Leaking Shower - What would you do?

Kevie192

Hi all,

After some advice regarding the upstairs shower in the house we rent. Sorry this is gonna be a long one but it is a bit of a saga! First, some background...

• The upstairs shower has been leaking in this house since we moved in last March.
• When we first discovered it (water running down the kitchen wall!) we told the letting agent immediately and they sent one of their maintenance men to have a look. He took a little corner of silicone off the inside of the shower cubicle and re-did it and said that would solve it.
• This did stop the water coming down the kitchen wall but a few weeks later a water mark appeared on the ceiling in the downstairs bathroom (the upstairs bathroom is directly above part of the kitchen and downstairs bathroom). We called the letting agent again and they decided to take all the tiles off one of the walls, remove the cubicle, re-board the wall and re-fit the tiles etc. This took about a week, including one weekend and we were left with no means of washing for that week as the downstairs bathroom window was broken and we had signed a 'condensation agreement' saying we wouldn't run hot water without a window open. We had to go to my mum's to shower.
• All seemed ok, but I wasn't convinced the watermark was drying. The maintainance team came out a week later and decided it WAS drying so I'd have to wait a while and they would then come and paint it. I'm still waiting for that. In the meantime, the downstairs window is now fixed.
• A few weeks later, the water mark was still growing and I reported it. The man came and took the tiles off the outside of the bottom of the shower tray to look at the waste. Concluded it 'must be ok' because he couldn't see anything wrong and just removed and re-did the silicone again.
• The water in the shower is pressurised by a pump in the airing cupboard and that ceased to work on christmas day. I informed the agency and a month later it is now fixed.

The reason for my post is that I have NOW noticed that there is a second mark on the ceiling (which is quite large) that has appeared since the pump was fixed a few days ago so it's obviously leaking from somewhere else now.

I am sick to death of having to get them to come and look at this shower. Every time, I have to take time off work to let them in and be here whilst they do the work (we have a dog). I am narked off I was a week without a shower before and although I can now use the 'over the bath' downstairs shower in an emergency I really don't want to as the room is cold, water pressure is rubbish, the temperature hard to control and fluctuates and there is no extractor fan.

I'd like to contact them now to tell them I have had enough. I want to tell them I don't want one of their rubbish 'jack of all trades' people to come round, I want a properly qualified builder and plumber to come and find out what it is and fix it once and for all. I also want to ask for compensation given that I have had to use holiday from work, I've had periods without a bathroom and it is really inconvenient. This is a 4 bed detached house in a nice area so it's not exactly cheap to let!

What are my rights to do any of the above and, if you were in my position, what would you do?

Thanks,

Kevin

G_M

How have you been communicating?

Write a letter. Address it to the landlord (name on tenancy agreement) and send to the address "for the serving of notices" on the TA (even if this is 'c/o the agency').

Send a copy addressed to the agents.

As per you post, list ALL the previous events, with dates. By 'events' I mean times when you have rung, emailed, written, and times when workmen have visited + what action they took.

a short but comprehensive summing up of the history.

Then a final paragraph explaining the current on-going problem, and a request for a competant contractor to fix once and for all.

To be honest it does appear as if the LL/agent are trying. They do respond to your complaints, so be grateful for that!

anselld

Keep reporting the faults, preferably in writing.

You have no more rights or less rights to decent tradesmen than any owner-occupier would do. You certainly have no rights to compo. You just have to persevere till it is fixed.

It sounds like they have made reasonable efforts to replace, but unfortunately other things have gone wrong. The pump failure, for example, cannot be linked to the original leak.

Kevie192

They're trying but their workmen are absolutely useless. They just keep 'guessing' rather than actually working out what the problem is.

I can't afford to take much more time off for them to come round and 'try' to fix it again so I'm really at a loss as to what to do. I'm sure the landlord must be annoyed too as all this time his property is being damaged by the leaking water!

G_M

Kevie192 wrote: »

...

I can't afford to take much more time off for them to come round and 'try' to fix it again so I'm really at a loss as to what to do.

Either stop taking time off and allow the contractors access to a key.

Or stop taking time off and live with the problems.

And/or follow the advice above.

xylophone

Write to the landlord as above - were it my house, I would be very anxious to ensure that the problem was investigated, solved and all necessary repairs done - I wouldn't want to end up with rot in my property.

Ask around for the names of competent workmen and suggest these to the landlord?

Ask a friend to look after your dog and give the workmen a key?