rented property problem

Nurse_Bambi

there seems to be confusion over whos managing the property i am renting. Normally when something goes wrong I call the agents who confere with the landlady and then organise the work.

Today, the contents of my sinks, bath and loo are flooding my kitchen when they are used. I phoned the agents who sent round a plumber. He identified a blockage. The agents have left messages with the landlady who hasn't got back with authorisation. They won't do the work until they have this authorisation. My landlady goes on holiday all the time (with my rent no doubt), what if she doesn't get back to the agent? How long do i sit here unable to use the sinks, bath and loo? (I'm feeling the need to go soon!!)

A similar situation happened a few months ago - neither party wanted to replace my broken fridge freezer - I ended up buying one myself and getting the money back.

Do I have any rights in this situation?

cheers!

yonk

Basic sanitation is a must and is covered by legislation. The agents will have a limit to the amount they can spend without authorisation, normally about £250 and that's probably why they are phaffing. Though, this should be deemed an emergency and if they can't get hold of the landlord, then they should get the stuff fixed asap regardless.

Keep on at them....

If no-one fixes it, you can get the repairs done yourself but it has to be done in the correct way - your local CAB can advise. I'm not going into detail as it may be different where you live to what I know. Have a look at the disrepair bit in the link below.

https://www.adviceguide.org.uk/index/family_parent/housing

You can also look at Shelter's website and ring them.

Nurse_Bambi

thanks yonk. I called the CAB who were very helpful. They put me in touch with environmental health and thames water! I 've spent most of my morning finding out my position on this. I left a message on the landlady's phone telling her that I had contacted the above and under section 11 of the tennents/landlord act this work had to be done bla bla bla.

anyway, I've had the work done - according to CABs advice, paid the plumber - £160 (could have been a lot worse i think as hes spent at least 4 hours on the job - told him my situation and i think he felt sorry for me). Hopefully the landlady will be forthcoming with the cash. I'm going to charge her an administration fee for my time and phone calls.

thanks yonk!

yonk

I'm fairly sure admin fees aren't something you can claim.

One thing to check is what caused the blockage. If you find the blockage was caused by something that you flushed, it may be your responsibility to get the pipes unblocked. It will be a clause in your agreement.

However, I feel a strongly worded (but polite) letter to both the agent and the landlord in question is in order. This is all basic customer service and they are not doing a decent job.