rent compensation?

watchingmymoney

Hi was hoping for some advice..the situation is that my landlord, who owns the entire building, has been having the office beneath my flat redone. He only told me the disruption would be minimal. I had no idea that he'd be knocking down brick walls, cutting steel beams, digging into cement, etc. The dust, noise, dirt (and, when they cut the beam, noxious burning odour for 3 days) has permeated my flat. I called the landlord the week it started at least twice, complaining of the dust and then the noxious odour and it took him 4 days to respond to my messages. I would have moved out that week (I work from home mostly and the air was so heavy with dust that I literally could not breath and had to hang my head out the window/run downstairs and out the door on several occassions...the front windows of the flat are painted shut and the only windows I could open are in the back of the flat and away from my desk/internet connection) but was unable to find temporary accommodation with friends until the 28th (10-11 days after the construction started). I have been staying at various friends places since, stopping back at the flat to pick up clothes/check my post. I sent my landlord a letter and an email asking for rent compensation and to respond to me by the 10th of June (since he wasn't answering his phone and if lucky I got to leave a message) from the start of the building works until I can move back in (so 4-5 weeks). He finally agreed to meet me last week on the 9th and basically said "building work happens all the time in London" and implied that I should just put up with it. I re-iterated my request and said "look I've been a good tenant for 3 years, I don't want a hassle, and this is a major hassle for me, having to find places to stay and haul my stuff back and forth." I said I was willing to put up with some noise but the dust and noise had been so bad during these 4-5 weeks (they had removed all insulation from below and only put up plastic sheeting yesterday!) that I simply was forced to flee the place. He asked if I wanted to stay on (I'm on a periodic tenancy), I said yes..and he said he'd get back to me with his response by the 10th. He didn't. So..am I entitled to compensation or not? All I'm asking for is my rent back as I haven't been able to live at the flat because being there while this heavy work is going on is causing breathing problems as well as ear and throat irritation..and the noise from the drills and hammers is deafening sometimes. Also they are still going to re-do the roof of the office downstairs (part of the roof is below my flat) and they need to rip out my bathroom pipes and re-do them (as the current arrangement causes "bumps" for the ceiling downstairs) as well as shut the electricity off for a bit to change over to a new meter for all areas (there is a flat above mine as well). My landlord expects me to live with this all and not to complain or expect any compensation. Is he legally in the wrong? Help!!!!

zppp

watchingmymoney wrote: »

Hi was hoping for some advice..the situation is that my landlord, who owns the entire building, has been having the office beneath my flat redone. He only told me the disruption would be minimal. I had no idea that he'd be knocking down brick walls, cutting steel beams, digging into cement, etc. The dust, noise, dirt (and, when they cut the beam, noxious burning odour for 3 days) has permeated my flat. I called the landlord the week it started at least twice, complaining of the dust and then the noxious odour and it took him 4 days to respond to my messages. I would have moved out that week (I work from home mostly and the air was so heavy with dust that I literally could not breath and had to hang my head out the window/run downstairs and out the door on several occassions...the front windows of the flat are painted shut and the only windows I could open are in the back of the flat and away from my desk/internet connection) but was unable to find temporary accommodation with friends until the 28th (10-11 days after the construction started). I have been staying at various friends places since, stopping back at the flat to pick up clothes/check my post. I sent my landlord a letter and an email asking for rent compensation and to respond to me by the 10th of June (since he wasn't answering his phone and if lucky I got to leave a message) from the start of the building works until I can move back in (so 4-5 weeks). He finally agreed to meet me last week on the 9th and basically said "building work happens all the time in London" and implied that I should just put up with it. I re-iterated my request and said "look I've been a good tenant for 3 years, I don't want a hassle, and this is a major hassle for me, having to find places to stay and haul my stuff back and forth." I said I was willing to put up with some noise but the dust and noise had been so bad during these 4-5 weeks (they had removed all insulation from below and only put up plastic sheeting yesterday!) that I simply was forced to flee the place. He asked if I wanted to stay on (I'm on a periodic tenancy), I said yes..and he said he'd get back to me with his response by the 10th. He didn't. So..am I entitled to compensation or not? All I'm asking for is my rent back as I haven't been able to live at the flat because being there while this heavy work is going on is causing breathing problems as well as ear and throat irritation..and the noise from the drills and hammers is deafening sometimes. Also they are still going to re-do the roof of the office downstairs (part of the roof is below my flat) and they need to rip out my bathroom pipes and re-do them (as the current arrangement causes "bumps" for the ceiling downstairs) as well as shut the electricity off for a bit to change over to a new meter for all areas (there is a flat above mine as well). My landlord expects me to live with this all and not to complain or expect any compensation. Is he legally in the wrong? Help!!!!

