Bugs and a Broken washing machine - landlord unresponsive

chika

Hi there, I wonder if some of you clued up people can help with a few issues i'm having in my rented flat.

The main one if the washing maching is broken, it's been broken since October with no sign of it being fixed, I have no car at the moment so having to take taxi's to the laundry and spend £20 and several hours washing and drying clothes every couple of weeks.

In addition to this the intercom buzzer doesn't work and we keep missing delieveries, friends, the kitchen door won't close hembut the thing that is freaking me out the most os the flat seems to be infested with little bugs. I've done some googling and it seems they are carpet beetles and their larvae. I told her about them and she dropped off some powder from b&q. I'm kind of squeamish and really don't like this, plus I keep finding holes in my clothes where I'm sure they have munched through _pale_

Anyway long post but would it be the end of the world if I paid to have this stuff sorted out of the rent money and just sent her the bills? I suspect the flat will need some kind of pest controller and I intend to call an engineer for the washing machine.

Thanks for help in advance!

belisha-beacon

It's not clear from your post when you informed your landlord of these problems and how you did it. You need to inform your landlord in writing about these problems.

If you have written to your landlord and have kept evidence of this, and they do not do the repairs then you may be able to take the money out of your rent to pay for it, as long as costs are reasonable. Be really careful about the carpet beetles, though. Legally, landlords are not liable for infestations, it is a tenant's responsibility, so unless your contract specifically says that the landlord will pay for that sort of thing then you're unlikely to get that money back. Mind you, I'd want that fixed and would get it done myself asap if I were you!

chika

Sorry, I've sent her several emails, I actually don't have her address to write a real letter, does that matter?

The carpet beetles were here when I moved in, we noticed the first few on the night we moved here in August but I just thought it was a one off thing. Is it really my responsibility to sort out?!

olly300

chika wrote: »

Sorry, I've sent her several emails, I actually don't have her address to write a real letter, does that matter?

Send the letters to the address you have and also by email.

You should be able to prove that it's highly likely that the landlord got your letters before you take it on yourself to take action.

chika wrote: »

The carpet beetles were here when I moved in, we noticed the first few on the night we moved here in August but I just thought it was a one off thing. Is it really my responsibility to sort out?!

Did you tell her that they were there immediately when you moved in, in writing?

If not then you have to deal with it.

belisha-beacon

Right, well that is interesting because I'm fairly sure that a landlord legally has to give you an address at which you can serve legal notices etc. on them and, since your landlord has not done that then you may not even be liable to pay any rent to them at all. I'm no expert in that and others on here will be better placed than me to give you advice about that (or maybe search previous posts). If my inkling is true then you could always withhold rent altogether, but be careful and keep it in a seperate account somewhere, and tell your landlord that you expect the repairs to be completed and for an address to be provided to you.

You're not responsible for an infestation that was there when you moved in, only ones that happen during the tenancy. The key thing will be being able to prove this. If you informed the landlord at the time that you moved in, and have evidence, that will make things much easier for you.

Shelter has a great, easy to follow website about what to do if your landlord will not do repairs that you have reported. Follow those steps, and you can't go far wrong! Good luck http://england.shelter.org.uk/get_advice/repairs_and_bad_conditions/repairs_in_private_lets

olly300

belisha-beacon wrote: »

Right, well that is interesting because I'm fairly sure that a landlord legally has to give you an address at which you can serve legal notices etc. on them and, since your landlord has not done that then you may not even be liable to pay any rent to them at all. I'm no expert in that and others on here will be better placed than me to give you advice about that (or maybe search previous posts). If my inkling is true then you could always withhold rent altogether, but be careful and keep it in a seperate account somewhere, and tell your landlord that you expect the repairs to be completed and for an address to be provided to you.

Correct.

The landlord if in England must have an address in England to serve notices on them.

This address could be the address of an estate agent, letting agent, member of their family or whatever but as long as the address is there you should write letters to that address.

I suggest any letters to that address should if a company be sent by recorded Signed For. If the address for a person then send two letters from two different post offices getting a proof of posting for each one.

That way you can prove that you sent the letters to the landlady.

G_M

Check your contract. Are you sure there is no address for the landlord?

Section 48 Landlord and Tenant Act 1987 - requires that the tenant must be given an address in England where notices can be served on the landlord – the address does not have to be that of the landlord. Rent is not lawfully due until this is complied with.

More info here.

What does the contract say about repairs (ie washing machine). LL may not be responsible.

Unless the Tenancy Agreement makes express provision, the LL does not need to repair a washing machine. Read the underlined part of s.11(1) (Landlord and Tenant Act 1985) below:

Repairing obligations in short leases.

In a lease to which this section applies there is implied a covenant by the lessor:
(a) to keep in repair the structure and exterior of the dwelling-house (including drains, gutters and external pipes),
(b) to keep in repair and proper working order the installations in the dwelling-house for the supply of water, gas and electricity and for sanitation (including basins, sinks, baths and sanitary conveniences, but not other fixtures, fittings and appliances for making use of the supply of water, gas or electricity), and
(c) to keep in repair and proper working order the installations in the dwelling-house for space heating and heating water.

So unless the lease specifically states the LL will repair, maintain, replace the washing machine, he doesn't have to. However many LLs do not know this.

Kilty_2

I didn't know that you had to have an address in England if you had property there - is this the same in Scotland (ie you need to have an address in Scotland if you rent out property there?)

Sorry for going off-topic.

samasina

Sorry to resurrect an old thread but there's only a slight variation in my situation.

I've had the same problem with these beetles since I moved in to my current (privately-rented) property. We have an onsite (weekday) caretaker and when I arrived after picking up the keys, I reported seeing several dead ones in the kitchen. He said they were carpet beetles and applied a spray around the flat and said they should disappear after a few days.

Since then (2 years ago), I've had to ask him for 22 cans of the same spray because they just keep breeding -I'm seeing around 30 each week. He insists it works even though it's not. The council have said they can treat it and if it doesn't work, they come out again for free.

On a different note (but in the same vein), the tenants above me flooded my flat twice last year (let their shower/sink overflow apparently). The water came in through my bathroom, part of the hallway (where there's a gap in the wall for the alarm) and through the ceiling light in my bedroom. They were fined and I paid all costs for my laundry etc... however, since then my bedroom and bathroom have become infested with these tiny flies. I've had to sleep on the sofa since then as they were coming in the bed, up my nose...they also go on my clothes, bath towel everything!

Again, I brought it up with the caretaker that they're probably breeding in stagnant water remaining between the flats but he was very dismissive. While the flat upstairs was remedied, mine's been left with pests. and a slight damp smell.

Anyone have any ideas on how to go about getting these issues sorted inexpensively by myself (if the LA are not responsible) or how if they are, how to get them to actually do something about it as now it's not as cold, both problems are a lot worse.

Any advice is greatly appreciated.

BitterAndTwisted

Stop talking to the caretaker and start writing letter to the landlord. This is the first step of many to getting the issues sorted by arranging them yourself and deducting it from the rent. Write your letter.

samasina

Yes but firstly, are they actually responsible for sorting it out? The caretaker can easily deny me reporting them on moving in and subsequently asking him every few weeks for the spray.

There have been many other issues here and when I write to the letting agency (the actual landlords are never seen or heard) they simply send the caretaker round. I also don't want to become a moaning tenant in their eyes as I may need to renew here again if I'm unable to find a home suitable for adaptations before this contract expires.