Have i gone too far?

Survivor

long story..hopefully cut short.

I've been renting my present property for 2.5 years now, and not without its problems as the LA is a drip! I had to get the council involved just to get a gas safety cert and have lots of problems that he's not sorted....
anyway, just before xmas my washing machine broke down and, along with other problems with the property i contacted him on his home number, which is the only contact number i have.
I left a message, but never recieved a reply (not unusual) so called again in January only to be told by his wife that she had no idea where he was and no forwarding number/address:eek:

My list of problems are
1} broken washing machine (nearest laudertte is 2 miles away and no car)
2} the TV aeriel has fallen off the chimmney and is banging around on the roof. This means that neither me, nor my adjoing two neighbours, have had a full nights sleep for a week, and i have no TV.
3} bad rising damp in back room
4} the rear gate is rotten and falling to bits, along with the rear wall which is falling to bits
5} the boiler service is once again, overdue:rolleyes:
6} the pump on the very old boiler is inadequat and i can't get any hot water unless the heating is on (not always practical) and theres not enough hot water for the bathroom, regardless of the heating. This means no bath, though i have use of the shower, as long as the heating is on!

on top of this i pay nearly £600 per month.

So, in desperation i've cancelled my SO for the rent. This was due last Monday, and as yet, i've heard nothing.

Have i done the right thing..and where do i go from here?

ps..i don't have the LL address or number, just a name. I reported several of the problems previoulsy, but, as always, nothing was done about them.
Sorry, long story ended up being just that...

HappyMJ

Well interesting long story. I suppose no is the correct answer but I would do the same and when they contact me I'd say your rent is ready to be paid when you give me some way of contacting you.

In the meantime nothing seems major. Get your own washing done by hand. Get the tv aerial removed. Keep the back room ventialted and warm. who really cares about the gate...the boiler doesn't "need" servicing but it does need a safety certificate. that's a problem. and you can get hot water if you turn the heating on so it works just not how you would like it.

Survivor

HappyMJ wrote: »

Well interesting long story. I suppose no is the correct answer but I would do the same and when they contact me I'd say your rent is ready to be paid when you give me some way of contacting you.

In the meantime nothing seems major. Get your own washing done by hand. hardly practical for two adults who have to wear a uniform to work and only have two of each unifrom..not easy to dry either as i can't spin them and have arthritis so find washing/wringing difficultGet the tv aerial removed. will cost me £80 that i don't have. Keep the back room ventialted and warm.i already do, but i'm more concerned that the LL's property is being left to rot, which i'm sure he knows nothing about who really cares about the gate..its a big security issue, so yes, i do care.the boiler doesn't "need" servicing but it does need a safety certificate.the service means i get the certifictae that's a problem. and you can get hot water if you turn the heating on so it works just not how you would like it heating is expensive enough without HAVING to have it on just so i can get warm/hot water, especially as i'm paying through the nose for the most basic of services..

Thank you for your reply, but please see my reply in red
Yes, i have the rent ready to be paid, as you suggest. Glad you would do the same though as i worried i was over reacting

trogg

contact http://england.shelter.org.uk/

I think you are wrong to withhold your rent, but can understand why you're doing it.

Is the washing machine LL responsibility ? , as for the boiler, yes it is faulty, but not a lot you can do untill you have some contact with your LL

good luck

stevetodd

Start looking for somewhere else. There are plenty of good LL's around (as well as the bad ones)

mrs_baggins

go to your local council- whichever section deals with private housing. thelandlord is undr a legal obligation i think to supply them and you with an address. you or they can do a search al land registry which costs £3 which gives the owners details and who owns your house. there are certain things a ll has to do and a gas cert is one of them. get local authrity involved and they will sort it.

Blunty

I had a position a few years ago where my lettings agent disappeared. Fortunately, I was paying by cheque each month, and I discovered their departure pretty quickly. With no-one to pay the rent to (as, again, I didn't know the landlord), I sat tight and waited for them to contact me, keeping the rent money aside for when they did.
When they contacted me, it transpired that the lettings agent hadn't paid the rent through to the landlord for five months. In the circumstances, the landlord was very good about it - he seemed to think that dodgy lettings agents were an occupational hazard of letting! He started collecting rent direct from me (writing off the losses of previous months, as I could show him receipts that I'd paid the lettings agent), and reducing my rent by the sum the lettings agent used to previously charge him.

SwissLe

I think you have done the right thing. There is no better way to ensure someone contacts you than to withhold payment. As soon as they recieve notification of the SO being cancelled they should be on the phone.

Have you actually contacted them in writing though?

barnaby-bear

trogg wrote: »

contact http://england.shelter.org.uk/

I think you are wrong to withhold your rent, but can understand why you're doing it.

Is the washing machine LL responsibility ? , as for the boiler, yes it is faulty, but not a lot you can do untill you have some contact with your LL

good luck

Legally he isn't wrong, it's one of the few cases you can withold rent - if the LL hasn't supplied an address in the UK against which he can be served legal papers.

Section 48 of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1987 requires that a tenant is provided with an address where notices may be served on the landlord. This address must be in England and Wales and can be the name and address of a managing agent. Where no such notice has been served rent and/or service charge payments are not legally due until such time as the notice has been served. It also means that an action for possession due to rent arrears can not be made unless the tenant's arrears accrued after the service of the notice. A section 48 notice can be included within the tenancy agreement and this is the easiest way to ensure that all tenants receive the notice. In this case, where the notice has not been served, you should serve a notice under section 48 and the tenant will become liable to pay rent. There is no statutory form for the notice - a simple wording will suffice: To: [name of tenant] From: [name of landlord] I/we hereby give you notice pursuant to s.48(1) of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1987 that your landlord's address for service of notices (including notices in proceedings) is as follows: [address of landlord]

http://www.letlink.co.uk/component/option,com_llfaq/Itemid,0/action,kb/task,question/id,66/

Survivor

Thank you everyone for your helpful replies

Trogg, yes the washing machine is the LLs.

Mrs Baggins, the councils a good idea, thanks

Blunty, thats a really interesting story and i'm glad it worked out for you. I wonder is the same things going to happen to me?

Swissle, i haven't got an address to contact them in writing, apart from my LA home address, which he longer lives at and where there seems to be no forwarding address.

BarnabyBear (i'm a she. by the way:D ) Thats a very useful piece of info and i'm really grateful for that.

Stevetodd, i'm in a position where i can't afford to look elsewhere and pay for removals etc, but i am keeping my eyes peeled. I hope it doesn't come to that as i love my home, but this constant hassle is driving me mad.

I've always been a model tenant and i hate this withholding rent, but i feel its the only way to get some attention

Thanks again all :beer:

Enfieldian

Blunty wrote: »

I had a position a few years ago where my lettings agent disappeared. Fortunately, I was paying by cheque each month, and I discovered their departure pretty quickly. With no-one to pay the rent to (as, again, I didn't know the landlord), I sat tight and waited for them to contact me, keeping the rent money aside for when they did.
When they contacted me, it transpired that the lettings agent hadn't paid the rent through to the landlord for five months. In the circumstances, the landlord was very good about it - he seemed to think that dodgy lettings agents were an occupational hazard of letting! He started collecting rent direct from me (writing off the losses of previous months, as I could show him receipts that I'd paid the lettings agent), and reducing my rent by the sum the lettings agent used to previously charge him.

Damn! I bet you wished you hadn't paid the agent now.

Sounds like the LL would have taken your word for it and you could have had 5 months rent free!