Boiler Broken do i pay rent?

oppositesmurfette

Please Help Someone!!

About 2 and half months ago I moved into what I thought was an ok flat. I was pretty desperate at the time and just ended up saying yes before really taking the time to see if it was all up to standard. The only reason I took it so willingly is because I needed to move asap and the guy who i was taking over from was not charging a deposit.

So after I was there a couple of days I realised that there was no hot water coming from the taps, just cold. So I queried this with the guy whose room i took over. And he was so laid back about it and said oh yeah its been like that for a while. I was kind of peeved because i like to wash my face with warm water. And also obviously washing the dishes. (the shower has its own hot water pump).

After a while I learnt to adapt, but then I really needed to wash some dishes! So i asked my flatmate and he said I just needed to turn the boiler on. So i did - it took 5 hours for it to heat up! I realised that this was completely unacceptable and the next time i went to turn it on the tap it was completely dry. No water, not even cold. After a couple of days, we got an unexpected visit from a plumber in the flat beneath ours, he came and told us that there was water leaking into the flat downstairs and that the boiler was a death trap! He asked about the landlords because most of the flats on my block are council flats or ex-council flats, i told him that it was an ex-council flat owned by private landlords who are charging us an extortinate amount for rent on a dilapidated flat that looks like it hasnt been touched since the council owned it - disgusting. The plumber condemned it then and there and said no one is to touch this because all of the corrosion and water and exposed wires. And that he would report it to the plumbers association or something. So after that we had an Asian guy come around to fix it 3 times (even though it was unfixable) this guy didn't even look certified, he may of been but he definately wasn't with a reputable company! This never eventuated into anything, its definately not fixed.

So this month, after all this grief and a couple of really cold days this july I had, had it. I wanted some heating and I wanted some hot water to wash the dishes, some of my flatmates are gross enough to wash the dishes with just cold water. So I spoke to one of my flatmates and said that I think we should not pay rent this month until someone replaces the boiler or fixes it and he agreed. So we did just that. Because of the confusion of who is in the flat and the subletting I don't know if i have any rights. I probably don't but in saying that I probably can withold rent right? The three original occupants on the lease have all left now and the guy im renting through pays the rent i pay him to the guy who is on the lease who then puts it into the landlords account so its all very messy and confusing. Can someone help?

clutton_2

""this guy didn't even look certified""

what exactly does a "certified" engineer look like then ?

Yorkie1

The LL is under an obligation to keep the boiler etc in good working order and therefore must do something about this once notified of the problem.

You cannot simply refuse to pay rent on this basis. Someone from the flat needs to write to the LL, reminding him of his repairing responsibilities and asking for it to be fixed within say 7 days (or shorter).

However I am slightly concerned by the way you describe your position:
Is this shared flat in England / Wales?
How many people live there?
Does the LL live in (I assume not)?
When you moved in, did you sign a contract with the LL, or are you effectively subletting from the person who does have a contract from the LL for the room?
Do you have any receipts for your rent payments from anyone?
Have you ever seen a gas safety certificate for the place, if there is gas?

oppositesmurfette

The guy that didn't seem certified just wore a plain tshirt and didn't tell us what he'd done after he had finished. If this was someone working for British Gas or DynoRod etc they would tell you what the concerns are.
This is a shared flat.
I live with my partner
and there is 2 men sharing a room as well as one other unoccupied room - was previously occupied by the last tenant on the lease, he left to go back to liverpool, he did find someone to replace him but she promptly left after realising how run down the property was. so all together 4 that pay rent, there are 3 on the tenancy agreement.
LL does not live in.
Never met the landlord and therefore did not sign any contract with him or previous tenant, so I am subletting from a ex-tenant who is not on the lease.
I manually deposit money into the ex-tenants bank account so i have no reciept of paying.
No i have never seen a gas certificate for the place.
I know im in a pickle! I really need someone to lay out what i can and can't do as I have been told I have to pay rent for the month of july in 3 days.
Thanks