deja vu x two.

It feels sort of familiar, this feeling I have. The looking at my cupboards and thinking " won't need to buy any more of that til we are in the new house" hearing H say " I guess we need to start eating what we have here huh? Use some of these supplies" Looking at all our stuff and thinking about boxes and such like ( the great thing about having hated this house and never feeling at home is that I haven't unpacked much at all, everything is still boxed up and stored in the hokey flat.
I am looking at all the furniture and wondering what we can dump before we move ( took a load to the tip this very morning!)
I am, despite stupid and unhelpful landlady, incredibly happy when I think of this move. I have done some homework ( even more, already knew what I needed to know but found some GREAT stuff that I can use) Things are in our favour. Most definitely.


For instance

Maintenance and repairs - under the Act, you are obliged to maintain the structure and exterior of your property, maintain all water supplies and sanitary and drainage installations and ensure that all sinks, baths, showers, toilets etc. are fit to use. You must also provide and maintain adequate lighting, heating and ventilation and treat any incidences of damp

You think? What do you reckon she should have done about the pouring water in the front room 4 months ago when I wrote and asked her ( and have copies of the letter to prove that) What about the fact that WE had to replace the sink because it was so cracked and filthy I couldn't use it? What about the fact that when we empty our kitchen sink or washing machine the water runs out into the stream outside....you think THAT is legal?

How about


Safety of any gas and electrical appliances - The Gas Safety (Installation and Use) Regulations 1994 stipulate that you must maintain all gas appliances and arrange and pay for an annual service/safety check by a CORGI (Council for Registered Gas Installers) approved engineer. You must give the tenant(s) a copy of the safety certificate.

Nope, hasn't happened, have no certificate.

Fire safety of the furnishings and building - You must also ensure that any electrical appliances you supply are safe to use

Lights in the kitchen turn themselves on and off ALL ON THEIR OWN!

My favourite though.......

If your landlord or agent has not protected your deposit, they will be ordered to repay three times the amount of the deposit to you

And this bit is really great

Tenancies from before 6 April 2007
This only applies to tenancies that are created from 6 April 2007. Tenancies started before this date are not affected.
However, if your have been a tenant for some time and then sign a new assured shorthold tenancy agreement after 6 April 2007 for the property you are living in, you will be covered by Tenancy Deposit Protection.

BINGO! This is why she said " you need to do your homework girlie ( girlie??!) I don't need to invest your deposit because you gave me that money before the law came out" Well lady, looks like YOU should have done YOUR homework because ( can you believe this?) she has so many properties, a few tenants ( though fewer that ever before) and she runs an estate agency dealing with rental properties and SHE didn't know this??? Me thinks a rude awakening is coming her way.

So yes, I think I am well within my rights to feel a little sure of myself.
The knowledge that I do not have to lift a finger to clean this place also fills me with much happiness. In fact......everywhere I look read that I should ensure that the property is left in the same condition that it was let to us. Imagine.
How would I find 3 sacks of rubble to dump on the hall carpet? Don't even think about passing enough poop to smear all over the bathroom, where would I get a thick film of black fur for the shower? Not enough time to make 3 inches of fat and grease to smear on the stove. Darn it, hope she won't be too upset that the house won't be in the same condition.

Today has been a pretty good day. The eating well has been a bit half hearted, have stuck with it but not feeling as determined and forward thinking as I could be, my sister in law emailed me a ton of pictures taken while we were there. I was so sure I avoided all cameras. Oh dear.....still, great for the 'before' shots if I ever get to a place where there are some 'after' ones.
I hate seeing that I went so far past just a chubby thing or overweight, darn it.....getting thin from a proper fat person is SO hard and will take SO long! Oh well, been there and done that and can do it again.
Church tomorrow, I hope we all wake up, we're still all over the place, waking up late, wanting a nap half way through the day, staying up late. Back to school on monday, Eli in his uniform. It's been 5 weeks since they were at school, that's a long time. They seem a bit nervous but that's fine, we'll take them anyway and tell them how lucky they are whilst trying not to skip until they are out of view! I shall take pictures of my littlest boy in his big classroom. New beginnings, marvellous.