Landlord taking too long to fix garden wall, what can I do.

paddedjohn

Have you seen the weather out there? Not many building projects going on at the moment.

inklove

G_M wrote: »

Quote:
Originally Posted by inklove
My letter ......
And it was definitely sent to the correct address....

Quote:
But I did not send a letter "to the addressee for the purpose of serving notice" as you suggested.

So which is it?

I sent my letter to my landlord, what difference is there?

inklove

paddedjohn wrote: »

Have you seen the weather out there? Not many building projects going on at the moment.

The weather is nice here, we have had no snow and it is dry, so weather has no effect on the repair.

G_M

inklove wrote: »

I sent my letter to my landlord, what difference is there?

Any formal 'notice', whether a complaint about repairs, or notice to quit etc should go to the address you have been told to serve it. That's why the law makes a landlord provide such an address.

Now, the address you've been given (for the serving of notices) might be the landlords actual address. Or it might be c/o his agent. or his mum. or his office. I can't see you tenancy agreement so can't tell!

But as I said before:

I never understand why tenants don't use the correct address. It is there (by law!) on the tenancy agreement (usually, or elsewhere but in writing), precisely so that tenants know how to write formally to the landlord.......

See Landlord and Tenant Act 1987

dancingfairy

I think the point is it should be sent to the landlord, at the address stipulated on your tenancy agreement (not just some random address you may or may not have for the landlord, or by writing to the property etc). If the landlord has given you say a letting agents address and has said if you wish to serve notice to serve it there then that is the place you would write to.
I presume in this case that it is quite straightforward and that you wrote to the correct place (legally).
It only matters for example if you got into a legal argument about whether you had written to him in a timely manner and whether he'd responded in a timely manner and you'd written to the wrong address or something.
I understand that you would like a wall and that you took the property on the premise of the garden being secured but I do not know whether the landlord has a legal obligation to install and maintain a wall or fence. I guess it comes down to whether it was in the tenancy agreement or not?
I am not a lawyer so I would be seeking advice from Shelter on this. In some specific cases you can deduct rent to cover the costs of having to get an item into working order but I am not sure whether you would be able to justify this in relation to a wall which is why you should seek proper advice.
Do be aware though that obviously this principle could lead to you being issued notice to leave with effect from the end of your fixed term
I am not suggesting that you ignore the issue but that if the landlord really doesn't want to repair the wall you may be given notice to quit and evicted before you even have a chance to follow the exact procedure given by shelter to get the repairs enforced (in which case it's an expensive principle ).
Best of Luck
df
Edit: common sense would say that the landlord would see it is an issue to you and get it fixed in a timely manner and keep you as a happy tennant but common sense doesn't always come into it

inklove

dancingfairy wrote: »

I think the point is it should be sent to the landlord, at the address stipulated on your tenancy agreement (not just some random address you may or may not have for the landlord, or by writing to the property etc). If the landlord has given you say a letting agents address and has said if you wish to serve notice to serve it there then that is the place you would write to.
I presume in this case that it is quite straightforward and that you wrote to the correct place (legally).
It only matters for example if you got into a legal argument about whether you had written to him in a timely manner and whether he'd responded in a timely manner and you'd written to the wrong address or something.
I understand that you would like a wall and that you took the property on the premise of the garden being secured but I do not know whether the landlord has a legal obligation to install and maintain a wall or fence. I guess it comes down to whether it was in the tenancy agreement or not?
I am not a lawyer so I would be seeking advice from Shelter on this. In some specific cases you can deduct rent to cover the costs of having to get an item into working order but I am not sure whether you would be able to justify this in relation to a wall which is why you should seek proper advice.
Do be aware though that obviously this principle could lead to you being issued notice to leave with effect from the end of your fixed term
I am not suggesting that you ignore the issue but that if the landlord really doesn't want to repair the wall you may be given notice to quit and evicted before you even have a chance to follow the exact procedure given by shelter to get the repairs enforced (in which case it's an expensive principle ).
Best of Luck
df
Edit: common sense would say that the landlord would see it is an issue to you and get it fixed in a timely manner and keep you as a happy tennant but common sense doesn't always come into it

Thank you Dancing Fairy, that is just the kind of advice that I was looking for.

dancingfairy

You could potentially download the title deeds for the property which may show you who is responsible for maintaining the boundary. Even if you find out it is indeed the landlord its likely to only antagonise the situation.
Your best bet is to hope common sense come into it and the landlord rebuilds it, if not then you need to decide whether to try and negotiate with the landlord (perhaps offer to pay half of the costs?) or whether to get militant.
Best of Luck
df

inklove

Thank you Dancing Fairy.

The landlord has already agreed to have the wall rebuilt, it is just that he is taking so long to get around to having it done.
He is supposed to be removing the bricks and rubble on friday, so hopefully once he has done that he will quickly start the repair.

It is frustrating because I shouldn't have to chase the LL.

Thanks for your advice.