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Landlord threatening to evict due to vaping.

MDLucky

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Joined
May 18, 2019
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My tenancy agreement states that I can not smoke however it goes into specifics on this "no cigarettes, no pipes and no cigars" it did not list vaping / e-cigs of any kind.

From the start of my tenancy there has been this fishy + burning smell whenever the shower is running. I have tried to get them to fix this since last October with no joy. The next door neighbour had called my letting agency furious claiming that her house smelled of smoke constantly. We found out today after hiring our own electrician that the fuse box was from the 1970s and was literally burnt to a crisp due to running heating up every time the shower was running.

The landlord has now also confirmed this with their own electrician.

However, landlord has stated that a vape was located in my house (not being used in the house, just on the kitchen counter, it's not like they smell like smoke anyway) and has found references in my social media to vaping.

They are pushing on the vaping being against the no smoking rule after now being caught renting out a property that doesn't meet electrical safety regulations. Threats of eviction stating that my neighbours complained for many months and they will need to have the house deep cleaned, I will lose my deposit over this etc, etc.

I dont know legally where i stand on this at all. Help would be much appreciated so thank you in advance.
 
Go to see a consumer organisation or grab them online - https://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/

Unless it’s expressly banned you have not broken any terms of your contract and they can’t evict you for vaping...or anything you post on social media.

They can write in no vaping clauses into contract if they are spectacularly dim.

Many landlords still have no idea what to do and their associations aren’t helping matters https://www.planetofthevapes.co.uk/news/vaping-news/2018-07-05_advice-for-landlords.html
 
Oh Darlin I'm glad we got people here who can point you in the right direction! I feel for ya, big time. I hope you can get everything sorted out in your favor, and there be no animosity between you and your landlord afterwards.
 
They can't just evict you on the spot , That's not how it works in the UK, I'm no solicitor , But i know from others there is a lengthy legal process they have to go through in order to evict you which tends to take months to years, Even when they get the eviction order , if you don't leave they need bailiffs to remove you which takes longer still.

With regards to the reasons their evicting you , It sounds wrong if not explicitly mentioned in the agreement you can't vape, But then again it doesn't really matter as long as they follow the correct legal process they don't really need a legitimate reason to evict you .

Also worth noting I've noticed lately in Manchester anyway , Alot of places are putting smoking and vaping in the same basket, you can't smoke or vape anywhere covered up or in a public enclosed area even outdoors.

Alot of private landlords are banning pets, smoking , DSS even children in some cases so vaping seems like a natural next step... They can do pretty much whatever they want sadly.
 
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The “no DSS” thing is actually illegal @adrian_uk . I know it happens all the time though. There’s a charity law firm near here that’s taking on cases to claim compensation for people who’ve been refused a private let on this basis, as part of a move to try and put an end to it. In scotland, at least.
 
I would throw the breaking electrical safety regs at the bastard. Contact your local council section will be called private housing section, they will come down on him like a tonne of bricks. Private landlords have to abide by regs or can be fined heavily these days
 
Regardless of the reasons why he wants to evict you he simply cannot force you to go. I know of a couple who refused to pay rent on a particular property and it took many many months for the landlord to evict them. They lost their deposit sure but they got at least 6 months rent free.

It Seems like he's being unfair but at the end of the day, it's his property so keep that in mind but that said, you've got rights and he most definitely cannot just kick you out. I'm not sure about the rest of the UK but in Northern Ireland you're rights also depend on whether the let is furnished or unfurnished.

He didn't specify vaping in your agreement so for him to force it would require you to sign a new agreement surely? When is your agreement up?

What exactly have your neighbors complained about and what proof have they or your landlord that you actually vape inside the house? If you don't actually vape inside the house have you told him this? Maybe sit down with him and explain that you vape outside for example and take the high road if you want to stay where you are? I don't know of your personal circumstances (i.e if you have children for example) but sometimes you just need to bite the tongue and compromise. I'd try the amicable route first and see how you get on. It's possible the landlord is just looking for some reassurance but has gone about it badly
 
Regardless of the reasons why he wants to evict you he simply cannot force you to go. I know of a couple who refused to pay rent on a particular property and it took many many months for the landlord to evict them. They lost their deposit sure but they got at least 6 months rent free.

It Seems like he's being unfair but at the end of the day, it's his property so keep that in mind but that said, you've got rights and he most definitely cannot just kick you out. I'm not sure about the rest of the UK but in Northern Ireland you're rights also depend on whether the let is furnished or unfurnished.

He didn't specify vaping in your agreement so for him to force it would require you to sign a new agreement surely? When is your agreement up?

What exactly have your neighbors complained about and what proof have they or your landlord that you actually vape inside the house? If you don't actually vape inside the house have you told him this? Maybe sit down with him and explain that you vape outside for example and take the high road if you want to stay where you are? I don't know of your personal circumstances (i.e if you have children for example) but sometimes you just need to bite the tongue and compromise. I'd try the amicable route first and see how you get on. It's possible the landlord is just looking for some reassurance but has gone about it badly

The short term assured tenancy finished about 6 weeks ago so now we're in a roaming long term, they can ask us to leave at any point now and we would need to leave within 4 weeks.

The neighbour complained about the smell of smoke, also that the smoke smell was so severe that it had caused their clothing and furniture to smell and keeps them awake at night.

There are no vents connecting our property and I always smoke sweet flavours, never tobacco. They once put in a complaint about the smoke smell when we were on vacation for 3 weeks and no one was in the house, so I doubt it's genuine, I think they saw me vape in the garden and assumed that it was cigarette smoke.
 
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