Renting - ceiling collapse

anymeans

Hello,

Sunday night at 12:30pm the kitchen ceiling in my rented house collapsed, this was the 12th of september.

Monday morning I went to the managing estate agent to file the problem along with renewing my lease for 6 months, had no other problems with the property other than this pretty major one.

Landlord came in peron that night to inspect, nice enough guy, quite appologetic, offered to help me clean the debris up, promised to get it sorted a.s.a.p and so on. I took Tuesday off work (unpaid) to clean up, then Wednesday to finish tidying up and meet a builder comming to quote the job that the LL arranged himself, not impressed, brief look and abit of umming and arring before leaving.

Friday afternoon guy from property maint company phoned me directly, to arrange to quote the job later that night when I finished work, he had a good look at it, jumped up on worksurface, poked around etc. He basically said it's years of build up come to a head, wet rot and dry rot very evident (bathroom directly above) he checked the bath seal also and said it needed resealing. This guy was arranged by my managing agent.

I've now had another call today for someone else to quote the job on Monday the 20th, alright fine, I understand the whole wanting the best price etc.

My wife is currently 7 months pregnant, and we have a 2 year old son, both asthmatic. Kitchen is semi-useable, I can get to the fridge, do the washing up, use the cooker and washing machine. Further debris is evident in the morning, and my wife is suffering from the dust/dry rot spores as is my son who is coughing frequently too. Kitchen door remains locked to minimize this and it's only me usually who goes in there for the dust and fear of more falling down, quite a problem when I'm at work most of the day. Not using the bath/shower currently A. to not increase damage and the wifes not happy about using it as it may be unsafe, going to my mothers to wash is another nuisance.

Sorry for the waffle just covering exactly whets gone on and how we stand now. We expect our baby the 12th November, and it's causing day to day difficulties already.

How long is reasonable for the work to be undertaken? How within my rights am I to ask for a rebate in rent to be negotiated this month? Is there anything else I should be doing or making sure my agent/LL is doing?

Many thanks.

myhouse_2

Same thing happened to me many years back and I had to move out for several weeks. Sounds like it's a big job. Couldn't possibly give you a timescale but I'd be looking for some clear info from the landlord on his expected timescales based on talks with the builder. Remember, builders are not always able to start work straight away.

clutton_2

it sounds as if your LL has acted very swiftly to come and look at the work and to get two quotes in a week. There are no legally set time-frames for when repairs must be done.... other than a LL has to be seen to be "acting reasonably" and in my view your LLs response has been reasonable...

I can well understand your distress, especially with the pregnancy and the dust.

As a LL if i definitely found wet rot/dry rot in a property i would not consider leaving tenants in situ while repairs were done..

BUT -- this may not be a job that an insurance company will pay for.. they do not pay for ongoing neglect - "" He basically said it's years of build up come to a head, wet rot and dry rot very evident (bathroom directly above) he checked the bath seal also and said it needed resealing. ""

this sort of work could be a major health hazard if you do find wet and dry rot...... And in my personal experience it is likely to take several weeks and a humungous amount of mess - impopssible to live in whilst repairs are done .....

On the other hand it could just need a new bath seal and a new ceiling..... you wont know until you get a couple of quotes and that may take another week..


in view of your imminent birth, i would be asking the LL if he can re-house you elsewhere while the work is done, or alternatively, let you leave the tenancy early and you find somewhere else to live

anymeans

Thanks for the replies. I'm happy with how hes reacted so far, after this other chap has come Monday to assess the problem I'll chase it up with the agent and try pin down a date or time frame atleast, then see where we go from there.

Couldn't have happened at a worse time with so much to sort within 8 weeks :doh:

clutton_2

A LL does have a duty of care under Health and Safety legislation towards his tenants and sporous matter in rot is not good to absorb into the body... so i wou ld be thinking about asking him to fund a local hotel for a few nights if it is a small job ... or asking him to give you another property if he has one)

If the property is un-inhabitable.. you could argue that your tenancy agreement has been frustrated... but do put everything in writing - even confirming conversations with LL/LA in writing.....

b w

tbs624

Your LL has come round promptly and obviously set things in progress but to safeguard yourself you need to have a paper trail.

