What would you do in my situation?

paddygirl

I have been privately renting for 5 years.

I have had no face to face contact with my landlord for about 2 years after he came round to do some repair works. He did these cheaply, and not,in my opinion, to an acceptable standard.

When I communicate now its either by phone or letter.

Now the property is slowly starting to have issues. I asked him to sort out my front door last year as it was rotting away. He repiled that he would cut out the affected panels and replace with MDF. I told him this wasnt acceptable so he said I could replace the door myself. I havent done so as I dont feel its my responsibilty.

So far these are the problems I am having that my landlord wont sort out:

1) no gas safety cert

2) an old and defective oven which I have asked to be either fully serviced and repaired,or replaced

3) damp in the kitchen,bathroom and my bedroom. The damp in kitchen has spread to my cupboards. When he came over he just repasted the old mouldy wallpaper back down.
The bathroom I guess that s a ventilation issue and quite common.
My bedroom seems to have a rising damp issue. When he came round all he did was cut out the black wet mouldy wallpaper, and then cut out a new bit of wallpaper and pasted that down.

4) a threadbear carpet in the lounge,carpet is about 20 yrs old at least

5) broken and cracked lino tiles in the kitchen as they appear to be lifting up.im happy to replace these myself but not sure if thats down to me.

6) a rotten and cracked front door that has now develpoed a hole in the bottom panel,ive explained this is not only a security concern for me, but it is also letting in the elements,causing more damp in the kitchen

7)fire safety- when you come through my door you are straight into my kitchen as my landlord knocked the walls down,removed a radiator and made it open plan. but due to the design of the flat ( 2 bed ground floor) I dont have an escape route. I have been out and brought a fire blanket and fire extinguisher though. I didnt think much of it until my friend and her new partner came over and he said it was a fire hazard as the kichen is open plan and i have no means of a safe escape .

So, Ive written my landlord a letter asking that he does these works, given that I have given him a rental income of nearly £50,000, I dont think I am being unreasonable. So far not had any response.

Not sure if theres much I can do about the open plan kitchen situation

So, should I go down the Enviromental Health route, or go and get 3 quotes and put these to him if I dont hear anything?

I dont want to fall out with him, but I pay a lot of rent and have two children to think about.

I do have some photos, but Im too embarassed to put them up.

Thanks v much.

Thrugelmir

Suggest you move.

Tiddlywinks

Thrugelmir wrote: »

Suggest you move.

Is it worth the fight? Do you want the hassle, really?

Why not just move?

Catblue

Your landlord clearly does not care. He has demonstrated that again and again over 5 years. Absolutely not your responsibility to repair or replace anything in the house (apart from where you have damaged something yourself obviously).

You could try telling him that he'll be unable to relet the house in the state that it is in so it is in his interests to repair the house while you are still paying rent. Downside of that is that if he does do all the repairs then he could raise the rent and/or ask you to leave when the repairs are complete.

I would leave and give him the minimum amount of notice possible. Why reward a rubbish landlord when there really are decent landlords about?

paddygirl

Thanks for replies.

I am waiting for a move on medical grounds which is why,so far, we are not moving into another private let. Also the area I am in is near to my work and childrens schools. So in that respect its positive. Its just the repairs I need to resolve. Certainly I would want them done before I moved either way, as I was previously renting privately somewhere else before this property, and the landlady wouldnt do repairs.So I left,only giving 2 weeks notice(had bad neighbours as well). This landlady then took me to the small claims court-the papers were served on me at my place of work. Too long a story, but I am trying to cover myself as I dont ever want to be in that position again.

So for now, I want the repairs sorted.

cattie

I think you need to look at the positives of renting this place. You've been there for 5 yrs so have had a pretty secure tenancy. Many people end up having to up sticks and find a new place every week.

Don't listen to friends or people you know telling you things are a fire hazzard without checking out the true facts. Too many people offer opinions they have no real knowledge of.

Either take the suggestion that others have given here and move if you really are fed up with the situation or you can consider having a word with environmental health, but be aware if repairs and improvements are carried out, LL could increase your rent, or perhaps he will be fed up enough to give you notice to quit.

I'm not sure why you didn't let him repair the front door as surely any repair is better than none if the door is a security and heating issue risk?

paddygirl

Well when a front door is rotten with cracks and holes in it,covering these with MDF isnt exactly going to be sufficent as a long term solution. Also I've been a good tenant,always paid my rent. Its not just for my benefit, but also for his as the owner. I think Im entitled to a new front door, not a botched up repair job.

I am concerned about going to EH for the reasons you have stated. Would not wish to be given a NTQ at all.

KateLiana27

Pick your battles.

Gas safety cert? Genuine safety and legal issue which he needs to get sorted.

Damp and mould? Genuine safety issue which he needs to get sorted.

Raising too many issues, some of which sound a bit finicky (sorry) just give the landlord an excuse to roll his eyes, brush you off as being impossible to please, and ignore the really serious issues above. What your friends said about fire safety is of no consequence (ask the local fire service to pay a visit for a proper opinion if you're really worried - they'll do that).

Write a polite, formal letter about the two issues above. Then get a cheap Ikea rug to cover the threadbare carpet, let him fix the door by whatever means he is willing to, and turn a blind eye to the tiles.

Good luck.

BitterAndTwisted

Consult the Shelter website for guidance how you go about either compelling your landlord to carry out necessary repairs or get them done yourself and deduct the cost from the rent.

Just because you think the LL using MDF is unsatisfactory does not mean it will be ineffective. I agree that it would be cosmetically unfavourable but that's not the same thing at all. If you're that insistent about having a brand new door you should have a think about financing it yourself with your landlord's permission.


Flooring and carpeting are not your expense but trying to persuade an unhelpful and unwilling landlord to spend the money is going to be an uphill struggle.

Mould and damp are things which can be easy for a landlord to blame the tenant for, by causing far too much condensation and not heating and ventilating properly, so you should very wary about assuming that the issue is definitely caused outwith your control.

I have absolutely no idea why you don't just find another more suitable property, rather than tolerate being treated so shabbily by your landlord.

paddygirl

My daughter is disabled, so its not as simple as looking in the local paper and finding another private rented property. It has to be adapted to suit her needs,plus she needs her own bedroom, so would be looking at a 3 bed. Thats over £1,000per month. Hence why we are waiting for a move on medical grounds- I should have made that clearer.

HappyMJ

paddygirl wrote: »

My daughter is disabled, so its not as simple as looking in the local paper and finding another private rented property. It has to be adapted to suit her needs,plus she needs her own bedroom, so would be looking at a 3 bed. Thats over £1,000per month. Hence why we are waiting for a move on medical grounds- I should have made that clearer.

If you are not willing to go to environmental health over the mould and damp issue and the lack of a gas safety certificate because of the potential for your tenancy to be ended then there is little else you can do apart from just asking the landlord.