private tenant PLEASE HELP

read07

i am a tenent of a private landlord, who i get on with quite well apart from when it comes to the property.
it is 3 bedroom house but is in BAD need of repair
1 the boiler leaks
2 spotlights in kitchen out of about 12 only 1 works
3 big hole under fire surround in living room
4 no back up heating or hot water when the boiler breaks down (of which is often)
5 door frames coming away from wall
6 look through the holes where the spotlight should be and you can see right outside
7 no loft insulation
the list could go on and on

do not know where i stand on this PLEASE HELP
ps don't know if this matters but i have a young daughter
thanks in advance

shellsuit

Do you have your boiler serviced annually? Mine leaks sometimes, but it's not constant. If yours is constant, have you told your LL?

I don't understand the back up heating part ~ I don't have back up, infact I don't know anyone who does (whether a tenant or have bought their own home).

Loft insulation isn't a must.

Do the spotlights just need bulbs? If so, they will be upto you to replace.

Is the hole under the fire surround just cosmetic? If so, then your LL won't have to do anything.

Door frames - loose or hanging off? If loose, just be careful with them ~ if hanging off, tell your LL.

PROFESSIONAL_LANDLORD

You could get your local council involved, but I doubt that would work in the long term, I would vote with my feet and look for another property, (if possible) your LL needs a long empty period for a reality check.

MissMoneypenny

Agree about phoning your local council and ask to speak to Private Lettings. They can send someone round to inspect the property and will deal with your landlord. Then look for somewhere else to live, where the landlord does his repairs quickly.

The councils keep lists of the landlords that are bought to their attention, but I don't know if they would allow you to check those names so that you avoid another bad landlord. You could always ask?

mlz1413

read07 wrote: »

i am a tenent of a private landlord, who i get on with quite well apart from when it comes to the property.
it is 3 bedroom house but is in BAD need of repair
1 the boiler leaks water or gas leak? if gas buy yourself a CO2 detector and look to move out. Also if your GSC is up to date the boiler has the engineer ever commented on the boiler?
2 spotlights in kitchen out of about 12 only 1 works replace the bulbs then.
3 big hole under fire surround in living room a hole to where the outside? or just a gap?
4 no back up heating or hot water when the boiler breaks down (of which is often) buy yourself oil filled rads from somewhere like argos and take them with you when you leave.
5 door frames coming away from wall did you damage them, are the frames old or rotten or have they been the same for the all the rental period?
6 look through the holes where the spotlight should be and you can see right outside is this the kitchen spotlights? where have the spotlights gone? are these in the ceiling so you are saying there is no roof or are they in the walls and the holes are too big?
7 no loft insulation not a legal requirement but not an expensive job and would save a lot in heating.
the list could go on and on - why stay then?

do not know where i stand on this PLEASE HELP
ps don't know if this matters but i have a young daughter
thanks in advance

Items in red are my thoughts on your complaints.

But how long have you lived there, has the house been the same since you moved in? Is the rent cheap to reflect the condition of house?

Have you ever put your complaints in writing- ie NOT text.

Has your LL ever promised repairs / replacements and not delivered?

How long do you have left on AST? do you want to stay?

tbs624

read07 wrote: »

i am a tenent of a private landlord, who i get on with quite well apart from when it comes to the property.

If he's your LL he needs to act like one, rather than being matey in any other respect, but have you actually informed him of these issues *in writing* and kept copies? You need a paper trail if you want to get things done properly.

Has the LL had annual gas safety checks and given you a copy of the gas safety certificate? If he has done neither of those things then he is breaking the law. He is legally obliged to maintain space and water heating systems in good safe working order: if the boiler breaks down regularly then he has to make alternative arrangements for you to have hot water & heating available if he cannot get it fixed within a "reasonable" time.

On the lighting, do you mean that the spotlight sockets are broken or just that the bulbs need replacing? The first is the LLs responsibility, the second is yours.

On insulation, as the others have said there is no legal requirement to provide this but if you are on benefits a /low income then your LL can get grants to get this done.

