So my housemate recently lost her job (unrelated to coronavirus). She can't afford to pay the rent after this month. Our landlord has said that she can pay half rent for the next 3 months (not gov advice as far as I know?) But then will have to pay all the additional back on the 4th month (we live in london and rent is 780 p/m so this is unrealistic for starters). He also wants to move someone else in and has someone ready despite the covid-19 situation.

This seems like scummy landlord behaviour. I'm pretty sure our deposits arent in a protection scheme (illegal) and the tiny extra room is being rented out unbeknownst to the council (also illegal). There were 3 months where our boiler was broken (no heating from November to january and intermittent hot water) and a repairman mentioned that the loft conversion to add an extra bedroom seemed not to be legal. My copy of the contract was also taken when I moved in (i signed 2 copies and the next day both had been taken). To add to matters, we live with the landlord's sister who is the property manager which makes bringing up issues uncomfortable and awkward. (Her bf also visits regularly despite the pandemic, the other day he came round after attending a party!)

I don't want to get on the landlord's bad side as I usually pay rent late by a day due to not getting paid until the day after rent is due, as well as the lack of deposit protection. But it seems really scummy to basically kick my friend out, and moving someone else in during a pandemic seems doubly scummy.

The question is, is there anything we can realistically do about this?