Feeling Under Seige by my Tenant

[cloudberry]

Need to try and get this off my chest as its driving me mad, and I dont know what to do.

I own my place, I live in a flat above a shop. I used to run a small business from downstairs. But when I had the breakdown I shut it and have rented it out now for three years. I still live above, and its been my home for over twenty years.

The trouble is that my tenant always wanted to buy the building from me, and when i was ill I very nearly sold it to her. Thank god I came to my senses. She still resents that I own it and not her.

Her lease ran out in early April and she can drag negotiations out for up to six months (thats the legal situation). It is to her advantage to do this as the longer she drags it out the longer she stays on the original rent.

Rents have gone up on this avenue by over 50% in the last three years. I know thats a lot, but that is how it is. Naturally I want a fair rent increase in line with other shops here. Naturally, she doesnt!

I have now been approached by another shop keeper who wants to rent my shop and move from where he is a few doors away. He is happy to pay what I am asking and thinks it is very reasonable. He is paying the same for 1/3 of the space. I would much rather have him as a tenant than her. She is a hard nosed woman who takes advantage. A good tenant in that she pays her rent, but nothing else, on time.

As each month goes by I am losing £200 in rent by her delaying, and on top of that, her delaying is running me up a huge legal bill. Its going to cost me at least £1000 to renew this bloody lease at this rate.

Its really affecting my mental health and stressing me out. I hear her down there all day long. I cracked yesterday and put loud music on all day to piss her off. And I have stopped taking her bin out on a Sunday too. Which will inconvenience her too. I just couldnt do it this week. I thought "f*ck you" and just took mine out.

I know its petty, but it made me feel a bit better. She isnt co-operating with me, so why should I save her coming in on a day off?

I darent go out - so my agoraphobia has been triggered - in case I see her. So I am living under seige. I feel she is bullying me. I cant be nice to her. If I see her I am afraid I will be spiteful to her or burst into tears (more likely).

I know the game she is playing. If I was a rich absentee landlady with loads of property I can understand her playing this delaying game. But I am not. I live here, this is my home and I just happen to be her landlady by accident really. I have to live here. I know all the other shop keepers, I've been here years. She is making life very unpleasant for me.

Whereas I told my solicitor I was happy to issue her a new lease back in March. I now do not feel that way now she is doing this. And especially now I have a better prospective tenant.

I have to have only limited reasons to get her out and it will be hard. A battle. But worth it in the end. I wish she would just go.

Its obsessing me. All day every day. She will open her shop up in an hour and then I will either have to listen to her cackling with her customers all day or go up to my bedroom on the top floor.

I have tried over the last three years to get on with her, I sold my powerful stereo and got a small one, I live like a mouse tip-toe-ing around so as not to bother her. She ripped out the false ceilings so noise is a major issue. She could even hear nine week old kittens dashing around. Its that bad.

Then yesterday I cracked, and played music all day and threw a rock around the room and on the floor. A lot. And screamed, and shouted.

It has occured to me that one way out of her lease is that I wasnt in sound mind when I issued it. I was on medication that later caused a seizure and I had to come off it.

Blah blah blah.

thanks for listening, I feel like a total idiot.

Any tea and sympathy very welcome, or hugs. Any advice too very welcome.

cloudberry
miserable

 

[Merlin]

I'm not in much of a position to be able to do anything, but I can give a big old hug.




Ps Be careful with making to much noise, don't give her any reason to complain, ( must be hard though)

 

[Apotheosis]

Best to use a Commercial letting agents - & let them deal with things. However the situation changes - find one & use one. The law around letting is quite explicit. Tenants can be nightmares. How long does she have left on the lease? Don't renew it - The rent can be independently set; to what it should be by law - if she won't pay it, that is grounds for eviction. It is also down to your discretion as to whether you renew her lease or not. It is your property, you are the land lord. You have certain rights as much as she does.

 

[cloudberry]

Tried that and its just more bad news

Called richard at big local letting agent yesterday. He said she csn do this for six months and get an extention to carry on for longer also.

