Nightmare new rent!

ROBEAR84

Hi,

Just wondering if anyone has any thoughts on this...

We've just moved into a house with a different letting agent than we used previously.

When I looked around it there was abit of a stench but mainly of strong cooking and I assumed that it would be cleaned before we took it as there was still tenants there at the time.

We moved in Friday 14th November. First of all took us 40mins to gain access to the property (perhaps a warning call!) Girl took us round and got us to sign papers ASTA etc but really didn't seem that interested as it was her last day with the company. I remarked that the smell was still quite strong and she said that she thought previous tenants had rabbits (not when we looked round) We were changing bottom carpets anyway (at our cost) and painting so didn't worry too much. They had replaced carpet upstairs but left all the old ones on the landing with nails and bits all over the floors. We have no shower even thought the landlord was supposedly fitting one in between tenants. (He's since tried to get of this but the LA have told him that he must adhere to it) Once she had gone, I got my cleaning stuff out as I expected to have a quick wipe round before moving everything in, I wiped the work surfaces in the kitchen and they came out brown! The cupboards I have now wiped down with degreaser 4 times and they still feel tacky to touch! We have no Oven as the door was hanging off. A new one is being delivered tomorrow but I still don't want to use it as the kitchen still stinks and is dirty and infested! see below!

On top of this we seem to have no hot water and still no sign of a shower being put in. We have had to go to in laws every other day just to shower.

And on top again!! we have mice! no great surprise considering the state of the place! Hubby spotted one by the landing early one morning and since then we have found faecees on the kitchen worktops and heard them running about between the floors.

On Thursday I was very ill with diarreha (sorry tmi!) no one else had it and I have a strong suspicion mouse poo could be to blame! I could barely move at times to see to my crying baby, felt so guilty but was feeling faint and very ill!

I have a 3 month old baby and a 20 month old little girl. Do I have to put up with this? We have just found poo near her toys downstairs which have now been put up out of the way but how can I be sure that she's safe playing now?!

I left a message reg the mice on Friday but heard nothing.

I'm at my wits end! The house would be lovely but its just one thing after another. Oh the front door fell off too! hubby had to get some screws himself and screw it back on as it was being held by 3 tiny screws!

I just don't feel my little ones are safe at the moment. Am I being unreasonable or expecting too much wanting hot water to bathe ourselves and our kids? a useable kitchen and a clean house????

One of the most annoying things is that we were into the extended part of our old tenancy, we could have given a months notice whenever and just waited for a given date that the property would be ready which we were. Exactly !!!!!! did they do???? Aparently the girl who showed us round ~ her boss was here 3 times in the week leading up to our move in date. I am wondering what the hell is the matter with him?! How could he pass this off as ok??

Just needed to rant somewhere, hubby is as !!!!ed off as me I know but he just gets irritable with me and is biting at me for the stupidest of things.

Help!!!

If you got this far, thanks so much for reading!
x

Blackpool_Saver

Blimey what a hideous ordeal. May I ask why you moved in in the first place if there were doubts in your mind?

That said you must get on to the LL and be very firm.

My landlord was a pain in the !!! until I stood up to him....

ROBEAR84

The only doubt I had was in the cleanliness but was I wrong to assume it would be cleaned in between tenants???

Other than that, there was no way of telling the other problems just from looking round.

Just want to go back to my poxy little 2 bed as at least it was clean and vermin free! This house would be fab if it wasn't for these problems and 3 beds don't come up for rent at a decent price round here very often. I wasn't even bothered about moving any time soon, it was just that it came up.

Just wanna cry. If it was just me and hubby I wouldn't be quite so bothered but it's my babies I'm worried for.

Am going to phone agents again tomorrow, no more Mrs nice bear!! lol. Only problem is I have a tendency to cry when I'm angry and can't get the words I want to say out properly!

sooz

Don't phone. Put it in writing.


Re the mice, you can call the council out to deal with mice. They do charge, normally under £100, for 3 visits. Write to the agency that if you do not hear from them within x days, you will call the council to deal with the mice, & deduct it from your rent.

ROBEAR84

sooz wrote: »

Don't phone. Put it in writing.


Re the mice, you can call the council out to deal with mice. They do charge, normally under £100, for 3 visits. Write to the agency that if you do not hear from them within x days, you will call the council to deal with the mice, & deduct it from your rent.

Thanks, yes I'm going to write as well as call. Have already looked into council and they come for £46 for up to 4 visits which isn't too bad. I'm just not sure how long they will take to come out.

Have started taking pics too. Hubby just pulled out the cooker to unplug it and the sides were revolting, dripping in grease and underneath was lots of dirt, grease, mouse crap and rubble which mice have taken away from the sides. The mice are getting into the kitchen cupboards too. It's pretty much unusable. I'm going to pay someone to clean and de grease it but then the mouse are going to just use it as a toilet again anyway!

PasturesNew

Call the Environmental Health department at your local Council. Get them out to condemn the place.

Go and sit in the agent's office with a placard - and photos. Show/tell everybody that comes in. If he turfs you out, look all forlorn outside and tell the world.

Phone the papers, get a reporter out.

lisaloo1977

If it is as bad as you say it is, and i do believe it is i am not judging.

You need to kick up the biggest fuss ever. If you do not get anything from the agents tomorrow that satisfys you i would also take it to the local papers, just make sure as pasturesnew says get evidence of EVERYTHING.

It is not healthy for you or your children to be living and playing in areas that are being infested by vermin. I would personally want the place cleaning by a professional company before i would go back in, if at all.

Loretta

photos and lots of them

ROBEAR84

aAARRGGHHH!

Am so !!!!ed off now.

Called Bristol City Council first just to see when they could be out if I called them out. They're in our area Mondays so it would be next Monday now.

I then left a message for LA to call me back asap reg afforementioned problems.

LA called back about 1015. I explained everything, said I was not happy and basically made as much fuss as I could. She said that there would be no reason for the cooker to be pulled out when cleaning (even though you could tell from the sides of it that it was filthy) and denied prior knowledge of infestation. She said all I can do is put down traps and phone the council. I then asked who foots the bill and she told me its not the landlords responsibilty. I said that that would be fair enough if it was through our own fault and if we'd been here ages but it's because the place is revolting and mouse heaven!

I have taken photos of the more recent stuff but wish I'd taken some of the carpets and nails that were left on the landing etc when we moved in.

She is calling the LL to see what he says but I don't hold out much hope.

So basically it's our problem! I'm going to have to pay for the infestation to be sorted and for the place to be professionally cleaned. In the mean time, if my kids get sick they pretty much don't care. Lovely. I was in tears down the phone by the end of the call but I held out quite well!

One thing though... They got the dates wrong when we signed our ASTA and have sent it to me to sign the amendments. I have not done this yet and am wondering if it would be in my interest to keep hold of it for the moment. Not sure it would make a difference but ?????

Oh they are sending someone out this afternoon to look at the water though.

Oh dear, have a banging headache again

geoffky

Get Out Of There For Your Healths Sake And The Babys..take As Many Photos As You Can Then Run

clutton_2

have you signed an inventory ?

what amendements are in the the Agreement that you have not signed ?

has your deposit been protected ?


landlords have a duty of care under Health and Safety legislation - they can be prosecuted by the local authority for breaches of this H&S.

wait and see what environmental health say -

take piccies of everything.

rmake a writen record all phone conversations with the agent

stay calm

keep all receipts for cleaning materials and other "consequential loss" expenses


is the agent a member of a professional body ?