Renting flat-urgent help needed!!

Pounds

Hi,

A friend has signed a tenancy agreement earlier this week. When she moved into the flat (which the idiot didn't see first) there was no fridge/freezer (it was promised), the hob isn't fitted well and moves in the worktop, when the oven is switched on the fuse goes, most of the electric points don't work, the heating doesn't come on, the furniture that is in is ripped/damaged, and we only have a mobile number for the Landlord!! My friend has tried to contact him all week and I also tried today with no luck. I left a message saying we will start to do repairs ourselves and charge it back to him but I'm now thinking who would we exactly charge it to??
What can we do? The rent is £500 a month and my silly friend paid cash!!!!!!!

clutton_2

are there no contact details in the tenancy agreement ? pls tell me she has a copy ?

Did she get a receipt for the first months rent ?

Read Shelters website which gives you the procedure for doing repairs yourself...

Pounds

There's a company name but nothing comes up in google. No other contact details. She has a copy of the agreement but its not signed by a witness. I guess that affects the agreeements validity?
Not sure if she got a receipt for the deposit and first month's rent.
Thank you, I will check out Shelters. I haven't heard of that one before.
Very stuck right now!

Pounds

What would you suggest is a reasonable time to allow him to do the repairs?

tbs624

Pounds wrote: »

There's a company name but nothing comes up in google. No other contact details. She has a copy of the agreement but its not signed by a witness. I guess that affects the agreeements validity?

No it doesn't - there is no necessaity for a tenancy agreement to be witnessed unless it is being executed as a deed.

Pounds wrote: »

Not sure if she got a receipt for the deposit and first month's rent.

How is she supposed to pay subsequent rent - is there a LL bank a/c number?

Your friend should take this up locally with the Council - they have a private sector rental team - there will be a TRO (tenancy relations officer) who can help. They are always busy so your friend will have to persist. They and/or the Env Health Officer can arrange an inspection of the property under the HHSRS (housing health & safety rating system)


A LL has specific duties regarding the safety of gas and electrical systems, and the fire safety of soft furnishings etc.

If your friend didn't have it in writing that a fridge freezer would be supplied then there's not a lot she can do about that one.

As you say your friend did not view this property, it is possible that this *may* be a scam and the "LL" is not actually the owner/LL of the property

If there is gas CH or other gas appliances then the T should have been shown a current gas safety certificate. She should also have seen an energy performance certificate

clutton_2

""She has a copy of the agreement but its not signed by a witness. I guess that affects the agreeements validity? ""

no it does not affect its validity. Is it signed by the company ?

Somewhere in the AST there should be an Address for Service for the LL .... she needs to read it very carefully

I assume she is in England ?

""Not sure if she got a receipt for the deposit and first month's rent."" - again read the tenancy agreeement.. sometimes there is a clause in there that acknowledges receipt of these two sums as most landlords wont allow access till these two amounts are paid....

Pounds

Thank you for your posts so far. She has been asked to pay her rent by telephone. I've never heard of that being done before!
We'll try the LA on Monday. Thanks.

Annisele

the_realist wrote: »

the tennancy has to be signed by both parties, it is a legal contract. Does she have a copy with her autograph on it and the landlords?

Without a copy having both signatures then there is no contract in law.

I'm afraid this isn't true - there can be a contract without anything being written down at all. This site suggests that it's usual for the LL to sign one copy and the T to sign the other. (That's how my tenancy agreement works - the copy I have is only signed by the LL. I've been living in the LL's house for six years paying him rent, so even if both copies of the contract were lost my LL would struggle to persuade a court there was no contract at all).

If there's gas then there *has* to be a gas safety certificate - personally I'd sort that out myself rather than die of CO poisoning (and try and make the LL pay later).

Pounds

There is a contract, he also has gas AND electric safety certificates!
How long should we wait before we start doing the repairs ourselves - what's a reasonable timeframe to have given the LL?

We can't just walk right now. The LL has £1000 of cash. The deposit is apparently held in the DPS but my friend hasn't had anything about this. Should he not receive email confirmation?

N79

Pounds wrote: »

There is a contract, he also has gas AND electric safety certificates!
How long should we wait before we start doing the repairs ourselves - what's a reasonable timeframe to have given the LL?

We can't just walk right now. The LL has £1000 of cash. The deposit is apparently held in the DPS but my friend hasn't had anything about this. Should he not receive email confirmation?

LL has 14 days to register the deposit in a scheme so there is nothing amiss there yet (unlike all the problems with the property).