Under the LLs "repairing obligations" he has to maintain the structure of the building so there shouldn't be holes in the roof or window frames or external door frames that don't fit/close properly.

You could try talking to a CAB adviser (ask for one with LL&T experience) if you need help with letters or have a look here and here

If you can't get the LL to act after you have raised all the issues (because you say that there are others) then you should ask for the local council to assess the property under the Housing Health and Safety Rating System (HHSRS). There will be an Tenancy Relations Officer/ private sector rentals team at your local Council who can help you with this.

Some LLs are very good at being "matey" whilst shirking their legal obligations - it seems to be a frequent occurrence with LLs of student properties, for example.

You don't say whether you are still within a Fixed Term, or whether your tenancy agreement is now running month to month, but are there other properties in the area that you could possibly consider applying for if you served appropriate notice?

Did you pay a tenancy deposit and, if yes, has the LL sceheme-registered it and given you the prescribed information as required by law? ( assuming property in Eng/Wales and the deposit was paid after 6 April 2007)

Jomo

Find yourself a new rental!!!

The question is, how much time is left on your contract!!

Jowo_2

read07 wrote: »

i am a tenent of a private landlord, who i get on with quite well apart from when it comes to the property.
it is 3 bedroom house but is in BAD need of repair
1 the boiler leaks

My tenant stuffed luggage into my boiler cupboard, which knocked the little tap that controls the pressure (which needs regular topping up) that led to a very slow leak which eventually showed through the ceiling of the room below. If its something as simple as this, tighten it, if you can't understand where its coming from report it to the landlord to get it inspected asap.

2 spotlights in kitchen out of about 12 only 1 works

My tenant bitterly complained regularly of kitchen lights tripping the cooker. It transpired that they had fitted the wrong wattage bulbs, which they were responsible for, there was no fault whatsover. Make sure you have checked if they are just dead bulbs, that they are the right wattage, before you ask the landlord to call out an electrician.

3 big hole under fire surround in living room
4 no back up heating or hot water when the boiler breaks down (of which is often)

Yes, as sensitive electrical/mechanical units, boilers breakdown. Keep good records of the downtime that affects you. Seek compensation in terms of rent rebate from the landlord. Suggest to the landlord to supply you with portable heaters as contingency. The main thing is to ensure the landlord has provided a safety certificate which he is obliged to do on an annual basis.

5 door frames coming away from wall
6 look through the holes where the spotlight should be and you can see right outside
7 no loft insulation

This is classed as an improvement. There is no statutory obligation for a landlord to provide this. You took on the property without it. If its important to you as a criteria for renting, it is up to you to restrict yourself to more insulated properties. If you are on benefits or are a pensioner, there are often schemes to improve insulation, replace boilers and the like, that are run through the local council or national schemes. Sometimes there are grants where the financial status of the tenant is not relevant. Your landlord would be thrilled if you identified any grants for this.

the list could go on and on

do not know where i stand on this PLEASE HELP
ps don't know if this matters but i have a young daughter
thanks in advance

The landlord is obliged to ensure the infrastructure of the property is sound (heating/hot water) and there are no health/safety hazards but there are boundaries.

Tenants are expected to perform basic maintenance activities that any other householder would perform, such as changing bulbs and fuses, tightening loose screws, setting timers, topping up the pressure on boilers and the like. Some landlords are happy to do this type of activities but some resent tenants who aren't aware of their obligations and think they only have to pay the rent and can chuck everything else over to them.

Tenants cannot expect repairs to take place any quicker than any other householder can get things sorted.

You should not read this as being directed against yourself: As a landlord myself, nothing winds me up faster than a tenant who does not facilitate repairs, either by failing to report them, getting me out to attend to repairs which prove not to have a fault or be their responsibility to resolve, giving me attitude about the speed of a repair that they've known about for weeks but have only reported to me that actual moment and demanding improvements that they are not entitled to - requests for new furniture, putting up pictures, new furnishings, redecoration and so on.

Shelter provides fab info on their site in how to report repairs, escalate them if not done and how to keep good written records.