Is the cost of repair on me or my landlord?

tbs624

gingbeard wrote: »

I wish I could remember - obviously the listing has now been removed from the site... So I cannot check

You can check cached pages and should be able to find the ad that way.

If you look at the S11 repairing obligations you'll see that the LL is obliged :

"(b)to keep in repair and proper working order the installations in the dwelling-house for the supply of water, gas and electricity and for sanitation (including basins, sinks, baths and sanitary conveniences, but not other fixtures, fittings and appliances for making use of the supply of water, gas or electricity), and
(c)to keep in repair and proper working order the installations in the dwelling-house for space heating and heating water."

so even if you rightly view the shower as a fixture, as per Carol T's post, there isn't an obligation on the LL as part of the usual package of repairing responsibilities. You could probably argue the toss if there was no bath available, but unfortunately, when the LL & T Act 1985 was drafted it wasn't standard for bathrooms to have electric showers. That said, IMO any LL letting a property out with an electric shower that has not been checked out for safety is an idiot.

If the property was advertised as having a working shower then clearly the LA/LL have been careless. OP - you could see if you can find a copy of the original ad via the cached webpages and try asking for help the private sector rentals officer at the local council. If the shower is unsafe it may be that they could look at it under HHSRS ( Housing Health & Safety Rating System)

Maybe Ts would like to push their MPS and the Housing Minister for changes to the law that reflect the changes in standard provision. You could even aim for their Green credentials - it's so much better to use a shower than a bath.......

franklee

gingbeard wrote: »

OK, so I started renting a property on Tuesday. An inventory was done on the property and the electric shower is on there and listed as "to be maintained by tenant". The problem is the the shower does not work, it does not heat the water.
I rang my letting agency who also maintain the property, who have told me that it was probably put as "to be maintained by tenant" because it was faulty.

Did you get to see this shower clause before you signed up? If not then you could argue you expected the shower to be maintained by the landlord. If the clause with the landlord opting out was in the tenancy agreement then he's opted out. Usually I've been given the inventory on the day I move in having signed the tenancy agreement some days before hand. What happened in your case were you given the inventory before you made any commitment to the property, like handing over a deposit or signing the tenancy agreement?

Owain_Moneysaver

tbs624 wrote: »

If you look at the S11 repairing obligations you'll see that the LL is obliged :

(c)to keep in repair and proper working order the installations in the dwelling-house for space heating and heating water."

The shower is clearly an installation for heatign water, and the S11 does not say that the landlord is only obliged to maintain some of the installations or part of the installations.

If the shower was a mixer shower off the boiler then it wouldn't be an installation for heating water but a plumbing fixture, but an electric shower is a water heater.

At least, that's what I'd tell the landlord.

LittleMissAspie

tbs624 wrote: »

(including basins, sinks, baths and sanitary conveniences, but not other fixtures, fittings and appliances for making use of the supply of water, gas or electricity),

Wouldn't a shower be a sanitary convenience?

N79

LittleMissAspie wrote: »

Wouldn't a shower be a sanitary convenience?

No - thats parliamentary language for a toilet!