Rented property damaged twice in couple of months.

wanderey

Hello!

As this is my first post on MSE I would like to greet you all.

My question is about tenant rights.

If a tenant (me) believe that the property is in dangerous neighbourhood, (which I did not know when I was renting it), do I have any rights to claim some help form Estate Agents/Landlord regarding this matter ? Like e.g. extra safety solution or something ?
Or If I will decide to move because of safety of myself and my family, is the Estate Agent/Landlord obligated to help me out with this ?

The property which I am renting has been damaged twice by unknown people, and I believe that soon or later this will happend again. I am worried that next time it could me myself or a member of my family. That is why I am thinking about moving to a different area, but I can't afford to pay all rental costs at this time of the year.

So could you please give me some advice ? Or where should I go to get some assistance? Or what should I do if Estate Agents/Landlord will ignore me and refuse to help me ?

Any advice will be much appreciated.

Regards

Lukasz

P.S. I am not sure if it is right forum section, so please move it to correct one if neccesary

jbainbridge

This would better in the Property buying and letting section.

I fear the answer will be that you are in a contract and will have to see it out.

phill99

It's up to you as a prospective tenant, prior to signing the contract that the area is suitable for you. You signed the contract freely and without duress. Therefore the issues with unruly. Neighbours or the fact it is in a 'dangerous neighbourhood' are not the concern of either the landlord or the letting agent.

You need to take this up with police, especially if you feel there is harassment against you.

Fishingtime

What one person classes as a dangerous neighbourhood another person might not, so not much hope of going down that route

ValHaller

wanderey wrote: »

That is why I am thinking about moving to a different area, but I can't afford to pay all rental costs at this time of the year.

The rather callous answer to this is that if Christmas and the expenditure which goes with it are the only reason you cannot afford to move, then perhaps the problem is not serious enough to warrant involving the Landlord in unspecified measures.

macman

All the LL has to do is repair the property if damage has been caused by a third party. I don't understand what it is that you want?
If you want to move, you need to give notice.
If you are seeking some kind of rent reduction, then forget it.

GwylimT

All the landlord has to do is repair damage, if you feel victimised then surely you have logged both incidents with the police?

As a tenant, it is your responsibility to look at an area before you move there, it seems that you chose not to do this, so you can ask the landlord if you can exit your contract early, or stay put, or attempt to find someone who will take the tenancy over if your landlord agrees. If you really considered this area dangerous for your family surely you would have moved instead of buying xmas presents?

Ianwzzz

I agree with all the above answers. It is not the landlords fault.

Nile

Hello wanderey

Welcome to the MSE Forum.:hello:



Hi, we move threads if we think they’ll get more help elsewhere (please read the forum rule) so this post/thread has been moved to another board. If you have any questions about this policy please email [EMAIL="forumteam@moneysavingexpert.com"]forumteam@moneysavingexpert.com[/EMAIL].

G_M

I'm afraid the best you can do is politely ask the landlord to install additional security measures (eg better locks, alarm, CCTV whatever).

He is under no obligation to agree though, and yes, if you leave without giving correct valid notice he can sue you for the rent.

Another option is to install the security measures yourself, but please get the LL's permission in writing before doing anything that could constitute 'damage' to the structure of the property.

That includes screwing things to walls (internal or external) like camera/alarm, gouging wood out of a door to insert a new deadlock (though you'd be fine to replace an existing deadlock with a similar-sized one of better quality).

BigAunty

There is no legal obligation for a landlord to make improvements to the property if it meets all the relevant health/safety/housing laws. Malicious damage caused to it by others is a criminal issue, to be dealt with between the occupant and the Police, in my opinion. Please outline the issues that are making you want to move so the posters here can advise you better.

You could always try to negotiate the security improvements that you desire with the landlord or ask permission to pay for and install them yourself.

The environmental (crime?) conditions that you report are not proper grounds to quit the tenancy. Your relationship and qualms with the area are out of the scope of the contract you hold.

There are very few legitimate grounds to leave a fixed term tenancy agreement early (for example, if it became inhabitable through flooding or fire the landlord must pay for alternative interim accommodation or they can negotiate a mutual surrender of the tenancy with the tenants).

You could always ask the landlord to leave the tenancy early but the landlord does not have to accept this. Or he may accept this with conditions, such as you remaining responsible for the rent until a new tenant is found or pay for any costs involved, such as re-advertising costs.

If you leave the property without serving the proper notice or without the permission of the landlord to surrender the tenancy, you will continue to be responsible for the rent despite your non-occupation.

The Shelter website is the best information source for tenants to understand their rights and obligations. It contains a section to advise tenants how to properly end their tenancies.

When does your tenancy end, if you are currently in a fixed term? Does it have a break clause? (For example, 12 month tenancies sometimes have a 6 month clause so they can be ended halfway through).