We’d like to remind Forumites to please avoid political debate on the Forum.
This is to keep it a safe and useful space for MoneySaving discussions. Threads that are – or become – political in nature may be removed in line with the Forum’s rules. Thank you for your understanding.
PLEASE READ BEFORE POSTING: Hello Forumites! In order to help keep the Forum a useful, safe and friendly place for our users, discussions around non-MoneySaving matters are not permitted per the Forum rules. While we understand that mentioning house prices may sometimes be relevant to a user's specific MoneySaving situation, we ask that you please avoid veering into broad, general debates about the market, the economy and politics, as these can unfortunately lead to abusive or hateful behaviour. Threads that are found to have derailed into wider discussions may be removed. Users who repeatedly disregard this may have their Forum account banned. Please also avoid posting personally identifiable information, including links to your own online property listing which may reveal your address. Thank you for your understanding.
📨 Have you signed up to the Forum's new Email Digest yet? Get a selection of trending threads sent straight to your inbox daily, weekly or monthly!
Multiple problems with letting agents
Comments
-
1. Gas certificate - haven't seen a dated gas certificate for the property and we moved in in the first week of September. There is a green sheet in the kitchen but it's barely legible and doesn't have a date on it so how do we know it's valid? An engineer came round and had a look and reckoned it was years old. We've brought it up more than once and they simply say they'll act on it but then nothing gets done.
WRITE to the landlord at the address on the tenancy agreement. Preferably recorded delivery. State that you require a copy of the certificate and if you don't get it you will refer the matter to the council (which you can subsequently do).2. Smoke alarm - the smoke alarm is broken in that a bit of plastic that keeps it secure has broken off. An engineer (the same guy as it goes) came round to 'fix' it and simply taped it up with some electrical insulation tape which then came off and so now it's hanging off by the wires. It still works (it's still got a green light on it anyway!) but if it falls off completely then obviously it won't be working. Again we have notified the letting agents of this but still it hasn't been fixed.
Annoying, but it works and strictly the landlord doesn't have an obligation beyond that. An alarm costs less than 10 quid and it would just be easier to buy one yourself, or take teh exissting one back up if you have enough confidence in it.3. Thermostat - the boiler overrides the thermostat so that the only way we can have the heating on is if we manually turn it on on the boiler itself. When it is on using the switch on the boiler it is on - no matter what we have set it to on the thermostat. So basically we've all gone away for christmas and haven't left the heating set to come on because we can't. So now if the pipes freeze the letting agents will try and pin the blame on us but we told them about the faulty thermostat at least a month ago.
It is unfortunate that there has been some argument in the thread about bursting pipes. I think that you may have some form of defence if something like that was to happen as you clearly notified the landlord about the deficiencies in the heating system, but that is not guaranteed.
If you are in a terraced house then it is quite likely that the heating of the houses adjacent to yours will keep it safe enough, so don't panic. But if you can check on the property, do.
I suggest that with disrepair like this you make use of the tenant's right of repair, as per Lee Parker vs Izzet 1971 (google it). You have to follow a procedure (see the link below) but you can make repairs and deduct the cost from future rent. Merely putting the landlord on notice is often enough to bring them out of the woodwork.
http://england.shelter.org.uk/get_advice/repairs_and_bad_conditions/disrepair_in_rented_accommodation/repairs_in_private_lets
Note that enforcing your rights can alienate the landlord and lead to them terminating the lease at the end of the fixed period. But often just showing you know how to deal with them means that they behave better.
And as the others have pointed out, you have no legal relationship with the letting agent. They are merely an agent for your landlord.0 -
Helen... you may well feel that you have acted in a tenant like manner.. but you also have been quite foolish... if you have insurance on your own contents and there is a flood, your own belongings will not be covered - and all for the sake of having bought a small heater.... that would have been the sensible thing to have done if your LL is not responding
pls dont put words in my mouth.. i never suggested you stay "home alone" for christmas in your student accommodation just to put the heating on i suggested a cheap pragmatic solution - which you are choosing to ignore - of course i understand the situation - the house now has a potential for freezing and you could have done something about it and didn't.
none of what i say prevents the landlord from having the responsibility for mending the boiler, of course it doesn't, but if he wont act, then clearly you have to, if you want to protect your own belongings. My view is keep your belongings safe first, then argue the toss as to responsibility later on.0 -
Did you access the details of the LL through the CoL's accommodation list (if there is still one they keep; there was one many years ago in my time)?
If so, not a priority but do make sure you let the CoL know so they can take them off it.
No we didn't although we did have a look on there and they may have been advertising some properties on the list, either way I think I'll notify the College that they're not recommended by us (or another group we know who are using them as well!)."A lie gets halfway around the world before the truth has a chance to get its pants on" - Winston Churchill0 -
. How rude. So Ts who come on here to raise genuine concerns are "moaning"?
Yep.... and that action clearly needs to come from Helen's LL/LA as the Ts have already reported the issues to them.
