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Have let a house with numerous issues - please help.
Methtical
Posts: 20 Forumite
Apologies for the long post.
Ok, where to begin.
We viewed a house to rent back on 22nd September. It looked view upon viewing apart from a large crack across the rear patio door, we asked that if we were to let the house, would this be fixed as it seemed like both a safety and security risk, to be told yes it would most certainly be sorted by the time anyone was to occupy the house.
After viewing a few more houses we decided the first one was the best choice, so made an offer, but was told by the letting agency that the landlord was on holiday for two weeks so couldn’t give us a decision. The house would be managed by the letting agency, not the landlord themselves. Eventually a rent is agreed and I put £200 holding deposit down on 18th October, with the remaining deposit and first months rent to be paid on 1st November. I ask again about the patio door and was told its being looked at as it’s 80s style double glazing so replacing it could be expensive and so it might be more economical for the landlord to replace the entire fitting, but that everything was in hand and the wheels were turning so to speak.
It comes to the 27th October and we go to pay up the deposit and first months rent, after signing all the paperwork I ask again about the patio door, at this point I am told that the builders came and inspected the door and determined that there was not lintel present above the patio door, as such the patio door was bearing the weight of the brickwork above it. I was then told that this was being taken care of and would be sorted before we moved in, or at the very latest within the first week. Because this is a letting agency and not some private letting I take their word on this as it seems a pretty serious issue and they assure me that its being taken care of.
So it comes to collecting the keys on 1st November and I’m told the builder will be in over the weekend we are moving in to begin the work. A builder turns up unannounced on Sunday afternoon and takes measurements and photos, I speak to him and he says there is no lintel present over the patio doors, that it is very unsafe and that the wall could collapse at any given moment since its just the patio doors bearing the weight of the entire wall. I phone up the letting agency Monday morning and they say they have had the quote from the builder and they are waiting for the landlord to give the go ahead. Come Wednesday I hear nothing and phone up again, only to be told they are sending in another builder to assess it as they want a second opinion apparently, and to ignore what the first builder said about the structure being unsafe “as he is not a structural engineer”. So this second guy turns up on Thursday, tells me that a new lintel is needed (no surprises there). Phone up letting agency on Friday to be told the landlord has been given the new quote and they are waiting for the go ahead from them.
As I write this it is not Monday at 4.30pm and I still have not heard from the letting agency, so I can assume that still nothing has been done about it. Despite me asking countless times for them to keep me informed, they never phone me up, I always have to chase them to get any information whatsoever.
But this isn’t the end of it.
On the weekend we moved in they had a guy come in and check the boiler and gas meter and issue a certificate, I ask if he checked the heating as well (since we hadn’t tested this ourselves yet, too busy loading boxes in from the van) he said it wasn’t his job. Lo and behold, we turn the heating on and the radiators barely get luke warm, we leave it on all day and still the same result, we end up having to spend our second night at the in-laws because the first night we slept in two layers of clothes, two blankets and dressing gowns and could see our breath in the air it was that cold. I phone up the letting agency on the Monday morning and they send the plumber round pronto who eventually determines that a switching valve in the system is not working, replaces that, and the radiators work fine bar one in the front room which he says needs new valves and flushing out. However, the heating is controlled by a panel which can be programmed to come on at set times, but even though the lights come on, the boiler doesn’t always fire, and the only way I’ve found to get it working is to constantly switch it on/off at the mains and eventually the boiler kicks in (although sometimes turns itself off as well) I explained this to the letting agency who said they will look into it….so far nothing.
Then on Sunday we have an electrician come around to issue an electrical safety certificate. He tests all the plugs and does his assessment. He then says some work needs to be done, namely removing the metal light fittings in the living room (which we had noted had exposed wires coming out the top, photos were taken and it was noted in the inventory), he also said he would have to fit an earthing rod (I think that’s what he said), and said to “be careful”, I said what do you mean, he said “try not to use too much electric”, so now I’m really confused, and he said the letting agency didn’t like him to tell the tenants about the houses before they reported to them first, but he said to be extra careful in the bathrooms, I said “tell me straight are you saying the electrics aren’t safe?” And in a very roundabout way, basically the answer was yes.
Oh and the cherry on top of the cake is that upon being handed the keys they asked us to clarify the amount of credit on the meters…”Credit on what meters?” I ask. “The gas and electric meters, they are on a prepayment meter”. We only get told this as the keys are being handed over, to then find out its going to cost us £120 to have the meters changed so that we can go back to monthly direct debit – surely we should have be made aware of this beforehand?
