Expenses caused by roof damage

Caz3121

We have been renting a property (Scotland) for over a year. It is not in the best shape but ticked our boxes whilst we save for deposit.
The top floor has no central heating and has plug in electric heaters which is fine as the rooms are rarely used (guest bedroom and study)
The day after our new years guests left I went up to tidy the bedroom, turned the light on and fused the lights for the house. Found a wet patch on the mattress and water through the light fitting. We dragged the mattress downstairs and it appears to have dried off ok but we eventually had rain indoors and spent a few days emptying buckets
Letting Agent got in touch with owner and they were aware that the roof needed a fair bit of work on it. Roofer came out (4 days after contacting LA) and has fixed ripped felt and repaired cracked flashing and this appears to have stopped new leaks.
We asked the LA about dehumidifier who said the roofer would supply which he didn't so we managed to borrow a domestic one which has been on for 4 days now burning our electric
I have never been through this before and wondered if anyone had any advice re dealing with LA
We have none of our property damaged so no plan on claiming on our insurance
In my mind we should be able to request/demand(?)
redecoration of the room (when it eventually dries out ) - not sure if the ceiling will stay up yet
cleaning of the carpet - did not have enough buckets for all the leaks
Checking and testing of electrics in the room (due water coming through fitting - we have not used light)
reimbursement of dehumidifier electric costs?
we are good tenants and have done a fair bit of improvement in the property ourselves and this is the first time we have reported anything to the LA since we moved in
I suspect that the owner may have trouble claiming on their buildings insurance as it seems it was lack of maintenance

camptownraces

A dehumidifier works on the same principle as a fridge and uses about the same amount of electricity. It cools the air down and condenses out the water.

It's not drying the place out like a tumble dryer does, which heats a heavy load of wet washing, including all the water contained.

Make sure you have documented all the costs you have incurred, but running a dehumidifier will be the least of your worries.

Caz3121

Update - the roofer did a patch repair and thought we were watertight...it took another 2+ months of chasing the get someone out to look at the room re redecor etc, they said they would need to strip paper and bring ceiling down and replaster, eventually they came and stripped paper and arranged to come back the next week and paint. Before they could do that the rain started coming through again so we are back to square 1 with 2 changes
1) We received a notification in Feb to advise that the rent was increasing from March!
2) The repair needed to the roof is evidently to do with the chimney that is shared with the neighbour so they are classing it as a communal repair and the letting agents are saying there is nothing they can do

Although the room is not used every day, it is our spare bedroom for guests, children, grandchildren. In the last 3 months we have to cancel visitors, not have the grandchildren to stay, have family sleep on a mattress on the floor in another room
Instead of having a rent increase, surely we should have a reduction to be compensated for the fact that we have space we cannot use
As they cannot give any indication on when the repair will take place we are now having to look to move so will incur the additional expense of that
Do we have any rights here?

agrinnall

Assuming you have a SAT I'd suggest you start your reading with the link below, and if you need further help give Shelter Scotland a call.

http://scotland.shelter.org.uk/get_advice/advice_topics/renting_rights/renting_from_a_private_landlord/short_assured_tenancies

AdrianC

camptownraces wrote: »

A dehumidifier works on the same principle as a fridge and uses about the same amount of electricity. It cools the air down and condenses out the water.

It's not drying the place out like a tumble dryer does, which heats a heavy load of wet washing, including all the water contained.

Make sure you have documented all the costs you have incurred, but running a dehumidifier will be the least of your worries.

Absolutely.

Take a fairly typical small dehumidifier like this...
http://www.screwfix.com/p/dimplex-forte-10ltr-dehumidifier/8611d
It's rated at 250w power consumption, which means it uses the same amount of electricity (going at absolute flat-out maximum) as five halogen 50w spotlight bulbs, or just over four normal 60w bulbs. Electricity is "sold" by the kilowatt/hour - 1,000 watts for one hour. So, at a typical ballpark 15p per kwh, it would cost 15p to run it for four hours, so £1.20 absolute maximum per day if it was going flat-out for 24hrs. The electricity it'd "burn" in four days is less than a fiver's worth.

Caz3121

not so concerned about the dehumidifier anymore, we got the room dried out eventually (only for it to leak again)
My issue is the fact that we are paying rent for a property that we cannot fully use and they seem to be in no hurry to get it habitable (3 months+ so far and could easily be same again probably more)
Had an online chat with Shelter Scotland who were really helpful and will send agents a letter requesting rent abatement whilst we look for somewhere else to live (we have started looking to buy now as this has completely put us off renting again - at least if it was our own roof leaking we would get it fixed asap)

Purplesky_2

We had an oven that was broken for 18 months and if I could have found somewhere else in our budget, I would have moved SO fast :mad:. But it also convinced me to buy instead of rent when we did in fact move.:j The first night, we had a leaking radiator and it was such a relief to just ring a plumber and get it fixed the next day! :beer:

It's up to you with your time-lines and the expectations of the buying process.

If you buy somewhere with a chain, it might be a month between exchange and completion.
Before that, 2 months isn't uncommon for surveys and searches and conveyancing.
It might take you another 2 months to feel a little more secure in your financial position and 2 months to find a house you like and have a successful offer in.

If you're looking for a fixer-upper (or even if you're not) you may want some overlap, say a month, on your rent for any repairs that need to be done urgently or are best done when no-one is living in the house. It would also allow you to move gently and clean thoroughly both the house you're moving into (other people's dirt is much worse than your own :rotfl:) and the house you're moving out of (to get the most amount of deposit back :money:).

That there could be 7-9 months quite easily. :eek: So it may be worth finding a new flat to rent. They'll probably have to fix it before they can let it out again. They have no incentive to while you're still living there, paying rent. Can you find a six month contract for somewhere with a comparable space and rent and give a month's notice. How much are you willing to put up with? and for how long?

agrinnall

Purplesky wrote: »

If you buy somewhere with a chain, it might be a month between exchange and completion.
Before that, 2 months isn't uncommon for surveys and searches and conveyancing.
It might take you another 2 months to feel a little more secure in your financial position and 2 months to find a house you like and have a successful offer in.

Assuming Caz wishes to buy in Scotland it's highly unlikely to take anywhere near as long as you suggest, it sounds to me (based on current personal experience of the glacial timescales involved!) that you're talking about south of the border.

Purplesky_2

Huh, cool. Glacial pace? Felt like no time at all....With all the reading and the packing and my job, I had virtually no time to eat.

Regardless, I was just pointing out that it might make sense to get another place if they can get it on a short lease and that Landlords have little incentive to fix a problem if they're continuing to pay rent.

Caz3121

just an update: Will be writing to agents over the weekend to request rent abatement due to the fact that it has been 4.5 months now with an room that cannot be used and that there is no obvious outlook
As we were looking to move to our own place we were wary about moving to another rental as we have only been here 18 months and 12 months in the last place (we were told it would be long term but they sold up) so another move would take us to 4 different addresses for the 3 year background for mortgage etc plus the costs of moving twice

The good news is that we have had an offer accepted on a house and they sellers want to move July and the wheels are in motion...looking forward to giving notice :-)

HB58

Don't jump the gun with your notice. I'm not sure of the process in Scotland but, certainly in England, we often hear from posters who have given notice and then discovered a delay in the completion date.