1st Day of moving in....landlord nightmare

blp

Hi
My lad is moving into his new student house let my a private landlord, advertised through a local estate agent.
He arrived today to a total nightmare.
Everywhere was filthy, fridge full of mould, broken stuff everywhere and even a whellie bin condemmed by the council and they will not collect it. Decorating 1/4 done, lack of paint on door frames and ceilings. The list goes on.
:mad:
What options does he have as a tennant?

Brett

Simon11

Did he not look at the place before signing contracts? What does the contract say?

joanna_johnson

Is the property managed by the agent or the landlord? If it is the agent call them directly and tell them an inspection is required asap. Did he receive an inventory report? If so then this report should refelct the condition of the property. Call environmental health dept of the council they will visit and serve a notice to the landlord (if applicable). The landlord will then have a time scale to do any works that are required. If it is only down to cleanliness there may not be much they can do but if the property is in a state of disprepair they will be very helpful. Is the property a HMO? If so a HMO licence will be required....the council will advise you of this.

Good Luck

blp

So yes, he looked at the property before the contracts were signed.
We were assured, as was the agent representing the property, that all work would be fixed.
Its managed by the landlord.
Apologies, but what is HMO?

Yorkie1

House of (in?) Multiple Occupation. If a certain number of unrelated people live in a house, and/or the house fits a certain definition, then additional licensing from the council is needed.

tbs624

blp wrote: »

So yes, he looked at the property before the contracts were signed.
We were assured, as was the agent representing the property, that all work would be fixed.
Its managed by the landlord.
Apologies, but what is HMO?

House in Multiple Occupation.

Check via the local Council whether the property has to be/is licensed as an HMO

Yorkie1

MadnessOfHPC wrote: »

Sounds like you didn't allow the landlord enough time to complete the work. Did you get the right week for moving in?

It's a student let. All student lets start this week as far as I can tell. Sounds like the LL is caught on the hop, rather than it being the OP's son's fault.

If photos have not been taken of the state of the property, make sure that this is done asap, as backup in the event of any deposit argument at the end of the tenancy.

tbs624

OP - many posters prefer not to feed the Troll that is Madness.

SquatNow

MadnessOfHPC wrote: »

Sounds like you didn't allow the landlord enough time to complete the work. Did you get the right week for moving in?

Moving in date will be decided by the fact the kid has to start back at uni...

The OP needs to contact the council and probably a solicitor pronto, and probably best to look for alternative accomodation as I doubt the LL will be able to get the place put right in any sensible timeframe.

Take loads of photo. Take videos. Take high definition videos.

Find somewhere else and sue the landlord.

RAS

The univerwsity will have student welfare officers who are versed in accomodation problems. use them. They may have a list of inspected LLs, and if this guy is on there, either get him to move fast or remove him altogether.

Also contact the Environmental health dept at the Council and the tenancy relations Officers if this is not university approved accomodation.

The estate agency will be pretty miffed and may well help find alternative accomodation.

The stark fact is that if the house is uninhabitable, then the LL has to provide an alternative at his expense (or may let your son free from the contact if you suggest that as an option).

tbs624

Your son should photograph everything, with date facility on, plus a newspaper in shot. All faults should be written down and if an inventory is provided, noted on there and a photocopy retained by your son. When a T leaves they only have to return a property in the same condition as when let, save for fair wear and tear, so it is important that there is an accurate record

Did he get it in writing that LL the various decorating jobs etc would be sorted out ?

Is he on an individual contract or signed up to a Joint & Several Liability contract with others?

If the EA/LA/LL is on the Uni accomms list they will normally be expected to meet a certain code of practice.

The Uni Accoms/welfare people should be able to guide your son, as can the private sector tenancy relations officer at the local Council.

He can ask the Council to inspect the property under the HHSRS (Housing Health and Safety Rating System)- google for further info.

Your son should also check that this LL scheme registers the tenancy deposit and gives him a copy of the "prescribed information" from the scheme.

If the property falls under the licensable HMO category (there is mandatory and then some areas have selective and additional licensing) then the LL will be committing a criminal offence if he has failed to get/apply for a license. Your son can find out more by looking at the local Council's web pages.

Presumably this property is furnished - do the furnishings have appropriate fire safety labelling?

Has your son been shown a tenant copy of a gas safety cert (for all gas appliances at the property)?

Was he shown an Energy Performance Cert (EPC)?