Yes, if you want to stay put then the LL should be offering you a major rebate. Clearly you need to know what the LLs time scales are in all of this - he ought to be treating it as an emergency.

I agree with Clutton that if extensive work is required, including attempts to eradicate dry rot, you should be offered temporary accommodation. Managing without say a living room which can simply be closed off is one thing but bathroom and kitchen work combined is obviously a different ballgame.

The LL may have terms within his insurance which can help him with this, but you should take professional advice before temporarily moving out so that you do not lose any of your tenancy rights.

I have to say that I would not have signed up for a further 6 month fixed term the morning after a roof collapse: I would have told them that I wanted the tenancy to continue under a statutory periodic until the work was sorted.

i would now write to the LA, with copy to LL, and copy kept, stating a timeline for what has happened so far , plus your understanding of how things stand after the builder came round. Keep it polite - thank the LL for his prompt attention but say that you do need to have a confirmation from him of what is proposed to rectify the matter. Confirm in the letter that your wife is due to give birth in x weeks and that both she and your young son suffer from asthma. He may have been spending this w/e sorting his POA out and may surprise you, but you do need to have that paper trail in case he drags his heels. Specifically ask about temp accom.

Good luck - let us know how things progress as it can all help other Ts who may be in a similar situation.

Owain_Moneysaver

Someone I knew had their floor/ceiling fall in due to rot - tenants were put up in a hotel while the work was done, paid for on the landlord's insurance.

anymeans

Update:

LL's brother/inlaw came on Sunday to see the damage, don't know why really he said he lived around the corner and wanted a look.

Guy just left from another property maint contractor, he took a quick look and said it's way beyond him so he's going to reffer to a specialist, as in his opinion the floorboards of the bathroom need replacing, all the joists need replacing, he can see severe rot on the underside of the boards and huge fungal patches.

Can't get hold of the EA so left a message to call me back a.s.a.p.

I'm now tied in my mind to ask for relocation or to be put in a hotel while work is done, if I can find out when work will be done that is. Both would be massively inconvenient with a 2year old and now 7 weeks til the new baby. I put myself in a financial hole to get together the advance rent and deposit for this place so looking for another house and ending this tenancy isn't viable as I'm sure they won't release my deposit early so I can immeditaly put it down elsewhere.

I'm thinking to request it be boarded up until work can start in order to stop the debris falling down and minimize the effect of the dust/fungus, I'll have a conversation with my mother to see if we can stay at hers once work begins as it'll be alot easier than a hotel all things concidered plus it's a familiar surrounding to my son, sure I'll be within my right to ask for a hefty rebate in rent til it's fixed?

Thanks again for your help.

martindow

It seems clear from your posts that this is a serious issue and that it would not be reasonable for you to live in the house before it is repaired.

I think I would write an account of the situation asking LL to provide you with alternative accommodation while repairs are done and send a copy to the local authority private lettings people (make sure from your letter that the LL knows you are doing this).

anymeans

Update:

Apparently the LL had the same problem fixed 5 years ago, leaky pipe was the problem in the end, probly exasberated by the lack of bath seal but that appears to be the main cause, as far as he was aware it was a fixed problem - somethings gone wrong since the work was carried out originally.

Builders came this morning to give a quote on the work, LL's brother/inlaw gave the the nod to just get it sorted so they ended up fixing the pipe and making a false ceiling below the damaged one along with re-sealing the bath. Damage is still there in terms of the rot but I guess that's their problem if it's going to cause problems in future?

I am happy with this, but it may be relief at having the immidiate problem dealt with, does it sound acceptable? We are moving on in April, but for now I am happy we've got a ceiling and no leak again, as for not going the whole hog with replacing the joists etc (which this builder seemed to think were solid enough) I guess it shouldn't be a problem for us over the next 6months and if it is something that might bite them in the behind later down the line then it's their worry at the end of the day.

Thanks again for all the replies.

blackshirtuk

anymeans wrote: »

I am happy with this

just don't jump up and down in the bathroom or you could end up in the kitchen. :j

difficult to say if this is acceptable without seeing the damage, but from what you described i'd say no it isn't. The LL has made cosmetic improvements but the damaged structure would worry me.