I’ve been left thoroughly amused.
Now, you may think being threatened isn’t a laughing matter, and Normally I’d agree with you, but I’ve just read a tale of a blubbering idiot that’s hilarious.
I’ve read a few different reports covering the same story, and they’ve all been written with the same dull edge, with complete disregard to the comic value. Either my sense of humour is totally off the mark (unlikely) or those reporters are just straight up ‘booshy’ (Urban Dictionary ‘word of the day’). So I’ve decided to take matters into my own hands…
Landlord threatens tenant
Mark Fortune, 42, a very successfully landlord in Edinburgh, lost his temper after his tenants fixed a broken lock and a shower, and then asked him to pay the £160 repair bill.
Mark’s natural instinct lead him to shout and swear, threatening to ‘kick’ one of the tenants. Not punch, but kick.
He then heightened the level of his threat by saying, “You go and find out who my friends are, OK? Three of them have just been locked up for shooting ‘somebody’.”
Yes, this is coming from, allegedly, a 42 year old man.
How strange. You’re all thinking what I’m thinking, right? Exactly how stupid are his friends? Surely only one of them needed to shoot, why three?
Anyways, I digress, I’m no hitman.
I’m not disputing Mark’s incentive for getting aggravated. I can definitely see where he’s coming from. However, let’s be adults.
Regardless, I thought the landlord’s antics were amusing. Perhaps the take-away from this story is to keep cool, refrain from taking the law into your own hands and acting like a premature asshole (no matter how frustrating times get).
As a result of Mark’s actions, he was taken to a small claims court, where justice was served. He was fined £650 for disturbing the peace, making threats, and deceitfully impersonating a baby.
How to report a threatening landlord
Being threatened by your landlord is no different than being threatened by a random Joe. There is no special routes or governing bodies for tenants to go through. If your landlord is making genuine threats to the safety of your well-being, you should file a complaint with the police.
If you want to take matters further, you can take it to a small claims court. For free legal advice, I would talk to Citizens Advice.
Tenant’s Right To Live In Quiet Enjoyment
I’d just like to also mention that tenants have a legal right to live in quiet enjoyment. That means landlords are NOT allowed to harass their tenants.
Out of curiosity, has anyone here been threatened before, either by tenant or landlord? Tell me your story. If there’s no reason to laugh, I won’t, I promise…
Disclaimer: I'm just a landlord blogger; I'm 100% not qualified to give legal or financial advice. I'm a doofus. Any information I share is my unqualified opinion, and should never be construed as professional legal or financial advice. You should definitely get advice from a qualified professional for any legal or financial matters. For more information, please read my full disclaimer.
Well if his friends have been locked up - by which I assume he means they are in prison, rather than stuck inside a house because they have mislaid their front door keys - then they are not going to be much of a threat to the tenants.