OP - the LL/LA *has* to supply the Ts with a copy of the current gas safety cert and they have to retain copies for two years. They can be prosecuted for failing to do so.( see the Evict a Rogue LL thread on here for cases brought before the courts) Write again to the LL care of the LA, listing out the previous attempts to obtain a copy and what the LA's response (if any) was. In the meantime, you may want to consider getting yourselves an audible carbon monoxide detector - cost under 20 quid and worth it for peace of mind.
In addition to the legal obligations of the LL, do check out that Code of Conduct. If the LA/LL advertises via any of the accomms offices they *have* to sign up to the Code and you can make a formal complaint if your LA/LL fails to comply with the requirements.
Some quotes for you from the Code ( drawn up between the 2 Unis, the C of Law, Askham B College, York Residental LL Assoc, and the Council).
Timescales for Landlord repairs
Code of practice requirementsThere should be prompt action by the landlord when repairs are necessary, with appropriate times for repairs discussed and agreed between the tenant and the landlord............
• Landlords should respond promptly to any complaint, and where appropriate provide a written response to any correspondence.Landlords must give a minimum of 24 hours notice before entering a property except in the case of an emergency.Gas safety
• Emergency repairs, where there is an imminent risk to health, must be dealt with immediately – preferably within three hours and certainly within 24 hours. Examples of
such problems include an internal burst pipe, blocked drains, no water, no electrical system and broken external door locks.
• Urgent repairs must be dealt with within three days. An example of this would be an external burst pipe.
• Non-urgent repairs must be dealt with within 28 days.
• Maintenance and servicing tasks should be planned and timed so as to minimise disruption to tenants
Legal and Code of Practice requirementsRecommendations
• All gas appliances, flues etc must be maintained in a safe condition in accordance with the Gas Safety (Installation and Use) Regulations.
• An annual Landlords’ Gas Safety certificate, issued by a ‘Gas Safe’ registered engineer, must be provided to the relevant college or university for the purpose of the scheme. A copy of the certificate must also be given to the tenants to show the date of inspection, any defects and the action taken.
• All repairs must be carried out by a ‘Gas Safe’ registered engineer.
• Landlords must show new tenants how to turn off the gas supply in case of an emergency.
• Whenever the landlord is informed about a fault, it must be dealt with immediately.
Landlords should be aware that the annual gas safety check does not include servicing of gas appliances, and vice versa. It is therefore recommended that all gas appliances are serviced annually in addition to the mandatory requirement of a Gas Safety Inspection.Code of practice requirements
• There must be a well-insulated hot water tank or instant hot water from a combination boiler or gas multipoint water heater.Are you okay with the LA/LL entering the property in your absence to sort any of the issues out prior to the start of the new term mid Jan btw? If not, are any of you close enough to go back for a pre arranged mutually convenient time?
• There must be an appropriate space heating system which has been safely and properly installed and maintained and controllable by the occupants.
• Controls must allow separate use and programming of heating and hot water, including a programmer/timer and room thermostat.
More on ways of ensuring you retain your deposit at tenancy end : check out here, here and here ( note that the mydeposits guidelines are used by all 3 schemes) Did you sign an inventory and note on it the cleanliness or otherwise of furnishings etc? Have you kept a copy?
Thanks a lot for your help this is really useful. They have our permission to enter the property when we're not there but one of us at least is around from now until probably Easter so it shouldn't be an issue now.
On the deposit, we signed and got a photocopy of the inventory which had detailed notes on the state of the house when we moved in (I was the first to move in as the LPC for some reason starts 3 weeks before the GDL!) and we also took pictures of some damage to doors and walls which was already there. We also noted that the curtains and carpets had not been properly cleaned although this is required of tenants before they leave. They came round and cleaned the carpets for us but not the curtains so they are still in the same state they were when the last tenants moved out."A lie gets halfway around the world before the truth has a chance to get its pants on" - Winston Churchill0 -
Thank you all for your help and sorry I've been late in replying I have been spending some time away from this computer screen!
The letting agents installed a new thermostat about 2 days after I started this thread and set it at 10 degrees c so fortunately that along with the mild weather meant no burst pipes or similar problems when I arrived back yesterday.
I will write to the landlord requesting a gas certificate.
In the meantime I'm going to buy a carbon monoxide monitor tomorrow for the sake of 15 quid it's worth it for peace of mind!"A lie gets halfway around the world before the truth has a chance to get its pants on" - Winston Churchill0
This discussion has been closed.
Confirm your email address to Create Threads and Reply

Categories
- All Categories
- 352.1K Banking & Borrowing
- 253.6K Reduce Debt & Boost Income
- 454.2K Spending & Discounts
- 245.1K Work, Benefits & Business
- 600.8K Mortgages, Homes & Bills
- 177.5K Life & Family
- 258.9K Travel & Transport
- 1.5M Hobbies & Leisure
- 16.1K Discuss & Feedback
- 37.6K Read-Only Boards