I am being driven to leave my own home here. I havnt eaten for three days and I am becoming suicidal again. Today she looked me in the eye and gave me a wiggle. I was shouting like a bloody mad banshe out of the window at onme of her customers. I have to admit. But she is so cool about the distress she is causing me. she knows exactly what she is doing. And so do I.

But in law I have very few rights and she can carry this on for ever.

She has petioned me to buy the building every year. I wont sell. She resents that. normally i am very very quiet indeed.

I feel like being permanently queit now.

 

[*Sapphire*]

Hi Cloudberry

I am so sorry to hear that your tenant is causing so many problems for you, she sounds terrible. I guess the only thing I can say is that if someone is acting like that usually it is because deep down they know you have something that they can't get and they are doing it in retaliation. Even though she is acting as if she has the power and the rights to treat you so terribly, remember you are the landlord and once the lease is up you have the power not to renew the lease. If you can, every time she retaliates that way, see it as a win to you, if she didn't care she wouldn't react that way. The best thing you can do is not respond. By doing that she might get worried about what is going on and calm down her reactions to you. By shouting and screaming she will think she is winning and is likely to continue to antagonise you.

Ultimately I believe you can sell the property to anyone you want. I know you don't want to do that but if it comes to it you have rights to do that, I don't believe you have to accept any offer she makes.

I know it is hard, but if you can I would not antagonise her further by antagonising her customers or her, because she could make claims to environmental health or to the police. Maybe she is antagonising you in hope that you will respond that way and therefore if you do she has won.

I know you have consulted the letting agents but I wouldn't go just by their word. I would contact the CAB or an independant solicitor to see what your rights are, remember a lease agreement is as much about protecting the landlord as well as the tenanat. A letting agent would not necessarily take into account your mental health difficulties and the distress she is causing you, or your partcular lease agreements when they give you advice.

Please hold on if you can, I know how distressing it is for you. I had a neighbour who caused me great difficulties and I wanted so hard to respond by copying his behaviours so he would have had an idea of what I was going through but I couldn't because if I did he would have been the first to call environmental health and the validity of my statements would have been in question.

Perhaps it would be a good idea to keep a diary of what she is doing to you, the torment she has put you through, so if it comes to court you can give specific times and dates of her actions to help aid your case.

I'm thinking of you and hope you get through the weekend x

 

[cloudberry]

Police arrested me

On my balcony this morning. have terrible bruises on my wrists. They held me for eight hours and didnt charge me with anything. i rather wished they had.

I've never been a police cell in my whole life before.

I was fairly over the edge anyway. And this has just made it so much worse for me.

clloudberry

 

[intelgal]

Aww Cloudberry.... Al I can do is send you a hug. I hope your feeling a little calmer

 

[cloudberry]

I rang Richard - commercial letting agent

Two days ago. And he told me she cant just do this for six months. But after six months she can apply for an extension.
the rest is history. I've been in a police cell for most of the day. But word has it she has had enough and will go.

That it has taken this is absolutely ridiculous. But she has driven me over the edge since the end of january. I had an agreement with he4r then. And she renaged and has game played since then.

It was interesting that her husband didnt know what she has been up to. When i was in the police cells he came and spoke to John - my boyfriend. John was in tears and told him the stress she is putting my under. her own husband didnt know she wasnt replying to my solicitors letters.

He also didnt know that she doesnt pay her bills on time.

What a wonderful marriage they must have!!!!!

Just about surviving. And trying to not get arrested again.
cloudberry.

by the way. My psychologist was no use in this.

Best to use a Commercial letting agents - & let them deal with things. However the situation changes - find one & use one. The law around letting is quite explicit. Tenants can be nightmares. How long does she have left on the lease? Don't renew it - The rent can be independently set; to what it should be by law - if she won't pay it, that is grounds for eviction. It is also down to your discretion as to whether you renew her lease or not. It is your property, you are the land lord. You have certain rights as much as she does.

