landlord doing nothing

black-saturn

purple-smartie wrote:

Well she came tonight to pck up the rent. She asked me to turn on the hallway light so she could see to write on the envelope so I reminded her that the light doesnt work. She asked me if I had bought a new tv or cd player as that might be making the lights fuse

So now your not supposed to use any of your own electric devices? Take no notice of this, its just another way to stall you.

purple-smartie wrote:

I told her no so she said she would get someone out before christmas to take a look. I did post a letter yesterday but she said tonight that the lights in her *new* house keep fusing. I didnt click until she had gone as she came at a bad time when I was getting baby ready for bed, this must mean she has moved and I dont have a new address for her. So unless shes getting her mail forwarded she wont receive it. I will phone her tomorrow and tell her I need her address for the warm front grant aplication, which i do anyway, and get a new letter sent just in case.

She is legally obliged to tell you where she lives. It's a legal requirement to have her contact details as you never know when you might need them in an emergency. Next time you see her point this out to her.

purple-smartie wrote:

The envelope isnt signed by her, she just writes down how much shes picked up and the date. When I apply for housing benefit I fill in the form and show them proof of my details and then she sends them the details of the rent seperately so they have never asked to see a rent book from myself. she doesnt come to collect rent from me every week, I pay her once a month Im not sure if she receive the housing benefit rent every week or monthly.

Next time you pay it ask for a receipt. Either that or buy a rent book from WHSmiths for about £1 yourself and ask her to fill that in. An unsigned scrawl on an envelope is no good.

purple-smartie wrote:

I will give the council housing department a call in the morning. I havent been contacting them as much as the housing association as I didnt think I had much chance when they told me I was 51st on the list. Thanks for the help and links to the sites

This landlord sounds right dodgy. Let her get everything she deserves and let her start forking out for her own property. Remember your helping her pay the mortgage on it by living there. You should get something in return. Let us know how you get on.

viktory

This is a terrible situation. I work for a smallish Housing Association in the repairs department and we pride ourselves on the repairs service that we offer. However, I also an a tenant of a different HA and their repairs service is atrocious.

I have found some information on the new Housing Disrepair Protocol.

Following a review of the problems of civil housing disrepair claims, Lord Woolf recommended in his final Access to Justice Report in July 1996 that there should be a Pre-action Protocol.

The usual action when repairs are not carried out is to either to do the work yourself but firstly why on earth should you and secondly some of the work here sounds like it needs professional workmen which will be expensive. Another option is to withhold rent but that is a seriously bad idea. Although judges do take repairs issues into account you do seriously run the risk of losing your home. Councils would then also say that you had made yourself intentionally homeless.

The other option is to take your landlord to court. However, Pre-Action Protocols are probably the best idea. They are designed to be used before court proceedings start. They set out a series of steps which the parties should follow, with the aim of avoiding expensive litigation - if the parties are well informed at the start of the case, this will lead to quicker resolution of the problems.

There is a specific Housing Disprepair Protocol, which can be downloaded for free from HERE

The Protocol is drafted in clear language and includes sample letters at each stage, to assist all parties. The Protocol should be used before proceedings start and both landlords and tenant's are required to follow it's procedure, otherwise they face cost penalties.

The link above should give you all the information you require. I threatened to use it on my HA and they very quickly pulled their fingers out!

Please keep us posted and good luck.

giggs11

purple-smartie wrote:

The envelope isnt signed by her, she just writes down how much shes picked up and the date. When I apply for housing benefit I fill in the form and show them proof of my details and then she sends them the details of the rent seperately so they have never asked to see a rent book from myself. she doesnt come to collect rent from me every week, I pay her once a month Im not sure if she receive the housing benefit rent every week or monthly.

Something doesn't quite add up here!

If you're claiming HB and it is being paid direct to your landlady then why is she collecting rent from you as well? Unless she is charging you more than the council deem a fair rent to pay! Have you had anyone from the council to assess your property under the fair rents act?

You should have received a letter from the HB dept detailing how much they are paying to your landlady so you can check this against what she is actually charging you. Don't forget that most councils pay on a 4 week basis which doesn't cover the full calender monthly rent BUT they get 13 cheques per year to cover the 12 months so it all balances up over the year. Make sure she's not making you pay extra that you don't need to!

Alleycat

Its quite common in the private rented sector for there to be a shortfall between the rent charged and the amount Housing Benefits will pay. It will also depend if the OP is receiving full Housing Benefit. The landlady can charge as much or as little as she wants, its up to the potential tenant to decide if they are willing to pay that much. Obviously not as simple as that due to market forces etc, but thats the gist.

purple-smartie

If you're claiming HB and it is being paid direct to your landlady then why is she collecting rent from you as well?

My weekly rent is £95, My housing benefit is £85. My landlady comes around the 18th of each month and I pay her £42 to cover the rest of the month.

Have you had anyone from the council to assess your property under the fair rents act?

when I first applied for the property someone did come out to make sure the house was worth the rent. The rent was £85 a week then and there was no obvious problems with the house then.

Shes left a message on my phone christmas eve. its the number of a electrition she wants me to call. So hopefully shes received the letter and jobs will be eventually done.

stellagypsy

purple-smartie - hope you are getting somewhere with this.

