Estate agent and leaking flat problems!

davefromkent_2

Hi thanks for reading.

My girlfriend rents a three bedroom shared basement flat in Kent through an Estate Agent.

During the first week of February she noticed water seeping through the laminate flooring in her bedroom. She called the Estate Agent about it four times in a week as it was getting worse. Eventually a builder came out five (yes, five) weeks later and took half of the floor up.

A week later the builder came back and took the rest of the floor up, and told her that the room was unsafe to stay in. The stench of damp is unbearable, you can't even breathe in there. He also couldn't believe the Estate Agent hadn't told her this. They also haven't given her alternative accommodation to stay in. All of her stuff is currently taking up the lounge of the flat.

She has also got asthma and the damp has meade her asthma worse and damaged some of her possessions (no contents insurance though unfortunately).

A week after this happened we went to the Citizens Advice Bureau who directed us to a housing office/charity place called CHAC who are looking into copies of her contract. I also got some legal advice from somebody who had a friend in a very similar situation. CHAC agreed that the Estate Agent is breaking some of the terms of the contract which we have given to them (obligation to keep property free from damp and a couple of others).

She emailed the Estate Agent and explained (following this advice) that she wanted:

- all the rent back while she's not been able to live there
- the full deposit back
- to move out and cancel the contract

The Estate Agent have got back to us with the offer of:

- reduced rent of £100 per month as she is "still able to use the facilities of the house"

and they have declined an early tenancy cancellation.

They have also now discovered that the leak is coming from the shower in the other basement flat next door. She is currently still homeless and still paying full rent. We have contacted CHAC asking for further advice and are awaiting their reply.

She had now been out of her room for 31 days with nowhere else to stay, so she's alternating between mine (but I live four times further away from her place of work so her petrol cost have increased this much as a result) and a friend's spare room.

She's also paying full rent (the direct debits came out at the start of March and April) and had no idea when she can move back in. We thought it best not to withhold any rent as didn't want to be accused of doing anything wrong. Despite numerous visits to the Estate Agent we are none the wiser and they have been utterly useless. Any calls that we are receiving, we are now asking for in writing as well so there is a paper trail.

Does anyone think she can she claim all her rent back, if so, how, and should she be due any sort of compensation? Also does she have grounds to leave the tenancy early? She's basically had enough and wants out.

Any help/advice appreciated.

PS Sorry for the long post!

bmar71n

i believe that it would be the landlords obligation to provide suitable alternative accommodation, if they don't do this she may be able to claim some if not all of any costs incurred.

However as i understand it this would only apply if the accommodation was truly uninhabitable.

If this is the case and have not supplied her suitable accommodation she may be able to break the tenancy early.

Also it may be more productive to contact the landlord directly

BitterAndTwisted

It won't be the agent who is not dealing with this seriously, it will be the landlord they represent.

In this instance I wouldn't be fooling around with advisory agents or anything like that: I'd be getting in touch with the Local Authority's Environmental Health people. And quickly. They are the ones who can enforce appropriate repairs or where the landlord will not undertake them, get them done and send the bill to the landlord.

Getting EH involved will make this landlord sit up and take notice, I assure you

davefromkent_2

Thanks. Unfortunately we have found out that the landlord is in Australia and his parents are acting on his behalf. The room is completely uninhabitable with no floor and an extremely strong smell of damp. We did not want to pay for a B&B/hotel in case she could not get the costs back. She's lucky she is able to stay at mine for the moment, I dread to think what she would have done if she was on her own.

davefromkent_2

Thank you, will try contacting EH then.

My parents suggested contacting the council. Worth a try?

Yorkie1

EH are one of the council departments. Good luck.

BitterAndTwisted

The landlord not being resident in the UK won't make any difference if the property is uninhabitable. Obviously this sounds like a case of a neighbouring property being the cause of the trouble so the landlord or their agents will most likely get into a discussion with the adjacent property's owner and their respective insurance companies. If the issues are not dealt with the council can enforce repairs and put a charge on the property to recoup their expenses.

Forcing the landlord to supply appropriate alternative accommodation is going to be harder but not impossible. EH will be your support in that respect as well.

davefromkent_2

This is why there's been such a delay I believe - the insurance company have been and had a look at it and they're looking at the next steps. Or I hope so anyway. The EA have been shockingly bad with their severe lack of communication. They said to my girlfriend that they act in the interest of the landlord, not the tenant. Surely that's utter rubbish.

Annisele

davefromkent wrote: »

They said to my girlfriend that they act in the interest of the landlord, not the tenant. Surely that's utter rubbish.

It's not rubbish; it's absolutely true. The Lettings Agent is the agent of the landlord, not the agent of the tenant. So, the LA acts on the LL's behalf, and only spends any money / does anything with the permission of the LL.

Not that that helps you in any practical way, but it might help you to understand why the LA are so useless; they're only able to do what the LL has given them permission to do.

I agree with others; the council/EH are your best bet.