Tenancy and small claims.

DaninManchester_2

I'm not sure where to post this but this seemed like as good a place as any.

Basically I have an issue with a landlord who tool over a year to repair a leak which left the flat in a state of damp and lots of mould in particular in bedroom areas for over 6 months.

I put this through the local complaints process and they offered me £500 to sign and absolve them of responsibility.

I have said no to this and escalated to the ombudsman. Having taken some guidance on process to be compensated I have been advised to take them to the small claims court.

Given that I think they are in breach of contract how much do you think I can put a claim in for? My rent was about £750 / month.

Also more recently I have moved out as I can't be dealing with them any more as it drives me up the wall. Since moving out they are now trying to claim that they need to get a cleaner in to address stains on the carpet. These are a direct result of the leak and subsequent maintenance so I assume they must be liable?

They have also said that they want to recover the cost of splashes on the walls. I'm not 100% sure what this is and have asked them to clarify but I can only think I can think is there are some marks on the kitchen perhaps behind the sink or cooker. Baring in mind I can't imagine what this is and my GF is a clean freak this must be very minor. Any thoughts on this as a claim by them?

Is this the best place I can seek advice? If not where do you suggest? I have had discussions with other tenants who have suffered similarly, but have not been able to overcome their obfuscated ,maintenance and complaints procedure.

arcon5

Please clarify, what do you want to take them to small claims for? Was your deposit protected?

daninmanchester

Yes, I'm going through due process with that DPS i think they are called. Small claims is in relation to the 12 month period where the flat fell in to disrepair due to a leak they ignored.

however, I believe now they are nit picking to recoup anything they can through the deposit to cover the losses they will incur through small claims.

the main gripe I have is the carpet which I sent them photos of back in June last year to ask them to sort it out and they never did!

But they are also claiming for a bed which is one of those really nasty wood frame fiber board ones. they cost less than £50 and it wasn't new when I got it. In-fact I had to glue the draws back together. It had a chipboard headboard that cracked and they are no wanting to claim for.

If it was mahogany fair enough but this is a cheap throw away bed that I have suffered for 3 years and wasn't new when I got it so how they can justify anything is beyond me.

Just had nothing but trouble with them. When they put me up in a spare flat because of the repairs to my flat it look like someone previously had diarrhea in the bed and the mattress was awful, the heating didn't work, neither did the kitchen exhaust.

Hence why I have moved out.

arcon5

I see no reason why you can't recover rent through small claims - but what you would be awarded is another matter. I read something a couple of years ago that in such situations you can potentially work out how much of the property you lost the use of, how long for, what proportion of the property this represents and make a financial calculation from there.

They've offered you £500, how much more are you hoping for?

DCFC79

Dan, you forget your password/username ?

unholyangel

I'm not familiar with the law surrounding tenancy agreements but arent they supposed to take into account wear n tear?

For instance, you move in, new carpets down with "reasonable" lifespan of 10 years. You spill something on it, move out after 5 years, they would ideally look at carpet cleaned (if expensive long lasting carpet) or no more than 50% of the carpet cost if they have to replace the whole thing (or if its cheaper than cleaning/carpet wasnt worth much to start with).

Moot in OP's case, I know (as he didnt damage the carpet).

arcon5

unholyangel wrote: »

I'm not familiar with the law surrounding tenancy agreements but arent they supposed to take into account wear n tear?

For instance, you move in, new carpets down with "reasonable" lifespan of 10 years. You spill something on it, move out after 5 years, they would ideally look at carpet cleaned (if expensive long lasting carpet) or no more than 50% of the carpet cost if they have to replace the whole thing (or if its cheaper than cleaning/carpet wasnt worth much to start with).

Moot in OP's case, I know (as he didnt damage the carpet).

Yes, that's also my understanding. Many LLs/Agencys though play by their own rules.

daninmanchester

Side issue, am I already registered then ? Perhaps logging in with facebook? Do I have more than one account? I tried with my yahoo email but it didn't work. Could you PM me what you think my other account / email is please?

Well the carpet issue is madness and has made my blood boil. I complained and complained about this. It was a direct result of their failure to address a leak in the bathroom and the flats above that caused the carpet to become damp and mouldy.

Surely the issue of splashes i the kitchen is normal? I honestly don't recall anything and I left my GF to clean the flat (lucky girl) before I moved out so I know it will have been as clean as humanly possible.

The bed one of those cheap nasty wood frame with fiber board jobs was falling to bits when I got it. I fixed it with some wood glue because they said I cant get rid of it and buy my own. Now it's in a similar condition to when I moved in and they are trying to sting me for it. They are like £50 trade (if that) and if it lasts them 3 years and they replace for each new tenant surely that is the point?

I believe they know that ultimately the ombudsman is is going to bash them good and hard about the leak and mould given the audit trail of letters and photos I sent without response. I think they know this and are looking to recover their losses through the deposit and nit picking.

You would think (or at least I would) that a charitable housing trust would be reputable and deliver a reasonable level of service.

I also know that they have other dissatisfied residents in the same block and in another and basically most residents give up the fight. It seems I haven;t and I'm being stung. Perhaps a class action is what is called for? No idea how that works.

daninmanchester

Oh and in terms of what I was hoping for I would expect at least a months rent given I had to move out for a month and live in a much smaller flat basically falling over my boxes.

Did I mention they renovated my bathroom after the leak and I moved out for 3 days. they did such a poor job they stripped the whole thing out again and started again.

wealdroam

daninmanchester wrote: »

Side issue, am I already registered then ? Perhaps logging in with facebook? Do I have more than one account? I tried with my yahoo email but it didn't work. Could you PM me what you think my other account / email is please?

You appear to have two userids.

You original post was made using DaninManchester.

Subsequently you have used daninmanchester.

Note the capital letters.