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Where do I stan - ending Tenancy Agreement
hshc86
Posts: 1 Newbie
Myself and my partner found a flat that we very much love, although it was not in a state of disrepair as such it could really do with refurbishing. Unfortunately due to our landlord we now no longer wish to live at the flat with him as a landlord. I'd like some advice on where we stand.
We put in an offer of discounted rent price as we would take the place unfurnished instead of part as well as we would clean up the property and decorate as required to make it's appearance better. All of this was agreed by the landlord and a moving in date set for 20th September 2008.
However, we were then informed that we could not move in on this date as an electrician had condemned the property saying that the entire flat would have to be rewired. We had also been informed that a gas safety cerftificate had been in place before this moving in date, later we found that the safety check had only been completed on 20th Sept. They said that the rewiring would be done by the 27th Sept, informed on 25th that this was not the case and it would be done by the 30th Sept. The work was actually completed on 1st October. We finally moved in on 4th October.
Now the landlord had been in Thailand for 4 weeks until 3rd October, he made no attempt to contact us or to come and meet us upon his return.
We discovered that although the flat had been rewired, one of the plug sockets was not working, so we called the landlord so that it would get fixed. He was very prompt and got an electrician in to fix the socket the very next day. However, he did not give us any notice, in fact he only told us the following day that the electrician had been in to fix the socket. Luckily my other half had been in the flat waiting for a delivery. As far as I am aware this was a breach of our Tenancy Agreement whereby unless it is an emergency, the landlord must give us 24hours notification of anyone entering our flat.
The boiler had been playing up the past week and broke down saturday evening. We informed the landlord that the boiler was broken and needed fixing around midday on Sunday. The landlord said he would get a plumber in first thing the next day. At 8:15am we received a text stating that the plumber would now not be in until 5pm, my partner had to take half a day off work in order that he would be in the flat when the plumber arrived. However, by 6pm there was no sign of the plumber and the landlord's phone was off. We eventually got through to the landlord at 6:45pm where he said his "mate" the plumber had his phone off and that we would have to wait and see if he would turn up.
We asked whether he could find another plumber, to which he started shouting down the phone at my other half that he was "trying his best" and promptly hung up.
By 9pm there was still no sign of the plumber and no word from the landlord, so yet again we rang him. He said that the plumber would be round first thing the next day (today) but refused to find another plumber when we asked again, leaving us yet another night without any hot water or heating and got very hostile, started shouting and was downright rude.
By 9:30 this morning the plumber had still not shown up. We received a text stating that the plumber's wife had been taken to hospital the day before and that the boiler was now fixed. We had asked him to advise on us a time that the plumber would arrive to fix the boiler so that one of us would be in the flat when he arrived as we do not like the idea of a stranger having access to our flat and now we have lost any trust in the landlord.
My other half went to the letting agent from whom we are renting the property through to notify them of the problem with the landlord and to ask them what we could do. The lettings manager told him that the Landlord had broken the Tenancy Agreement in the first place and so we could end the tenancy and seek compensation for the decorative works and cleaning that we had carried out on the property as he would now be able to demand a higher rental value on the property.
Is she right or was she just trying to placate us? The flat next to our current flat is almost identical to the one we're in and empty, so we would be happy to move to that one (it is managed by a different lettings agent) if what the lettings agent said is true and we can end our tenancy agreement, recoup our deposit and compensation for works carried out.
We put in an offer of discounted rent price as we would take the place unfurnished instead of part as well as we would clean up the property and decorate as required to make it's appearance better. All of this was agreed by the landlord and a moving in date set for 20th September 2008.
However, we were then informed that we could not move in on this date as an electrician had condemned the property saying that the entire flat would have to be rewired. We had also been informed that a gas safety cerftificate had been in place before this moving in date, later we found that the safety check had only been completed on 20th Sept. They said that the rewiring would be done by the 27th Sept, informed on 25th that this was not the case and it would be done by the 30th Sept. The work was actually completed on 1st October. We finally moved in on 4th October.
Now the landlord had been in Thailand for 4 weeks until 3rd October, he made no attempt to contact us or to come and meet us upon his return.
We discovered that although the flat had been rewired, one of the plug sockets was not working, so we called the landlord so that it would get fixed. He was very prompt and got an electrician in to fix the socket the very next day. However, he did not give us any notice, in fact he only told us the following day that the electrician had been in to fix the socket. Luckily my other half had been in the flat waiting for a delivery. As far as I am aware this was a breach of our Tenancy Agreement whereby unless it is an emergency, the landlord must give us 24hours notification of anyone entering our flat.
The boiler had been playing up the past week and broke down saturday evening. We informed the landlord that the boiler was broken and needed fixing around midday on Sunday. The landlord said he would get a plumber in first thing the next day. At 8:15am we received a text stating that the plumber would now not be in until 5pm, my partner had to take half a day off work in order that he would be in the flat when the plumber arrived. However, by 6pm there was no sign of the plumber and the landlord's phone was off. We eventually got through to the landlord at 6:45pm where he said his "mate" the plumber had his phone off and that we would have to wait and see if he would turn up.
We asked whether he could find another plumber, to which he started shouting down the phone at my other half that he was "trying his best" and promptly hung up.
By 9pm there was still no sign of the plumber and no word from the landlord, so yet again we rang him. He said that the plumber would be round first thing the next day (today) but refused to find another plumber when we asked again, leaving us yet another night without any hot water or heating and got very hostile, started shouting and was downright rude.
