Problems with our rented property - PLEASE help!!

buffness

Hello there.

Please can someone help me and offer any advice as to what we can do with the current situation me and my partner are experiencing with an apartment we are currently renting!!

In November 2011, we signed up to a 12 month Assured Shorthold Tenancy for an apartment in Manchester City Centre.

Our move in date was delayed because the apartments are a new build and there was some delay with getting the property ready in a liveable state.

We moved in a few days later than planned and after a few days, we started to notice a few problems.

• We set the water heater to provide us hot water between certain times i.e. 6am-10am as me and my partner wake up and shower for work at 8am.

After the first try, the water heater did not achieve this. We messed around with the settings on the water heater and tried different times, however it still did not work. To overcome this, we have to use the "boost" on for a 1 or 2 hour duration to get hot water. This is obviously costing us more in electricity.

We also started to notice the following:

• The secondary phone lines in the house are not working. When BT came to install our broadband, we wanted our broadband router and main telephone to be in our living room. After he tested the lines, it is apparent that NONE of these are working. Instead, we now have to put the router and the telephone line in the 2nd bedroom as this is where the primary line is installed.
• There is a SIGNIFICANT draft from windows and doors around the apartment. We are sat in our living room with our electric wall heaters on full blast. After using a thermometer to test the temperature, it reaches between 9-11 degrees celcius. This is TOTALLY unacceptable to me
• We have a third bedroom that no one really uses. Instead, we use it for storage. It is absolutely freezing in this bedroom. We obviously dont put the heating on in this room alot, but even with no heating, it only reaches 3-5 degrees celcius. There are two bathrooms located in the apartment, both connected as an en-suite to bedroom one and bedroom two. All these are via an internal wall. Again, these barely reach 3-5 degrees celcius!

We have reported the problems with the water heater and the telephone lines to the estate agent but nothing has been done. We have not yet decided to report the cold temperatures to them because we wanted to write them a strong letter to say that this is unacceptable and hoping they dont ignore us.

We cannot live in these cold rooms anymore and it feels like its sometimes colder inside our home than outside.

Please can someone give me any suggestions as to what we can say to the estate agent to get out of this tenancy. Because we are having to use the electric wall heaters to heat rooms that we dont use, instead we are doing this to try and transport the heat to our living room. I am sure you understand that the cost of using these can be quite high when compared to normal gas central heating.

We want to get out of this tenancy as we dont want to continue paying £1100.00 a month for living in cold and unacceptable conditions!!

Thanks very much xx

FireWyrm

Uh oh. Unfortunately, a contract is a contract. However, the LL is required by law to maintain the internal heating of his property in good working order. My first stop would be an informal chat with the LA. My next would be a semi-threatening letter to the LL, copied to the LA pointing out this law. This might just get some movement and the problem solved reasonably easily. In the meantime, is there a break clause in your contract? Can you get out after 6 months?

Yorkie1

The tenancy is binding on you for the 12 months unless, as suggested, there is a 6-month break clause.

You must write to the LL at the address you have on your tenancy for the service of notices - it's probably the EA's address - notifying them of all the issues. Do not email or just phone. You need an audit trail. You must also mention the heating - you cannot expect them to do anything about it if you haven't told them!

Depending on the exact set-up of the property, it may be that there are sufficient working heating systems available but you just don't want to pay the extra cost. If that is the case, you may not have much to argue. However, if the only heating systems are not working adequately then the LL is breaching their repairing responsibilities.

buffness

Hmm
I understand what you are saying and thanks for the info.

There is no break clause in the contract - it states 12 months and we signed up for 12 months. Is there nothing we can do legally to try and get out of this?

FireWyrm

buffness wrote: »

Hmm
I understand what you are saying and thanks for the info.

There is no break clause in the contract - it states 12 months and we signed up for 12 months. Is there nothing we can do legally to try and get out of this?

In short...nope.

However, as I said, the LL is responsible for maintaining the heating systems. I would get this checked, insist on it....and then look around for a new tenancy with a view to moving in exactly a year.

buffness

FireWyrm wrote: »

In short...nope.

However, as I said, the LL is responsible for maintaining the heating systems. I would get this checked, insist on it....and then look around for a new tenancy with a view to moving in exactly a year.

What do you mean?

FireWyrm

The LandLord is required by law to maintain heating systems in sufficient working order that they are fit for purpose. If you can't get heat out of a radiator...something is wrong. Insist that it is checked...immediately. As for drafts, it happens on old houses....a draft excluder should suffice. But the boiler is another matter all together and if you can't get hot water reliably, the LL is in breach of his obligations and you can kick up a holy fuss over the matter...do it...don't be shy, he can't evict you until the year is up, which is when you'll probably have arranged to move anyway if this keeps on...so nothing to lose.

Also, bear in mind that it's almost spring, so you won't be needing the heating for much longer. Your biggest issue is the hot water and the one you need to address immediately.

jc808

FireWyrm wrote: »

As for drafts, it happens on old houses....

this is a newbuild

BitterAndTwisted

Put all of your observations to the landlord IN WRITING and address them as "snagging issues" which you'd like the landlord to take up with the builder if possible. Most new-builds are well-insulated so I cannot understand why, if this place has been properly built it is drafty and the heating is insufficient. The water-heater shouldn't be using more electricity to heat the water it's just using the same amount but doing it more quickly.

Hump

What did the Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) say - this should have been part of the marketing pack from the Lettings Agent. As the property has electric heating and electric water heating you would expect the property to have a low grading i.e. E or F ( see http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/HomeAndCommunity/BuyingAndSellingYourHome/Energyperformancecertificates/DG_177026 ).

Just a thought but no EPC might be a lever to help renegotiate / exit the contract (really long shot and likely to need a lawyer with some experience of contract law).

On a more practical level now is the time to address the issue - under the HHSRS ( see http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/HomeAndCommunity/Privaterenting/Repairsandstandards/DG_189198 ) excessive cold can be a category 1 hazard - great in winter, but unlikely to be something that can be dealt with in summer. Contact your local council's environmental health department and ask for an inspection - in general once you involve these folk then they might be obliged to act even if you change your mind! (assuming they find cat 1 hazards).