Blocked pipe leads to human waste in rented property

Fire_Fox

Still not clear what you did when. EA = estate agent? It is your landlord you should communicate with, they have the legal obligations towards the tenant not the letting agent. EH = Environmental Health at the local council, they can enforce your rights and the landlords responsibilities.

Do trust your tutors because most are decent human beings. IME many will bend over backwards for a hardworking, genuine student and you will get support if you communicate and have a genuine crisis. Students who expect special treatment, skip or are late for lectures or come up with lame excuses for late assignments get little help and sympathy. IME being as a student, as an ex member of university staff and having friends who are currently on staff.

clarky_4

Sorry EA being the environments agency. We don't have an estate agent everything is directly done through the LL. I'll be contacting the environment health monday for sure. we spoke to a few different organisations at the time and nothing was really helpful but admittedly things were a bit manic this end

clarky_4

Cheers for all the responses guys been a great help in letting us know where we stand and what to do. Thanks again much appreciated!

propertyman

You must take good detailed photos, not a quick snap, and here is why.

a: advise landlords of the extent of the problem so his cleaners know

b: photos after clean up to record any damage e.g. to walls etc so that when you move out you are not accused of being liable.

c: the waste in the ground outside will have to be neutralised too the EH officer can advise on that.

tbs624

OP - as you are students, did you obtain this property via the Uni's approved accomms list? If so make a formal complaint.

Even if you didn't use the Uni's list, the Accomms office should still be able to offer you some support with getting matters resolved.

This isn't a case of you "having a go at your LL" - it's about you having the right to expect him to act promptly in retuning the property to an appropriately cleaned state. If your relationship with your LL is, as you say, "good" then the LL should absolutely have no issue with sorting the matter fairly and asap.

It's not on to expect Ts on a known low income to foot the bills for extra nights in a BB, even it was to be repaid later. Students do not generally have extra stashes of money available to do that and may already be stretched via O/D and credit cards.

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.

Sorry B&T, I thank many of your posts but this one is "off" IMO. The LL has *not* rectified the problem if he has only coughed for just one night in a B&B and yet the property remains covered in excremental residue. Decent cleaners *can* be obtained at short notice but the LL would of course have to pay a higher rate. How a property occupant might deal with the issue ("I doubt you'd be able to do better yourselves") is wholly irrelevant - the LL is receiving rent and this is one of those emergencies for which he should have a system sorted. He should have appropriate insurance cover in place and should do right by the Ts if they cannot safely occupy the property.

The OP says

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

The LL may of course be able to recover costs from (a) the blockage removal company for failing to leave the premises in appropriate order and/or (b) the Ts themselves if it was as a result of their actions or omissions that the drains became blocked. He would need to be able to show that the current Ts had not of course effectively inherited the drain problem and that it wasn't due his failure to check/maintain the drains appropriately. OP - who reported the drain issue, how often and was it done in writing, with copy kept?

As others have said OP, keep good film/photo evidence of events, date evidence them and give the LL a copy.

EHO should be helping with advice for Ts and "encouragement" for LL to get the matter fully resolved..