Advice on time taken to get work done by LL

talulahbeige_2

Hi
I could do with a bit of advice please.
I rent a house via a letting agent.
5 weeks ago I reported a leaky tap and a toilet that needs flushing at least twice before it is empty.
The handyman came out 4 weeks ago today and said the loo needed replacing as it was a bad design and would always be a problem and that the tap needed changing as you can't access the washer in it.

2 weeks passed and I hadn't heard anything so i contacted them to see what was happening.
They eventually told me that the LL was going to replace the toilet and the tap using their own plumber. The next day I was told that the LA handyman was also going to quote for the job.

It is now 4 weeks since the handyman first called and I havent got a clue what is happening, I contacted them yesterday to chase it and havent had a response yet.

Am I being unreasonbale thinking that 4 weeks is too long a gap before the work is done? They havent even agreed a date to do the work yet.
What should i do now?

It is costing me, via my water bill, every day. The taps loose around 2 pints of water in a 24hr period so it all adds up. My water bill for the last quarter was 1/3rd more than it was compared to my old house with the same appliances and amount of people living in it.

Thanks for any helpful advice

poppysarah

Are you on a water meter?
Tell the landlord you want compensation for the water dripping that you're paying for.

You can check with CAB about repairs and how you can speed things up.

Don't ring LL - always put it in writing from now on. And keep a copy.

napoleon

Stopping rent payments should do the trick

tbs624

Okay- a LL has specific responsibilities on repairs under the Landlord & Tenant Act 1985 S11(b) which says that /she is obliged:

“to keep in repair and proper working order the installations in the dwelling for the supply of water, gas, electricity and for sanitation (including basins, sinks, baths and sanitary conveniences)”

Replacing a toilet & taps is a straightforward job and is not a particularly time-consuming or expensive one.

The lav itself may technically be okay because although you need to flush twice, it sounds as though it does still work Are you sure that it’s not one of the water saving “dual-flush” designs? Some of the cheaper ones were a poor design and this may have been what the plumber was commenting on originally.

However, the LL should sort the taps out and if he had in fact agreed to replace the lav as well , you obviously need to write to chase him up about both. Keep it friendly and polite -just mention the timescales involved so far and ask for a firm date for the work to be carried out . Suggests some dates and times in the next 7- 10 days when you would be available to allow access to the property. You have to allow a "reasonable " period of time for a LL to deal with these things: it's open to debate what actually constitutes "reasonable" but for 4 weeks to have passed with no further action is more than long enough IMO. Part of the trouble can be that the LL doesn't want to pay what the LA charges for work done by their "in house" handyman because, as with every other area of lettings, the LAs like to slap extra on that too.


Remind him that your water bills are going to be higher than they would otherwise be and say that you’d welcome a contribution from him towards those costs which have increased because of the delay.

Keep copies of all letters relating to repairs issues during your tenancy - hand deliver or send rec delivery if you think you may get no response so that you can at least show that the letter was received. Send the letter to the LA, with a copy direct to the LL and be prepared for them both to blame one another for the delay. If you don't hear anything after five days, just give the LA a quick call or email (keep notes on who you speak to and what is said) and say that you are ringing to follow up your letter.