Asking for a rent rebate?!

absolutelynomoney

Hi there, any advice much appreciated!

I have been renting the house that we are currently living in since September 2011. When we moved in, there were immediately a few issues, in that there was no washing machine (as was described and agreed on contract signing), some of the fitted blinds fell down in the first few days, the shower didn't work properly and as soon as it started to get cold, I realised the heating didn't work either.

My landlord played around with the heating to fix it and we had intermittent heating throughout last winter, with constant visits from himself and - eventually - an engineer to see to the problem.

During the past year, I noticed mould started growing on the ceiling and down one of the walls in my bedroom and also up the wall in the downstairs hall. I told my landlord, cleaned it off and it didn't grow throughout the summer (not surprisingly).

These last few months, everything has come to a head - the mould came back, we were without heating or hot water for over 2 weeks during the coldest period (and then again this past week after I thought it had been repaired), my bedroom door came off it's hinges and I noticed that it had not even been hung properly, the shower curtain rail fell down so I could see that it wasn't attached to anything at all and my front porch flooded, at which point I realised that the join between the porch and our front hall is not sealed and goes directly into bare earth (which would explain the woodlice I have noticed coming from that area!). I now feel so frustrated with this - I have informed my landlord about all the issues, but he has only cleaned the mouldy areas and painted them with an "anti-mould" paint. On telling him about the problems, it came to light that he was actually aware of the mould and porch problems and possibly about the heating/hot water situation - not that I would expect to be told of these things when you move into a house, but I do feel duped!

The shower still doesn't work - I got an engineer round to look at it, who told me that the pump is not fitted correctly (bad DIY job), the porch floods every time it rains, meaning the downstairs hall is constantly damp at the moment and I can see dark spots starting to come through the ceiling in my bedroom again and now on the pvc window frames and also in a corner of my son's room, the bedroom door is still hanging off its hinges.

Finally, when the engineer came round to fix the heating this most recent time, he pointed out that the switch for the immersion heater had been taped permanently ON and told me not to do that as it was being heated by the boiler and completely unnecessary as it would cost be a lot of money to be doing that. This was the final straw for me - what the engineer didn't know is that when I moved in, my landlord showed me this and said he had taped it and I shouldn't touch it, because if it went off, we would have no heating or hot water - completely incorrect information which has caused my bills over the last year to be extremely high, as I have been running an inefficient water immersion heater 24/7 for the past 15 months.

I of course want these things to be sorted, but I have come to the end of my tether after the most recent spate of no heating or hot water and would like to ask my agents for a return of 3 weeks rent, since the house has not provided what I consider to be basic aspects of what the rent is supposed to be paying for. Is this reasonable? Also, how to go about it? Do I ask the agents, or my landlord directly? (The landlord manages it, but I pay the rent to my agents). Should I write a letter, or is it better to discuss it with them directly/face-to-face?

The other thing that worries me is that I'm so fed-up, I will probably end up moving out in March when my tenancy comes up, but I don't want for them to think I'm taking them for a ride, as I really don't intend to - It just seems like a lot of hassle and inconvenience to stay and I don't know what problem is going to come up next! I feel completely out of my depth and don't know what I should do at all - if I'm making a big deal out of routine issues that I've just been lucky not to face in previous properties, or if I'm being completely reasonable!

Thanks for anyone who has read this far and can advise me on what to do!

G_M

When does you fixed term end?

Or has it already ended - you on on a Periodic (monthly) tenancy?

Give notice and move out.

Ending/Renewing an AST (what happens when the Fixed Term ends?)(What is a Periodic Tenancy?)(How can a LL remove a tenant?)(How can a tenant end a tenancy?)

absolutelynomoney

It ends in March. I did speak to the agents who said that there is no fee if I cancel the tenancy agreement before it ends, but I would have to get the landlord's permission! (Seems odd to me, as he is surely not going to give permission, but without a charge, what is there to stop me?! Unless they would keep part of my deposit?)

Fire_Fox

Loads of similar threads, worth running an advanced search. You are not being unreasonable, the house sounds unsafe and illegal. You are not entitled to a rent rebate as such, you are entitled to have a safe house to live in with all the basic services like heating and hot water, and you might be entitled to compensation IF you can demonstrate damage to person or property (eg health problems).

Report everything to your landlord in writing, perhaps style it as a summary of all your letters/ e-mails and visits to date. You are not contracted to the agent and they have no obligations to maintain the property and services. If that does not elicit a response contact Environmental Health at the local council for an inspection, they can enforce the landlord's repairing obligations. Do you have a copy of the current gas safety certificate?

Please understand much damp/ mould is condensation caused partly or wholly by tenant lifestyle and failure to ventilate effectively. Never air dry laundry indoors, window open and door closed during and after showering, lids on pans when cooking, use extractor fans if any, open all the windows daily year round or use an electric dehumidifier. Obviously the condensation may well be being added to by penetrating damp or leaks, certainly in the hall, but the fact you don't have mould in the summer is telling. Amend your lifestyle and ventilate more and it will be clearer what the issues are with the property itself.

absolutelynomoney

Thanks Fire_Fox! When you say that the fact there's no mould in the summer is very telling, do you mean that it's something I've done/could prevent?

I do air dry in the house as it's been wet and we have no tumble dryer, but we also have the windows open often for fresh air and the french door out the garden for my son to play stay open a lot. The room that the mould is in is actually my bedroom, which I use a heater in when it's particularly cold and have a de-humidifier in.

Is there anything I'm missing to do?

Fire_Fox

You must stop air drying laundry indoors, that produces more water than any other lifestyle habit. Try using the electric dehumidifier next to the laundry or go to a launderette. Damp in a bedroom can be breathing overnight, can travel there from other rooms (water settles on cold spots), could be a leak in the roof or indeed a combination. Is the dehumidifier powerful enough for your needs/ the size of the house?

In the summer people naturally tend to ventilate a property more, there are fewer cold spots on outside walls or windows, don't air dry laundry indoors as much so condensation often disappears. If you had a bad problem with penetrating damp or a leak I would expect mould in the summer because there would be wet patches year round.

G_M

The reason I posted the 'move out' advice was that there seem to be a host of issues and I foresee endless battles with the LL which will drag on/never be resolved.

Is there a 'break clause' in the tenancy agreement. For more info on ending a tenancy, and charges for Early Surrender etc, see

Ending/Renewing an AST (what happens when the Fixed Term ends?)(What is a Periodic Tenancy?)(How can a LL remove a tenant?)(How can a tenant end a tenancy?)

If you plan to stay, and want resolution, you need to write, documenting all problems, re-capping all previous report dates (whether verbal, email etc), and requesting a date from the LL for him to resolve.

You can involve Environmental Health/Private Tenancy Officer at the council in serious, H&S issues.

Or use the threat of EH to negotiate an Early Surrender with no penalties with the LL who may prefer to see you leave than have a legal battle involving EH.

absolutelynomoney

The damp developed throughout the year - it was less in the summer, but I still had to wipe it off the wall downstairs and in the bedroom occasionally. There are no laundrettes here, but I will do my best to dry in the airing cupboard as much as possible!

Thanks for the information about break clause - will look it up.

I just have such a problem deciding whether it is worth sticking it out and putting up with it/staying, or moving early/in March?