Human waste coming through kitchen sink landlord still wants rent money

silvercar

vexd wrote: »

im glad you all find the situation funny.

By the way i have not paid any money to landlord since the troubles started.

Even since the problem has been fixed??

bumpoowee

vexd wrote: »

im glad you all find the situation funny.

By the way i have not paid any money to landlord since the troubles started.

To be honest if I was you I'd just find somewhere else to live. A good proportion of landlords are human waste themselves so you're not likely to get anywhere without going to court and it's probably too late for that now.

I had a similar problem in student halls where !!!! was being smeared on our front door and posted through the letterbox but we never got anywhere with that or any money back or off the rent.

Welshwoofs

vexd wrote: »

im glad you all find the situation funny.

It helps to have a sense of humour in times of adversity....

By the way i have not paid any money to landlord since the troubles started.

Hang on, if you've not paid any rent since the problem started, what are you posting needing help with? It sounds as though you sorted out the rent reduction aspect all by yourself and as many people have said, including someone in microbiology, a bleach round will take care of the rest. What else are you looking for?

Fire_Fox

vexd wrote: »

im glad you all find the situation funny.

By the way i have not paid any money to landlord since the troubles started.

The situation is funny: granted we wouldn't be laughing if it happened to us, but you probably would in that case! We've also given advice but it's not what you want to hear. You are putting yourself in the wrong and risking eviction by withholding rent. You may think your actions are 'fair' but you are acting outside the law. Read your tenancy agreement and you will see what the correct course of action is in case of complaint. Bet you a tenner it says what we have.

BitterAndTwisted

bumpoowee wrote: »

I had a similar problem in student halls where !!!! was being smeared on our front door and posted through the letterbox but we never got anywhere with that or any money back or off the rent.

Are you saying the landlord was personally responsible for the bemerding? Could you prove it?

To be honest, you sound like the kind of joker who'd threaten to sue the travel company if the sun didn't shine every day on your Spanish beach holiday. Instead of accusing landlords of being "human waste" I think I could probably make a good case for the same accusation being made about students. Who do you think was doing the s1hite-smearing?

clutton_2

""Originally Posted by real1314
…cooking with excrement…
I had that book, but I gave it to a charity shop."

please dont give Hestor blumenthal any more bizarre ideas !!!!!

Strapped

OP, re. the sink - I'd agree with the other posters who said you do not need a new sink, just a thorough clean with plenty of bleach and some heavy duty drain cleaner.

Re. the fact that you felt you had to stay somewhere else while the problem was sorted - I'd say it would be fair to ask for a rent reduction for the period in question. IF there was indeed poo coming up out of the sink (and you can prove that - photos, reports from visiting drain fixers, etc?) But make sure that you are up to date with your rent since the problem was fixed or your LL will (rightfully) be very resistant to any negotiation. Do you rent direct or via a letting agency?

I once rented a 4 bed house where it "rained" in the main bedroom from the night we moved in. That bedroom was not usable at all and black mould grew all over the walls despite our best efforts (and manky DIY repairs from our amateur LL). We ended up agreeing to move out early, and a rent reduction although we had to prove willing to go to small claims to get said reduction. My advice, decide what you want to achieve (rent reduction for the period? to move?), write to the LA or LL, be polite but firm and good luck.

franklee

N79 wrote: »

True - but I was once getting all ready to blame a T when a house drain appeared to be mostly blocked (but not totally blocked). Culprit turned out to be a tree root which had grown through the sewer pipe, restricting the flow so much that the sewer was backing. So a non human fault cause is still possible!

Yes I was thinking tree roots, especially as the neighbour had subsidence which can also be down to tree roots.

franklee

real1314 wrote: »

The problem has been solved, so all your points about cooking with excrement don't apply.

I was talking about them with respect the the OPs question about a rent rebate which seems reasonable, the points being to establish if the property was not habitable due to the excrement.

OK the OP hasn't paid the rent, so then that leaves determining how much back rent is due to be paid. Obviously the LL noticed the lack of payment so presumably it has been discussed.

shesh-kabab

Frankly, the way I read this is that you are trying to shut the door long after the horse has bolted, you are putting yourself in (at the very least) the grey area of the law by withholding monies for a problem that has been fixed.
Imagine you move in to a nice new flat (new to you that is) and you give it the once over with the bleach/disinfectant - to you it's 'clean', 'hygienic' you are not aware that in the last few months that toilet water has been languishing on the kitchen worktops... you cook and go about your life - in short what the eye doesn't see the heart will not grieve over... however you have alas, witnessed 'what lies beneath' and this troubles you. What troubles me is that you seemingly stuck it out - why? Why go through all that filth and then move out - what were you doing to clean during this time and presumably you were also preparing food during this event? Have you been brow beaten by your friends who have since found out about this and have doubtless given you their pearls of wisdom about compensation etc (sadly we live in a blame society).
It strikes me that when told your LL either the LL already knew of the neighbours problems and second guessed them to be associated with yours or was very quick to do his homework on the neighbours and uncovered the root of the problem, however the neighbours would more than likely been pursuing a claim on their buildings insurance and that will have lead to the delay in getting the problem fixed. Though I accept that this may have been a hideous situation to live with I cannot sympathise with you for not striking sooner.

Please don't get the wrong end of the stick with me about this post (that would of course be the Sh*tty end)