Unhappy With Landlord

steeeb

Werdnal wrote: »

Regarding writing, you have proof you posted it. In law - if you had to take her to court for any reason - you have proof you safely delivered the said letter into the Royal Mail's care, and it is their duty to deliver it. First class post is deemed delivered 2 working days after posting - and if you can produce the free proof of posting that the PO will supply you when you post the letter at the counter, this is all you need to prove you reported the issues to the LL. So she might throw the letter away, but you have proof you posted it and that is all you need!

Unless you live in an HMO, there is no obligation to provide smoke detectors, never mind the batteries to go in them.

Just re-read you OP, and the electricity meter is the property of the supply company, so they should be informed if it is not working.

It seems from your TA, that the LL does not have an obligation to repair or replace the fridge. You can carry on using is as it is and buy you own stand-alone freezer which you can take with you when you go, or you can buy a replacement fridge/freezer, which will also be yours to take at the end, but you must not dispose of the LL's fridge without her agreement. When you write reminding her that by law you need a copy of the current GSC, you could ask her permission to dispose of the fridge, or for her to arrange to come and take it away. Do not get rid of it until she confirms, otherwise you could have deductions from your deposit for the "missing" fridge at the end, whether it was working or not!

And by the way, for future reference, you should actually read a tenancy agreement thoroughly before you sign it. If you had, you might have been aware of the clause about non-repairing appliances, and either queried or accepted it at the time. Once signed, you are bound by it. TBH, if I had new tenants who had problems with the appliance so early in the tenancy, I would have made more of an effort to repair or replace, but as the TA states it is not included, then your LL is doing nothing wrong.

Thanks very much for your advice. I might just get our own fridge/freezer and ask whether the landlord can collect theres, it's just been a massive pain and makes us want to not renew when the time comes in a few months.

Fire_Fox

Do not text message that is for your mates! Use snail mail, keep a dated copy and keep proof of posting/ proof of delivery. You don't need to prove what exactly you sent, it's common sense you sent information relating to the tenancy, any court or deposit protection scheme will believe that. Yo ucan e-mail as well but use formal communication, by texting you are telling the landlord you have no idea what you are doing, that you are total amateurs.

What of these items are listed in the inventory or particulars? If it says large American fridge-freezer then that is what you should be supplied with. Environmental Health about anything dangerous including the skin and bacteria in the bath.

Werdnal

Re the whirpool tub, they need a good flush through every 2-3 months (depending on how often you use it!). Fill with warm water to just above the outlets, switch on and pour in a dishwasher tablet dissolved in a jug of water, or half a cup of dishwasher power, or a cup of beach - not all 3!

Run for 5 mintues, switch off, drain and fill again with cold water. Run again for 5 minutes, drain. Job done! Not saying the LL should not have checked and done this (or charged previous tenants for doing it), but its a 10 minute job of minimal expense and not worth getting EHO involved with!

steeeb

Fire_Fox wrote: »

Do not text message that is for your mates! Use snail mail, keep a dated copy and keep proof of posting/ proof of delivery. You don't need to prove what exactly you sent, it's common sense you sent information relating to the tenancy, any court or deposit protection scheme will believe that. Yo ucan e-mail as well but use formal communication, by texting you are telling the landlord you have no idea what you are doing, that you are total amateurs.

What of these items are listed in the inventory or particulars? If it says large American fridge-freezer then that is what you should be supplied with. Environmental Health about anything dangerous including the skin and bacteria in the bath.

Noted about snail mail. There was/is no inventory unfortunately.

steeeb

Werdnal wrote: »

Re the whirpool tub, they need a good flush through every 2-3 months (depending on how often you use it!). Fill with warm water to just above the outlets, switch on and pour in a dishwasher tablet dissolved in a jug of water, or half a cup of dishwasher power, or a cup of beach - not all 3!

Run for 5 mintues, switch off, drain and fill again with cold water. Run again for 5 minutes, drain. Job done! Not saying the LL should not have checked and done this (or charged previous tenants for doing it), but its a 10 minute job of minimal expense and not worth getting EHO involved with!

The whirlpool bath doesn't work (and never had) either does the thermostat - both I assumed were working when I viewed the property (and the person showing me around said the were sure they were working).

BitterAndTwisted

steeeb wrote: »

There was/is no inventory unfortunately.

For a tenant, there is no "unfortunately" about not having a dual-signed inventory at the start of a tenancy. This could be completely to your advantage if your landlord seeks to make deductions from your deposit. They will have absolutely no documentary evidence to support any claim/s.

What have you done about the meter not working? This would be my major concern rather than fridge/freezers.

theartfullodger

steeeb wrote: »

........... ...
- The electic metre didn't work, there as no reading on the LCD screen, so no idea what it was when I moved in.
....

This is seriously not good, worst case is previous tenant and/or landlord have disconnected/bypassed the meter & been stealing electricity (IIRC the actual crime is abstraction of leccy..).

You've pressed various buttons (blue one??) and got nothing>??? If so contact URGENTLY the electricity company, initially by 'phone but follow up in writing and email/write to agent & landlord pointing out there may be something funny going on.

You do not want leccy company accusing you of theft so tell them, & be able to prove you did!!

Cheers!

Fire_Fox

steeeb wrote: »

Noted about snail mail. There was/is no inventory unfortunately.

Sorry to say but the fact that you signed the AST, agreed to move in given the state, and have nothing in writing means you have shafted yourselves. The place sounds like it may have been legally uninhabitable initially, if so the landlord should have rehoused you. I would have contacted Environmental Health on day one or sat in the agents office for hours until they actually did something.

Zorz_2

theartfullodger wrote: »

You've pressed various buttons (blue one??) and got nothing>??? If so contact URGENTLY the electricity company, initially by 'phone but follow up in writing and email/write to agent & landlord pointing out there may be something funny going on.

You do not want leccy company accusing you of theft so tell them, & be able to prove you did!!

These people might also want to hear about it:
http://www.ukrpa.co.uk/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=16&Itemid=108

steeeb

Thanks for the feedback guys. It's just the LCD screen that doesn't work but does mean no-one knows the reading from when I moved in.

In any case, I am going to ring the electric company now and get it sorted.

Regarding the fridge/freezer I'm going to chalk it up as a loss and simply buy a second hand one ourselves and then either keep it when we move on, or sell it on.

Thanks very much for all the advice.