Rental repairs and withholding rent

tbs624

mahoney wrote: »

To get the LL to move (see Flower08's post)

Flower08s suggestion may have worked for her but it's wrong advice.Tenants shouldn't "withhold" rent, however tempting. Rent and repairs are separate issues. ( Not condoning LLs who don't repair, however)

You can read up on the correct way to deal with it if you want to get the repair done and deduct money from your future rent as reimbursement. It is not the quickest way to get resolve. See p16 Can I do the work and take the money out of my rent? in this booklet

bobby-boy_2

mahoney wrote: »

To get the LL to move (see Flower08's post)

That would be the post where he says he is not sure of the legality and totally ignores Jowo's post that says

Quote"Tenants cannot withhold rent - they merely breach their contract and even if its in response to a landlord's poor behavior, it's still classed as arrears."

Even the Shelter site says get it fixed and bill the landlord.
but you see it as "a waste of money", your words not mine even tough it will not cost you anything as it will be deducted from your rent so the landlord can not take you to court for arrears.

So arrange for it to be fixed or do nothing and that includes stop complaining about the oven if your not prepared to get it fixed.

Sounds hard but it now looks like you want an excuse not to pay the rent.

blckbrd

I'm sure it's horrible for you not having the oven but you're not completelty without cooking facilities. If you were to withold rent, what sort of proportion do you think the absence of a working oven is reasonably worth?

lellow_lorry

As said before witholding rent is not a good idea unless you are prepared to go to court and your case is water tight. Comment on no oven for 2 months is not unreasonable.......is nonsense... if it was the LL's house would he go that long, not likely. Secondly an oven costs as little as £150 (built in) So no LL should be sitting on their hands.

bobby-boy_2

lellow_lorry wrote: »

Comment on no oven for 2 months is not unreasonable.......is nonsense... i

Hi Yellow Lorry you picked me up wrong, I said
"2 months is NOT a resonable time to be without an oven" Not reasonable is the opposite of not unreasonable as you put.

1 week may be a "reasonable" time without an ovenallowing the landlord time to source a new one and arrange instalation but NOT 2 months. Was actually agreeing with poster.

lellow_lorry

Sorry bobby...point taken. i should read the quote properly.:o

tbs624

Bobby -boy's clearly read stuff in a rush too - the OP says this has been going on since *August* , ie 3 months which makes it even more unreasonable

Two months is how much longer the OP will be in the property.

PasturesNew

mahoney wrote: »

don't particualry want to waste money on finding a oven for LL when I need to be buying a new oven for my new place (amongst another 100 things to do )

If it were me I'd pick up a cheap combination oven for now, you can get some really good ones for about £60-70. Then you can take it with you to your new place. They're really handy because they heat up almost instantly and are great for cooking small amounts, so if you've just got some oven chips, a pie or a jacket potato. They're fuel efficient, they work on a timer so you never forget you have something in and don't have to keep an eye on it. They are also a microwave oven.

When you move into your new house, it can then act as a backup, or you can even sell it again.

Or what about one of those Halogen ovens you see if you stay up late watching TV. JML Halogen ovens, there are threads about these on MSE. They are brilliant too and cost about £30-50.

Sometimes it's just easier to take things into your own hands and find an affordable flexible system that will provide benefits you hadn't thought of before.

BitterAndTwisted

Smart thinking Pastures New. If they get lucky they might even find one looking for a new home on Freecycle. You never know