Tenancy agreement void?

apoc51

Hi,
Sorry to ask for help on my first post.

Basically I have moved in to a property that is a house conversion and I have the ground floor. I rented through an estate agent and the property is owned by a group(4) separate landlords. I have been moved in for 2 months almost now after paying administration fees and the 1st months rent. My 2nd(3rd) months rent is almost due but I have discovered that upstairs has a major leek that is dripping in to my property. The estate agent have been notified and sent out a maintenance engineer, I fear to no avail. He went to the upper flat and said he had tightened their washing machine connection but their overflow was blocked causing pressure to build.

In reflection I believe this to be a pre-existing leak that had been patched up, so to speak, rendering the property practically inhabitable and that they have rented anyway with full knowledge of this. Part of this theory is formulated by the way she kept prompting me to take home insurance, along with other things.

I really feel I have let my guard down here as I was in urgent need of a property or perhaps I underestimate estate agents need to make a buck. Either way I feel in a tight spot. Do I have any rights? Please help

Thank you so much to anyone who can.
Aden.

apoc51

I am up at 3am as I hear a drip and creaking like it could spring anytime I have thousands of pounds worth of electrical items and lots of educational work that is irreplaceable too, along side lots of art work.

I feel so trapped by the 6 month contract and feel that I just want to find a clause and leave, even though I would lose my deposit(of 150 pounds insurance cover) and my 125 pound administration fee + an inventory fee.

Can I assume this is lost and am I in a bad position?

Thank you again.

jamie11

No. This is a maintenance issue. You have done the right thing to report it as soon as you became aware of it. If you are not satisfied that the problem has been sorted out then report it again. Home insurance is common sense so be glad you have it. There will not be any clauses in your AST that will let you walk away unless the place really is uninhabitable, like it burns down or something. (don't be tempted)

gordonbennet

I agree with Jamie11 - you have no grounds to quit the tenancy. But you should continue to pressure the LL/agent to sort out the problem. You should put it in writing too so that if you ever need to make a claim, you can show that you alerted them to the issue.

Did the maintenance guy say that tightening the washing machine feed had cured it? Or did he say that the overflow was the real cause of the problem? If so why didn't he fix that too? If not, what leads you to believe that the overflow is a problem.

I'm a little concerned by something else you say -

apoc51 wrote: »

.... even though I would lose my deposit(of 150 pounds insurance cover) .....

Is this proper home insurance or some kind of policy in place instead of a cash deposit with the landlord? If the latter are you sure it's something you can claim on yourself for a loss relating to your own possessions?

If your stuff is really in danger then maybe you should move or cover anything that is irreplaceable until this is resolved.

real1314

apoc51 wrote: »

I am up at 3am as I hear a drip and creaking like it could spring anytime I have thousands of pounds worth of electrical items and lots of educational work that is irreplaceable too, along side lots of art work.

I feel so trapped by the 6 month contract and feel that I just want to find a clause and leave, even though I would lose my deposit(of 150 pounds insurance cover) and my 125 pound administration fee + an inventory fee.

Can I assume this is lost and am I in a bad position?

Thank you again.

When you signed a 6 month contract, you agreed to pay the rent for 6 months. You will not be able to get out of it on a technicality.

The Landlord should ensure that the property meets appropriate standards, but any failure with regard to this does not allow release from the contract.
The method of redress for such problems is by negotiation or through court action. :cool:

apoc51

I believe both properties, upstairs and downstairs need their full plumbing pulling out and redoing as its all shot. Also the bathroom has accumulated damp and the maintenance guy told me its because you need to open windows and turn on the extractor fan when you shower. After telling him I used to be a painter and decorator he quickly corrected himself with 'to tell you the truth thats bollo**** it has no damp course and is always gonna get damp, I refused to put the floor down and made the asians do it' His words, no hate meant.

G_M

Unless the property is 'uninhabitable' you ar bound by the contract.

Environmental Health can inspect and declare it uninhabitable and serve repairing Notices on the Landlord.

However that does not sound like the case here.

Normal repairing process should be followed - see Shelter's advice here.

Always report repairs in writing, to the Landlord(s), copying in the agent where there is one. Ask for a response within(2?) days informing you what action will be taken.

Involve EH if necessary.

apoc51

jamie11 wrote: »

No. This is a maintenance issue. You have done the right thing to report it as soon as you became aware of it. If you are not satisfied that the problem has been sorted out then report it again. Home insurance is common sense so be glad you have it. There will not be any clauses in your AST that will let you walk away unless the place really is uninhabitable, like it burns down or something. (don't be tempted)

I didn't purchase it as I'm a poor student. She said get house insurance as there has been a flood before, AkA its going to flood again after 2 months usage. I don't even know that I would be covered on contents insurance for water damage caused from the property above, would I?

BitterAndTwisted

Yes, you would.

jamie11

apoc51 wrote: »

I didn't purchase it as I'm a poor student. She said get house insurance as there has been a flood before, AkA its going to flood again after 2 months usage. I don't even know that I would be covered on contents insurance for water damage caused from the property above, would I?

If the upstairs property does have insurance then you would be able to claim your losses if you suffered damage as a result of their pipes leaking.

(Dutch Uncle Mode) It really is a no brainer that you should have your own contents policy, although 125GBP sounds very expensive for a single student. I'm sure if you put your mind to it you would be able find a much cheaper quote and find the money to pay for it as well. Think about it, it would deprive you of a few take-a-ways during the year.

apoc51

I don't think I'm liable to cause any damage to my belongings is the problem and 150 pounds goes a long way. I'll work on it with the incentive that I can rest easy over my electrical equipment in this instance though. Although I doubt very much the guy upstairs has insurance.

I preferred this answer to be honest.

BitterAndTwisted wrote: »

Yes, you would.