 

[*Sapphire*]

Oh Cloudberry I'm so sorry to hear this. I'm so glad the police have not charged you even if in some way you wished they had. Please try and look after yourself over the weekend. But i'm glad she sounds like she has had enough and will go, perhaps her husband finding out what she has been up to will be enough to stop her from hassling you further. Your boyfriend sounds like he has been a real help in this, and deeply cares about you and your plight. And of course you are back with your cats. My cats have helped me through some real hard times even though it sounds ridiculous but I think they really sense when things are difficult and respond in the most affectionate ways. Sending lots of hugs to you.

 

[Dollit]

So she pushes you as far as she can, she's keeping stuff from her husband and you react under all this stress and she has you arrested. I really feel deeply for your situation but I feel so angry on your behalf that if I write much more my language will not be suitable for the forum! *BIG HUGS*

 

[KP1]

Oh Cloudberry what a horrible time you've been having. I haven't got any solutions but a cup of tea and a hug I can send you.
KP

 

[cloudberry]

Shock and shame

Thankyou for responding to me. It really helps when I now venture to my computer and see that people do care.

I was in total shock on sunday. Yesterday I helped John with his work and decorated all day. today I am still in shock. I darent let my feelings out because I was already feeling cross, now its total outrage. So I must keep them bottled up.

Several people suggest and are urging me to make a complaint against the police. I have photographed the bruises. But the only witness was John, and he quite understandably doesnt want me to.

I have never broken the law. I have never been violent or assaulted anyone, including them on Saturday. I have no criminal or any other type of record.

I have helped police with their enquiries on about 25-30 occasions though as I live in a high crime place. I wont be doing that in future. And I really mean that. Society has lost one otherwise law abiding citizen.

The only person in this world I have ever been violent to is me.

I feel so oppressed. big time now. Not just by my imcumbent tenant bullying me, but also the full force of the law.

Really f*cked up today. The old 48 hour rule is kicking in. I coped. Now I am caving.

I'm not suididal, but the Samaritans are so good. John is keeping me going right now. Even my own sister (who has been arrested at least three times in her life) hasnt called me back.

Pretty rotten.

Thanks you lot. You have kept me going in the last week.

cloudberry x

 

[Jo1760]

Hi cloudberry,

I'm so sorry to hear what a difficult time you have had lately. it must had been dreadful for you. I hope that the situation calms down soon and your tennant moves on.

Take care.

Jo x

 

[cloudberry]

She might be moving on - I'm praying!!!

Hi to all.

Update: her husband implied on Saturday that he is now not sure she will want to renew her lease - as clearly she has an unhinged (at times) landlady. Suits me fine!

I know of two other people who would bite my hand off for this shop at what I am asking for it (and current tenant isnt paying that and doesnt want to).

I pray that any day now a letter will come from her saying she is going. Its virtually impossible for me evict or not renew her lease. The law is very biased to tenants rights. The easiest surest way would be to say I want it to run a new business from myself. But 20 years in business caused my breakdown and I'm still no way well enough to take on stress like that again, if ever.

Didnt go out at all yesterday except later on to venture onto my balcony to look at my flowers. Kept much to the end of it where she cant see me.

When John arrived with a huge bouquet of flowers (from a friend) she was peeping out of the window at him as he came up through the yard.

I kept as quiet as I can all day. I heard repairs to the ceiling going on (it collapsed from the bath water). I heard her voice and the shop door banging closed as each customer came and left. I asked her to put one of those gradual closers on it ages ago.

I keep the telly on just loud enough to half drown out the noise. If I get really sensitised I go up to my bedroom (its a three storey building - I live in the upper two storeys).

If it gets really bad I can escape to Johns for the day. But there is no internet there and I get bored, and feel like I have been driven out.

I am half tempted to initialise it going to auction. There is a very immoral landlord buying up everything he can around here then charging stupid rents (like double what I am asking for 2/3 rds of the space). He doesnt issue leases, and employs "heavies" to enforce his rules.

He would buy it, then she would have a really awful person to deal with.
The last property to auction around here went for 40% more than the guide price three days before the auction was due.

I dont want to sell, but it might encourage her to move if she thinks I am and not to her.

Anyway, today is another day. The sun is shining. The house is a mess and I am going to try and have a good, or better, day than the last ten have been.

Sending to everyone

cloudberry