My rights as a tennant

dj0586

Hey guys. ley me catch you up on my situation,

Im currently renting a flat through a letting agent (very popular one, not sure if i can name them), ive been in the flat for six months now. When i moved in the guy who showed me round said there had been a history of damp but it had been resolved. Not true, my flat is now damp, the external walls are black all at the bottom and top, the floor is wet at the side of the room which is affecting my furniture and the corners of other rooms are goign the same way.

I phone the management company and told them the situation and they said they would contact the landlord to see what they wanted to do. Now this is making my girlfriend ill.

My questions:

What is the next move to make?
What are my rights?

Should i phone again?
Should i make an official complaint?
Should i start making plans to move and if i did would i lose my deposit with 18 months of my term still to go.

Hope you can help, this is strating to get me down.

Theogirl_2

Hi, what a horrible situation for you and your girlfriend.

I would call the management company again and suggest strongly that they come round to see the damp. Tell than it is making your girlfreind ill and that your property is being damaged. If they will do nothing call them up and say you are thinking of contacting the environmental health department, surely that should get them moving. You may of course want to do this as they may advise the best course of action.

In the meantime I would dig out your contract and see what it says. I'm very surprised that you are tied into 2 years, it may be that after the first 6 months you are able to give a notice peiod and leave without suffering financially. I know that this isn't ideal and people shouldn't be allowed to rent out flats in such a state but you have a life and it may be better to move on.

Another good thing to do is take some photos if you can, and get a copy of your contract (it should have a clause in it about maintaining the property in a habitable state) and try to see someone at the CAB. The are experienced in this sort of thing and may be able to advise the very best course of action with all the details to hand.

Hope that you get it sorted out soon.

inmypocketnottheirs

This isn't going to help you resolve the problem, but to prevent damage to your property and health have you considered a dehumidifier. This will remove damp from the atmosphere.

Just a thought, are you drying washing in doors, over radiators or storeage heaters. If so this will contribute to the problem. Is there an airbrick or other ventilation that is blocked. Unless airborne moisture can escape then it will collect at the coldest point of the property and manifest itself as black mould.

How old is the property??

dj0586

It is part of a block and i am on the end, i think its a newish build not sure timewise, have already thought about the photos and dehumidifiers seem so expensive and without sounding complacent, surely it shoulnt be my responsibility. I think the inspection is my next step and then ask to terminate my contract. Anyone had this situation before

jesster_2

I would have a chat with the Citizens Advice Bureau.

Even if you are tied in for 2 years there's a) usually a 'break' at 6 or 12 months, and b) if the flat has a serious problem that the agent lied to you about, or which isn't being sorted out, you must have some right to break the contract. Especially as the flat is making your girlfriend ill! (If you're going to have to get into a fight might be worth getting armed with a doc's note...)

CAB would be able to advise re the second point.

ethank

Local Councils have a legal obligation to take action against any landlords, whether private or social/housing association landlords if the conditions of the property affects the health of the occupier, for example, if it is damp etc. This duty covers disrepair in common parts of blocks of flats, such as unhygienic rubbish chutes and noisy central heating.

If you think that the condition of the property is either affecting health or causing a nuisance, you should complain to the Environmental Health Department of your local authority. They must investigate and, if appropriate, give your landlord a notice instructing them to carry out the necessary repairs. If your landlord does not comply with the notice, they could be prosecuted and the local authority can carry out the repair work itself, and send them the bill.

In my experience, advising your management company that your are aware of law, and the threat of passing it on to the council immediately resolves the issue. Good Luck with this.

inmypocketnottheirs

dj0586 wrote:

It is part of a block and i am on the end, i think its a newish build not sure timewise, have already thought about the photos and dehumidifiers seem so expensive and without sounding complacent, surely it shoulnt be my responsibility. I think the inspection is my next step and then ask to terminate my contract. Anyone had this situation before

I think it is quite possible, epsecially if it is a new property, that it is airborne moisture causing the problems. As I said previously, if you are drying clothes indoors, or causing a lot of condensation through cooking and showering, this is a likely cause. Modern properties are so well draught proofed, and there are no air bricks or other methods of ventilation, that the airborne moisture can not escape.

If this is the cause, then it is not the fault of the landlord, it is an inherant design of modern property. We have a similar problem in our house built in 1970, if we do not use a dehumidifer, then we get black mold along the ceiling in the main bedroom.

Where and how are you drying laundry?

Where ever the mould accumulates is the coldest point, the only solution is to fit an airbrick, use a dehumidifier, open a window or fit an extractor fan in the kitchen and bathroom.

Sulli

ethank wrote:

Local Councils have a legal obligation to take action against any landlords, whether private or social/housing association landlords if the conditions of the property affects the health of the occupier, for example, if it is damp etc. This duty covers disrepair in common parts of blocks of flats, such as unhygienic rubbish chutes and noisy central heating.

If you think that the condition of the property is either affecting health or causing a nuisance, you should complain to the Environmental Health Department of your local authority. They must investigate and, if appropriate, give your landlord a notice instructing them to carry out the necessary repairs. If your landlord does not comply with the notice, they could be prosecuted and the local authority can carry out the repair work itself, and send them the bill.

In my experience, advising your management company that your are aware of law, and the threat of passing it on to the council immediately resolves the issue. Good Luck with this.

Exactly right. Your local council will have a housing enforcement team, with EHOs and enforcement officers who will take action for what could be statutory disrepair. This will potentially cost the landlord a lot firstly to rectify, secondly in fines if it goes to court and thirdly in his reputation with the local authority who monitor private landlords (to a greater or lesser extent depending on the authority).
Also, the 'disrepair' constitutes a fundamental breach of contract. You are either an assurred or an assured shorthold tenant - you landlord can't contract you out of that, whatever the tenancy agreement says, and as such can serve notice on him for disrepair, or give notice on contract as he is in fundamental breach if he doesn't rectify it. Further, if you claim against him and prove he wasn't expedient in carrying out repairs (make a log of all reports you made to managing agent) he could be held negligent and liable for damages for any health problems.
You can take it as far as you want really. CAB is a good start, or just go to a court and ask for forms to claim against a landlord.
Good Luck.

Meeten

this place is now un-inhabitable !!

there is no way that the LL can expect you to stay in this place - and therefore you should be in a position to cancel your contract. BUT, before you do this, aproach them to rectify the situation - they are probably unaware that the work they carried out has not been carried out to a satisfactory manner! Give them the opp to get this sorted, but make it clear that you are unhappy, and they have a legal requirement to ensure the place is habitable.

I also agree with the points made previously about contacting the local authority, CAB, management agency ......

Good luck and I hope that you can get this sorted.

In the meantime, it may be advisabel to start looking for another place ...!