LANDLORD FROM HELL
THE BEGINNING
On July 17th 2022 it was my 30th birthday and my wife of 8 years left me and our then 6 yo son after finding another woman online. Myself and my son had to move in with my mother after receiving death threats from the neighbours and I was struggling to deal with my mental health problems because of everything I was having to deal with alone.
LIVING WITH MY MOTHER
At the time we just made do with what we had, me and my son were living in my mother's conservatory out of suitcases to begin with as her house was already full. We ended up moving into a cabin/shed on her back garden which was slightly better as we had our own little space but it still wasnt ideal as im sure you can imagine. I was being harrassed by my ex wife, dealing with my sons emotional state, financial issues, trying to find a new home and so much more to say the least but you don't need to hear about everything. A few months later we ended up finding a private rented house up for let that we knew was with a landlord known around the area for being notoriously awful but the council wasn't helping me and me and especially my son need our own home so we moved in.
THE NEW HOUSE
2 years from hell! We moved in towards the end of 2024 and it seemed okay upon first viewing, there were certain problems that needed sorting which the agent told us would be sorted before we moved in so we put down the deposit, paid 2 months rent up front and in total came to around 2500 lump sum to move in but it was better than living in my mums back garden or so I thought. After being there for a few months things hadn't been fixed and problems were just becoming worse especially over winter. We had rising damp, black mould, rotted wood, bad electricals and other stuff. After contacting the landlord countless times and nothing being done we had to contact environmental health because it was becoming worse and worse. They got the landlord to sort things out after months and months of waiting around and demands to the point they had to threaten them about being fined before they did things. Eventually when we left, the house was in a better way than when we first moved in, it was cleaner, in better condition after all the repairs and just all round a better property.
NOW...
My son is 9yo, in an amazing school and loves where we live. We live on a quiet estate in a bungalow with an amazing landlord and i couldnt be more thankful. So why am i asking for help? After my ex wife left me, she left me with thousands of pounds worth of debt in catalogues and credit cards, which I have a debt management plan for. I ended up having to sell my car in late 2022 to buy house essentials for me and my son, borrow 2500 off family members to pay for the initial housing costs and now the ex landlord have kept all my deposit and are trying to get more out of me and my family. I live month to month in my overdraft and I try to act like everything is alright in front of those around me, I still try to do nice things for my son and my family and friends but the truth is everyday is hard and I usually just struggle with things alone because I am too embarrassed and ashamed to ask for help but I can no longer do it without help. So here I am, how desperate I am and hoping that someone can help my family big or small.
If you have gotten to this part of the fundraiser then thankyou from the bottom of my heart you have no idea what it means to me, the weight it takes off my shoulders, the anxiety it relieves and the physical pain it stops. Thankyou so so much you are appreciated more than you will ever know.