help regarding rented house

maggie5

im needing a bit of advice, i rented a property in feb this year (a years lease) through a agency but im still waiting for repairs to be done(the sink in the bathroom has no hot water in it ever and the grill on my oven does not work).
the agency gave me the landlords number to try and get hold of him myself (as they werent habing much luck) but he isnt replyinjg or even answering me at all
do i have any right to withhold my rent or is there anything else i can do, i personaly think its becoming a joke that i have been waiting since feb.
also whos responsibility is it excactly, i thought it would be the agencys but there telling me its the owners.

any help would be appricated

thank you

pinklady**

Hi, I think it depends on what kind of service the LL had taken out. If they have appointed the agent to do the full management or if they have chosen to cover that themselves in which case it is down to them to sort it out and I belive it has to be done withthin a certain time frame of your reporting it to them. As for withholding rent I would check with your agent first as you do not want to be making a bad name for yourself for future references and checks.

maggie5

pinklady** wrote: »

Hi, I think it depends on what kind of service the LL had taken out. If they have appointed the agent to do the full management or if they have chosen to cover that themselves in which case it is down to them to sort it out and I belive it has to be done withthin a certain time frame of your reporting it to them. As for withholding rent I would check with your agent first as you do not want to be making a bad name for yourself for future references and checks.

thanks for the reply, i think i went wrong by not putting it into writing though however i still have the texts that the LA sent me regarding the repairs.
i dont really want to with-hold the rent unless its a last option and i do feel a bit sorry for the LA cause they said that they are trying to get hold of him but he fobbs them off with different excuses etc.
do you know if i could download a template letter as to which i could send them, and do i send it to the owner of the LA?

thanks again

pinklady**

I think a verbal agreement is just as strong as a written one as I have just given notice to my tennants and the estate agent contaed them with a verbal notice before writing to them and told me that was still valid.
I would strongly advise against holding payment back as this will just lead to more problems for you in future ( check with the agent if they say it is permitted then go for it sounds like landlord needs a wake up call )
I would deal with the Estate agent as it is not really your responsibilty to chase the landlord so put something in writing to them it can't do any harm and keep on top of them until they get it sorted for you.
Hope it works out !!

MoneySavingSpender

Try and get, or at least from now obtain, all letters showing them promising the work and your responses to them, all in writing.

Check out https://www.shelter.org.uk and see what that advises.

You need to mention to the LA and LL that by advertising and letting to you a property without functioning utilities as promised they are probably breaking the tenancy act and probably advertising laws and taking weeks to fix it means you're entitled to reduced rent. They won't agree to this of course so you should research into how you could claim a partial rent refund via small claims court before mentioning this, knowledge is power etc.

maggie5

thank you for all the replys

pinklady - i also thought that a verbal argreement would have been just as strong as a written one (i have found that it is but only if it is benifiting the LL/LA) but now im starting to think i was a bit niave.

money saving spender - i will be starting to write the letters now and keeping copies of them, as well as the text messages, i am also going to be phoning a housing advice line tommorrow to see what advice they can give.
i had also thought about the fact that they were breeching there tenancy agreement (as it does state that they will keep the house in good working order etc) and what i could do about it.....after all if it was the other way round im sure they would be straight on top of me to make sure i kept my side of the bargin.

also does anyone know if the guttering is my responsibility or theirs? i ask because the guttering at the top of the house is so bad (it looks like theres football pitchs up there) and with the bad weather coming in its going to be causeing problems surely. i have already started to get damp patchs on the celings of my bedrooms :embarasse

again thanks for the help so far

paintpot

Hi there

EDIT: I have just noticed from your profile that you are in Belfast. My advice regarding the laws may not be applicable in Ireland - sorry!

I am guessing that the agent is under a full management contract ie are responsible for sorting maintenance issues on behalf of the landlord but the agent may have retrictions placed on them by the landlord in terms of what they can and can't authorise without his permission.

In answer to your questions, view the following link:

http://www.letlink.co.uk/letting-factsheets/factsheets/factsheet-11---landlords-repairing-obligations.html

I would say that your landlord is in breach of their reparing obligations under s11 of the LTA 1985 at least in respect of the basin which you have reported. Cookers are not a necessity but if a landlord provides one they are legally bound to repair it, is it mentioned in your inventory? You have waited long enough now. The gutterings which you have yet to report will also fall into the S11 category. Report it now and that you are seeing damp patches on the ceiling. Failure on the part of the tenant to report issues and consequential damage as a result of a failure to report can result in deductions from the deposit etc.

I would write to the agent AND to the landlord. (Do you have landlord's address, if you do not have it you have a legal right to obtain it by making a request to the agent in writing, they have 21 days to respond or they are committing a criminal offence). Keep a copy of the correspondence and certificate of posting.

I would give them 14 days to deal with the sink and the grill and if they fail to respond you will obtain 3 quotes for the work, accept the cheapest and have the work attended to yourself, deducting the cost from your rent. Highlight the guttering issue aswell and ask for them to confirm when this is going to be attended to.

It isn't an ideal situation but mention the attempts you have made previously to have these issues attended to since you moved in.

I think you have been more than patient. If the agent is on a full management contract then I think it wrong of them to ask you to liaise with the landlord, that is their job and they should be writing to the landlord to advise them of their legal responsibilities.

If you want to draft a letter and post back then I am sure you will receive replies.

