What to do about an unresponsive landlord?

maxoys45

Hello,

Back in September me and a friend moved into a flat and during the first month we flagged quite a few issues with the letting agency. Some of which were tended to but a lot were just ignored. Since then I have consistently requested them to be fixed with no luck. The letting agency always responds positively but then nothing is done about it. Currently the main problems we still have are:

1. The front door is not secure unless double locked (can be pushed open with relative ease)
2. The buzzer does not work, which is an issue because we live on the top floor of a flat.
3. The bath/shower area has no tiling, only painted walls which don't even seem to be the correct paint so all the paint is peeling and the plaster underneath is getting wet.
4. The flat is extremely cold all the time. I'm not sure about this one but unless we have the heating on all day, i cannot feel my hands or feet because it gets so cold. To make it worse, our boiler has no option to decide when the heating is on so we have to just leave it on the whole evening then freeze throughout the night.

I'm just looking for some advice really. My dad has said that the front door is a fire risk because we have to keep it double locked at all times to feel safe (we live in SE London on Peckham high street..) and that means it would fail a 'fire safety check' so we might have grounds to complain because of that?

Thanks for any help!

thesaint

I don't see that the landlord has to do anything about 1-3.

I also don't see he has to do anything about 4 either to be honest. To my knowledge, most people turn their boiler off during the night. I suppose a thermostat could be fitted.

Pixie5740

Ask your dad which bit of "fire safety" legislation he is referring to. I have a similar problem (not really that much of a problem) with my front door so I just keep it locked with the keys in the lock otherwise a strong gust of wind is enough to open the door.


I've also lived in a flat where the buzzer didn't work but because other flat owners didn't want to pay to have it fixed my LL wouldn't pay for it either. Fair enough. I just asked people to call me when they were outside. I'd put my phone number in the section for additional instructions when dealing with delivery companies or takeaways. It wasn't ideal but worked for me.


Do you have thermostats on the radiators that could be turned down to 1 when you're out and overnight and then turned up when you need the extra heat? An electric blanket would also help during the night. My electric blanket keeps my nice and toasty in a granite building in Aberdeen with no heating on at night so I'm sure an electric blanket would work for you in Peckham.


No tiling is more an issue for your LL than you if the plaster is getting soaked.


If you have reported all these issues in writing (letter with a stamp) to the address for the serving of notices given in your TA and nothing is done about them then your options are move or put up. Legally your LL doesn't have to do anything about them.

theartfullodger

You need to write (yes, WRITE! - keep copy) to landlord, copy agent - following the good advice here...
http://england.shelter.org.uk/get_advice/repairs_and_bad_conditions/repairs_in_private_lets
-including how to involve council if necessary & fixing things yourself also (but ONLY do that if you follow the guidance exactly...)

G_M

Write to the landlord at the address provided 'for the serving of notices' listing the problems and asking him for a timetable for repairs.

I doubt any of these are actually enforcible, but a half-decent LL would fix them.

And in particular you need to get your comments about the lack of tiling recorded in writing or you could end up being charged for damage to the paint / damp to the walls at a later date.