Tenancy advice please - open sewer in kitchen!

custardcream

Hi - don't know if anyone can offer any advice but I'm at the end of my tether. Have rented privately from a landlord for 10 months and have always had issues with the drains. He lives in Canada so he's not able to witness the issues here himself - I think he thought I was making it up! It has escalated dramatically as there was a very foul smell coming from main bathroom which is downstairs. Took a lot of moaning and 3 weeks to get anyone here to take a look. Plumber was shocked to find a soil pipe hadn't been capped off correctly and so I have what he described as a 'swimming pool of sewerage' underneath my house. You can see it coming up through the drains outside the kitchen.

I now have in effect an open sewer in my kitchen/diner as the plumber had to cut open the plasterboard to fix the problem. The plumber suggested the hole not be patched up for at least a fortnight to give it a chance to dry out. (What?!) Unfortunately my house is pretty much open plan downstairs so that means the whole of my house stinks to high heaven. My mum actually gagged when she visited and had to leave. I have the windows open and the heating on full blast but I'm still sat here in my coat and hat freezing.

Where do I stand? Surely there must be some sort of health and safety thing to stop this being acceptable. We're inhaling and ingesting all sorts of nasties - and this is where I have to cook and eat!

Landlord and plumber have gone quiet. What shall I do???

RAS

Do you have an address for the serving of notices on your tenancy agreement?

Do you pay your rent to the LL direct or to someone resident in the UK?

fishpond

Get in touch with environmental health quickly(now)!

custardcream

I pay rent to landlord direct. What's serving of notices? I don't want to move - I just want the problem to be fixed!

custardcream

Can you involve Environmental Health for private tenancies?

custardcream

Environmental Health don't think they can help so have referred me to private sector housing who aren't available.

Rambosmum

Gosh, this sounds awful.

I'd be straight on to environmental health- just to check the safety of this situation, normally when pipes back up or sewage leaks out where It shouldn't you need specialist clean up crews to manage it.

I would write to the landlord and take pictures, state the situation and ask for an amicable resolution, which to me would be for him to put you up in a hotel until the house is habitable again - I wouldn't consider it habitable at the moment.

pmlindyloo

Follow this advice on this link and ring Shelter if you have any specific questions.

http://england.shelter.org.uk/get_advice/repairs_and_bad_conditions/repairs_in_private_lets/landlord_refusing_to_do_repairs

jjlandlord

From what I understand the problem has been fixed.
However, as parts of the walls and ground were in effect flooded, they must be left exposed until dried.

The questions to ask to remedy the situation are therefore, for example:
- Can the area be cleaned to remove as much of the smell as possible before leaving it to dry?
- What can be done to make it dry faster?
- What can be done to contain the smell?

Of course, the agent should take the lead on this, but there might be things the tenant can pro-actively do in the meantime to help himself.

One week in a B&B while professional cleaners work their magic may indeed be the 'right' solution, especially since such smells can linger for a long time.
A stinking house will be harder to re-let...

Pixie5740

custardcream wrote: »

I pay rent to landlord direct. What's serving of notices? I don't want to move - I just want the problem to be fixed!

Assuming this property is in England or Wales, you must be provided with an address in England or Wales for the serving of notices. Notices could be for ending the tenancy but also for reporting repairs.

As you have a non-resident LL whom you pay direct, it is possible that you should be deducting the income tax and paying it to HMRC and paying the remainder of the rent to your LL. Once you've got this sewage issue resolved the tax situation is something you should look into.

G_M

1) overseas landlord and tax you might have to pay. Read:

HMRC (Non Resident [= overseas] Landlord Scheme)

2) Unless you have been given, in writing, an address for the landlord in England or Wales, you do not have to pay rent (once you are given it you must pay the back rent owed - so don't spend it!). Read:

Landlord and Tenant Act 1987 section 48

3) For repairs: see

Shelter (Repairs in private rented homes).

If Environmental Health are reluctant to help, chase them! sewage is a health issue for which they are responsible. Get them to declare the property uninhabitable till fixed.

4) if property is declared uninhabitable, move into B&B and send bill to landlord and/or deduct from future rent (se Shelter ink above)