If your landlord as is incompetent as he sounds, has your deposit been protected in a goverment scheme and do you have a gas safety certificate on any gas appliances?

I hope this helps
All the best.

tbs624

pinklady** wrote: »

I think a verbal agreement is just as strong as a written one as I have just given notice to my tennants and the estate agent contaed them with a verbal notice before writing to them and told me that was still valid.

Please be aware that many EAs/LAs knowledge of even very basic LL & T law is poor. If you are talking about notice to regain possession, then your Agent is wrong: for it to be valid it must be in writing and the date runs from that written notice only..

pinklady** wrote: »

I would strongly advise against holding payment back as this will just lead to more problems for you in future ( check with the agent if they say it is permitted then go for it sounds like landlord needs a wake up call )

The LA/EA acts for the LL not for the Tenant - you should not, as a tenant, seek legal advice from an EA/LA who is (a) unlikely to be legally qualified and (b) acts for the other party.

No tenant should ever seek to withhold their rent without getting independent legal advice on their specific circumstances first, from a CAB LL& T adviser, a Council Tenancy Relations Officer or community lawyer/law centre.

tbs624

The Private Tenancies (Northern Ireland) Order 2006 (No. 1459 (N.I. 10 )) came into effect last year and gives you the facts you need to follow this one up:

S7- Landlord's duties to repair

(1) The landlord under a private tenancy–

(a)shall keep in repair the structure and exterior of the dwelling-house comprised in that tenancy;

(b)shall, subject to Article 8, keep in repair the interior of the dwelling-house;

(c)shall keep in repair and in proper working order–

(i)the installations in the dwelling-house for the supply and use of water, gas and electricity and for sanitation (including basins, sinks, baths and sanitary conveniences),

(ii)the installations in the dwelling-house for space heating or heating water,

(iii)any appliances for making use of the supply of water, gas or electricity which the landlord has provided under the terms of the tenancy, and

(iv)any fixtures, fittings or furnishings which the landlord has provided under the terms of the tenancy.

(2) The duty imposed by paragraph (1)(a) includes a duty to keep exterior paintwork in reasonable order.

(3) In this Article “structure and exterior” includes drains, gutters and external pipes.

S10 - General qualifications on landlord's duties

The duties imposed on the landlord by Articles 7 and 9 do not require the landlord-

(a)to carry out works or repairs for which the tenant is liable by virtue of Article 8;

(b)to keep in repair or maintain anything–

(i)which was not constructed or provided by the landlord or any person from whom he derives title, or
(ii)which the tenant is entitled to remove from the dwelling-house;

(c)to rebuild or re-instate the dwelling-house in the case of destruction or damage by fire, or by tempest, flood or other inevitable accident.

S11 - Standard of repair and knowledge of disrepair

(1) In determining the standard of repair required by virtue of Articles 7 to 9, regard is to be had to the age, character and prospective life of the premises.

(2)A landlord is not under a duty to carry out works by virtue of Articles 7 and 9 unless he has actual knowledge (whether because of notice given by the tenant or otherwise) of the need for those works.

(my own highlighting)

You could maybe write recorded delivery to the agent, with a copy to the LL, and keeping another for your records. Use only the straightforward facts: ie, with no “I was incensed that…”etc

State in the letter the tenancy address and dates, when you first contacted the LA about the issues, who you spoke to and what response was given, including the content of those texts.

Refer to their relevant obligations as above and say that as xx weeks/months have now passed you want the work done within the next 7 working days. Give them dates and times that you will be available to give access to the property.

If you need to ramp it up a bit then you may be able to get back up action from your District Council - the property has to meet a fitness standard which says that the it should

“have a suitably located fixed bath or shower and wash-hand basin, for the exclusive use of the occupants, each of which is provided with a satisfactory supply of hot and cold water”

The Environmental Health Officer at the DC would be your initial contact - the council can tell the owner to get the work done and interestingly the owner is defined as “the person who is entitled to receive the rent, which will include the landlord’s agent.”

Even if the property meets the fitness standard the Dc can still serve a notice on the owner if tit could be shown that the lack of repair has “a negative impact on the personal comfort of the tenant.”

Some LLs and LAs do play a game in which each blames the other and nothing gets done.

If the LA wanted to be helpful they could get the matters resolved and deduct the costs of doing so from the commission they will be making on your tenancy, or pursue the LL themselves.

However, the LA may stop trying to wriggle out of their obligations once you quote the appropriate parts of the law to them.

We recently helped another former Belfast tenant who posted here to get their unfairly retained deposit back - wonder if this is the same LA………part of a franchise?

Do let us know what response you get, because it all helps others who may be in a similar position

maggie5

hi thank for everyones advice, to keep you updated on what i have done so far:

- i phoned the housing advice line who has said the same as some of you, it IS the landlords responsibility

- i am in the middle of doing a draft letter (will post later on and see what other people think) to send to both LA and LL

- i have been advised to phone enviromental health about the guttering as i have started to get mold, (they can hopefully get the LL to fix the problem)

- my rent is due today so instead of paying through the bank i have organised the LA to come out to collect, this way im face to face and i can show her excactly (again) what is wrong)

- i have also been advised NOT to withhold my rent or get quoats done on the work as this could cause more problems

since i have checked out the information and links that people have given me i have also descovered that as they have NOT given me a rent book that they are also breaking the law.

again thank you for all the help and advice, this site is absoloutly fantastic and i appricate people taking the time to help me. i will post the draft letter later on once i have finished doing it:o