Did you know that you can be assessed for rehousing under homeless legislation as you have a rent shortfall (ie what you are being charged is more than the maximum housing benefit you receive)? You need to approach your Council Housing Dept as soon as possible for your situation to be reassessed and you should get a "homeless" priority for rehousing.

Also, as has already been pointed out, there are LOTS of breaches in the conduct of your landlord. Environmental Protection will sort this all out for you.

Stella xx

purple-smartie

The electrician called round today about my lights blowing. He never even checked any wiring, he just put in 2 new light bulbs and said its people like me who waste electicians time by buying cheap bulbs and electrical products from places like wilkinsons and then complain when fuses blow. I tried to explain that its always the same ones that blow and if it was the bulbs then all the lights would be doing it but he wouldnt have any of it. He said he knew there was nothing wrong with the wiring has he was the one who fit it 3 years ago and all I needed to do was to go out and buy some "expensive" energy saving light bulbs.

As for the council, when ive phoned them they tell me there is no houses and have people who are homeless and having to live with others so they have to house those before me. I will keep phoning them though and hope they give me a house just to shut me up.

Ive not heard anything about the damp yet so I will give that another week and then remind her then give her a few more days and inform eviromental Health. I cleaned the damp patches off the kitchen and living room again tonight and I found some in my hallway. I think in future I will only clean the damp thats near to the kitchen units and leave the rest so if anyone asks to come round to inspect it it will be easy to see. Ive also not had as many slugs in the kitchen since the weathers been cold but I have noticed trails in my hallway near the kitchen door and at the other end of the hallway near the front door. There was also some slug trails coming from the gas meter box in the living room. I think in future when i find slugs in the kitchen i will take photos of them. I might even put them out the back in a jar and hand them over with my rent when she comes. Now christmas is over with I dont care if she asks me to leave. I was conned into moving here anyway by my (now ex) hubby and its time for a fresh start.

Thanks alot everyone with your help so far. I will keep you posted on how I get on.

katiepops_2

He doesn't sound like much of an electrician to me! 'Cheap' bulbs from places like Wilkos are in my experience much the same as expensive ones.

Presumably this so-called electrician is something to do with your landlady(otherwise why would it be wasting his time to come out - he would be being paid by your landlady, yes?)

With an attitude like that, I would seriously question whether he's actually a qualified electrician anyway ... and in that case I'd also seriously question the safety of his wiring - is there any way you can get someone impartial in to check the wiring? Aren't landlords supposed to have safety certificates for the electrics as well as gas these days?

Kate

purple-smartie

He doesn't sound like much of an electrician to me! 'Cheap' bulbs from places like Wilkos are in my experience much the same as expensive ones.

This was what I was trying to point out to him as none of the other "cheap bulbs" in the other rooms keep blowing. They wasnt even wilko bulbs they had co-op written on them.

Presumably this so-called electrician is something to do with your landlady(otherwise why would it be wasting his time to come out - he would be being paid by your landlady, yes?)

Yes my landlady left me his mobile number so I could arrange for him to come round so i guess she would be paying him even though he did nothing but put 2 bulbs in, which I provided.

With an attitude like that, I would seriously question whether he's actually a qualified electrician anyway

Ive been thinking the same all day. I rememeber they day I moved in here and a guy came round saying he had come to check the gas boiler as there had been problems with it. He also told me if I let my credit run down to zero on my gas meter I hadnt to hold the button in. (those with pre-payment gas meters might know what im talking about) . He told me i had to call him out at £25 a time so he could do it to make sure it had been done safely Id had a gas meter in my old home exactly the same and I knew damn well I didnt need to call anyone out just to press a button. He never did fix my gas boiler and after 2 weeks of trying someone else came and fixed it straight away.

At the time though because i was so busy moving things in I never asked if he was registered with corgi and I just presumed he was seeing as my landlady said she uses him for all her houses. He came back 2 years later to service my boiler( another rule my landlady broke, not servicing boilers) and I asked that time to see his card, he said he left it at home. I asked him to wait a couple of minutes as my daughter was in the bath (boiler in bathroom) but i secretly phoned corgi and they told me no one by that name has been registered with them. I havent alllowed him to touch anything gas since and I did complain to my landlady and I at least do now get the boiler serviced by a registered gas man. but I know for a fact my land lady still uses this unregistered corgi man. this is the same guy who said I had no leak in my bathroom which eventually caused my kitchen ceiling to fall a few months back, stupid thing was he came out then and found the leak straight away and fixed it which made me wonder if he knew where the leak was all along as he was only here a few minutes.

and in that case I'd also seriously question the safety of his wiring - is there any way you can get someone impartial in to check the wiring? Aren't landlords supposed to have safety certificates for the electrics as well as gas these days?

Id like to know this also. I dont really want to have to pay someone to come out to check as Im trying to put money away for when a house does come along and I hate the thought of wasting money on this one. I bought loads of decorating equipment in the summer from this really cheap shop I know called wilkinsons :rolleyes: but Im not going to bother and Im just going to save it now and use it when I move.

black-saturn

The electricity check isnt passed as being law yet but the gas check is. Your best bet is to keep pressing EH for help and dont give up.