How long is reasonable to wait for repairs?

Cherry_Bomb

I had a leak over the weekend which has resulted in 3 lovely big holes in the living room ceiling.

Letting agent is aware and I've had so far 5 builders round to inspect the damage and I've got another one coming tomorrow. I'm guessing this is for quotes to get the work done. Obviously the ceiling needs repairing and the bath and tiles need replacing (leak came from the bathroom)

I understand the need to for quotes but 6? Really? How cheap do they want it done!

It's only been 5 days since it happened so I know I'm being a bit inpatient but I just want it sorted. The smell drifting round the house from these holes is awful and mould has started growing. I can't use the downstairs lights (water was coming through the light fitting) and we can't use the bath (crack underneath it)
OK nothing hugely serious just inconvenient.

How long do you think is a reasonable amount of time I can be expected to wait before I can officially start moaning

cattie

Why would you want to start moaning? Sounds as if the landlord is pretty good to have got tradesmen in to look & price up so quickly. Not all tradesmen are available immediately, good ones get booked up for weeks ahead & it could well be that the landlord is trying to find one who could do the work sooner or later.

Cherry_Bomb

Cherry_Bomb wrote: »

The smell drifting round the house from these holes is awful and mould has started growing. I can't use the downstairs lights (water was coming through the light fitting) and we can't use the bath (crack underneath it)
OK nothing hugely serious just inconvenient

That's why!

It's not the landlord who's arranged the builders. It's the letting agent who manage the property and the builders all have contracts with the agency which is why they've been round so quickly.

theartfullodger

Cherry Bomb: Sue the landlord (or agent, or both..) for the losses you have incurred...

Now, they would be what ???

Cheers!

PS Where in UK is the compo culture so especially popular??

cattie

Just because the tradesmen come round quickly doesn't mean they are free to start work straight away. Most pop out to price jobs while taking a short break from other work they are doing.

Your landlord pays the letting agent to effectively manage the property, so by choosing an agent that responds quickly to problems, I'd say he is a very good landlord indeed. You've said yourself it's only been 5 days. If you are not happy with the way things are being handled, then find another property.

tbs624

cattie wrote: »

If you are not happy with the way things are being handled, then find another property.

What a daft comment.

Ts cannot just renege on their contracts because a LL may be slow to rectify repairs issues.

OP - *write* to the LL c/o the LA, briefly setting out what has happened to date and asking them to give you a date in writing when the work will begin. State in the letter that you are without use of the bath and that the downstairs lighting has been affected. Keep a copy of the letter for your own records

Is there a separate shower cubicle?

Has anyone sent by the LA actually checked the electrics for safety yet?

rentergirl

If this is dangerous (and a hole in the ceiling could well be) then explain that, and that the EA will be liable for any subsequent injury. This isn't a compo culture: the tenant is using hard earned money to cover this stuation, and shouldn't have to wait long in damp and mouldy conditions.

pinkshoes

So other than the smell and a bit of mould, it's not too bad yeah?

Sounds like the LL is already getting things done. I imagine it'll be one person to sort the bathroom out, and another person to then come in an re-plaster and paint the ceiling, and often the best person for the job can't be available asap...

If it's any consolation, as a home owner, I've had a hole in my kitchen ceiling for four MONTHS, and it took me a whole week to get round to repairing the bath/shower which leaked. I did stick a plastic bag over it though so I could still use the shower!

Thrugelmir

Cherry_Bomb wrote: »

How long do you think is a reasonable amount of time I can be expected to wait before I can officially start moaning

Depends on whether you want a good relationship with the letting agent or not. Repairs can take weeks.

Will need to dry out first. So ventilate as much as possible.

squeeks

pinkshoes wrote: »

So other than the smell and a bit of mould, it's not too bad yeah?

Sounds like the LL is already getting things done....

If it's any consolation, as a home owner, I've had a hole in my kitchen ceiling for four MONTHS...

As the home owner, you get things repaired as you can afford it or at your earliest convenience. So if you can't be bothered to fix it, you don't have to. A tenant can't fix or arrange for the issue to be fixed themselves and have to rely on the land lord to do this.

As a tenant you are paying a premium for your home which comes maintenance free, so you shouldn't have to put up with long delays in getting issues that arise fixed - you've already paid for it, it should be fixed rapidly, you're not interested in getting 10 quotes to get the cheapest deal, you just want it fixed with the least inconvenience to your day to day life.

You wouldn't rent a hotel room which had maintenance issues, you just want to use it for the night. You'd expect the hotel to fix any issues that arise during your stay promptly. If they couldn't fix it quickly you would expect the use of another hotel room or a reduction in the bill. You wouldn't expect them to say they have a couple of people coming in the next day, stop worrying about it, it is only slightly inconvenient we are trying to fix it as quickly as we can, and no madam, we will not reduce your bill for the inconvenience you experienced, you still had use of the room for the duration...

If you own your house and were happy with holes in the ceiling, that's your prerogative. Just don't expect a tenant to put up with it, they expect a certain level of service. Perhaps we need to get AST to have service level agreements added to them, which are a little more stringent than best endeavours with no financial recourse.

Yorkie1

zak... reported for spam