So to summarise, we have been let a house which is structurally unsafe, with dangerous electrics, for which the heating initially didn’t work at all, and now has trouble with the boiler firing up when heating is required. We weren’t told the gas and electric were on meters, so now having to pay £120 to get the meters changed, and in the meantime the meters are drinking money like its water. And nothing appears to be being done about it.
I have tried the ask nicely approach and its getting me nowhere. What I need to know now is where I stand from a legal point of view – surely without the electrical safety certificates the house should never have been let out in the first place? I did ask if the structural imperfections would have been noted in a surveyance prior but was told that surveys are not usually performed for lettings, only when a house is up for sale.
I don’t know what to do, we have moved out of our old place, we really like the house and the area but can’t help but feel I’ve been conned by the letting agency because everytime I call up I get fobbed off with one excuse or the other. The next time I phone up I want to be able to quote some legal terminology, in the hopes that it will get their !!!!!! in gear, and of course I want to know what I can do about this legally as well – why should I pay rent for whats effectively a deathtrap? Considering they said they were taking care of the patio door from the time we viewed it, or at least 3 and a half weeks ago since they acknowledged that the lintel was missing, so far they appear to be doing absolutely nothing about it.
Any advice would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks,
Ok, where to begin.
We viewed a house to rent back on 22nd September. It looked view upon viewing apart from a large crack across the rear patio door, we asked that if we were to let the house, would this be fixed as it seemed like both a safety and security risk, to be told yes it would most certainly be sorted by the time anyone was to occupy the house.
After viewing a few more houses we decided the first one was the best choice, so made an offer, but was told by the letting agency that the landlord was on holiday for two weeks so couldn’t give us a decision. The house would be managed by the letting agency, not the landlord themselves. Eventually a rent is agreed and I put £200 holding deposit down on 18th October, with the remaining deposit and first months rent to be paid on 1st November. I ask again about the patio door and was told its being looked at as it’s 80s style double glazing so replacing it could be expensive and so it might be more economical for the landlord to replace the entire fitting, but that everything was in hand and the wheels were turning so to speak.
It comes to the 27th October and we go to pay up the deposit and first months rent, after signing all the paperwork I ask again about the patio door, at this point I am told that the builders came and inspected the door and determined that there was not lintel present above the patio door, as such the patio door was bearing the weight of the brickwork above it. I was then told that this was being taken care of and would be sorted before we moved in, or at the very latest within the first week. Because this is a letting agency and not some private letting I take their word on this as it seems a pretty serious issue and they assure me that its being taken care of.
So it comes to collecting the keys on 1st November and I’m told the builder will be in over the weekend we are moving in to begin the work. A builder turns up unannounced on Sunday afternoon and takes measurements and photos, I speak to him and he says there is no lintel present over the patio doors, that it is very unsafe and that the wall could collapse at any given moment since its just the patio doors bearing the weight of the entire wall. I phone up the letting agency Monday morning and they say they have had the quote from the builder and they are waiting for the landlord to give the go ahead. Come Wednesday I hear nothing and phone up again, only to be told they are sending in another builder to assess it as they want a second opinion apparently, and to ignore what the first builder said about the structure being unsafe “as he is not a structural engineer”. So this second guy turns up on Thursday, tells me that a new lintel is needed (no surprises there). Phone up letting agency on Friday to be told the landlord has been given the new quote and they are waiting for the go ahead from them.
As I write this it is not Monday at 4.30pm and I still have not heard from the letting agency, so I can assume that still nothing has been done about it. Despite me asking countless times for them to keep me informed, they never phone me up, I always have to chase them to get any information whatsoever.
But this isn’t the end of it.
On the weekend we moved in they had a guy come in and check the boiler and gas meter and issue a certificate, I ask if he checked the heating as well (since we hadn’t tested this ourselves yet, too busy loading boxes in from the van) he said it wasn’t his job. Lo and behold, we turn the heating on and the radiators barely get luke warm, we leave it on all day and still the same result, we end up having to spend our second night at the in-laws because the first night we slept in two layers of clothes, two blankets and dressing gowns and could see our breath in the air it was that cold. I phone up the letting agency on the Monday morning and they send the plumber round pronto who eventually determines that a switching valve in the system is not working, replaces that, and the radiators work fine bar one in the front room which he says needs new valves and flushing out. However, the heating is controlled by a panel which can be programmed to come on at set times, but even though the lights come on, the boiler doesn’t always fire, and the only way I’ve found to get it working is to constantly switch it on/off at the mains and eventually the boiler kicks in (although sometimes turns itself off as well) I explained this to the letting agency who said they will look into it….so far nothing.
