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Witholding rent due to bad repairs
natjohnson
Posts: 20 Forumite
Hi all,
I'm not sure if anyone can help but I thought I would try!
I'm currently renting a property for the 1st time, I signed the contract and got the keys on the 17th December 09 but when I went to look I noticed the boiler had broke. I contacted the letting agents straight away and was told that they would fix it before the 23rd December at the latest. That was fine with me as there was no way I could move out of my old property and hire a van until after Xmas anyway. I kept visiting the property when I could over Xmas and kept ringing and complaining as the boiler was not getting fixed and kept being fobbed off with excuse after excuse. On the 31st December I went up and still had a broken boiler. I rang as soon as the offices opened after the New Year and was told that it had been fixed on the 29th and had been left on. I explained that the boiler was off at the wall, and it still didn't work when I went round. I went round again a few times between the 31st of December and the 7th of Jan and nothing had been done. After much complaining to the people who are letting the property and the people who are supposed to be dealing with the repairs etc, a plumber was sent out on the 8th Jan, he said the pipes had frozen but the boiler worked fine. To me this isn't possible, there had been no water pressure on the boiler when I've been to the property and surely if there is no water pressure and the pipes are frozen, the boiler cannot work? Anyway...I've got a call this morning saying it's been fixed so i'm going to check soon and see whether it really is working.
As i've mentioned, I signed the contract on the 17th December and it's now the 12th of January. I have not taken my direct debit paper to my bank to set up my rent account as I do not feel that I should have to pay the rent for this month. When I signed the contract I paid a months rent up front to cover me through till 17th Jan. Am I able to withold this months rent as they took nearly a month to fix a boiler, as they have my 1st months rent which I paid for nothing! I've tried asking for the landlords phone number so I can explain to him he either changes the contract date to the 12th Jan or I withold Jan to Feb rent but again I am getting fobbed off and I cannot get hold of the landlord. Can I do anything??
Sorry it's so long!
Nat
I'm not sure if anyone can help but I thought I would try!
I'm currently renting a property for the 1st time, I signed the contract and got the keys on the 17th December 09 but when I went to look I noticed the boiler had broke. I contacted the letting agents straight away and was told that they would fix it before the 23rd December at the latest. That was fine with me as there was no way I could move out of my old property and hire a van until after Xmas anyway. I kept visiting the property when I could over Xmas and kept ringing and complaining as the boiler was not getting fixed and kept being fobbed off with excuse after excuse. On the 31st December I went up and still had a broken boiler. I rang as soon as the offices opened after the New Year and was told that it had been fixed on the 29th and had been left on. I explained that the boiler was off at the wall, and it still didn't work when I went round. I went round again a few times between the 31st of December and the 7th of Jan and nothing had been done. After much complaining to the people who are letting the property and the people who are supposed to be dealing with the repairs etc, a plumber was sent out on the 8th Jan, he said the pipes had frozen but the boiler worked fine. To me this isn't possible, there had been no water pressure on the boiler when I've been to the property and surely if there is no water pressure and the pipes are frozen, the boiler cannot work? Anyway...I've got a call this morning saying it's been fixed so i'm going to check soon and see whether it really is working.
As i've mentioned, I signed the contract on the 17th December and it's now the 12th of January. I have not taken my direct debit paper to my bank to set up my rent account as I do not feel that I should have to pay the rent for this month. When I signed the contract I paid a months rent up front to cover me through till 17th Jan. Am I able to withold this months rent as they took nearly a month to fix a boiler, as they have my 1st months rent which I paid for nothing! I've tried asking for the landlords phone number so I can explain to him he either changes the contract date to the 12th Jan or I withold Jan to Feb rent but again I am getting fobbed off and I cannot get hold of the landlord. Can I do anything??
Sorry it's so long!
Nat
0
Comments
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No, a tenant is not entitled to breach their tenancy agreement by witholding rent even if the landlord has not met their obligations. Ask for conpensation for the disruption in the form of a rent refund.
