Advice needed on poorly maintained rented house

spinningsheep · 13 January 2008 at 9:28PM

Hi, I need some on advice from those in the know please, both tenants and LL alike! Me and my housemate are renting a 2 bed mid terrace in Stoke on trent, for which we pay £360 PCM. The landlady is a friend of ours. When we originally moved in, the house was said to be refurbished. 18 months on, we have realised that she LITERALLY papered over the cracks. There are so many problems with the house and she isn't willing to rectify any of them, obviously with her being a friend we are in an awkward position. The house was freshly decorated with new carpets, we now can see that there was only one coat of paint on the walls etc and the ceiling is papered,along with the bathroom walls,all of which is peeling or literally hanging off. The house is draughty, and gettting worse, to the extent that our average gas bill is £110 per month! The problems are:

Damp walls and damp floor (no dampcourse)
Plaster coming off the wall in the kitchen through to the bricks
A HOLE in the wall in the kitchen that you can see daylight through
The understairs cupboard door has come off its hinges
Rotton window frames
A crack in the wall in the airing cupboard that you can get your hand in!
A whistling draught coming down the flue for the boiler, the hole around it is not filled.

When we reported the cracks etc to her, she agreed to sort it. 48 hours later she arrived, with no workman or anything, but with a pot of filler and a trowel for us to use! We couldnt believe it.

We have now found another house to rent, and if we get it, it would come available in Feb, but our current tenancy doesnt expire until March. What would you say is the best course of action to try and end the tenancy early without losing our deposit given the state of the house? Relatives have said I should speak to environmental health about the house,but I dont know if that might be a bit melodrmatic!

We have been good tenants I believe, we have kept the house clean and tidy,had the carpets cleaned professionally and removed a van load of old rubbish furniture that she and we didnt want, at our expense.
Any advice appreciated.

mrwibble · 13 January 2008 at 10:01PM

If you have been in 18 mths its unlikely you are still on a fixed term contract - usually 6 months but 12 months is possible. If you want to keep a friend just give notice and move - otherwise you will get into an argument - not much of a friend if she isn't willing to rectify glaring problems.

I would just move - it is isn't worth the hassle and angst - just shows you why you shouldn't have business dealings with friends - cars have problems, rented flats have problems, businesses go bust, money lent doesn't get repaid !

spinningsheep · 13 January 2008 at 10:35PM

We resigned in Sept on a 6 months lease, BEFORE the problems reared their ugly heads

Lavendyr · 13 January 2008 at 10:35PM

Hello

We were able to leave our last tenancy a month early by agreement with the landlord who wanted to move back in, while we had found a house we wanted to move into which was available a month before our agreement officially expired. I would talk to the landlord and see if you can reach a compromise.

Alternatively, can you afford to take on the new place before you leave the old one? We actually took on the agreement for our current tenancy two weeks before ending the tenancy on our old house, which meant that we were paying rent on two places but also made the move much less stressed for us as we had two full weeks to shift our stuff over.

It is not worth making your lives miserable at the end of the day, go for what makes you happiest if you can afford to do so.

lynzpower · 13 January 2008 at 10:51PM

I would recommend speaking to the EHO anonymously in the first instance.

If they find the house not fit for habitation, ( theres a newer term now, i forget the name of it) then they can get your current LL to put you up in a hotel or alternative accomodation, up until the end of your tenancy, or up until the house is refurbished and the building issues dealt with.

It sounds like the property has subsidence. She probably knew about the work when she bought it and cant be bothered, or more likely cant afford to do the correct work.

the problem is that subsidence ITSELF doesnt make a place uninhabitable.the rotten window frames ( i had these in my last place) unless they fail to be wind & watertight, they dont need to be replaced.

I would negotiate with her, and just say, that things could get more expensive for her if you stay. the problem with that is that she might be in a position where she cant afford for you to leave...

Advice needed on poorly maintained rented house

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