major help please verging on a break down.

chloo

hi

if you wouldnt mind helping me i would be really gratful.

we moved into a rented property fully managed by the letting agents on the 2nd of december 2011 for a year contract. our deposit has been protected.

we have had loads of problems


my brand new bed has broken due to the slats getting damp from the condensation in the main bedroom.
the heating is on in this flat constently and the windows are wiped daily.
being in this flat is making my asthma really bad and is causing me to have attacks (ie an ambulance being called and a canular being put in my arm and being injected with 3 different medicence and mebeing signed off of work for 9 days!!)

since being in this flat we have had tones of problems:

broken shower head
exploding shower which has totally broken
broken economy 7 heating
faulty oven
horrific damp so bad that the water pour off of the window sill even when being wiped daily!!!
tv socket faulty
fleas
ladybug infestation
dodgy and dangerous wardrobe fixings
no hot water
low water pressure


as far as i am aware only three of these items have been fixed!
which is the shower head a rail being put in the wardrobe and the shower being replaced not correctly tho and the dial is totally wrong its in upside down!!

the damp in the flat is horrific so bad the celing drips!!!!


i would also like to know do you think it is exceptable for a workman to take home keys to our property? i beleive this is a breach of data protection?


i am willing to allow the landlord access to the property to view these issues and make them right at a time which is convienent. which will be tomroow

do i have the right to change the lock on the door and not previde them with a key?

i have emailed 3 times now and had a argument with the branch manager on the phone i felt really intimadated and hung up on him :S


i am stilling here crying as this flat is awful and didnt look bad when we can to view it i can spend another year living in this !!!! tip and paying £600 per month


thanks

Emmzi

chloo wrote: »

i would also like to know do you think it is exceptable for a workman to take home keys to our property? i beleive this is a breach of data protection?


do i have the right to change the lock on the door and not previde them with a key?

no, as no data is being held, it isn't a breach of DPA.

How will things be fixed if the workman has no key? Are you prepared to stay home and let him in?

Have you thought about buying a dehumidifier?

GDB2222

For not much money, around £50, you can buy a dehumidifier. Buy one, maybe two, and your damp problems should go away.

I am astonished the ceiling drips - is there a leak from upstairs?

It's very hard to get out of a tenancy agreement, so the simplest position is to make the best of it.

Plus, you seem to be blaming every mishap on the flat, eg "my brand new bed has broken due to the slats getting damp from the condensation in the main bedroom. " There may be condensation on the windows - there is in my house - but there's no way that will have broken your bed slats in only 2 weeks of living there. Talk to the bed shop and get them to provide new slats.

Have the various infestations been dealt with? If not, get someone in ASAP, and argue about the cost with the LL later.

All the other things - make a detailed list (ie not oven faulty, but EXACTLY what the problem is) and hand it to the agents.

GDB2222

Emmzi wrote: »

Have you thought about buying a dehumidifier?

Snap! ..............

BitterAndTwisted

If the windows are firmly shut and you've wiping off the condensation on the windows and aren't disposing of the cloths outside the property the water on them is just evaporating all over the property again. As advised, a dehumidifier or two could solve that particular problem quite quickly.

Put all of the issues you are suffering because of disrepair IN WRITING, especially the ones related to infestations and lack of heating and hot-water. If the heating and hot-water systems are not repaired in a reasonable time you could try and claim that the contract has been frustrated and be able to escape from there. But your first port of call should be to Environmental Health to reinforce that claim.

NeverAgain_2

No hot water and low water pressure may be linked.

If it's a combi boiler and the pressure is low, it may not be enough to trip the water heating function.

Common problem when developers install combis in upstairs flats - the water pressure was not designed to reach up that far.

No easy solution, although you may get some hot water when others are not likely to be using water - mid morning, late at night.

hcb42

If you find a solution to the ladybug infestation let me know - as I have a similar problem..!

GDB2222

NeverAgain wrote: »

No hot water and low water pressure may be linked.

If it's a combi boiler and the pressure is low, it may not be enough to trip the water heating function.

Common problem when developers install combis in upstairs flats - the water pressure was not designed to reach up that far.

No easy solution, although you may get some hot water when others are not likely to be using water - mid morning, late at night.

If it's a combi, don't they have a gauge showing what the water pressure is?

NeverAgain_2

GDB2222 wrote: »

If it's a combi, don't they have a gauge showing what the water pressure is?

The gauge refers to the pressure in the sealed heating system.

It is pressurised by the mains, but only 'once' - although some systems require topping up once or twice a year.

The central heating in a combi will work even if it's not connected to the mains water supply - provided there is already pressure in the heating circuit.

G_M

Are we talking about these? They're delightful and totally harmless. And asleep. I have around 500 round the inside of the frame of my front door every winter where they hibernate. In spring they'll go back into the garden and start eating the greenfly.

GDB2222

NeverAgain wrote: »

The gauge refers to the pressure in the sealed heating system.

It is pressurised by the mains, but only 'once' - although some systems require topping up once or twice a year.

The central heating in a combi will work even if it's not connected to the mains water supply - provided there is already pressure in the heating circuit.

Yes, I knew that, but it gives a minimum for the water pressure in the mains.