If you search this forum using the keywords 'boiler' or 'heating' you will unearth excellent info on how to deal with this as its a common topic at the moment.
You are entitled to the landlords address from the agent within 21 days of a written request.
Have a look at Shelter's website which will tell you how to report repairs (which should be done in writing and keep copies), get them done, etc.0 -
Under law you cannot withold rent for slow repairs. You can force repairs under the procedure outlined in Lee Parker vs Izzet 1971 (the shelter website has a full explanation under 'repairs in private rented accomodation) or through getting the council environmental health unit to issue a repairing order (which they will do for boilers).
If you can prove a quantifiable loss as a result of your situation you could sue for compensation in the small claims court but I don't see that being a practical avenue either.
So you will just have to live with it if the LL won't make a goodwill gesture. However, if the repair has not been done, come back here and we will specifically guide you on how to enforce it. If the landlord continues not to repair then the can get into trouble under Section 11 of the Landlord and Tenants Act.0 -
Surely the landlord has breached his agreement as it states in the contract that the landlord has to repair boilers ASAP, a month down the line isn't that?
Many thanks for the keywords, I shall be having a good look!
I have the landlords address but I would prefer his phone number as it's easier to sort out disputes over the phone.0 -
No - it's easier to rectify faults over the phone where there is a good relationship.I have the landlords address but I would prefer his phone number as it's easier to sort out disputes over the phone.
Disputes (and this now falls into that catagory) should always be dealt with in writing. Keep copies.0 -
Is the landlord likely to say a month is 'reasonable time' to fix the boiler? I don't want get off on the wrong foot, I haven't even moved in yet. I shall write and explain that, if I cannot withold rent then rent reduction would be appropriate. Is there any way to alter the date on the contract to change it to the day the boiler is fixed and the property is fit to move into? I know they did it before I signed the contract as I was supposed to have the keys on the 14th and then the Letting Agents called and rearranged, the contract paper says 14th and it's been crossed out and the 17th was written.0
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natjohnson wrote: »Surely the landlord has breached his agreement as it states in the contract that the landlord has to repair boilers ASAP, a month down the line isn't that?
I have the landlords address but I would prefer his phone number as it's easier to sort out disputes over the phone.
Clearly it isn't or you wouldn't have taken a month to get the boiler repaired!
The correct procedure is to report all emergencies verbally, and then follow up with a recorded delivery letter. All non-emergency repairs should be reported in writing, again by recorded delivery. Declutterbug-in-progress.⭐️⭐️⭐️ ⭐️⭐️0 -
I reported the boiler broken on Monday the 21st (The offices were obviously closed over the weekend when I'd tried to ring) and I was told that the boiler would be fixed for the 23rd at the latest.0
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natjohnson wrote: »I reported the boiler broken on Monday the 21st (The offices were obviously closed over the weekend when I'd tried to ring) and I was told that the boiler would be fixed for the 23rd at the latest.
Obviously it seemed to be their intention to fix things asap but if there are factors outside of their control, such as the need to order parts, the availability of plumbers at peak times and so forth, then its a shame that they didn't achieve their deadline.
You said before they'd claim to have fixed it today so fingers crossed on this, plus your request that they compensate you for the disruption.0 -
Is the landlord likely to say a month is 'reasonable time' to fix the boiler?
He will of course say this! But it's pushing it. Depends on the specific problem.
Besides, it's hard to punish a landlord retroactively, these things need to be dealt with at the time.0 -
I've just come back from the property and the heating is now working so fingers crossed it's all sorted now.
I've got a funny feeling that the landlord will reply that what with Xmas and New year, and they did need to order parts as the old ones have been left on my windowsill, that a month is reasonable to fix a boiler and make me still have to pay rent for something I couldn't use! It just seems so unfair that I still have to pay my rent when it was an emergency problem and because they took so long in fixing it, the pipes froze over and I had to wait for them to thaw.
I'm going to write and ask for a full or part refund on the months rent that I paid up front0
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