Nasty Landlord

jaylou27

Ok so here's my long list of probelms

Currently letting a house for myself partner and two babies.
From the off there's been nothing but problems, we found the property through an estate agents but their job was just to find the tenants nothing more.

We handed over £300 for referencing! then the deposit and rent and were told that the landlord would be meeting us at the property to do an inventory.

We got to the property and the door was left open however no one was to be found! called the landlord who said he was too busy to come round just move in, property was filthy nothing we'd asked to be done was done and so we sent an email to the landlord listing all the problems. No response!

One month in and one night we noticed we could hear rain in the house get up to the loft to check and discover we can see the night sky. Holes everywhere, ripped felting, nothing to keep the heat in the house and all the wood is white from damp/rot!

More letters to the landlord! again no response, I've now rang him as the weather is getting worse and Im worried as the ceilings are now cracking and bulging in places! (were all now living in one room!)

His response is I really couldnt care and wish you would just move out, Im not fixing it. Tell you what take this as your months notice! (I know that he is unable to do this and he needs to wait till we've been here six months, then sever us a s21 ect)

What I want to know is we are screwed on the money front had to beg, steal and borrow and still not paid back! all the money to get this place. We can not afford another £300 referencing fee! If we go back to the estate agents (not that I trust their judgement when it comes to a safe property!) do we need to pay referencing again?

Do they have some form of duty of care regarding properties they markert.

Sorry so long already but full list of problems in the house listed below.

Roof.
Windows no restrictions and knee height in front room and daughters room.
False wooden ceiling in kitchen falling down due to damp.
Electrically points in kitchen wont switch off.
Open drain 2ft gap in garden.
Rubble in front of property.
Burnt carperts in rooms.
Mice.

Any help/advice greatly received!

BitterAndTwisted

Get environmental Health in while you get saving for your onward move.

Do the agents have any duty of care? No, they were contracted to find a tenant for the landlord. Which they have done.

If you want to discuss not paying for another set of referencing fees for an alternative property via them, then go in and discuss it with them.

G_M

jaylou27 wrote: »

Ok so here's my long list of probelms

Currently letting a house for myself partner and two babies.
From the off there's been nothing but problems, we found the property through an estate agents but their job was just to find the tenants nothing more.
Entirely a matter of choice by the landlord.

We handed over £300 for referencing! Fairly standard. Glad to hear you passed! then the deposit and rent Also totally standardand were told that the landlord would be meeting us at the property to do an inventory. Again, standard, though in the LL's interest more than yours.

We got to the property and the door was left open however no one was to be found! Had your tenancy started at this point? Did you have possessions inside? If not, so what?called the landlord who said he was too busy to come round just move in, property was filthy nothing we'd asked to be done was done and so we sent an email to the landlord listing all the problems. No response!Did you follow up formally with a letter addressed to the LL at the address "for the serving of notices" provided? Listing all your issues?

One month in and one night we noticed we could hear rain in the house get up to the loft to check and discover we can see the night sky. Holes everywhere, ripped felting, nothing to keep the heat in the house and all the wood is white from damp/rot!

More lettersAh! Glad to hear you've been writing. How many letters? Saying what? asking for what? Giving what deadlines? to the landlord! again no response, I've now rang him as the weather is getting worse and Im worried as the ceilings are now cracking and bulging in places! (were all now living in one room!)

His response is I really couldnt care and wish you would just move out, Im not fixing it. Tell you what take this as your months notice! (I know that he is unable to do this and he needs to wait till we've been here six months, then sever us a s21 ect)OK, now he's getting nasty:
1) ignore a verbal notice - it is meaningless.
2) as you say, you are secure for 6 months anyway

What I want to know is we are screwed on the money front had to beg, steal and borrow and still not paid back! all the money to get this place. We can not afford another £300 referencing fee! If we go back to the estate agents (not that I trust their judgement when it comes to a safe property!) do we need to pay referencing again? Sorry. Almost certainly yes

Do they have some form of duty of care regarding properties they markert.The agency? No. The duty is on the landlord

Sorry so long already but full list of problems in the house listed below.

Roof.
Windows no restrictions and knee height in front room and daughters room.
False wooden ceiling in kitchen falling down due to damp.
Electrically points in kitchen wont switch off.
Open drain 2ft gap in garden.
Rubble in front of property.
Burnt carperts in rooms.
Mice.

Any help/advice greatly received!

Some of these issues you have to live with (if the LL won't fix.)

Some are the LL's responsibility (eg leaking roof) damp.
The Landlord & Tenant Act 1985 says:

11 Repairing obligations in short leases.
(1)In a lease to which this section applies (as to which, see sections 13 and 14) there is implied a covenant by the lessor—

(a)to keep in repair the structure and exterior of the dwelling-house (including drains, gutters and external pipes),

(b)to keep in repair and proper working order the installations in the dwelling-house for the supply of water, gas and electricity and for sanitation (including basins, sinks, baths and sanitary conveniences, but not other fixtures, fittings and appliances for making use of the supply of water, gas or electricity), and

(c)to keep in repair and proper working order the installations in the dwelling-house for space heating and heating water.

If the LL refuses to act, contact the local council's Environmental Health Office and /or The Private Tenancy Officer if there is one.

Zorz_2

BitterAndTwisted wrote: »

Get environmental Health in while you get saving for your onward move.

+1.

They have the powers to persuade your LL to start "caring"... :cool:;)

tbs624

LLs who act like this aren't going to "up their game", but I would get the local Council's Env Health Officer and/or the Private Sector Tenancy Relations Officer involved. They can inspect the property under what is called HHSRS ( Housing Health and Safety Rating System): this checks out 29 potential housing "hazards" and the LL can be served with notices to enforce repairs.

Unfortunately, your best bet is to start looking for new accommodation to move to after the Fixed Term expiry because:

1) there is nothing to stop LLs issuing retaliatory notice to their Ts because repairs/maintenance issues have been pursued.
2) repair enforcements take time and even if LL did not give you notice, you would be having to put up with the poor conditions in the meantime.

Alternatively , if you can find a new property earlier you could suggest to the LL that he releases you early from that Fixed Term
( if this route is followed then get confirmation in writing)

Check whether the local Council can help with a Bond Guarantee and whether they have a list of accredited private sector LLs. If you go direct to a LL, rather than using an LA, you will probably pay a much lower referencing fee ( self- managing LLs tend not to slap the hefty mark up on a third party referencing company's fees, so usually no more than 50 or 60 quid per adult) You could also try contacting the local LL Association for contact nos.

Did you pay a tenancy deposit btw and , if yes, has this LL scheme registered it and given you the scheme's prescribed information?

tbs624

BitterAndTwisted wrote: »

If you want to discuss not paying for another set of referencing fees for an alternative property via them, then go in and discuss it with them.

OP - why on earth would you want to do this? It is clear that the LA has no moral compass and you are likely to end up with an equally poor property .