided she was not going to wait any longer as another song played and left. My mom later told me that when she asked her why she was leaving, she said that they had waited for ages and that she didn't really care about this photo. My mom forced her back to the stage with her family, and I could see my cousin was getting annoyed. She left as soon as they took the photo, asking her parents why they kept waiting for a photo. My sisters also heard her complaining to her mom, asking to leave as it had been seven hours at that point, and she even called my wife and me clowns. My mom thinks I'm the A for making them wait, but it's mine and my wife's special day. My cousin has always been impatient and a little hot-tempered, and my wife agrees, so AITA?

I'm leaving tomorrow. I asked him three weeks ago he replied two weeks ago saying he would give more information. I emailed him last week no rpely. I emaiked him yesterday again no information. I emaiked him today saying if he doea not reply I'm just going to lock the door bejind me then push it through the letterbox.

Whag can I do in this sitiation? Can he sue me for not returninf the keys?

My landlord's son is the equivalent of the estate agent. He is who we contact for any issues, and he conducts viewings as we're leaving in two weeks. Usually, my flatmate and I are present for viewings, but my flatmate has gone on holiday, so it is usually just me at the property for viewings. He does give notice but will say the vieeing is at 3pn be will let himself in at 2:45 or 2:50. Usually, the estate agent does viewings, shows the garden, then leaves, but recently he has been letting himself in 10 minutes early, coming in to have a chat, doing the viewing, and then coming back up to have another chat. He likes to ask me what I want to do in the future and if I plan to stay in the city after graduating. Obviously, it does get awkward as he comes into my bedroom (we don't have a living room or anything). It gets quiet, which is when he leaves. Is this normal?

My landlord's son is the equivalent of the estate agent. He is who we contact for any issues and he conducts viewings as we're leaving in two weeks. Usually my flatmate and I are present for viewings but my flatmate has gone on holiday so it is usually just me at the property for viewings. Usually the estate agent does viewings shows the garden then leaves but recently he has been letting himself in 10 minutes early coming into have a chat doing the viewing and then coming back up to have another chat. He likes to ask me what I want to do in the future and if I plan to stay in the city after graduating. Obviously it does get awkward as he comes into my bedroom (we don't have a living room or anything) it does gets quiet which is when he leaves. I can't lie though I think some feelings are blooming from myself. Am I being delusional he might be interested? I don't plan on making a move but one can dream

My landlord's son who is the estate agent for the property and who we contact for problems has been talking a lot more to me. He does viewings so lets him in 10 minutes early and stays in one of the empty rooms and sometimes he would stay for an extra 10 mins afterwards in the property. I am the only one in the property so after staying he will sometimes peek into my room (I'm the only one there) and start asking me about usually personal questions about my studies and how long the vacation is. It feels odd because it feels like he is extending the conversation. After about 10 minutes he does leave but it always makes me feel weird. Since he has keys it feels weird because he can let himself in whenever and I was wondering what if I was leaving the shower in the time he had come early. 

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I don't know if this is normal landlord friendliness or I am just dramatic.

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Can a medical school reprimand someone for not paying rent.

Hi

In March our flatmate moved out and stopped paying rent. Previously she had transferred the rent to the lead who would send it over but from April onwards said she will pay him directly. Unfortunately she has not and last month he said we were 300 in arrears and said nothing so we assumed she had paid. This month we are 800 in arrears and ee realised the other girl did not so we told her to pay by Friday otherwise we will have to sue her. We also told the landlord to let us know if she did not lay because since he agreed ti her paying rent separately we have no idea what's happening unless either of us say. There is silence.

I am thinking of emailing him and asking whether we are still in arrears and then arranging to pay then suing her. Can he ignore us if we ask

I have a flat shared by three students on a joint tenancy. Something happened and tenant A moved out and in April started looking for replacement. The other tenants wanted students but she kept proposing working professionals or couples even though only one tenant needed replacing. She wouldnt conduxct viewings either as she was not based at the property and would expect the other tenants to do them saying she wss sick or chronically ill. The girls would reply in less than 2 hrs and she would say it's too slow.

As soon as the new legislation came in she gave notice blaming the other tenants.

The issue this is the tenancy is now in arrears. Prior to the nove out the tenants pooled rent bug now tenant A pays separately meaning the others are unaware of how much she pays. For April she paid nothing then half the amount after further probing. For May she has paid less than a quatrr of how much she told me she would pay in her departure email. The other tenants were unaware until I made them aware last week and are now telling the other girl she needs to pah. They say if they pay they will take hee to court. The other girl claims she and her family have no money which is strange considering she decided to rent another place in the same town when she moved out. Most students will struggle to pay two sets of rent ....

What would happen if I go after the girl's guarantor and they refuse or they really do have no money?

Could the flatmmates win MCOL against my friend

My friend moved out March and served notice in early May. She started finding a replacement in April. She stopped topped paying bills which do not have my name on them but flatmte A's. She paid half of the rent for April and around a quarter for May. The landlord raised this last week. In response she said that the arrears could not be attributed to her as the flatmates were too strict in criteria, did not always facilitate viewings recommending my friend conducted viewings when she ws free even though my friend has a chronic condition which makes this challenging. My friend has a guarantor (her mum) but due to personal circumstances she says she cannot afford it.

Her flatmates are threatening legal action and asking why she has not sought help from funds at uni despite recommendations. How likely are they to win? Her flatmates have reached out to the uni citing they are concerned about her financially and her claims she cannot afford rent. They think it is strange she chose to rent another place before finding a replacement if she really was in financial stress.

Also they are asking the landlord if bringing in a non student will make the house HMO rather than a student flat