Then on Sunday we have an electrician come around to issue an electrical safety certificate. He tests all the plugs and does his assessment. He then says some work needs to be done, namely removing the metal light fittings in the living room (which we had noted had exposed wires coming out the top, photos were taken and it was noted in the inventory), he also said he would have to fit an earthing rod (I think that’s what he said), and said to “be careful”, I said what do you mean, he said “try not to use too much electric”, so now I’m really confused, and he said the letting agency didn’t like him to tell the tenants about the houses before they reported to them first, but he said to be extra careful in the bathrooms, I said “tell me straight are you saying the electrics aren’t safe?” And in a very roundabout way, basically the answer was yes.
Oh and the cherry on top of the cake is that upon being handed the keys they asked us to clarify the amount of credit on the meters…”Credit on what meters?” I ask. “The gas and electric meters, they are on a prepayment meter”. We only get told this as the keys are being handed over, to then find out its going to cost us £120 to have the meters changed so that we can go back to monthly direct debit – surely we should have be made aware of this beforehand?
So to summarise, we have been let a house which is structurally unsafe, with dangerous electrics, for which the heating initially didn’t work at all, and now has trouble with the boiler firing up when heating is required. We weren’t told the gas and electric were on meters, so now having to pay £120 to get the meters changed, and in the meantime the meters are drinking money like its water. And nothing appears to be being done about it.
I have tried the ask nicely approach and its getting me nowhere. What I need to know now is where I stand from a legal point of view – surely without the electrical safety certificates the house should never have been let out in the first place? I did ask if the structural imperfections would have been noted in a surveyance prior but was told that surveys are not usually performed for lettings, only when a house is up for sale.
I don’t know what to do, we have moved out of our old place, we really like the house and the area but can’t help but feel I’ve been conned by the letting agency because everytime I call up I get fobbed off with one excuse or the other. The next time I phone up I want to be able to quote some legal terminology, in the hopes that it will get their !!!!!! in gear, and of course I want to know what I can do about this legally as well – why should I pay rent for whats effectively a deathtrap? Considering they said they were taking care of the patio door from the time we viewed it, or at least 3 and a half weeks ago since they acknowledged that the lintel was missing, so far they appear to be doing absolutely nothing about it.
Any advice would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks,
0
Comments
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It's worth running an advanced search, issues of health and safety come up regularly. The landlord is legally responsible for the safety of the tenants and any repairs or maintenance not the letting agent - the landlord should not have permitted you to move in without the safety certificates already being in place. I believe you can report the lack of safety certificates to the Health and Safety Executive.
Stop telephoning the letting agent write to the landlord using the address at which to serve notices which is on your tenancy agreement and report all these issues. If you do not get a response within a reasonable time frame or you feel the issues are too urgent contact Environmental Health at the local council for an inspection - they will deal with heating, hot water and the patio door issue. If EH deem the house to be uninhabitable the landlord will have to rehouse you or release you from the contract, otherwise they will simply enforce repairing obligations on your landlord.
Unfortunately I think you will have to accept the prepayment meters.Declutterbug-in-progress.⭐️⭐️⭐️ ⭐️⭐️0 -
Yeah I understand that the landlord is responsible but they stated at the beginning that the property is managed by the letting agency, and any and all issues should be brought to their attention as they will be the ones to handle them, hence why I have been contacting them. But if the answer is to go over their heads then so be it, I'm sick of being ignored and starting to wonder what else might lie in store that we haven't been told about.
Have had a quick look at my local councils website but don't see a category that directly relates to contacting them regarding issues in the household that isn't a council-owned property - any advice what I should be looking for exactly?
I can live with the prepayment meters but it was just another kick in the nuts after all this.0 -
On the one hand, the LL is responding. You've had a plumber round and work done on the boiler. You've had an electrician round (is he fixing the dangers?). And you've had builders round to look at the crack.
On the other hand, you need any potentially dodgy stuff fixed. So:
WRITE TO THE LANDLORD AT THE ADDRESS ON THE TENANCY AGREEMENT "FOR THE SERVING OF NOTICES" listing all the outstanding issues. Thank him for his help so far, and ask when you can expect the rest to be fixed.
The address in question may be his personal address, his agent, or his mum - does not matter. THAT is who/where you write.
Send a COPY to the agent.
The council will have a (very overworked) Private Tenancy Officer (or similar title).
