Minnesänger wrote:

So last week, starting the 29th, was a big double holiday China-side - we got mid-autumn + Chinese national hols at the same time. Wife planned to come into town for a night or two and then we'd take a train over the border together to Hong Kong. everywhere on the mainland would be packed (and HK would be busy too, but we figured it would be a slightly less packed bet).

Anyway, night before wife arrives, their air con in my bedroom carks it. No problem, got a spare bedroom - will just use that and get landlord to replace. Wife arrives next day, calls landlady (who we have a good relationship with), mentions air con needs replacing (we got a guy out to check) - that's fine, landlady sends money. We've been really good tenants and rarely bother the Landlady for anything, so there was little hesitation when we said stuff needed to be fixed.

20 minutes later, a phone call. Landlady's mum - landlady had just had a baby and so the mum will now be taking care of the house stuff. She's decided she is going to raise our rent. 

Wife says naw. 

Landlady's mum (henceforth LLM) says we need to move out then. Wife says ok we'll move, and sends landlady pics of the massive (and loud) building sites right outside our window (that people in party chat with me over the past few months would have heard!) which, combined with tech industry layoffs and everything else, means she is unlikely to get the rent she gets now from the next tenant, let alone an increase. 

LLM talks to agency, realises her massive blunder (and likely catches an earful from her daughter) and says we can stay. Buuuuuuut, we need to sign a new long-term contract at the current rent (we've been going month by month after our original 2 year contract ended, which is allowed and worked out well for everyone). Wife says naw. We're not gonna get tied into a bad contract, and we'll look at our options after the holiday is finished. We like it here, but this whole exchange has been super shady and it doesn't really make sense to tie ourselves to a super big apartment when it's just me living there at the mo.

LLM gets pissy again and says - fine, you need to be out the house within a week. We already have 3 days + 2 nights in HK booked and sorted (Disneyland!) so realistically we have 48/72 hours either side to find a new place, move and clean. 

Wife is a champ - love her to bits and she's very sweet, but she's one of those people who will be lovely until you do bad by her at which point she will go full Fatality and rip out your spine. 

We go house hunting, find a place - nearer my work, smaller but not bad, and cheaper. Like, a couple of hundred quid a month cheaper. Sign contract same day, drop deposit, tell the new building management what changes we need done to the house by the time we are back from HK. Head to train station direct from signing contract. Go to HK. Disneyland! Good food! Shopping! 

Hong Kong was fun. Super tiring but fun. 

Back from HK 11pm one eve, wife has to go back to Hainan at 6am following morning, so I have 48 hours to pack everything, clean and move. 

Do that. Get everything to new place. End of the first night and I've got a moving van downstairs filled with our stuff and one of the community guards comes up and the LLM is on the phone to him - she says she had no idea we were moving and should have told told her first! He wants me to talk to the LLM before they'll let us through. In the end I open up the van and let him take a photo of all the boxes and items - when we moved in there was a full list of all items provided by the Landlady, so there's no way I could get away with nicking anything.

Next (and final) day head back to the apartment to clean it and grab the remainder of my stuff. Clean the house. Get an aunty in to give it a final once over. 

LLM and agent come over, house is absolutely spotless. LLM being super friendly to me. Wonder why but guess it's just about putting on a front and I don't care. Just want deposit back. 

We sort out money owed for October utilities (fuck all, that's fine) to be deducted from deposit. Ok, no worries.

Then LLM says...we also want another deduction from the deposit because "you left so abruptly and i gave you time to get your stuff, so really you owe me an extra month rent until i can find new tenants....". agent says it's standard if you leave short notice, but didn't seem to know it was LLM who kicked us out. She said she kept asking us to stay (which is kinda true - she did, after we had already found a place and signed).

According to her she never kicked us out, it's my wife who has a bad temper yada yada - doesn't realise I have screenshots of the convo and can read chinese, not just speak it. We have the timeline on her raising rent, strong arming new contract, kicking us out when we said we'll look at options after hols, and then her changing her mind and trying to get us to stick around. 

She gets pissy, claims we've misunderstood everything. She keeps trying to go through me and get me to bring the missus round, which I wasn't a fan of. Stick by the info i'd seen, and stick by missus obviously. My wife calls her and the LLM was doing everything to avoid her and talk to me, she rips LLM a new one. We decide we're getting nowhere and decide to kick them out. Wife says she'll sue (this not actually an empty threat, she's already sued one landlady in the past!). I tell them all to leave and get my stuff and head to the elevator. They keep trying not to go and mention i'm not gonna talk to someone who lies despite clear evidence to the contrary and someone who badmouths the missus. I say if they don't go I'll just get the community guards and police involved and hand over the convos and contracts directly to them to sort. 

Long-story short, suddenly LLM doesn't need a rent deduction. She transfers deposit (minus about 20 quid in leftover utility costs, which is no problem), I give back keys, and leave with the final bags. Got into my place with everything sorted 7pm last night. 

But...I have a new place, and it's nice, and LLM is a thing of the past. She's also down about 800 quid a month on a house she ain't gonna fill at that price. I'm now closer to work (can walk there in 15 minutes), in a nicer area and paying about 200 less per month. 

Back at work today. Fuuuuucking knackered. But...it all worked out in the end, I guess.

MyNameIsKrisG wrote:

For the love of God, somebody please buy this house. 4 bedroom detached house for sale in Kiveton Gardens, Sheffield, S26 (rightmove.co.uk)

Wookienopants wrote:

That kitchen is my wife's perfect kitchen. I'd love that house, would be perfect for us. Except for the fact that it's in Sheffield.

MyNameIsKrisG wrote:

We still can't get our heads around how her sister sees it as nothing more than a business transaction on an asset, and not the loss of the family home.