help needed please

EasilyAggravated

right this could be a long one so bear with me

myself, my partner and 10 month old son rent a private house. when we moved in about 12 months ago, we signed a 6 month contract. the house was in need of some repairs but due to another story, we had no choice but to take it. the landlady is a dear old missus with plastic hips and a husband whos comin close to his innings end, so their son deals with everything, when we first moved in they said that they were going to service the gas fire. not been done. the kitchen has a built in cooker and oven. only 2 hobs work on the cooker and the oven is completely knackered. who would be responsible for this? btw only 2 worked when we moved in.
also, the fence at the bottom of the garden has rotten posts and duly decided to fall down, same again who's responsible?
the front of the house is double glazed but the back is not and the back door has serious rot at the bottoms, same again, whos responsible?
and lastly, when the tenancy ran out we asked for another one. got told they'd sort it. didnt hear anything so i rang them last week to be told i didnt need another tenancy and we'd just carry on renting 6 months at a time.

and one last thing. because the gas fires not been serviced in such a long time, i feel it could be to blame for my sons chest infections and possible diagnosis of asthma. am i jumping the gun or not here?
any and all advice is much appreciated

david29dpo

first, it is the law that all gas appliances are checked yearly. if this is not done soon the landlord will be in very serious trouble. after 6 months your tenancy drops to 1 months. not sure what you can do about the other problems, sorry

Bossyboots

My son has rented two properties and both times the landlords have been responsible for all repairs and if a cooker is provided as part of the tenancy (as it has been both time) and it breaks down (as it has done both times) the landlord has to replace it.

Likewise, my colleague is a landlord and has to effect the repairs to the property and has just replaced the cooker.

itsakidsworld

Write a letter to your landlord outlining all the problems with the property.

Keep the letter formal and polite and you will achieve more. State in the letter that it is a legal requirement of the landlord to ensure that all gas appliances are checked on a yearly basis and that you have to be provided with a copy of the certificate.

This is the most serious situation you have and so needs addressing today. Send the letter registered delivery for proof and state in it that if the gas certificate is not provided within the next 48 hours, you will instruct an independant corgi registered plumber to carry out the inspection and this will be deducted from the rent.

Ask the landlord regarding the other repairs, if they want you to get some quotations for the work. They may appreciate your help.

kaya

Responsibilities for repairs are your landlords responsibility unless stated otherwise in the tenancy, the gas check is annualy and called a landlords safety certificate, this is a legal requirement and MUST be done for your own safety, do a google for corgi and phone them for advise

chugalug

Just to confirm aswell that you don't need a new tenancy agreement. If the original term has expired the tenancy becomes a 'periodic tenancy' and will run as an assured shorthold. The landlord still has to give you the correct 2 months notice to quit (assuming he hasn't already served this at some point during the original tenancy) and you still have to give one month's notice to quit. Just pay your rent as normal and make sure you always get a receipt or have some record of it.

As others have said, the landlord is responsible for repairs and maintenance of all fixtures and fittings - anything that he/she provided with the property. All gas applicances have to, by law, have a yearly inspection and you should be given a copy of the safety certificate.

If you don't get anywhere with the landlord you can try your local authority who often have people in housing who negotiate with landlords or shelter. Your local shelter or helpline where you can ask for information on your rights can be found at https://www.shelter.org.uk HTH

clutton_2

i wonder if they know what their legal obligations are ? there are leaflets produced by the local council telling landlords what they must do. I agree that you should get a CORGI registered plumber to do a Landlords Safety Certificate as soon as is possible. It is a criminal offence for a landlord to not have undertaken this inspection.

let us know how you get on

EasilyAggravated

sincerest thanks to you all. the cooker we can live without. however im more concerned about my sons chest infection and asthma. he was a month or 2 after we moved here and later im off to buy a carbon monoxide tester just to make sure. over precaucios maybe but better safe than sorry. secondly how do i talk to someone that wants to complain about her husband knocking on deaths door? they wont give me their sons number to deal with him. and for all its worth hes about as much use as tits on a fish.
i'll do my little test first and due to me getting no sense from the landlady on several occasions i think i'll just go straight to the council and ask them to deal with it.
will let you all know what happens and once again thanks for the help

Jorgan_2

EasilyAggravated wrote:

later im off to buy a carbon monoxide tester just to make sure. over precaucios maybe but better safe than sorry. secondly how do i talk to someone that wants to complain about her husband knocking on deaths door? they wont give me their sons number to deal with him. and for all its worth hes about as much use as tits on a fish.

Don't mean to sound harsh but if the gas fire is faulty, it could be a member of your fire family knocking on deaths door. As a tenant you have rights, use them.

clutton_2

there has to be a landlords/agents address for "service of documents" on all Tenancy Agreements, write to that address recorded delivery, then go to the council if they have not got a corgi gas engineer out within 24 hours.

very best of luck

EasilyAggravated

there aint no mention of the gas fire in the tenancy. no 'service of documents' get mentioned. ive spoken to environmental health and they're going to sort it.