By 9:30 this morning the plumber had still not shown up. We received a text stating that the plumber's wife had been taken to hospital the day before and that the boiler was now fixed. We had asked him to advise on us a time that the plumber would arrive to fix the boiler so that one of us would be in the flat when he arrived as we do not like the idea of a stranger having access to our flat and now we have lost any trust in the landlord.
My other half went to the letting agent from whom we are renting the property through to notify them of the problem with the landlord and to ask them what we could do. The lettings manager told him that the Landlord had broken the Tenancy Agreement in the first place and so we could end the tenancy and seek compensation for the decorative works and cleaning that we had carried out on the property as he would now be able to demand a higher rental value on the property.
Is she right or was she just trying to placate us? The flat next to our current flat is almost identical to the one we're in and empty, so we would be happy to move to that one (it is managed by a different lettings agent) if what the lettings agent said is true and we can end our tenancy agreement, recoup our deposit and compensation for works carried out.
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Comments
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my highlightingMyself and my partner found a flat that we very much love, although it was not in a state of disrepair as such it could really do with refurbishing. ……………….We put in an offer of discounted rent price as we would take the place unfurnished instead of part as well as we would clean up the property and decorate as required to make it's appearance better. All of this was agreed by the landlord and a moving in date set for 20th September 2008.
However, we were then informed that we could not move in on this date as an electrician had condemned the property saying that the entire flat would have to be rewired. We had also been informed that a gas safety cerftificate had been in place before this moving in date, later we found that the safety check had only been completed on 20th Sept. They said that the rewiring would be done by the 27th Sept, informed on 25th that this was not the case and it would be done by the 30th Sept. The work was actually completed on 1st October. We finally moved in on 4th October.
We get many posts on here from tenants with genuine grievances but....
You chose to take this property on, having negotiated a reduced rent, because of its condition.
The new gas safety certificate was done by the date on which you were supposed to move in, which is all that the law requires.
You were delayed moving in because of the rewiring issue but you could have negotiated further with the LL on any costs around this. Or would you have preferred that he didn’t do the legally required checks on electrical safety that are to your benefit?
If he is using a LA why would he? Had you specifically asked him to?Now the landlord had been in Thailand for 4 weeks until 3rd October, he made no attempt to contact us or to come and meet us upon his return.We discovered that although the flat had been rewired, one of the plug sockets was not working, so we called the landlord so that it would get fixed. He was very prompt and got an electrician in to fix the socket the very next day. However, he did not give us any notice, in fact he only told us the following day that the electrician had been in to fix the socket. Luckily my other half had been in the flat waiting for a delivery. As far as I am aware this was a breach of our Tenancy Agreement whereby unless it is an emergency, the landlord must give us 24hours notification of anyone entering our flat.
Hang on, you raise a complaint about a plug socket, the LL is prompt, sends someone round without 24 hrs notice, but your other half way is in anyway?
He next gets a plumber/heating engineer round within 2 days of the boiler breaking down and lets him in to the property to get on with the job?
Maybe the LL thought these issues were an emergency for you - yes, he should have notified you & and should not let himself or workmen in but if your OH was there on at least one of the occasions what is the real problem?
There are many tenants on here who would be delighted if a LL was that prompt in fixing matters: I think you also need to recognise that in the real world it is hard to get hold of anyone to do anything at short notice, whether you own or rent a house, and if you want something doing urgently then you go with the time they offer or you run the risk of having to wait longer.
To me this sounds like an inexperienced LL who is trying to do his best by his tenants and tenants who are also inexperienced and over-reacting to the situation - all it needs is a letter from you to the LL saying “thanks for sorting things out so promptly but ,please, in future we’d like you to ring us first to confirm, as we don’t consent to people letting themselves in without our knowledge.”
You can also simply change the barrel on the door lock and keep the original one somewhere safe to replace at the end of the tenancy.
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I would just like to second everything TBS has said. You appear to have a LL who is trying hard to be a good LL and who is taking their obligations seriously. As suggested, they are probably amateurs and want to keep you happy. They think that they will achieve this by doing all repairs very quickly.
Please understand that you do not appear to have an evil LL and rather than huffing and puffing and getting worked up just communicate with them in a reasonable manner. Thank the LL for being so prompt (we do not have a magic wand and can not conjure workmen out of thin air like some Ts believe we can) but explain that you would like to be informed in advance for all future visits. Explain, in a non judgemental manner, that this is more important to you than having the work done at the earliest opportunity. I'm sure, from the description above, that your LL will happily comply with your wishes.
Good communication is key to a good LL / T relationship.
Finally, you have no reason to leave the contact early. It would appear that the LA was either trying to placate you or does not have a good understanding of letting.0 -
He next gets a plumber/heating engineer round within 2 days of the boiler breaking down and lets him in to the property to get on with the job?
Quite.
Welcome to the real world.
You try finding a reputable, honest & corgi registered plumber on Sunday afternoon (and any of those that advertise in the yellow pages starting with AAAAAA11111plumbers don't count) I've known my plumber for the last 20 years, I only use him as he knows & has installed all my boilers in all my properties, I give him a LOT of work, & even I can't get him to answer the phone on Sunday night.
No - he shouldn't have come in without contacting you first, but you knew he was getting the engineer round - you'd called to report the fault. Your LL was trying to fix it, & you obviously considered it an emergency.0
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