But finally, I can't believe you agreed to move into a property where
That is clearly going to be major building work involving opening the room up to the elements while a new lintel is fitted.we go to pay up the deposit and first months rent, after signing all the paperwork I ask again about the patio door, at this point I am told that the builders came and inspected the door and determined that there was not lintel present above the patio door, as such the patio door was bearing the weight of the brickwork above it.0 -
To be honest I didn't really comprehend the seriousness of the job, I was naive to the implications at the time and only since doing more research into it have I realised what we've let ourselves in for. The first builder said it wasn't a major job, 2-3 days at most and I asked if that would mean a big gaping hole in the side of the house but they said it was just some scaffolding on the outside whilst they do the brickwork or whatever.
The electrican turned up because he has to issue a safety certificate - I'm now aware this should have been done well before we moved in too, so I wouldn't call that responding per se. They have said they are going to fix the issues, but were busy throughout the week so "probably next sunday", but in my eyes I could well be dead by then so not my idea of a solution.
Thanks for the help , I will start letter writing this evening.0 -
Yeah I understand that the landlord is responsible but they stated at the beginning that the property is managed by the letting agency, and any and all issues should be brought to their attention as they will be the ones to handle them, hence why I have been contacting them. But if the answer is to go over their heads then so be it, I'm sick of being ignored and starting to wonder what else might lie in store that we haven't been told about.
Have had a quick look at my local councils website but don't see a category that directly relates to contacting them regarding issues in the household that isn't a council-owned property - any advice what I should be looking for exactly?
Red herring.
"The landlord is legally responsible for the safety of the tenants and any repairs or maintenance not the letting agent - the landlord should not have permitted you to move in without the safety certificates already being in place. I believe you can report the lack of safety certificates to the Health and Safety Executive.
Stop telephoning the letting agent write to the landlord using the address at which to serve notices which is on your tenancy agreement and report all these issues. If you do not get a response within a reasonable time frame or you feel the issues are too urgent contact Environmental Health at the local council for an inspection - they will deal with heating, hot water and the patio door issue."Declutterbug-in-progress.⭐️⭐️⭐️ ⭐️⭐️0 -
Sound advice as for the structural and other problems and getting your complaints to the landlord on the 'record'.
Have a look at the boiler and see if there is a switch/knob where you can 'turn it up'. It may be the LL turned it down whilst the property was empty. At the same time make a note of the make and model and see if you can find the manual for it online. Also check the wall thermostat to see if the problem lies there.
This will have a separate manual as to the boiler, again you should be able to find one online.
This should solve one of your concerns and at least you should be warm.
Once you have solved the other issues it may we worth trying to negotiate changing the meters with the LL. It may well be you will have to meet the cost and you should not consider it till you are at least 6 Months into your tenancy.0 -
Sometimes metres are put in to protect landlords so they know you pay for your gas and electric and not leave the address with a huge debt. It's quite common unfortunately. Its annoying. Check that it's not in your tenancy that you must leave them there. :-(3 Children - 2004 :heart2: 2014 :heart2: 2017 :heart2:
Happily Married since 20160 -
Sometimes metres are put in to protect landlords so they know you pay for your gas and electric and not leave the address with a huge debt. It's quite common unfortunately. Its annoying. Check that it's not in your tenancy that you must leave them there. :-(
Sorry but this is the second post where you have got the law completely wrong. Utility debts do not attach to the property, they attach to the resident at the property. All the landlord or his agent needs to do supply readings to the utility companies each time the tenancy changes and they will address letters and bills to 'the occupier'. In case of confusion or query, if an absentee landlord can demonstrate that there is a valid tenancy agreement he has no liability to pay for the utilities. The company will chase the tenant for any arrears, if the tenant has skipped off the company loses out. All an incoming tenant needs to do is supply meter readings, name and payment details as soon as possible after heir first day and they will not be liable for the outgoing tenant's debt either.Declutterbug-in-progress.⭐️⭐️⭐️ ⭐️⭐️0 -
To be honest I didn't really comprehend the seriousness of the job, I was naive to the implications at the time and only since doing more research into it have I realised what we've let ourselves in for. The first builder said it wasn't a major job, 2-3 days at most and I asked if that would mean a big gaping hole in the side of the house but they said it was just some scaffolding on the outside whilst they do the brickwork or whatever.
The electrican turned up because he has to issue a safety certificate - I'm now aware this should have been done well before we moved in too, so I wouldn't call that responding per se. They have said they are going to fix the issues, but were busy throughout the week so "probably next sunday", but in my eyes I could well be dead by then so not my idea of a solution.
Thanks for the help , I will start letter writing this evening.
It is my understanding that electric certificates are not yet a legal requirment in rental property.
Can anyone confirm if this is now the case for me please as I will need to get one sorted out if so. ThanksLife is not the way it’s supposed to be. It’s the way it is. The way you cope with it is what makes the difference.0
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