Renting nightmare, advice anyone?

the182guy

I've started renting a flat with my girlfriend, moved in about 10 days ago. We've had nothing but problems since we moved in, mainly with the plumbing. We're pretty much on our own due to moving 5-6 hours away from family. It's a two bedroom flat new flat, managed by the LL (company not individual) but used a LA to find tenant.

• No washing machine, this arrived on about day 6. On the 4th load of washing the floor was flooded in soapy water. After a day or two someone looked at it and found nothing so we were told to use it and keep an eye on it.

• No wheelie bin, this arrived on day 6 so we had 6 days worth of household waste kept in the flat.

• No phone number for LL other than 9-5 Mon-Fri office number.

• Big leak where washing machine should be. This was the day we moved in (Sat), and couldn't get hold of the LL until Monday. This was fixed on Monday, cause was a missing part on a pipe.

• No instructions for the heating/hot water system or any appliances. These arrived on about day 5 and were useless, wrong model for the dishwasher and the heating/water one was not an end users manual but an engineers technical schematics which consisted of lots of circuit diagrams etc. I have found the heating manual myself now from searching online.

• Major leak in airing cupboard where all heating and electrical hardware is located. Water was pouring in from close to the ceiling, running over all sorts of wiring and the digital control panel for heating/water. The carpeted floor was soaked, even far from the leak, we think this was going on for hours before we found it (only found it when went to get the hoover). This was Sunday midday, couldn't get hold of LL, phoned LA mobile and they just said turn water off till someone can come. We did, and had no running water for about 24hours. Cause was the bolts around the pipes not tight enough.

• Since the above leak, we have had no hot water. The control panel appears to be deffective, which we think was working in the beginning. I am thinking the water running over it for some time has killed it. Basically it shows the clock and responds to button presses but won't let us turn the hot water on. Heating works on one radiator. Someone looked at this yesterday and couldn't fix it so LL said they will send a plumber, I'm still waiting for the plumber and heard nothing, we've now had no hot water for approx 48hours.

• Water leak under the kitchen sink in two places since about day 4. Someone has been out to this 3 times, tightening up the connection and brought parts to plug unused pipes. The parts are not correct so is having to come back, and the conneciton leak still persists.

• None of the TV points worked, aerial man came out on day 4 and said you can't get freeview because the aerial on roof is not pointed at the right transmitter, but you can have analogue, or freesat SD if you buy a box but might not be any good due to poor signal from the TV point. We bought a freesat SD box and the picture and sounds keeps stuttering then says no signal and comes back on after a minute or so.

• Only half the power sockets in the flat are actually functional.

• Dishwasher died completely on the first load, now won't turn on.

Those are the main points, there are one or two minor problems which aren't worth mentioning.

There is a woman that moved in to a flat a week before us (owned and run by same people as ours), she has also had problems such as oven not working and no bins. She doesn't seem to do anything about them though as when we complained about no bins it was the first the LL had heard of it, and the LL told me yesterday that this woman has had no problems with her flat, even though the woman told us she had no oven on.

One of the main problems I think is the LL keeps sending a general handyman to look at any problem first which creates a sort of lag in getting the problem fixed. The maintenance company they use has a plumber but he's currently away.

Fees paid prior to moving in: £352 for reference checks and other costs, plus deposit (£1073), plus one months rent.

Sorry for long post, just wanted to get some opinions on this.

iamana1ias

All of those things sound like new build problems rather than rental problems. Doesn't sound like any snagging has been done.

iamana1ias

Also, many of those issues aren't major - many people only put bins out once a week and it's just taken me 10 days to get my (own) washing machine fixed. Just because you rent doesn't mean everything has to be perfect all of the time.

princeofpounds

No washing machine, this arrived on about day 6. On the 4th load of washing the floor was flooded in soapy water. After a day or two someone looked at it and found nothing so we were told to use it and keep an eye on it.

So keep using it. When it next floods, write a complaint to your landlord.

No wheelie bin, this arrived on day 6 so we had 6 days worth of household waste kept in the flat.

