Can I get out of my tenancy agreement?

Miss_Ratty

Basically, to cut a long story short, my flatmate and I have been renting from a letting agents, and stupidly renewed our contract in May (until May 2009). Basically, we haven't had any hot water at the property for 13 months, and when it came to renewal time, we were assured the issue would be resolved. It hasn't. I've written to Watchdog, the Ferret, CAB, etc etc, and to the letting agents, to complain. I've basically had a boob-full of them, and want to get out. We've received a bill for £1,800 for a quarter of electricity (this is due to the problem with the boiler), and we are still getting nowhere with the agents. Surely they have breached thier own contract by refusing to sort the problem? We have done everything by the book, and are just at the end of our tethers. I'd love to get shot of the place, and make them pay for the high energy bill, and a bit of compensation would not go amiss either! The delightful lady who is the branch manager even said "well, you have a gym on site with showers, you can just use them!".

Aargh!!!!

ClareEmily

That is appalling, no hot water for 13 months.:mad:

This is what our letting agents say on their web site, have a look at the small print on the original contract they gave you.

Maintenance and repairsYou must contact us immediately in respect of any maintenance problem. The landlord is responsible for the fabric and services of the building, and on occasions any fixtures and fittings such as kitchen appliances; except in the instance whereby the damage or fault has arisen due to neglect or misuse. Expenses incurred without prior approval may not be refunded.
We have contractors who respond quickly to any reported problems subject to the necessary authority from the landlord. You will appreciate that we are the custodians of the landlord’s money and, as such, there are occasions when we need to revert to the landlord for their specific instructions. If the property has gas an annual safety check is required by law. You will be required to allow our appointed engineer reasonable access.
End of tenancyYour tenancy does not expire until the end of your fixed agreement term. When you wish to vacate the property at the end of your term you must give at least one month’s notice in writing.
If, for whatever reason, you need to vacate the property during a fixed term we will endeavour to re-let the property on your behalf, thereby releasing you from your ongoing liability, subject to the landlord’s approval. There is an early release administration fee to offset some of the additional costs incurred.
For periodic tenancies you are required to give at least one months notice in writing from your “rent due date”.

Miss_Ratty

It does state on the tenancy agreement that they will ensure everything is in good working order, which clearly they have not. We have records of all calls logged with them (even asked for a print out of our notes, which states the problem was first notified to the on the 17th May 2007, and rougly two calls a week made to try and get a resolution.)

Part of me just thinks, get out, and get out quick, forget about the bill and the compensation, but I really don't think the situation is acceptable. Surely if they have refused to sort the problem, and have charged us full rent for the duration (in fact - increased it by £30 a month!) then they have essentially voided their own contract?

ruggedtoast

Apparently the council housing office also cover enforcement for private landlords whos properties are unfit for habitation. Give them a call, or try shelter.

Voyager2002

I doubt if you would get your deposit back, but you could just leave. In the event that the landlord or agent sought damages from you, you would have an adequate defence since they have failed to maintain the property, ie the hot water, and so are already in breach of the contract.

Miss_Ratty

The council rang them and said they were going to register a complaint against them, and the letting agents just told the bloke they were getting it sorted. He called back and said "they said they will sort it" and this has been reported to the council 5 times now - with each reponse the same - it's like swimming in circles!

pinkshoes

Miss_Ratty, phone a couple of plumbers, get them to come and give you a free quote for how much it's going to cost to fix the problem.

THEN, write to the letting agent (recorded delivery), and give them 5 days to get the hot water fixed, otherwise you will be using the cheapest of the two quotes you obtained to get the system fixed, and deducting it from your rent.

Incisor

pinkshoes wrote: »

Miss_Ratty, phone a couple of plumbers, get them to come and give you a free quote for how much it's going to cost to fix the problem.

THEN, write to the letting agent (recorded delivery), and give them 5 days to get the hot water fixed, otherwise you will be using the cheapest of the two quotes you obtained to get the system fixed, and deducting it from your rent.

Unless there is good legal advice supporting this action, really, I wouldn't. You are working on the Landlord's property without permission, you become liable for the quality of the work and may be chased forever after, even after the letting is over.

The only way to deal with it, I would think is to give the Letting Agent notice to get it fixed within a 'reasonable time'. 4 to 6 weeks sounds right to me depending on complexity of the work. Tell them they are in breach of contract and that you will consider them to have rescinded the contract if the fix is not done within the time. If there are promises, don't move from that position until you have it in writing, but do consider it rescinded if any agreed deadline is breached, and make arrangements to move out, regardless of contract after that date. Requires nerves of steel, but it's the only way of dealing with the problem. Drop a copy of the correspondence to the Landlord - and take care to put enough facts in there that the Landlord is briefed. The LA may be keeping the LL in the dark.

real1314

If the OP has reported the problem previously, then I'd suggest that 4-6 weeks is too generous. They'd had chance to arrange workmen and have failed to do so.
I'd collate a record of all previous contacts, including those from the council, and if they go back further than 6 weeks, then I'd go for 7 days.

I would actually think about stating that if the work is not done I'd be stopping the rent payment (bar £1 per week) to pay the cost of the work, and then re-instating the payment once the cost has been covered. Unless the Op wants to leave in which case I'd go for giving 14 days to correct, otherwise I would be considering the contract as fundametally breached and would be vacating to an adequately serviced property and would expect a full refund of deposit within a further 14 days.

nb, OP when did you first start renting this place?

pinkshoes

Incisor wrote: »

Unless there is good legal advice supporting this action, really, I wouldn't. You are working on the Landlord's property without permission, you become liable for the quality of the work and may be chased forever after, even after the letting is over.

The only way to deal with it, I would think is to give the Letting Agent notice to get it fixed within a 'reasonable time'. 4 to 6 weeks sounds right to me depending on complexity of the work. Tell them they are in breach of contract and that you will consider them to have rescinded the contract if the fix is not done within the time. If there are promises, don't move from that position until you have it in writing, but do consider it rescinded if any agreed deadline is breached, and make arrangements to move out, regardless of contract after that date. Requires nerves of steel, but it's the only way of dealing with the problem. Drop a copy of the correspondence to the Landlord - and take care to put enough facts in there that the Landlord is briefed. The LA may be keeping the LL in the dark.

I'd say 14 months is plenty of time already!

Ok, perhaps 5 days is a little short, but no more than a week for them at least get someone round with the plan for them to come and fix it a few days later.

Make sure it's detailed in the letter how long you've been without hot water.

poppysarah

Ring shelter. Ring the council's private rented sector.

I can not believe anyone would be stupid enough to put up with no hot water for that long. Let alone sign a further agreement.

You need to have rung shelter for advice by lunchtime tomorrow and also have spoken to the council for their advice and help.

You could try the local paper for getting publicity to speed things up.