Early Release from an Assured Shorthold Tenancy?

Tinker_Tiger

Hi everyone,
I've been reading/lurking on the site for a while, but now I need some advice please.

I signed an Assured Shorthold Tenancy for 6 months for a room in a former hotel, now owned by a letting agency. However, the building has developed (or probably already had) a number of problems:

Although the fire exits open, both exits at the bottom of the stairs into the garden have wooden panels nailed across.

The ensuite shower in my room leaks into the shared kitchen below.

The window in my room does not open, so there's no ventilation.

The shared kitchen has a multi function light/motion sensor/extractor fan, but this broke on New Year's Eve. It's now flashing on & off intermittently, which makes it difficult to cook even with a torch or candle. The kitchen is a a half basement with no windows, so this a problem during the day as well.


The problems have been reported by myself and other tenants over the past 3 weeks ( except the light obviously), but the letting agency seems to have no intention of fixing anything and it's quite difficult to get any kind of reply out of them at any time. The other tenants say they've been generally uninformative and inefficient( not telling people the rubbish day for the area, not dealing with an insect infestation, getting numbers the wrong way round for rent & bank accounts, etc).

My question is whether it's worthwhile trying to get the problems resolved or if I should just cut my losses and seek an early release from the tenancy?

The other thing on my mind is that the rent is at the upper limit of what I can afford. So I would not be able to pay for alternative accommodation on top of the rent for the room, while things are fixed. I also don't really have room in my budget for takeaways/eating out while the kitchen light is fixed.

Background: I was a lodger until the end of November, but my landlady/housemate decided she wanted to move her boyfriend and his children in so I had to move out very quickly (2 weeks). So I've ended up paying £520 per month (all inclusive) whereas usually I would pay £400 max (also all inclusive). The slight plus is that the deposit was only £100.

G_M

Tinker_Tiger wrote: »

Hi everyone,
I've been reading/lurking on the site for a while, but now I need some advice please.

I signed an Assured Shorthold Tenancy for 6 months for a room in a former hotel, now owned by a letting agency.
Are you sure? By definition a letting agent is an 'agent' for the landlord. What does it say on your tenancy agreement?
However, the building has developed (or probably already had) a number of problems:

Although the fire exits open, both exits at the bottom of the stairs into the garden have wooden panels nailed across.
Is this an HMO? How many people live there? How many seperate 'households'? How many stories? If HMO, is it registered with the council as required? (you can phone and check).

The ensuite shower in my room leaks into the shared kitchen below.
Have you reported this in writing? Was anything recorded on the check-in inventory?

The window in my room does not open, so there's no ventilation.
Reported in writing?

The shared kitchen has a multi function light/motion sensor/extractor fan, but this broke on New Year's Eve. It's now flashing on & off intermittently, which makes it difficult to cook even with a torch or candle. The kitchen is a a half basement with no windows, so this a problem during the day as well.
Is it battery operated? Change the battery? If mains, reported in writing?

The problems have been reported in writing? To the Landlord at the address provided "for the serving of notices"?
by myself and other tenants over the past 3 weeks ( except the light obviously), but the letting agency seems to have no intention of fixing anything and it's quite difficult to get any kind of reply out of them at any time. The other tenants say they've been generally uninformative and inefficient( not telling people the rubbish day for the area, not dealing with an insect infestation, getting numbers the wrong way round for rent & bank accounts, etc).

My question is whether it's worthwhile trying to get the problems resolved or if I should just cut my losses and seek an early release from the tenancy?
Try both in tandem?

The other thing on my mind is that the rent is at the upper limit of what I can afford. So I would not be able to pay for alternative accommodation on top of the rent for the room, while things are fixed. I also don't really have room in my budget for takeaways/eating out while the kitchen light is fixed.
I can't see that the kitchen is actually unusable is it....?

This post tells you your rights to Early Surrender etc

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?)