Perhaps annoying, but not a big issue and now solved. 6 days is quite normal, often people don't fill a bag in a week.

No phone number for LL other than 9-5 Mon-Fri office number.

Perfectly normal. If you have a genuine emergency and you cannot call you can always call in an emergency tradesman and get a fix, billing the LL later. All non-emergency problems can by definition wait until 9-5. LL does not have to give you anything other than an address.

Big leak where washing machine should be. This was the day we moved in (Sat), and couldn't get hold of the LL until Monday. This was fixed on Monday, cause was a missing part on a pipe.

Again, annoying but now fixed.

No instructions for the heating/hot water system or any appliances. These arrived on about day 5 and were useless, wrong model for the dishwasher and the heating/water one was not an end users manual but an engineers technical schematics which consisted of lots of circuit diagrams etc. I have found the heating manual myself now from searching online.

Annoying again, but solved (by yourself).

Major leak in airing cupboard where all heating and electrical hardware is located. Water was pouring in from close to the ceiling, running over all sorts of wiring and the digital control panel for heating/water. The carpeted floor was soaked, even far from the leak, we think this was going on for hours before we found it (only found it when went to get the hoover). This was Sunday midday, couldn't get hold of LL, phoned LA mobile and they just said turn water off till someone can come. We did, and had no running water for about 24hours. Cause was the bolts around the pipes not tight enough.

Again annoying, and a more serious complaint this time as you did not have running water. However, now solved so legally this issue is done and dusted.

Since the above leak, we have had no hot water. The control panel appears to be deffective, which we think was working in the beginning. I am thinking the water running over it for some time has killed it. Basically it shows the clock and responds to button presses but won't let us turn the hot water on. Heating works on one radiator. Someone looked at this yesterday and couldn't fix it so LL said they will send a plumber, I'm still waiting for the plumber and heard nothing, we've now had no hot water for approx 48hours.

OK, now we finally get to something that matters because it is not solved already and is a problem. Landlords have a legal duty under the landlord and tenant act to provide tenants with sources of heating and hot water. If the system breaks they have a duty to provide alternative sources (although this can be a kettle and a fan heater). They also have a duty to provide a proper fix within a reasonable amount of time.

Water leak under the kitchen sink in two places since about day 4. Someone has been out to this 3 times, tightening up the connection and brought parts to plug unused pipes. The parts are not correct so is having to come back, and the conneciton leak still persists.

legally speaking this is being dealt with.

None of the TV points worked, aerial man came out on day 4 and said you can't get freeview because the aerial on roof is not pointed at the right transmitter, but you can have analogue, or freesat SD if you buy a box but might not be any good due to poor signal from the TV point. We bought a freesat SD box and the picture and sounds keeps stuttering then says no signal and comes back on after a minute or so.

This is really irritating, but a signal is not the landlord's responsibility. The aerial is in good repair and functioning, it's just not pointed at the transmitter you want.

Only half the power sockets in the flat are actually functional.

They should be in working order. Write a complaint to LL requesting a fix.

Dishwasher died completely on the first load, now won't turn on.

If provided with the tenancy the LL should maintain it in working order as it was implicitly part of the contract. Some people get confused over appliances as the landlord and tenant act excludes them from the landlord's legal duty to repair. However, if provided they have a contractual responsibility to repair them, even if they do not have a stutory responsibility. They can contract out of this responsibility however, because it is not statutory, so make sure the contract doesn't say white goods are your responsibility (although it sounds like they aren't, as other white goods have already been repaired).

Generally, I think you need an orientation of how these things are supposed to work.

A landlord has a legal duty to repair faults in the building within a *reasonable* time. Reasonable is ultimately decided by the court, but use your common sense - if it is a broken interior door panel, that can wait a few weeks. If it is your front door, that can really wait only a day and may require an emergency response.

You do not have a right to a speedier response because you are a 'customer', expectations are similar to what they would be if you yourself were a normal homeowner.

