Renting gone wrong/where we stand?

princeofpounds

Having said that your expectations are excessive, I should make it clear that is in a legal sense.

Personally I often think the cosmetic condition of properties is a) a crucial part of quality of life and b) neglected by many landlords in a way they would not neglect their own homes.

So there is a hole in the system, but I will not pretend I know of any efficient way to regulate/maintain it, beyond radical solutions such as long-term, self-decorating tenancies (like in Germany).

G_M

Boilers cannot be guaranteed not to fail. All a LL can be expected to do is call out an engineer as soon as reasonable. Your LL seems to have done this on each occasion it broke down. If there is a delay waiting for parts - well, that's life! Engineers cannot carry every part for every boiler on their vans.

Did you request an alternative source of heating (eg elecric fires)? Did the landlord agree/refuse?

I assume there was a valid Gas safety certificate? (though this is sepearate from your break-down issue).

Garages are designed for the storage of..... cars. If you intended to use it to store other items, particularly anything that could suffer if it got damp/wet, you should have sought written assurances that the garage was suitable. Indeed - if it is 30 years old, and built with 'wooden slats', surely it occrred to you it might not be appropriate?

As for seeking your 'admin fees' back - you aren't serious are you? If the LL/agent has agreed to an early surrender of the tenancy (as sems to be the case) I'm amazed you are not being charged for the LL's re-marketing and other costs.

cpnmlw

This is the OP's partner ....
We didn't know the garage was 30 year old and at no point have we said we stored valuable things in there! We get that a garage could potentially have the odd leak but not to the extent this one has and also to be "fobbed off" by the landlord telling us to clear the drain filter when that was obviously not the cause just seemed ridiculous and patronising.

We get that boilers fail...ours did at the house we sold, it was just infuriating for it to fail over and over again even though the engineer appeared to have sorted the issue. It angered us more than maybe average Joe as with 2 children under the age of 3 who had just got over the flu and it being the coldest it had been this year...you can hopefully understand our frustrations.

The landlord knocked off £50 from the rent for having to run our expensive electric heater in the meantime .....but only because we asked for this to be done...He was not the first to offer! And they even wanted us to leave our electric heater that we'd borrowed from family in the house's inventory when we left!

As my partner mentioned, we are new to renting ....If this is fairly "the norm" ...I can't wait to get my own house again then.

ognum

cpnmlw wrote: »

This is the OP's partner ....
We didn't know the garage was 30 year old and at no point have we said we stored valuable things in there! We get that a garage could potentially have the odd leak but not to the extent this one has and also to be "fobbed off" by the landlord telling us to clear the drain filter when that was obviously not the cause just seemed ridiculous and patronising.

We get that boilers fail...ours did at the house we sold, it was just infuriating for it to fail over and over again even though the engineer appeared to have sorted the issue. It angered us more than maybe average Joe as with 2 children under the age of 3 who had just got over the flu and it being the coldest it had been this year...you can hopefully understand our frustrations.

The landlord knocked off £50 from the rent for having to run our expensive electric heater in the meantime .....but only because we asked for this to be done...He was not the first to offer! And they even wanted us to leave our electric heater that we'd borrowed from family in the house's inventory when we left!

As my partner mentioned, we are new to renting ....If this is fairly "the norm" ...I can't wait to get my own house again then.

OP and partner
I feel your frustration, I think it is difficult to rent when you have been master of your own castle, for some people it is a relief to let others cope with the cost of breakdowns and repairs, for others, it would be better if they could get on and sort it themselves and I think you are in that camp.
To be honest for £700 per month I am surprised you got a garage and central heating, is that the average for your area?
Move out and move on!

G_M

Sorry, but you still seem unreasonable.

I can understand you not being happy about the house being cold etc, but the blame for this lies with.... life; circumstances, rather than the LL

cpnmlw wrote: »

This is the OP's partner ....
We didn't know the garage was 30 year old and at no point have we said we stored valuable things in there!
but you have clearly stored something there which suffered as a result of the damp, otherwise you would not be so upset. It's a garage, not a secure dry storage facility.

We get that a garage could potentially have the odd leak but not to the extent this one has and also to be "fobbed off" by the landlord telling us to clear the drain filter when that was obviously not the cause just seemed ridiculous and patronising.
I agree he should have come round, or sent someone round, but perhaps he genuinely thought this was a simple problem of a blocked filter, and that since you were obviously so anxious, the quickest solution was o suggest you clear it yourselves rather than wait???

We get that boilers fail...ours did at the house we sold, it was just infuriating for it to fail over and over again even though the engineer appeared to have sorted the issue.
Frustrating but..... not the LL's fault. He sent round engineers.