I cannot follow this, could you please paragraph it and repost under the following headings an bullet point your issues under;

Problem
What you have done to complain
What you expect out of it

Then I am sure we will be able to review it and have a look for you.

watchingmymoney

i was hoping for some advice..
the Problem: the situation is that my landlord, who owns the entire building, has been having the office beneath my flat redone. He only told me the disruption would be minimal. I had no idea that he'd be knocking down brick walls, cutting steel beams, digging into cement, etc. The dust, noise, dirt (and, when they cut the beam, noxious burning odour for 3 days) has permeated my flat. I called the landlord the week it started at least twice, complaining of the dust and then the noxious odour and it took him 4 days to respond to my messages. I would have moved out that week (I work from home mostly and the air was so heavy with dust that I literally could not breath and had to hang my head out the window/run downstairs and out the door on several occassions...the front windows of the flat are painted shut and the only windows I could open are in the back of the flat and away from my desk/internet connection) but was unable to find temporary accommodation with friends until the 28th (10-11 days after the construction started). I called him at least twice during the week of the 24th to complain (especially as one day I was stuck in the flat as the builders had ripped out the steps to the outside and I had to wait for them to be rebuilt). I sent him a text message on the 28th telling him that due to dust and dirt everywhere it caused breathing and throat problems and that I had been forced to leave the flat and was going to stay with friends. I have been staying at various friends places since, stopping back at the flat to pick up clothes/check my post.

What I did to complain:
I sent my landlord a letter on the 3rd of June and an email on the 7th of June asking for rent compensation and to respond to me by the 10th of June (since he wasn't answering his phone and if lucky I got to leave a message) from the start of the building works until I can move back in (so 4-5 weeks). He finally agreed to meet me last week on the 9th at the flat and basically said "building work happens all the time in London" and implied that I should just put up with it. I re-iterated my request and said "look I've been a good tenant for 3 years, I don't want a hassle, and this is a major hassle for me, having to find places to stay and haul my stuff back and forth." I said I was willing to put up with some noise but the dust and noise had been so bad during these 4-5 weeks (they had removed all insulation from below and only put up plastic sheeting yesterday!) that I simply was forced to flee the place. He asked if I wanted to stay on (I'm on a periodic tenancy), I said yes..and he said he'd get back to me with his response by the 10th. He didn't. So..am I entitled to compensation or not?

What I expect out of it:
All I'm asking for is my rent back as I haven't been able to live at the flat because being there while this heavy work is going on is causing breathing problems as well as ear and throat irritation..and the noise from the drills and hammers is deafening sometimes. Also they are still going to re-do the roof of the office downstairs (part of the roof is below my flat) and they need to rip out my bathroom pipes and re-do them (as the current arrangement causes "bumps" for the ceiling downstairs) as well as shut the electricity off for a bit to change over to a new meter for all areas (there is a flat above mine as well). My landlord expects me to live with this all and not to complain or expect any compensation. Is he legally in the wrong? Help!!!!

zppp

watchingmymoney wrote: »

He only told me the disruption would be minimal.

When was this and how much notice did he give?

watchingmymoney wrote: »

The dust, noise, dirt (and, when they cut the beam, noxious burning odour for 3 days) has permeated my flat.

Has the works actually affected your flat in any way, i.e., have the workmen been accessing your flat etc? Have you had any actual damage to anything?

watchingmymoney wrote: »

I called the landlord the week it started at least twice, complaining of the dust and then the noxious odour and it took him 4 days to respond to my messages.

Have you asked you LL about this? The reason I ask is he may have had a genuine reason not to answer your calls. Did you leave a message for him?

watchingmymoney wrote: »

the front windows of the flat are painted shut and the only windows I could open are in the back of the flat and away from my desk/internet connection)

How did the dust get in?

watchingmymoney wrote: »

I sent my landlord a letter on the 3rd of June and an email on the 7th of June asking for rent compensation and to respond to me by the 10th of June

I think that is unreasonable. If you took somebody to court you would give them 14 days. Say he didn't get your letter, how would he know?

watchingmymoney wrote: »

He finally agreed to meet me last week on the 9th at the flat and basically said "building work happens all the time in London" and implied that I should just put up with it.