This post tells you about repairs:

Shelter repairs

If it's an unregistered HMO, the threat of reporting to the council might make the LL amenable to Early Surrender (to get rid of you!)

If it's registered, telling the council the fire exits are nailed shut would likewise either persuade the LL to get rid of you or at least get action on the doors!

Tinker_Tiger

Thanks for the advice GM.

Having checked the agreement, the agency are managing it on behalf of the owner. I have written to the agency, but from the looks of the contract I should be writing to the landlord's home address as well? I think the other tenants will have written to the agency rather than the landlord as well, but will ask.

There are four stories (including the half basement) and 20 ensuite rooms. So I think it should be an HMO, but I will check.

The kitchen light is connected into the security system. Normally, both the light and extractor fan turn on as you enter the kitchen, because it's connected to the motion sensor. It's the motion sensor that seems to be the problem. The light stays on if someone jumps up & down in front of the motion sensor continuously. So I suppose the kitchen is usable so long as there is more than one person in it. The problem is if there's just one person the light goes on and off, like a disco or strobe light. Ironically it would be easier if it just stayed off.

I think the 2 pronged approach sounds good, I just don't want to end up paying two lots of rent at once. Well not 'don't want' so much as 'can't'.

G_M

Yes, you write to the landlord. There should be an address on the tenancy agreement "for the serving of notices" which is there for communicating formally. Use this address. It may be c/o the agent (the landlord can choose what address to give), or his actual address, or even his mum.

You MUST write to him there, but if it is c/o the agency and you happen to know his actual address too, then send him a copy direct too.

It is an HMO, so should by law be registered with the council. Check.

If not registered you are in a strong position as the penalty for the landlord for non-registration is severe!

If it IS registered, the blocked fire exits will almost certainly breach the HMO requirements, so again you could either get the council involved, or theaten to get the council involved.

theartfullodger

No - don't threaten to get council involved, get them (and the local fire service) involved...ASAP, today, make 'phone call, confirm by email or letter. Not doing so means you are risking other people's lives, not just your own... We all have a duty to protect our fellow men..

Landlord won't be happy but that's his problem - but he might be even keener to let you go early....

Is this in England??

G_M

Yeah - ignore me. Artful is right!

Yorkie1

I thought OP said the fire exits did in fact open. OP, what impact on the functionality of the fire exits (or the access to them) do the nailed boards have - or does it just look ugly?

Tinker_Tiger

Yorkie1 wrote: »

I thought OP said the fire exits did in fact open. OP, what impact on the functionality of the fire exits (or the access to them) do the nailed boards have - or does it just look ugly?

The fire exits do open, it's the bit afterwards that's the problem. They lead to a small lane down the side of the building. The lane is technically outside, but it's walled and both ends are blocked with the panels. I'd say the walls and panels are about 6 foot high.

Tinker_Tiger

G_M wrote: »

Yes, you write to the landlord. There should be an address on the tenancy agreement "for the serving of notices" which is there for communicating formally. Use this address. It may be c/o the agent (the landlord can choose what address to give), or his actual address, or even his mum.

You MUST write to him there, but if it is c/o the agency and you happen to know his actual address too, then send him a copy direct too.

It is an HMO, so should by law be registered with the council. Check.

If not registered you are in a strong position as the penalty for the landlord for non-registration is severe!

If it IS registered, the blocked fire exits will almost certainly breach the HMO requirements, so again you could either get the council involved, or theaten to get the council involved.

Thanks GM, I've checked & it is registered as a HMO.
It's not so much that the exits themselves are blocked, but that you can't get very far from the building once you use them.

Myself and some of the other tenants have written to both addresses. However, even if the stuff all gets fixed I don't think I'll feel happy or safe in the building, as I'm sure other problems will surface.

I know it's not very MSE, but if I can't negotiate an early release I'm thinking of getting a loan that covers the cash for the remaining rent and then moving anyway. Has anyone else done this?