It angered us more than maybe average Joe as with 2 children under the age of 3 who had just got over the flu and it being the coldest it had been this year...you can hopefully understand our frustrations.
Yes I understan, but, again, the LL was not responsible for the flu (unless he passed it on to you all??) so this is irrelevant

The landlord knocked off £50 from the rent for having to run our expensive electric heater in the meantime .....but only because we asked for this to be done...He was not the first to offer!
????? be grateful he agreed! OK,
* a super-ace LL would offer the cash first
* a decent LL would agree your request
* an average LL would refuse your request
* a bad LL would delay sending an engineer
* a cr*p LL would charge you for breaking the boiler!

you have a 'decent' landlord on the above scale!

.

Glass half empty person?

GoldenShadow

How long were you actually without hot water/heating?

cpnmlw

G_M wrote: »

Sorry, but you still seem unreasonable.

I can understand you not being happy about the house being cold etc, but the blame for this lies with.... life; circumstances, rather than the LL

Glass half empty person?

Haha! interesting!

He genuinely thought it was a blocked drain? Seriously? As stated previously the roofing contractor confirmed that it would need a new roof and that a portion of felt had been removed and replaced incorrectly(stating it was a cover up bodge job) which was obvious.I suspect you're a landlord?

Re Garage: we have our dryer in there, there are many people who store and use their dryer in the garage along with electrical lawn mower's for example in conjunction with the leak can cause electrical failure in appliances, I'm sure this is standard stuff?

Re Boiler: Yes he sent round engineers but the problem is STILL evident as previously stated, ie no matter how many times they have come round, we still have a problem since we moved in mid/late December.

Re: Landlord ...How would we know what a decent landlord is? this is our first time renting! And yet a bad experience since day one. Maybe this is hard to understand but all we expected was to have a hassle free experience at least... initially. Problems do occur but shouldn't be ongoing!!!

We have had problems since moving in the property mid December up till present day, you make it sound like this is acceptable?

Maybe i have got off on the wrong foot or got some LL's backs up by this thread, but get this......I'm paying for a house that should be RIGHT, in an "as described" condition, granted things can go wrong and time is to be expected for repair work but come on, since day one we still have this issue and more issues during this small said period, surely this isn't right?

The landlord offered £50 off the rent for us to buy heaters then the week after asked if we could provide receipts so he could add this to the property inventory!!! So what are we gaining here for having 4 days without heating, bearing in mind I borrowed some heaters and didn't buy them.

Seems as though there are too many Landlords on here jumping on the defence.

Once again: £650-£700 For a higher end (in a good area) 3 bed semi in West Yorkshire (Leeds) is the going rate.

Maybe what alot of LL's want/expect is tenants to not give a sh*t or complain (easier for them), but in my opinion if something isn't right I have to raise it I'm afraid.
I usually never complain about anything but I've never had so many things go wrong in such a short space of time.

cpnmlw

LEJC wrote: »

did you ask to be released from the lease early........
No I asked for the house to be right and not have a problem every week. It was the landlord that gave us this option. In my opinion he was sick of the agency contacting him over the house issues. Maybe you should not rent a house out if has has problems. Or maybe this is a coincidence, that does not explain why defects have been covered up though prior to our tenancy


No I'm simply saying that the house is not fit for purpose with all the issues we have had since day one which are ongoing. The garage roof was reported on 20th JANUARY a contractor arrived 2 weeks later after initially been told the landlord didn't want to pay as it is 30 years old it is still not suitable for use. It has not been repaired yet. I don't want to be a burden to anyone if anything on my days off work (I work shifts) I want to be able to take the kids outnot wait Iin for repair men week in week out!!!! Bad experience end of.

Pixie5740

cpnmlw wrote: »

No I'm simply saying that the house is not fit for purpose with all the issues we have had since day one which are ongoing. The garage roof was reported on 20th JANUARY a contractor arrived 2 weeks later after initially been told the landlord didn't want to pay as it is 30 years old it is still not suitable for use. It has not been repaired yet. I don't want to be a burden to anyone if anything on my days off work (I work shifts) I want to be able to take the kids outnot wait Iin for repair men week in week out!!!! Bad experience end of.

Your renting experience is one of the reasons we are a nation of home owners. At least then you are king of your own castle. That said the issues you've encountered are very mild in comparison to some tenants out there. Yours are more slight annoyances than making the property not fit for purpose.

cpnmlw

Pixie5740 wrote: »

Your renting experience is one of the reasons we are a nation of home owners. At least then you are king of your own castle. That said the issues you've encountered are very mild in comparison to some tenants out there. Yours are more slight annoyances than making the property not fit for purpose.

Yes i'd put up with the annoyances if i was paying less. Perhaps the said tenants with greater issues maybe paying less than what they should be hence the major problems they may have, regardless £700/month is as said the higher end for a 3 bed semi in our area.

Yeah kinda regretting not staying on mortgage ladder but you live and learn.