I can see why you are frustrated, but lets put it a different way. If I kived in a semi-detatched house and my neighbour decided to conduct building work that had planning permission, so long as the noise is not at unreasonable hours, there would be very little recourse one could take.

watchingmymoney wrote: »

I re-iterated my request and said "look I've been a good tenant for 3 years, I don't want a hassle, and this is a major hassle for me, having to find places to stay and haul my stuff back and forth." I said I was willing to put up with some noise but the dust and noise had been so bad during these 4-5 weeks (they had removed all insulation from below and only put up plastic sheeting yesterday!) that I simply was forced to flee the place. He asked if I wanted to stay on (I'm on a periodic tenancy), I said yes..and he said he'd get back to me with his response by the 10th. He didn't. So..am I entitled to compensation or not?

Just because you stipulate you want a response by a certain date does not automatically entitle you to anything. I think if you play that card, you may find the LL won't renew your contract.

watchingmymoney wrote: »

All I'm asking for is my rent back as I haven't been able to live at the flat because being there while this heavy work is going on is causing breathing problems as well as ear and throat irritation..and the noise from the drills and hammers is deafening sometimes.

Did you get environmental health to have a look? They would have been able to produce a report confirming this was the case, and you may be able to claim on that basis.

watchingmymoney wrote: »

Also they are still going to re-do the roof of the office downstairs (part of the roof is below my flat) and they need to rip out my bathroom pipes and re-do them (as the current arrangement causes "bumps" for the ceiling downstairs) as well as shut the electricity off for a bit to change over to a new meter for all areas (there is a flat above mine as well). My landlord expects me to live with this all and not to complain or expect any compensation. Is he legally in the wrong? Help!!!!

So long as your LL gives reasonable noticce I think he is entitled to carry out maintainence to his property. This will be stated in your contract.

Overall, I think that you have had a bad experience, however, I think you would have to produce much more evidence than what it's worth.

watchingmymoney

@zppp:
The landlord sent a text on 25th April telling me they were due to start work that week and he would try to keep disruption to a minimum. The work didn't start that week..I woke up on Monday 17th May to find that the work started.

I did leave messages for him and it took him 4 to 5 days to respond. I called him when they started cutting the steel beam (although I didn't know that was what was causing the burning smell which permeated the flat from that Friday morning until at least Monday evening). In terms of the letter...I gave him a week. He told me on the 9th that he got both the letter and the email and that he would respond by the 10th which he has not done. You may think he should have 14 days but that is 14 days I'm paying for a flat I can not live in and am forced to rely on the kindness of friends to stay at their place.

The dust etc. has just been coming up through the floorboards it seems with my kitchen the worst affected (the dust is actually coming up inside the cabinets..all my pots/pans, cutlery...everything covered in dust) as well as covering every surface...cabinets, fridge, anything on counters, counters, flooring and it killed my plants).
I had been telling my landlord (via phone calls directly, phone messages and text messages) that I was having breathing problems from the dust and that the place was pretty much uninhabitable from the first week of the works (week of 17th May).

Unfortunately I did not get environmental health involved at first (the council and my upstairs neighbours, who have also been somewhat affected by the dust now are involved) as I had hoped he the landlord would be reasonable and recognize that since I had been forced to leave the flat, he would compensate me the time I had to be out. I told him I would live with some noise (while the rest of the works go on) but that for the 4 to 5 weeks that I have had health issues due to the dust, noxious gas, etc. and the flat was, to me, rendered inhabitabale, and I had to leave despite my paying rent, that I should be compensated for that. The one other time when there were problems in the flat (water gushing into my sitting room from the flat above having a leak) which required me to move out of my flat for a bit, the landlord did compensate me a weeks rent. I have taken lots of photos though including those that show the level of dust in the flat, the extent of the work being done (it is not "maitenance" but actual full on deconstruction/construction work going on), the fact that there were no dust sheets put up by the builders etc.


Noise is one thing, but dust and high noise levels making the flat unusable/unlivable is another.

The workmen have not had to access the flat yet (but will need to).

Yes this is an awful experience and the landlord has a responsibility under environmental legislation (1990) or so I thought.

zppp

watchingmymoney wrote: »

@zppp:
The landlord sent a text on 25th April telling me they were due to start work that week and he would try to keep disruption to a minimum. The work didn't start that week..I woke up on Monday 17th May to find that the work started.

