Landlady not fixing shower

mrposhman

I'm not sure I have this in the right place but I guess it will be moved if not.

I have been renting a 1 bed flat for around about 20 months now. I notified my landlady that the shower was being problematic as it was continually struggling to pump water. I notified her of this before Christmas. The day I notified her she was going on holiday so she said she would try to get in touch with her contractor and would email me.

I heard nothing for weeks and eventually decided to get my own plumber in as the shower pretty much completely gave up. So I called one round at the end of January who said that we needed a new shower as the electric shower was failing to spark the internal pump. I immediately notified my landlady of this to which she stated she would get in touch with her contractor again, stating that the delay was because she had to go to hospital and her contractor was not returning her calls.

Its continued like this for the last few months where the same issues have come up with why she hasn't had it fixed. I've had to shower at work as there was myself, my partner and my daughter in the flat so the amount of hot water available for baths is limited.

She said she would contact a different contractor but frankly now seems ridiculous to me.

Now to all those legal eagles out there. Am I within my rights to withhold my rent? I'm going to bring up with her that I've been paying a significant amoutn (£850 a month) to get a flat which frankly isn't fit for purpose as I would not rent a flat without a shower for 4 months now.

I will be serving my notice shortly but just wondering if anyone has any views on what my legal position, am I covered by common law on this?

Thanks in advance for your help.

theartfullodger

I'm not sure if the Landlady knows you got your own contractor in to fix the shower (her property) and if you had her permission.#

This is a tricky area.. see
http://england.shelter.org.uk/get_advice/repairs_and_bad_conditions/repairs_in_private_lets

I'd advise trying to ensure Landlady, whilst she should have sorted it ages ago, is OK with you working on her stuff..

cheers!

Lodger

mrposhman

Thanks. I've told her that I had him round and exactly what he said. She has had plenty of time to have someone else come round to check what he had said.

She has told me she is happy to pay for the bill that I had to pay the plumber for coming round so seems she believes that there is a problem.

Lavendyr

Sorry for your problem - there are some monkey landlords out there.

Have a look at this link from Shelter - it will tell you the correct process for withholding rent. I would keep everything in writing with your LL from now on.

http://england.shelter.org.uk/get_advice/repairs_and_bad_conditions/repairs_in_private_lets/landlord_refusing_to_do_repairs

tbs624

No, you are not within your rights to "withhold" rent - repairs and rent are two separate issues.Simply withholding rent can lead to poor references and an eviction but you could request that your LL reimburses you for a proportion of your rent for the time in which you have not had use of a working shower.

You can do also look at following a very specific procedure outlined by Shelter here, in which you eventually get someone in to do the work and if the LL does not cover the costs, you deduct the amount from a rental payment.Ts should however seek proper advice before doing this and be careful not to miss out any of the stages.

IMO, as its a problem involving bathroom electricals the LL should be taking full responsibility for ensuring that the repair /replacement is dealt with by an appropriately qualified plumber/electrican.

Did you notify the LL of the problem *in writing*? Once a T has done this a LL has to deal with the matter within a "reasonable" period of time. The fact that you have alternative washing facilities would mean that there was probably a little more leeway in terms of that reasonableness but clearly not to this extent.

If you started off with a working shower then that is what you are entitled to for the duration of your tenancy: ring your local Council, who will have a Tenancy Relations Officer who deals solely with private tenancy matters. They can help you with this, liaising with the LL if necessary.

Edit:sorry, Lavendyr. Have now read your post - same info from Shelter, just in different forms :-)

mrposhman

Thanks for all the help guys. We have also noticed that there appears to be mould within the walls and the windows. I'm not sure if the windows are rotten as they are wood but its possible. We have cleaned it off a couple of times but it always comes back indicating to me that there is more under the surface so won't go away without proper treatment.

I will email her tomorrow (I have emails pretty much the whole way along so decent paper trail) asking about the shower and commenting on the mould. She will have to fully decorate again too when we move out as some of the paint is peeling from the walls (doesn't sound great but its not overly bad). She can't withhold any of my deposit for this as I would think the walls should be painted every couple of years and we have been here as I say about 20-21 months and she has done no maintenance.

real1314

mrposhman wrote: »

Thanks for all the help guys. We have also noticed that there appears to be mould within the walls and the windows. I'm not sure if the windows are rotten as they are wood but its possible. We have cleaned it off a couple of times but it always comes back indicating to me that there is more under the surface so won't go away without proper treatment.

