v. complicated rent problem

2234

ok, this is a bit of a long story, but I really need some advice.

In august last year, me and my fiancee rented a 1 bed flat, with no shower (only a bath) and the boiler didnt seem to work. it was an immersion heater, and the boiler was insulated with some polystyrene ceiling tiles and some wallpaper around the pipes. We would put it on overnight (called economy 7 i think) but it would be cold by 8am, and if we put the boost on we would run the water straight away and it would always be cold. We couldn't figure out why this was, and waited until 2 months after first getting out tenancy before contacting out letting agents, as my dad who is also a landlord was coming to visit, and we wanted a second opinion before contacting them. We had someone come round to check the flat as a standard procedure (which they do after every two months) who agreed the boiler was both too small and illegally insulated. We then proceeded to contact the letting agents many, many more times, with various electricians and plumbers coming to see it, and even the landlord at one point, who simply said we 'shouldn't bother him about things we didn't understand' as, unlike him, we dont have an engineering degree and therefore are not qualified to say the boiler is illegal. I rang the council who said there was nothing they could do. So then at the beginning of January we contacted the letting agents to say we were stopping our direct debit in order to ensure something would get done, to which they said we could end our tenancy early. We took this offer as I am at uni, and working 20 hours a week, and living in this condition was making me depressed. But we are now thinking of taking the letting agents to court, as the whole time we were living there the landlord was in breach of the tenancy agreement, which states something like he is responsible for the upkeep of all electrical items.
I just wondered if anyone has been in a similar position, and if anyone at all has any advice. It musn't be allowed for someone to live for 6 months with no hot water, and i really feel we must be entitled to some kind of compensation for the time we lived there, and the fact nothing was done about it. Any advice would really be hugely appreciated

simpywimpy

YOu should have been given a copy of the gas and electric safety certificates when you moved in. If you weren't this is against the law I believe. You should ask your letting agent for the copies.

If the boiler was illegal, then it wouldn't have passed and you may therefore have cause to claim against the landlord and or agent

2234

I *think* this only became the law recently, but i coulld well be wrong. we got the flat in august 2008, if that makes any difference? but we were not given those at all (well, there is no gas anyway, but still) :P

silvercar

only gas certificates are complulsary.

50plusabit

simpywimpy wrote: »

YOu should have been given a copy of the gas and electric safety certificates when you moved in. If you weren't this is against the law I believe. You should ask your letting agent for the copies.

If the boiler was illegal, then it wouldn't have passed and you may therefore have cause to claim against the landlord and or agent

Did the OP say it was a immersion heater? then it would seem that it is all electric, so Gas safety certificate does not come in to it, neither does a EPC as that only came in in Oct.

clutton_2

what exactly are you wanting to sue the LL for ?

what monetary loss have you sustained ?

tbs624

If you are at University, can you talk to your accomms officer/welfare adviser for their support?

You say that you spoke to someone at the Council who couldn’t help - who did you talk to? Was it the Environmental Health Officer or a member of the Private Sector Rentals Team?

You mention the boiler and/or it's insulation being "illegal" - who has described it as such, and in what capacity?

Regardless of what it says in any tenancy agreement your LL is bound by the LL and T Act 1985 to keep the systems for space and water heating in good working order. S/he also owes you a common law duty of care to make sure that electrical systems/goods etc are safe. Did you put any of your complaints in writing &, if you did, have you kept copies?

Repairs and rent payments are separate issues - you shouldn’t just stop your standing order for your rent, tempting though this is, because to do so places you in breach of your own obligations. There is a set procedure that should have been followed if you were to get repairs done and try to “withhold” rent to pay for it, but you can’t just make your own decision on a form/amount of compensation.

If the LA/LL is saying that they will agree to you leaving early and that they will forgo the remaining rent, then they are in effect compensating you to some extent as they could insist on you paying the balance for the full fixed term . You can only end a contract early by agreement and even then, if that is at the Ts request, a LL may look to the T to continue paying the rent/other payments due under the contract terms until a new tenant can be found. The T can also be asked to pay the LL’s reasonable re-advertising costs. Get written confirmation from the LA of what exactly they are agreeing to.

Have you paid a tenancy deposit btw, and if you have, has the LL/LA scheme-registered it & given you the scheme’s “prescribed information”?