For heating and hot water, as I noted, the responsibilities are higher - failing to fix those in a reasonable amount of time and provide alternative sources within a reasonable amount of time is an offence.

The clock only starts ticking when you contact the landlord and if it comes to court this often comes down to written evidence, so ALWAYS complain in writing. Phoning is fine, but follow up with a letter referring to the phone call.

But all is not lost if you have a lazy landlord. You have a tenant's right to repair, as set out in Lee-Parker vs Izzet 1971 (google it). If the LL does not repair in a reasonable time, you can take matters into your own hands and deduct from *future* rent. You must follow a procedure though.

Also, if there is an *genuine* emergency (gas, water leak, electrical burning etc) and the landlord is uncontactable you can get someone in and bill them, but remember, an emergency is not the same as a major inconvenience; it means risk of further damage to property or life.

You also have an enforcement option in the shape of environmental health at your local council. They are particularly useful in cases of things like damp, structural problems, heating and hot water, basically anything hazardous, and they can issue binding repairing orders. They are *not* for niggles, but if they find major problems they will often order repairs across the house.

Finally, if there are problems that get fixed, you are not entitled to compensation even if they are inconvenient. A LL might agree to some out of goodwill, but there is no obligation. It might be different if the LL is negligent and causes damage through that negligence however.

Shelter has produced a guide to all this stuff:
http://england.shelter.org.uk/get_advice/repairs_and_bad_conditions/repairs_in_private_lets

MissMoneypenny

the182guy wrote: »

• No phone number for LL other than 9-5 Mon-Fri office number.

From the Shelter website:-

http://england.shelter.org.uk/get_advice/renting_and_leasehold/rights_and_responsibilities/landlords_responsibilities#5

Giving the tenant certain information

All landlords have to give their tenants their name and a UK contact address. If the property is managed by a letting or property agent, they must also provide you with the landlord's full name and address.
Any requests should be made in writing, you should also keep a copy of the letter and send it by recorded delivery, if you want proof of postage. If you don't get a reply in writing within 21 days of them receiving your letter, the landlord is committing a criminal offence.
Your next step could be to report your landlord to your local council's tenancy relations officer (TRO). TROs can get involved in disputes between landlord and tenants and can even prosecute the person who does not provide this information. You should also be able to get your landlord's details from the Land Registry. You can do this online by filling in a form and paying a small fee.



Just make sure you put all your complaints in writing to the landlord and get proof of posting (or deliver the letter by hand to his address and get a witness).

If the landlord fails to do his reapirs, contact your local council and ask for "private lettings" and tell them you have written to the landlord but he has failed to carry out his repairs. If you are worried about the state of the house or how safe it is (ie electrics) you can ask the council to come and do an inspection of the property. They can then contact the landlord and get him to do his repairs. If that doesn't work, the council could do the repairs and bill the landlord.

Just edited to say that you should put about the leaks in writing to the landlord, so that you don't get billed for any damage. Any water damage (or further water damage such as leaks from his washing machine) is then his to pay.

clutton_2

seems to me that all these problems have been addressed fairly speedily - your LL is taking action to repair these things... it is unfortunate taht there are so many issues at once.. newbuilds are often like that.... not the landlords fault really but the builders....

re sending out a handyman first.... as a LL i know full well that tenants rarerly describe fully what the problems are and before employing an expensive electrical engineer i send in my builder / handyman to see what the problem is first of all.. quite a reasonable strategy.... stops me having to pay engineer rates when all that is needed is someone to change a fuse for example..

Fire_Fox

Report all complaints to the landlord directly in writing by recorded delivery. Keep copies of everything as you do not want to be charged for water damage. The landlord is responsible for ensuring the property is safe and that you have hot water, he is also the one that can get the developers back for snagging, going via the letting agency is wasting time.

samtheman1k

the182guy wrote: »

• No wheelie bin, this arrived on day 6 so we had 6 days worth of household waste kept in the flat.

I don't really see that as a problem? I keep my waste in my kitchen for 7 days!