Rogue landlords, help needed...

silvercar

MoneySavingSpender wrote: »

I wonder, if you could get away with being friendly with them but asking for a detailed and descriptive invoice/receipt from the landlord directly for the new carpet costs and ensuring it CLEARLY STATES that it was required due to damaged from the LEAKING pipe from the appliance.

Once that occurs, that alongside your tenancy agreement where it should state or at least imply the LL is responsible for all the white appliances and their maintenance you have instant proof THEY were negligent and you might be able to threaten to report them to the council and other authorities that might apply,

That could all just be wishful thinking of course.

P.S. Was the carpet the only thing that was fixed from the leak? I'd be surprised if such an amount of water ONLY damaged a carpet, floor boards? skirting boards? wall plaster? wallpaper? furniture etc? All because of his negligence.

The LL would only be responsible for the supplied white goods. If the washing machine belonged to the tenant, the tenant is responsible for installation, maintennace, safe use and any damage caused by faults.

MoneySavingSpender

silvercar wrote: »

The LL would only be responsible for the supplied white goods. If the washing machine belonged to the tenant, the tenant is responsible for installation, maintennace, safe use and any damage caused by faults.

Good point :cool:

frenetic_2

as i said above, it wasn't the WM that was leaking, it was the pipes under the sink a yard away, thought one is of course connected to the WM

tbh, i am more confused now, people clealry have sharply differing views on where I stand

silvercar

If it wasn't the washing machine and it wasn't caused by the fitting of the washing machine then it is your landlord's responsibility.

If it was your machine or caused by the fitting of your machine ( and the WM waste pipe will be connected to the sink waste outlet in a lot of cases and the water in pipe will usually come off a feed from the nearest water supply) then it is your responsiblity.

The problem is that, in fitting the washing machine the joints on the other pipes could well have been loosened. It is going to be impossible to say whether the joints were loose as a result of wear and tear over time or as a result of having another machine attached nearby.

paintpot

If your deposit isn't protected then the landlord can just make a deduction at the end of tenancy which you will have to fight against. If the deposit is protected then they can't and the dispute will have to go through the process.

Either way, my understanding is that the burden of proof is on the landlord to prove that the damage was as a result of the tenant and/or as a result of their negligence. If they can't prove it, the landlord pays. The courts tend to side with tenants on such issues, from what you say it sounds like a grey area in the respect that his plumber says one thing, your plumber says another so if that is the case you are more likely to win your case.

You do not have to pay the invoice he presents you with but this may mean your landlord decides to evict you, or if you present your case to him in writing, ideally registered post (and document in there about the lack of the legally required annual gas certificate) he may decide to drop the issue. However from what you say of your current landlord, I can't imagine why you would want to stay there so I would suggest you start looking now irrespective of how this situation pans out. Find yourself a decent landlord. I know it might not be easy.

Bungarm2001

"Find yourself a decent landlord. I know it might not be easy."

I ABSOLUTELY resent that remark! There are plenty of decent LL's out there, just as I know there are decent tenants. Pity the two can't always meet up

MissMoneypenny

flower_72 wrote: »

Rogue landlords will get away with anything as long as moaning tenants will let them!

Moaning with good cause by the sound of it.

Many people are in genuine fear of being made homeless if they ask their LLs to comply with the law. That is why places like the CAB want the law changed. Any law change will not matter to the good LLs who are already keeping their properties in a good sate of repair and doing their annual corgi gas checks.

"Many private tenants are living in poor housing because they fear eviction too much to complain, says a Citizens Advice Bureau (CAB) report published today. Evidence shows that some landlords are using a clause in the law to evict tenants in retaliation to requests for repairs or complaints about their accommodation. Government figures indicate that nearly one million private rented homes fail the Government’s decent homes standard and therefore need repair.*

The CAB report, The tenant’s dilemma, highlights the dilemma faced by thousands of tenants - whether to put up with poor housing or exercise their rights to have repairs carried out and risk eviction as a result.

The practice, known as retaliatory eviction, is not recognised in current UK law although other countries have laws against it."



"The report includes a national survey of 129 Environmental Health officers and Tenancy Relations officers. Nearly half said that in their experience, people were often put off using the help they offer because they don’t want to put their tenancy in jeopardy. 98% of those questioned said they agreed that legislative changes concerning Section 21 needed to be made.

Research in the report also shows that in Australia, New Zealand and the majority of US states there are laws designed to prevent retaliatory eviction. In several European countries, the problem does not arise because tenants have greater security of tenure."

http://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/index/pressoffice/press_index/press_20070613.htm

paintpot

Bungarm, I am a landlord myself and my comment I think has been taken out of context. I was referring to the OP's comment that there aren't many places to rent where they live, hence it won't be easy. Not that finding a decent landlord won't be easy, they were two distinct points, hence two sentences. Sorry about that!

Bungarm2001 wrote: »

"Find yourself a decent landlord. I know it might not be easy."

I ABSOLUTELY resent that remark! There are plenty of decent LL's out there, just as I know there are decent tenants. Pity the two can't always meet up

MoneySavingSpender

frenetic wrote: »

as i said above, it wasn't the WM that was leaking, it was the pipes under the sink a yard away, thought one is of course connected to the WM

tbh, i am more confused now, people clearly have sharply differing views on where I stand

If the washing machine was connected at a point where there was no leakage then whomever provided/connected/maintains the washing machine seems to be almost irrelevant as the water pipe/tube connecting to it comes under the purview of the landlord.

If that is accurate and is the case, you need to make him see that otherwise it is just theft and, speaking as landlord here, I wouldn't blame you on reneging on your last month's rent because of it really.

sooz

Quite aside from the pipe/washing machine question, how old was the carpet that this new one is replacing?

Don't forget that he cannot charge you for betterment, so if he's replacing a 10 year old carpet with a new one & trying to charge you for it, you can tell him where to put his bill