Flooding in rental property?

lstar337

We rent a flat which has a downstairs area which is a sort of storage/front door/lobby/utility area. There is a courtyard outside with 3 or 4 other flats, and a single drain.

When it rains hard, all the roofs empy there water right into the courtyard, which is at the same level as our front door. The drain can't cope and the water runs under our door and into our flat. All the other flats have raised doors, so ours is the only one affected.

We have complained to our landlord before, but all he does is blame it on the drain and come out and clean it himself.

Do we have any right to force our landlord to put in some more permanent flood defence? I dont agree that the drain is (always) blocked, it is simply innadequate for the flow of water from all the roofs combined.

We are currently absorbing all the costs of cleaning, throwing out our damaged items, and running a dehumidifier day and night to dry the room out. I don't think it is fair when we are paying them rent every month!

Where do we stand (apart from on our squelching carpet)?

dampdaveski

If your landlord won't fix the problem then there are all sorts of things you can do
Others on this forum know far more about legislation / legal rights and can advise you better than I can.
However a direct route that will force him to do something is to contact your local councils environmental health dept
You will find more info on this government website https://www.gov.uk/private-renting/your-rights-and-responsibilities

Good luck with it

lstar337

Thanks for the info. We are going to have another chat with the landlord anyway.

This most recent flood affected the first floor bedroom, as a downpipe which is blocked (we informed the landlord weeks ago) shoots a fountain from a crack half way up, which happens to spray drictly against our tatty sash windows and pours inside. Happy Days!:D