Landlord's repairers fail to keep appointments

cheerful

My friend lives in a housing co-op flat and has been trying to get her rotten balcony door replaced.

This has resulted in numerous wasted appointments when she has taken time off work or, to save her holiday time, I have waited there in her stead for the work to be done.

The first time someone came to inspect it who agreed it needed to be replaced and took measurements. That was fine.

The next time someone else came and said he was just there to measure the door as they did not have the measurements.

The third time they did not turn up

The fourth time the door was delivered but it had no glass so the workman could not fit it.

Does anyone know if it is possible to get compensation from a landlord for these wasted appointments similar to a failed delivery?

If so, could she get compensation for the times that I waited in for her? I usually do not work in the mornings so I have not suffered a financial loss but it has been very inconvenient for me to get there for 8am and wait all morning before work in the afternoon.

To date the door has not yet been fixed.

jamie11

A Housing Co-op? Who is going to authorise compensation? Is it them dragging their feet or just tardy workmen?

Why does someone have to be there for the work to be done, can the workman not let himself in and get on with the job? Obviously you would need to lock up the diamonds.

thequant

cheerful wrote: »

My friend lives in a housing co-op flat and has been trying to get her rotten balcony door replaced.

This has resulted in numerous wasted appointments when she has taken time off work or, to save her holiday time, I have waited there in her stead for the work to be done.

The first time someone came to inspect it who agreed it needed to be replaced and took measurements. That was fine.

The next time someone else came and said he was just there to measure the door as they did not have the measurements.

The third time they did not turn up

The fourth time the door was delivered but it had no glass so the workman could not fit it.

Does anyone know if it is possible to get compensation from a landlord for these wasted appointments similar to a failed delivery?

If so, could she get compensation for the times that I waited in for her? I usually do not work in the mornings so I have not suffered a financial loss but it has been very inconvenient for me to get there for 8am and wait all morning before work in the afternoon.

To date the door has not yet been fixed.

In short the answer is yes, however you need to be able show a financial loss. I knew someone on £100k a year who does this regulary. i.e. claim the loss of a days wage if a workmen failed to turn up.

IIRC what you need to do, is that if the workmen fail to turn up, you rebook a day off work, but the initial day you had off needs to be turned into "unpaid" leave and hence you have incurred a loss, i.e. a days wages.

G_M

This is just life!

Whether you are a council tenant, private one or coop, or indeed an owner occupier in your own home, contractors can let you down. Yes - annoying. Yes, sometimes even costs you money (time off work) but mostly it's just life. Not everything runs smoothly and the present-day insistance that everything in life must be paid for/compensated is unrealistic.

The Landlord is not at fault here. They've arranged for repairs. Be grateful you are not fighting to get the door fixed!

If the landlord has not got a key, ring and offer him one and let the contractors do the work while you are out. If concerned, ask the LL to attend as well to supervise.

V_Chic_Chick

Have you made your landlord / co-op managers aware of this situation?

I have had similar issues with the landlord's letting agent, and he sacked them after we complained (and pointed out that the way they were going they were going to end up with a void next year....)

Bane123

You can get it repaired yourself and take it off the rent, then show the LL the bill. This is only after he has failed to do it himself though.

Yorkie1

Bane123 wrote: »

You can get it repaired yourself and take it off the rent, then show the LL the bill. This is only after he has failed to do it himself though.

There is a very strict process if you do this - look at the Shelter website for details.

cheerful

My friend and I put together a letter to the housing co-op listing all the missed appointments but we didn't ask for compensation as we could not prove financial loss. The co-op responded well with an apology and an offer of £150 which my friend considers to be reasonable and has accepted. The door is now fixed.

Two points to make (I'm sure most of you know already):

1. Keep an accurate record of events for complaints, reports etc.

2. In response to G_M "The Landlord is not at fault here. They've arranged for repairs."
This is not correct. A tenant's contract is with the landlord. If the landlord employs someone else to perform repairs and they fail to do so the landlord cannot pass the blame as the tenant has no contract with the landlord's sub-contractor.