Blocked pipe leads to human waste in rented property

clarky_4

Hi People,

I was wondering if I could get some advice. Me and my partner are both students living in a ground floor flat and there are 5 other students living upstairs in shared accommodation. The entire property is owned and managed by the same landlords. There has been an issue with the drainage for a while and it turns out there was a blocked drain. A company came out to resolve the issue. While sorting the issue the entire garden became flooded with human waste and the company had to feed pipes through the property to sort this. Between the people and the pipes there was brown colour streaks (feaces) all through the hall and kitchen and due to the pipe moving around alot there were marks on the wall and kitchen cabinets up to about waist height. We were out for the day as the work was being carried out and the landlords informed us everything was fine and we could return home. Upon returning home we saw what i described above and the stench was horrendous. I got in contact with the landlords to complain but they said what do you want us to do as they responded to the problem. I said we could not stay there that night due to the smell and things needed to be clean. they eventually agreed to pay for a night in a B&B and and to get the property cleaned in the morning. In the morning (Friday) we were informed that the cleaner would come on Monday and they thought the property was liveable but we cant access the kitchen or bathroom due to the mess and the stench is still present despite closing doors and having windows open, which by the way means we are also freezing despite the heating being on. All this without mentioning the obvious health risks. I would like to know what rights we have in this situation because this is not an acceptable living standard and we don't really have the money or family close by to go anywhere else

Sorry for being a bit long, wanted to be thorough. Thanks in advance, hope someone can help

BitterAndTwisted

What rights? The right for the landlord to address and rectify the problem once they've been informed about it. Which they appear to be doing. Being put up in a B&B and for the landlord to engage a cleaner seems pretty cooperative. Decent cleaners can rarely be hired at extremely short notice and I doubt you'd be able to do better yourselves under the circumstances.

pmlindyloo

BitterAndTwisted wrote: »

What rights? The right for the landlord to address and rectify the problem once they've been informed about it. Which they appear to be doing. Being put up in a B&B and for the landlord to engage a cleaner seems pretty cooperative. Decent cleaners can rarely be hired at extremely short notice and I doubt you'd be able to do better yourselves under the circumstances.

I think the OP is saying that the LL put them up for just the one night and then expects OP to return over the weekend.

Personally I would be taking photographs of the state of the property, staying in the BB until the Monday when the cleaner comes and then billing the LL.

meg72

Sorry I found your post very difficult to read,it does sound a horrendous situation and all I can suggest is if its as bad aa you describe how about contacting enviromental health.

clarky_4

BitterAndTwisted wrote: »

What rights? The right for the landlord to address and rectify the problem once they've been informed about it. Which they appear to be doing. Being put up in a B&B and for the landlord to engage a cleaner seems pretty cooperative. Decent cleaners can rarely be hired at extremely short notice and I doubt you'd be able to do better yourselves under the circumstances.

its as pmlindyloo just said. i dont want it to look like i'm having a go at the LL as we have a pretty good relationship, it just seems right now my only choice is to live at the property in this state or on the street. we're good tennants and we've payed for the right to stay in a habitable accommodation which right now it is not

Fire_Fox

Welcome! Walls of text are difficult to read, please use paragraphs separated by blank lines.

Landlord (not letting agent) is responsible for providing you with a safe home - they are obliged to rehouse you until they can clean to a professional standard. Complain verbally and in writing (e-mail or hand delivered with an independent witness present), template letters on Shelter. Take photographs or video and contact Environmental Health first thing on Monday. Pay for a B&B in the mean time you should be able to claim this back off your rent if there is clear evidence of the place being legally uninhabitable and clear evidence of you having reported this to the landlord.

clarky_4

meg72 wrote: »

Sorry I found your post very difficult to read,it does sound a horrendous situation and all I can suggest is if its as bad aa you describe how about contacting enviromental health.

thanks for replying, we contacted them but they told us to contact the water board who then told us to contact the local authority who then told us to contact environmental health. everyone kept saying it wasnt their problem and we had to contact someone else. i had to give up calling on the friday as i had important assignments due but i will try again as i think this needs to be reported somewhere

pmlindyloo

Did you stay there last night?

Have you rung the LL and asked him to pay for B&B until Monday?

I believe this isn't really covered by any 'rules'/legistration as it is an emergency situation and should rely on the LL's common sense.

Of coure we don't know how bad it is, but if you really can't stay there then you will have to find the money for a B&B and if the LL won't reinburse you then you can deduct it from your next month's rent/sue him in the Small Claims Court.

Neither very wonderful ideas and your LL may get stroppy and ask you to leave at the end of the tenancy or whenever he can legally do so.

When did your tenancy start? When does it end? Are you at risk of this retaliation happening?

of course, one option I haven't mentioned is to go to the B&B and pay for it yourself if the LL won't and you want to keep on good terms.

Fire_Fox

Honestly if you house is covered in human waste, quickly e-mail your tutors and explain your assignments might be late because you have a housing crisis. Every university permits extenuating circumstances as long as you can supply evidence - which you easily could with photos, invoices, copies of letters and e-mails between yourself, EH and the landlord, B&B receipts, itemised phone bills. Differentiate between urgent and important.

Not sure what you said to EH and at what point. EH won't deal with the initial problem of a blocked drain, that is for your landlord to resolve if it on private property and for the water board if on the public highway. EH enforces the landlord's repairing obligations if he fails to respond, or can deem a house uninhabitable when it is covered in human waste. Read websites rather than spending hours on hold, most organisations tell you what they do and sometimes what they don't.

clarky_4

@Fire Fox - Sorry bout that bit of a first timer doing this sort of thing. Thanks for the advice though, we already taken pictures and i'll be sure to do the everything else you said.

In hindsight i think i would have done what you suggested with uni but i got to admit a bit of shock, frustration and panic had set in at that point. As for EA i explained blockage had been cleared and i was left with the mess and they told me to contact local authority and that started the merry go round. I will be trying again monday for sure

@pmlindyloo - we did stay there last night. we didnt have a choice really as LL said it was fine until we saw it that morning. Between spending money on food, taxis and the B&B we were concerned about having no money left and were worried about spending without getting it back. we're on an extremely tight budget. we been here since june

Fella

BitterAndTwisted wrote: »

What rights? The right for the landlord to address and rectify the problem once they've been informed about it. Which they appear to be doing. Being put up in a B&B and for the landlord to engage a cleaner seems pretty cooperative. Decent cleaners can rarely be hired at extremely short notice and I doubt you'd be able to do better yourselves under the circumstances.

Utter nonsense, the OP already said that "the landlords informed us everything was fine and we could return home" when clearly this wasn't the case.

Any decent landlord would do far better.