help with Landlord problems

ryn192

Hi can anyone give me advise on problem with my student daughter and friends tennancy. They viewed a house in January which was basically a squat, the agent assured us it would have a full refurb, unknown to us they devised a list which all students signed, unfortunalty it fell far short of the full refubishment needed. They agreed a rent of £70.00 far exceeding the local area thinking they were getting again a full refurbishment.
On the 1 st of July it was not ready and apparently was not signed over by the agent, no advise was given by agent not to move in as they were all given keys, although 3 moved in they have not slept there because of state of bathroom and smell, etc. We have sent letters and emails and have met with agents and landlady, who have subsequenlty come back with a list of works which do not come up to standard, also we have tried to get the rent reduced due to standard of property but have had no reply on that. We would like to know if we can claim for breach of contract for not being ready on the moving in day and that there are breaches in H&S with H.M. O regulations.

thanks for any replies

anselld

Sorry to hear your plight. I have just gone through a nightmare year similar with my daughter.

In the first instance I would get your daughter to request a visit from the Environmental Health team from the council. They regulate private lettings, particularly HMO and they should at least force any health and safety issues to be addressed with urgency. They won't be interested in cosmetics though.

This happened at my daughters last let and the LL was served a 48 hour enforcement notice to fix various things, fire hazards, etc.

Safety should be the first consideration and this is the quickest way.

If they want out entirely they would all need to move out, stop paying rent and sue for breach of contract. If the LL has not paid deposits into a recognised protection scheme also sue for three months rent.

ryn192

Hi thanks for post nice to know we are not on our own, will talk to H. E. O about this.

princeofpounds

There are two parallel things to consider here.

One is the issue of getting out of the contract. This will not be straightforward if the LL has fulfilled his contractual obligations and does not want to let you leave. With such a bad LL, you can very possibly negotiate to leave by pointing out your leverage in several of these matters:

- Did the LL protect the deposit and send through the required information within 14 days?
- Did the LL ensure a gas safety certificate?
- Did the LL have an HMO license if the home qualifies for such a thing?
- Did the LL have an EPC at the time of letting if it was recent enough to qualify?
- Are there any issues with the house that might necessitate the involvement of environmental health and/or building control?

Maybe other posters can come up with a few more ideas there...

No need to be threatening, just point it out and ask if it would be easier to negotiate a mutual departure (get it in writing!)

Then the second issue is, if stuck, how to make the best of it. Cosmetic damage you can ask LL if he will fix. If not, you can ask if you can do it yourself. A coat of paint is easy and may only hide the problem for a few months but that may be all you need and long term viability is not required.

But functional damage - you can write to the LL with a full list and request/require repair. If he does not do it within a reasonable amount of time (depends on what the problem is) then tenants have a right to effect repairs and offset rent later on (NOT to withhold rent). This is established in case law, Lee-Parker vs Izzet 1971. Google it, the Shelter website tells you the procedure (which is strict). If the LL realises you will be deducting a large repair bill he may also be more amenable to letting you go.

tbs624

They viewed a house in January which was basically a squat, the agent assured us it would have a full refurb, unknown to us they devised a list which all students signed, unfortunalty it fell far short of the full refubishment needed. They agreed a rent of £70.00 far exceeding the local area thinking they were getting again a full refurbishment.

You may have a bit of a problem here - you're saying that the Ts have signed and agreed both a list of items to be repaired/refurbed and a rental amount?

Did they not read what they were signing? It's very difficult to argue for a full refurb that *you* would like to see completed if the T's themselves have effectively agreed to less than that, *unless* the property is in such a state that it fails to meet acceptable standards under what is called HHSRS (Housing Health & Safety Rating System). This is what the local Council will use to assess the property. More info for you here link

On the 1 st of July it was not ready and apparently was not signed over by the agent, no advise was given by agent not to move in as they were all given keys, although 3 moved in they have not slept there because of state of bathroom and smell, etc.

I'm confused - if the LA didn't sign it over how come some of the Ts have moved in?

We have sent letters and emails and have met with agents and landlady, who have subsequently come back with a list of works which do not come up to standard, also we have tried to get the rent reduced due to standard of property but have had no reply on that.

So are you saying that the LL/LA are in dispute with workmen, or that you have pointed this list out to them?

In this scenario, I would to write to the LL and say that all Ts will only pay half rent until this matter is sorted out. I wouldn't ask - I'd tell, but they should put the money into a separate bank a/c and tell the LL that they are doing this.Get your daughter to write the letter because she is the T, she is an adult, & part of the whole going away to Uni thing is about learning how to deal with this sort of stuff.

The local Council have a private sector rentals officer /landlord liaision officer who can help. I suspect that the girls didn't find this property via the Uni accomms officer, as most Unis insist on LLs signing up to a code of conduct. Nevertheless the Accomms Officer should also be able to give some guidance.

As the others have said, your daughter should be checking up on gas saferty certs, EPC, HMO regs, desposit reg compliance etc

delboy123_2

We once rente a house which was supposed to be refurbished. We stopped paying rent, and guess what, the landlord promptly got it refurbished and for the inconvenience of the work we asked for galf the deposit back and got it!

You just have to be pushy!