Renting - Rights re: worn staircase carpeting?

lightisfading

Just wondering if anyone knows if landlords have any responsibilties re. replacing VERY worn staircase carpeting. It has worn through to the wood on most of the steps, and we have had to use duct tape to limit the possibility of catching feet on the loose carpeting and falling headlong down the stairs, however it's still very worn and IMHO a safety hazard.

If it matters, we're on an assured shorthold tenancy. My boyfriend has lived in this house for approx 10 years and in that period no repairs apart from the unavoidable have been done (ie broken boiler took 6 weeks to fix in february in a single glazed house with no shower!).

We've mentioned it to him and basically got 'i'd rather sell the house than pay for it'. :mad:

olly300

Legally you cannot force a landlord to do repairs. The only people who can do is the council. However if they do the landlord can serve you notice stating the property is inhabitable.

As there are loads of cases where landlords refuse to undertake their repair responsibilities the council is unlikely to be interested in worn carpet.

I suggest you either lump it if the rent reflects the house is not cared for i.e the rent is well below market rent, otherwise put all your concerns about the lack of repairs in writing to the landlord with pictures, find somewhere else to live and give your landlord a months' notice. This notice has to be given on the day the rent is due.

caza1001

I disagree with Olly that legally you can't get the Landlord to do repairs - The landlord does have a major duty to repair under Section 11 of the 1985 Landlord and Tenant act. The landlord only has a right not to repair if something major and out of their control has happened such as fire or flood.

But I have to say replacing staircase carpet is not going to be high on a list of priorities to a landlord who doesn't fix a boiler.

As olly says i would guess you are probably paying below market level rent and in these cases it is usually put up and shut up. You do get what you pay for (within reason). If the carpet is that bad and you don't like the duct tape, perhaps ask the landlord if you can remove and chuck the carpet - but get his Ok in writing beforehand.

If you do choose to move out - check your contract - unless it states that you have to give notice on a certain date - you don't. We accept notice on any date in the month and calculate rent pro-ratered to the end of the tenancy and remember - you can always give more than a months notice if you want to be ultra organised!

lightisfading

Thanks both of you Looks like it's just a matter of putting up with it then!

izzybusy23

lightisfading wrote: »

Just wondering if anyone knows if landlords have any responsibilties re. replacing VERY worn staircase carpeting. It has worn through to the wood on most of the steps, and we have had to use duct tape to limit the possibility of catching feet on the loose carpeting and falling headlong down the stairs, however it's still very worn and IMHO a safety hazard.

If it matters, we're on an assured shorthold tenancy. My boyfriend has lived in this house for approx 10 years and in that period no repairs apart from the unavoidable have been done (ie broken boiler took 6 weeks to fix in february in a single glazed house with no shower!).

We've mentioned it to him and basically got 'i'd rather sell the house than pay for it'. :mad:

Surely under health and safety he has a right to repair this carpet as it is very hazardous and should you trip and injure yourself you could sue his backside off for leaving the house in a bad state of repair.

When I first moved into my rented house I was five months pregnant and the toilet seat was broken. I had to carefully perch on it otherwise it would move to one side.. being pregnant I didn't want to fall on my backside ( ) so bought a new toilet seat and just replaced it. It even said in the inventory that it needed replacing but they didn't bother.. so why not replace the carpet, keep the receipt and forward it to the landlord requesting reimbursement on the grounds of safety reasons?

pcwilkins

izzybusy23 wrote: »

Surely under health and safety he has a right to repair this carpet as it is very hazardous and should you trip and injure yourself you could sue his backside off for leaving the house in a bad state of repair.

Hmmm not sure about that. LL is generally not responsible for keeping furnishings in good state of repair. Unless LL has been negligent I don't think you could sue --- and I'm not sure that not replacing worn carpet would be negligent. In any case LL could make it safe using duct tape just as T has!

When I first moved into my rented house I was five months pregnant and the toilet seat was broken. I had to carefully perch on it otherwise it would move to one side.. being pregnant I didn't want to fall on my backside ( ) so bought a new toilet seat and just replaced it. It even said in the inventory that it needed replacing but they didn't bother..

Just because inventory says that toilet seat is broken doesn't mean it is LL's responsibility to replace it. All it means is that the LL could not charge you for a new seat when you move out, as you can prove it was broken when you moved in. Inventory is simply a description of property and contents --- just because it says "toilet seat needs replacing" does not mean "LL will replace toilet seat".

so why not replace the carpet, keep the receipt and forward it to the landlord requesting reimbursement on the grounds of safety reasons?

Doubt it would work. LL could simply argue that old carpet was not unsafe and therefore refuse to pay for a new one. So T would be left out of pocket.

If carpet is that unsafe then remove it, keep it somewhere and replace it on moving out.

Peter

Melissa177

I would move, or negotiate a decrease in rent.

The LL is laughing - you're paying rent for a shabby house. If you moved, it is very unlikely he could find another tennant prepared to take on your place in that condition - he would HAVE to do it up.

scrummy_mummy_2

Legally a LL has a duty of care to a tenant in statute...this means that if any of the property owned by him and rented (including carpets) are dangerous, he MUST replace them/make them safe and failure to do so is negligent.
If you were to fall and damage yourself, he could be sued for personal injury/damages etc.
However...in the real world if he ain't got the cash, or the will unfortunately, there's not alot without going to court, you can do about it except get the rent reduced/move/do it yourself...which you have already done by using duct tape!
I'm sure he would find losing a long term tenant more distressing than a couple of hundred for a new carpet....
You could always try calling in the rent assessment committee...they would come round and assess your rent, if it was too high because the place is shabby, you could then use this to get the rent reduced with the LL.

black-saturn

Perhaps you could give Environmental Health a quick ring and they could give you some advice. If they think the carpet is an accident risk or health hazard they will contact the landlord for you.

PasturesNew

Or you could get a quote for new carpeting. Not plush/lush stuff, but ask the carpet company for the rented house/best for landlords type. Then write to him and ask him if it's OK to have it done and you'll deduct it from your next rent.
He might just be lazy and go for it.

scrummy_mummy_2

That's a good point actually...if a LL has to get off their a**e and do something, they would rather spend much more effort objecting than just do it...perhaps if you do as PasturesNew suggests, it might remove his barrier to action...if it doesn't you know it's a different reason he's holding out!....worth a shot!
We had some building work done and had a huge chunk of hall/stairs/landing that was uncarpeted...hubby bought a bit of carpet that was foam backed (rubbish!!) but was £4 a sq metre...it is in a high traffic area and is 4 years old and still doing OK....(until I can get round to fixing all of the carpet!!)