renting advice - faults not being fixed

antwilson

Hi,

Looking for some advice regarding the house we are living in at the minute.

When we first looked round the property, we noticed that the conservatory had a slight gap between the plastic roof pane, and the plastic frame. It had obviously being leaking as the wooden blinds which were up round the side of the conservatory had gone black where the rain had being leaking.

We reported this to the person who showed us round, who told us to tell the office. We reported this to the office, and asked them to arrange for it to be repaired before we would go ahead with the tenancy.

We were informed this had being done, and when we moved in noticed that the pane had being taped in place with heavy duty tape, and did seem to be OK. 2 weeks later we noticed the pane had moved again, and was leaking rain. We reported this to the estate agents at the beginning of July, who informed us they would arrange for it to be repaired.

We heard nothing back, and chased 3 days later, and were told they would send another email (they never seem to be able to ring her - dont think they have her number!)
on the 12th July, we received an email from the estate agents saying that she wouldnt be fixing the problem, as the rain we had being having was "exceptional", and that it would be fine for usual "light showers"
They informed us that they would email her back and say this was unacceptable.
3 days later, and no reply had being received so i chased the estate agents again.
5 days later, we received a reply saying she had agreed to get a "quote" for repair.
8 days later, I had to chase again as no-one had being in touch (the contractors usually phone us to arrange a time and date)
The day later, a contractor phoned us and said that he "might come out in the next few days, but might not as he is busy and could be saturday" that was on monday. we heard nothing all week, and the estate agents asked us friday if they had being in touch.
We informed them on Monday (this was now last monday) that he hadnt being out, and could they arrange for someone else to come out.
They replied and said they would inform the original contractor they were going to instruct someone else to come out to try and "give him a push"
I then chased the day after, and they admitted they hadnt done anything
I then chased again on thursday explaining we will be extremely busy over the next few weeks (baby due on wednesday :j ) and could this be resolved ASAP. again we received no reply.

So the question is, what can i do if they arent replying to emails? Id like to keep it all in writing if i do have any problems, so dont want to phone to discuss if i can help it.

The toilet is now making strange noises when its filling the cistern up and i dont want to have to report it as its going to take another 2 months probably to sort that out!!!

Sorry for the very long message, and thanks in advance for repies.

real1314

I don't understand your timeline.

12th July+3+5+8 days = 28th July
A day later contractor phones - "that was monday" - is this the 28th july or the 4th Aug?
EA phoned friday - 1st Aug or 8th aug?
We informed them on Monday (this was now last monday) - eh? last monday was 8th Sept, where did the rest of the month go?

Your timeline has a gap from 8th Aug (or 1st Aug) to 8th Sept. What happened in that period?

"The toilet is now making strange noises when its filling the cistern up and i dont want to have to report it as its going to take another 2 months probably to sort that out!!!" - so what are you going to do about it? It won't fix itself.

tbs624

Stop emailing - use good old fashioned snail mail and send it by recorded delivery, keep a copy with your tenancy agreement.

Your LL has specific legal obligations under the Landlord and Tenant Act 1985 S11

(a) to keep in repair the structure and exterior of the dwelling, including drains, gutters and external pipes,

(b) 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) but not other fixtures, fittings and appliances for making use of the supply of water, gas or electricity, and

(c) to keep in repair and proper working order the installation in the dwelling for space heating and heating water.

Your letter needs to state the property address, the date on which your tenancy started, state clearly what the repairs issue is & the damage it is causing to the property/their fixtures & fittings, your belongings etcand that having wind & rain entering the property is not acceptable. Then list out who you spoke to or emailed on which dates & what the result was (keep it factual only).

Tell them that, as x weeks have gone by since the issue was originally brought to their attention, you would now like them to arrange for the work to be completed within the next 7/10 working days. Give them dates & times on which you will be available to allow access to the property.

Add in that you would like to take the opportunity to let them know that there also appears to be a problem with the lav cistern too. (you have an obligation as a tenant to notify the LL of all repairs issues)

If they contact you by phone, you then write thanking them for their call and confirming your understanding of what was discussed and/or agreed. If you get no action, post back here with the LL's response and you’ll get plenty of suggestions.

poppysarah

Report them to the local council's private tenancy support officer. Just so they know that they are failing to do basic repairs.

tbs624

poppysarah wrote: »

Report them to the local council's private tenancy support officer. Just so they know that they are failing to do basic repairs.

I'd agree with you if it was the main part of the house, or a roof problem for example, but in this situation it's perhaps best to keep that one for a bit further along the line. A tenant who writes politely but firmly requesting action, and shows that they know the LL has S11 repairing obligations, will often get a result

antwilson

Ill try an explain the dates a bit better:

We reported this to the person who showed us round, who told us to tell the office. We reported this to the office, and asked them to arrange for it to be repaired before we would go ahead with the tenancy.

We were informed this had being done, and when we moved in (14th June) noticed that the pane had being taped in place with heavy duty tape, and did seem to be OK. 2 weeks later we noticed the pane had moved again, and was leaking rain. We reported this to the estate agents at the beginning of July, who informed us they would arrange for it to be repaired. (5th July)

We heard nothing back, and chased 3 days later(8th July), and were told they would send another email (they never seem to be able to ring her - dont think they have her number!)

This is where i went wrong and confused everyone - sorry couldnt check my emails properly as they were on my work emails!
I chased again on the 23rd of July, no reply received.


on the 11th August, we received an email from the estate agents saying that she wouldnt be fixing the problem, as the rain we had being having was "exceptional", and that it would be fine for usual "light showers"
They informed us that they would email her back and say this was unacceptable.
3 days later(15th August), and no reply had being received so i chased the estate agents again.
5 days later,(20th August) we received a reply saying she had agreed to get a "quote" for repair.
8 days later(29th August so actually 9 days), I had to chase again as no-one had being in touch (the contractors usually phone us to arrange a time and date)
The day later, a contractor phoned us and said that he "might come out in the next few days, but might not as he is busy and could be saturday" that was on monday. we heard nothing all week, and the estate agents asked us friday if they had being in touch.
We informed them on Monday (this was now last monday) that he hadnt being out, and could they arrange for someone else to come out.
They replied and said they would inform the original contractor they were going to instruct someone else to come out to try and "give him a push"
I then chased the day after, and they admitted they hadnt done anything
I then chased again on thursday explaining we will be extremely busy over the next few weeks

Hopefully that makes a bit more sense, sorry for confusion:A

Re what tbs624 has said about sending a letter, the problem isnt with the landlord at the minute, it is with the estate agents, but i will remember that info for future use when she is refusing to fix a problem

tbs624

antwilson wrote: »

......Re what tbs624 has said about sending a letter, the problem isnt with the landlord at the minute, it is with the estate agents, but i will remember that info for future use when she is refusing to fix a problem

Ant - it doesn't matter whether its the LA acting for the LL, or the LL themselves ,who is not doing what they should, the same procedure applies. Send the letter to the LA -put on the bottom that you're also sending it cc: the LL.

dad-of-4

i battled against dissrepair - it cost the LL 10k in compensation in the end.

dont give up, landlords have legal obligations, and now more than ever you need to stand up for your rights, as the crunch hits they will be less and less inclined to spend on their houses and meet their obligations, as the repos rise and more people rent, more and more will suffer with poor housing. they only get away with it if we let them.