Landlord can't afford repairs

fishybusiness

Pixie, I don´t need to use Google to debate the point, I refer back to your original comment

I have zero sympathy for the LL, she is running a business for Christ's sake. What does she do with the rent money? We are constantly been told that one of the benefits of renting is that as a tenant you are not responsible for maintenance and repairs to the property which is all fine and well if you don't end up with a clown like this as your LL.

Sure Landlords are running a business, and making a profit, but in reality not many landlords deal with every small problem.

I sold my house about 12 years ago, and since have had perhaps 8 or 9 landlords. All excepting one have been ok, and have carried out repairs on a timely basis. My experience has been that landlords deal with legal requirements very well, so boilers, security etc I am talking about.

Less important things, say a dodgy kitchen floor covering, or a draughty back door or windows, or replacing a front gate after it has been stolen (yes scrap metal thiefs!) are much less likely to be done, often it falls to the tenant to sort out.

I do think there is some middle ground between tenant and landlord expectations, which if worked with, can cultivate that good relationship I mentioned earlier.

Pixie5740

fishybusiness wrote: »

Pixie, I don´t need to use Google to debate the point, I refer back to your original comment



Sure Landlords are running a business, and making a profit, but in reality not many landlords deal with every small problem.

I sold my house about 12 years ago, and since have had perhaps 8 or 9 landlords. All excepting one have been ok, and have carried out repairs on a timely basis. My experience has been that landlords deal with legal requirements very well, so boilers, security etc I am talking about.

Less important things, say a dodgy kitchen floor covering, or a draughty back door or windows, or replacing a front gate after it has been stolen (yes scrap metal thiefs!) are much less likely to be done, often it falls to the tenant to sort out.

I do think there is some middle ground between tenant and landlord expectations, which if worked with, can cultivate that good relationship I mentioned earlier.

You asked who told me that landlords being responsible for maintenance and repairs and I said if you Googled it you would find many articles stating it as a pro for renting. The OP has already managed to get a boiler installed at little or no cost to the landlord and I would say that the shower not working, even though there is a bath, is something the landlord needs to fix and should have the funds available to do so. The landlord is quite happy to keep taking rent, which is the tenant's responsibility to pay but the landlord ought to hold up their end of the bargain too.

AdrianC

It's worth remembering that we're talking about a £50 shower and an hour of any generic handyman or DIY'ers time... Either the landlord is utterly clueless, or she's heading for a serious problem come void o'clock.

Either way, it's time to ignore the impending shoutiness that the thread's descending into, and consider reality and pragmatism.

If you, or somebody you know or are happy to pay, can swap the shower over without breaking a sweat, then just buy a shower and fit it, hand her the receipt and knock it off next month's rent. The smaller the labour element of the bill, the more likely she is to just accept it without protest.

Or just prepare to move, because it's very likely this is an early warning call for future big problems if mortgage rates go up.

dancingfairy

except I don't think it's as easy as getting the shower fixed and knocking it off next months rent or the OP could find herself short of rent.
Really common sense should kick in and the landlord should fix it as it was provided at the start of the tenancy. The landlord may be happy for the tenant to arrange for it to be fixed and to withold it from her rent but they should ideally talk and find a solution they are both happy with.
df

fishybusiness

The landlord is quite happy to keep taking rent, which is the tenant's responsibility to pay but the landlord ought to hold up their end of the bargain too.

LL actually has no responsibility to fix the shower as tenant does have use of a bath. It is back to goodwill if it gets fixed quickly, or at all.

I said if you Googled it you would find many articles stating it as a pro for renting.

You can google anything and find an argument to support your claim. Doesn´t mean it is correct.

If you, or somebody you know or are happy to pay, can swap the shower over without breaking a sweat, then just buy a shower and fit it, hand her the receipt and knock it off next month's rent. The smaller the labour element of the bill, the more likely she is to just accept it without protest.

Legally tenants cannot do this, pragmatic or not, bad advice.

The landlord may be happy for the tenant to arrange for it to be fixed and to withold it from her rent but they should ideally talk and find a solution they are both happy with.

Totally agree.

laststraw

I would say that when you made the agrement to pay £500 pm it was for a house with a shower. Now you dont have one, your rent should be lower to reflect this. Bad landlord ---Bad agent

Ulfar

If the boiler has been replaced you can get a set of taps with a thermostatic shower attachments included, cost £50.00 to £100.00 no electrics involved, suggest this to landlord.

I have one and it works an absolutely brilliantly better than an electric shower any day, does require reasonable water pressure.

http://www.victorianplumbing.co.uk/Premier-Deck-Mounted-Thermostatic-Bath-Shower-Mixer-Valve-Bottom-Outlet-Chrome.aspx?campaign=googlebase&gclid=CIPG5Z-MiLsCFTHLtAodQ0UALQ

Zoology_Dragon

19lottie82 wrote: »

Good luck Jellybean, and remember as the LL is under no obligation to replace / repair the shower, you will catch more flies with honey in this situation (although you do sound more than fair / reasonable so far!)

Why isn't the landlord under any obligation to fix it? Surely if a property is rented with a shower and the shower breaks then it should be fixed? Otherwise you could let out a property and just refuse to fix anything without any comeback? Genuine question, is there really no legal responsibility to fix/replace items that are on the inventory at the start of a tenancy?

We are landlords and replace anything and everything that needs replacing, eg. just yesterday I paid for a new washer dryer and even paid extra for Saturday delivery as that was the most convenient day for the tenant. Likewise I expect our landlord to fix issues as they arise. Coincidentally we had the shower over the bath fixed today, no questions asked even though there is another shower in the property.

jellybeans_2

Thanks for your replies. I am waiting to hear back from my landlord- how long would you expect this to take? I'd hoped that she would quickly reply yes as she has already agreed to the work and quote- just said could I wait a month as she can't fund it now. She has taken ages to reply before, and also taken a couple of weeks to reply when she's said a couple of days... so I'm not optimistic that it would actually be repaired in a months time.

I don't want to get quotes or do the work myself as she has agreed to the contractor they use doing it and their price and don't want to "rock the boat".

I don't want to move as I'm not well enough at the moment, and it also is expensive moving and I've had a grant for this flat so I'd like to stay at least one winter to benefit from it. But I'm not happy with this landlord (before this I rented somewhere for 7 years with no problems) and wouldn't be surprised if she did decide to sell if she's having money problems (although to be fair the flat has needed several repairs this year- just bad luck)

fishybusiness

Why isn't the landlord under any obligation to fix it? Surely if a property is rented with a shower and the shower breaks then it should be fixed?

I tend to agree, and good landlords I´m sure would sort it out. If you think about it being dangerous, that would necessitate a legal standpoint and would need fixing. If you think of it as an extra to a bath, and the bath works just fine, I don´t think there is a legal standpoint in favour of pushing to have it fixed. Of course there is a moral argument for it.