Early Termination of Tenancy Agreement Help

supermum38

I would contact your local environmental health department. They can force the landlord to complete repairs within a set period of time IF they endanger health. If the landlord does not comply then he can be forced to end the tenancy and you could argue the 'early' exit charge, present yourselves to the council as homeless without intention.

00ec25

stee66 wrote: »

We have signed a contract for 12month so we are bound until 2nd November 2014. We have no break clause! We have emailed and phoned the Moss properties everyday. We speak to different people each time and get told they will call us back. This never happens even though we phone back later.

WRITE using pen and paper (not e mail, not text , and not phone) setting out your concerns. You will need this as evidence later on if your dispute gets to court.
the issues you outline will never allow you to stop paying rent or to break your rental agreement early UNLESS the LL agrees to a "mutual termination" on his terms. You have been told what those terms are : pay £750 ... It is no wonder they are ignoring you if you pester then everyday when you have been given the answer - its lucky they are not accusing you of harassment

stee66 wrote: »

i think the stairs are a H&S risk to anyone in the building. So i might play on that a little. Thanks for the help.

yes by the sounds of it they are (although the simple solution since you know about the danger is to step more carefully!)

However the LL cannot make the repairs as he does not own the stairs because they are owned by the building's freeholder. If the LL tried to do any work himself and someone later fell he would be sued by the management company for his negligence in undertaking the work and the LL's insurance would not cover him against that.

Please try to understand that there are things outside the control of your LL . You can of course pressure your LL by written complaints and he will pressure the management company, but only they can or will do the work on the stairs

00ec25

supermum38 wrote: »

I would contact your local environmental health department. They can force the landlord to complete repairs within a set period of time IF they endanger health.

the stairs are not the LL responsibility. The EH Dept would therefore need to communicate with the building management company. Please try to be balanced in your response rather than rabid anti LL

HeadLikeAHole

stee66, if you're not sure what to do, contact your local council's Environmental Health department to discuss the water leak and the stairwell, and also ask if they have someone who specialises in Private Sector Housing who should be able to work with them and the LL/Building owner. Also speak to Citizens Advice to find out what they may be able to suggest in terms of help.

00ec25 makes a very valid point - blocks of flats or buildings comprised of multiple units, can be a minefield. For example, one that we were dealing with had several different landlords/owners of the flats, two different business occupants, one owner for the entire building, another owner for the land that it was on, and a management company for the communal areas. It's not always just down to the landlord, but the local council should be able to find out who is ultimately responsible for certain areas. Once you have this information, when you are writing letters, ensure that you send copies to all relevant parties. For example, when you write to your landlord asking about the repairs to the property (and find out who owns the property above you as the water leak may be affected by that) copy in Environmental Health (once you've spoken to them) and PSH if applicable. They will then do the same on letters regarding the issue.

When writing your letter, be sure to separate your points out. The leak in the spare bedroom is one issue; the loose carpet on the stairs is another issue; the hazardous car park is another... Make it easy for them to pick out the salient points and respond to these.

If you decide that you do want to vacate the property, then speak to CAB, PSH and EH before jumping into anything. If the aforementioned declare that the property is unfit for habitation or that the responsible person (whether the landlord, building owner or the resident upstairs) is unwilling or unable to carry out repairs, then they can help you through the next stages.

I hope you get somewhere with all of this.

My experience: Environmental Health & Private Sector Housing within local government, and lettings within the property industry.