I did leave messages for him and it took him 4 to 5 days to respond. I called him when they started cutting the steel beam (although I didn't know that was what was causing the burning smell which permeated the flat from that Friday morning until at least Monday evening). In terms of the letter...I gave him a week. He told me on the 9th that he got both the letter and the email and that he would respond by the 10th which he has not done. You may think he should have 14 days but that is 14 days I'm paying for a flat I can not live in and am forced to rely on the kindness of friends to stay at their place.

The dust etc. has just been coming up through the floorboards it seems with my kitchen the worst affected (the dust is actually coming up inside the cabinets..all my pots/pans, cutlery...everything covered in dust) as well as covering every surface...cabinets, fridge, anything on counters, counters, flooring and it killed my plants).
I had been telling my landlord (via phone calls directly, phone messages and text messages) that I was having breathing problems from the dust and that the place was pretty much uninhabitable from the first week of the works (week of 17th May).

Unfortunately I did not get environmental health involved at first (the council and my upstairs neighbours, who have also been somewhat affected by the dust now are involved) as I had hoped he the landlord would be reasonable and recognize that since I had been forced to leave the flat, he would compensate me the time I had to be out. I told him I would live with some noise (while the rest of the works go on) but that for the 4 to 5 weeks that I have had health issues due to the dust, noxious gas, etc. and the flat was, to me, rendered inhabitabale, and I had to leave despite my paying rent, that I should be compensated for that. The one other time when there were problems in the flat (water gushing into my sitting room from the flat above having a leak) which required me to move out of my flat for a bit, the landlord did compensate me a weeks rent. I have taken lots of photos though including those that show the level of dust in the flat, the extent of the work being done (it is not "maitenance" but actual full on deconstruction/construction work going on), the fact that there were no dust sheets put up by the builders etc.


Noise is one thing, but dust and high noise levels making the flat unusable/unlivable is another.

The workmen have not had to access the flat yet (but will need to).

Yes this is an awful experience and the landlord has a responsibility under environmental legislation (1990) or so I thought.

OK. So you have already been given 1 week's compensation. IMO I think that is quite reasonable for the inconvenience of having to stay with friends etc. (Which I imagine didn't cost as much)

I suggest that if you have had health problems as a result of the dust, that you contact a solicitor. You may have recourse if your version of events can be corroberated by your neighbours. It would have been strengthened had you got environmental health involved though. You would possibly need to see a specialist to corroberate your consequential medical problems.

To be honest, if all fails, you could get some advice from the CAB regarding this - they often have 30 minute drop ins for legal advice free of charge.

Wee_Willy_Harris

You clearly have some very strange ideas about friendship if your friends have charged you for helping out in an emergency.

clutton_2

i would suggest that the builders should have sheeted up more quickly to prevent as much dust as you seem to have experienced - and he could have put down sheeting in your room to prevent dust coming up through the floor...

has the LL actually been into your flat to see what has happened ? i suggest you now start writiing rather than emailing txting.....

watchingmymoney

The 1 week compensation was for when the water from upstairs flooded into my flat and i had to leave my flat (while still paying full rent). I left for over a week at that time (and that was about a year and half ago).
I have received no compensation from landlord for THIS current isssue. I am lucky I can stay with friends (who are not charging me as they are friends..if I didn't have them I'd have to stay at a hotel for all these weeks which I can not afford to do). Keep in mind I am still paying full rent while I am unable to live at my flat while all this building work going on. I had thought the law stated that when their is undue nuisance (and I think not being able to live/use a flat I am paying FULL rent on is huge nuisance) the landlord was legally liable. I am paying for use of the flat, I can not use it.
Why should I not be compensated my rent back for the time I can not use the flat? The landlord just can not have the right to do whatever he wants, make the place uninhabitable for me by his actions (he knew how extensive and extended the works would be, I had no idea) and expect me to just put up with it?

watchingmymoney

@Clutton: i have written him a letter, I have spoken to him in person, I have left phone messages (as he doesn't answer his phone much), I have texted and i have emailed. What else can I do?
There is dust throughout my flat in all the rooms. As I stated earlier, even the upstairs neighbours have had some dust (they are the 2nd and 3rd floor and I am the 1st floor flat).
The landlord FINALLY agreed to see the flat last Wednesday and even agreed there was a lot of dust. I have dated photos showing even more dust (I kept vacuuming/cleaning the place several times a day when I was there, before I could find temporary accommodation with friends).

clutton_2

i suggest letters so that you have a paper trail.... i think environmental health is your next step