I will email her tomorrow (I have emails pretty much the whole way along so decent paper trail) asking about the shower and commenting on the mould. She will have to fully decorate again too when we move out as some of the paint is peeling from the walls (doesn't sound great but its not overly bad). She can't withhold any of my deposit for this as I would think the walls should be painted every couple of years and we have been here as I say about 20-21 months and she has done no maintenance.

1. Mould is frequently caused by condensation due to lack of ventialtion - the idea that it's "under the surface" seems a bit odd to me. It can often be due to the way you live your life.

2. You might think the walls should be painted every couple of years, not everyone would agree. My kitchen hasn't been painted for over 4 years and still looks very nice.

3. The plumbers comment about the electric shower not "sparking the pump" - sounds like something made up to me - afaik electric showers use the mains pressure (but inae).

mrposhman

real1314 wrote: »

1. Mould is frequently caused by condensation due to lack of ventialtion - the idea that it's "under the surface" seems a bit odd to me. It can often be due to the way you live your life.

2. You might think the walls should be painted every couple of years, not everyone would agree. My kitchen hasn't been painted for over 4 years and still looks very nice.

3. The plumbers comment about the electric shower not "sparking the pump" - sounds like something made up to me - afaik electric showers use the mains pressure (but inae).

1 - That is true that its caused by condensation but we live in a 1st floor flat and there is a giant bush literally right outside the window and wasps and hornets live in it. I've had the windows open before but the wasps and hornets fly into the flat and as I have a young daugther (<1) I don't really want this to happen so generally don't open the windows. There is no other ventilation in the flat other than an extractor fan in the kitchen and the bathroom.

2 - Where the paint is coming off in the most part (most of the other areas are ok) is just above the heaters. We have electric heaters and this appears to have warmed the walls and (possibly creating condensation) has caused the paint to peel.

3 - I saw that this was the case. He took the case off, turned on the power and tried to start the shower. All that came out was an electrical spark as it tried to spark the pump into action. Apparantly there are a couple of different types of electrical shower and this one sparks the pump from the shower unit itself (I'm not a plumber, but I definately saw the spark)

sooz

mrposhman wrote: »

1 - That is true that its caused by condensation but we live in a 1st floor flat and there is a giant bush literally right outside the window and wasps and hornets live in it. I've had the windows open before but the wasps and hornets fly into the flat and as I have a young daugther (<1) I don't really want this to happen so generally don't open the windows. There is no other ventilation in the flat other than an extractor fan in the kitchen and the bathroom.

You 'generally haven't opened the windows' in your flat since you moved in?? Your flat must really smell :eek:
Any mould is certainly down to your lifestyle choices.

If the large wasp & hornet hiding bush is in an area that you can access & maintain, have you considered trimming it. If it's not in your garden, ask the owner of the bush to trim it so as not to block your windows. Or consider putting some insect screening across your windows. This can be attached with velcro, & easily removed.

As for the shower, follow the links that tbs has given, for how to ensure your shower is fixed asap, without resorting to witholding rent.

mrposhman

sooz wrote: »

You 'generally haven't opened the windows' in your flat since you moved in?? Your flat must really smell :eek:
Any mould is certainly down to your lifestyle choices.

If the large wasp & hornet hiding bush is in an area that you can access & maintain, have you considered trimming it. If it's not in your garden, ask the owner of the bush to trim it so as not to block your windows. Or consider putting some insect screening across your windows. This can be attached with velcro, & easily removed.

As for the shower, follow the links that tbs has given, for how to ensure your shower is fixed asap, without resorting to witholding rent.

LOL we regularly open the window in the kitchen so that it doesn't smell.

I'll have to monitor the mould. i might be able to clean it off just before I leave and I might get my deposit back before she notices.

The bush is just below my window and is in communal grounds. I don't actually know who controls and maintains the communal area. Nothing in my contract about it and never found out myself.

scousethife

Refuse to pay the rent till its fixed!