Letting agent unable to contact landlord to make repairs

LindyLou78

I have a severely leaking boiler, so bad that we are having to turn off our water supply when not using the bathroom or washing machine etc. It has been a week since I reported this to our letting agent but they say they cannot get an answer from the landlord to give them the go-ahead to send the plumbers round and cannot go any further without the landlord's permission. Under what circumstances can they go ahead and authorise repair work without the landlords permission?

mrginge

Just tell them they best get it sorted quick or you'll be organising the repair yourself and deducting the cost from your rent.
...obviously you'll follow the correct procedure for this action.

pmlindyloo

LindyLou78 wrote: »

I have a severely leaking boiler, so bad that we are having to turn off our water supply when not using the bathroom or washing machine etc. It has been a week since I reported this to our letting agent but they say they cannot get an answer from the landlord to give them the go-ahead to send the plumbers round and cannot go any further without the landlord's permission. Under what circumstances can they go ahead and authorise repair work without the landlords permission?

How bad is the leak? If it is causing damage to the property then I would suggest that you make sure that you have written confirmation of reporting the problem and photographs of any damage. Write to the LL detailing what has happened including dates you contacted the LA and including the photographs. Keep copies of everything.

It is quite possible that the landlord is on holiday.

If this is an emergency - severe leakage that cannot be contained -then I suggest that you contact the letting agent again and ask for their advice. Stress that it is causing damage and any further delay will cost the landlord more money later than fixing it now.

The LA has to be guided by the LL's instructions but the LL should have notified the LA if he was not contactable (very unusual)

I suspect that the LA is not ringing the landlord as frequently as he should.

If it is not serious, 'just annoying', then you need to allow a reasonable time. There is little you can do without following the correct procedure in Shelter's guidance (which can take weeks) and much depends on the seriousness of the situation.

In this case common sense should prevail but cover yourself as described above and allow the LA to take the blame if things go belly up.

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

LindyLou78

mrginge wrote: »

Just tell them they best get it sorted quick or you'll be organising the repair yourself and deducting the cost from your rent.
...obviously you'll follow the correct procedure for this action.

Thanks for your reply. This was my first thought but having looked at the info on CAB site this is a difficult path to go down as a very strict procedure has to be followed in order to remain legally in the right. We have had no problems getting repairs done when necessary until now but it seems to me that some set of rules should exist for when landlords are unable to be contacted.

LindyLou78

Thanks for your reply. The landlord lives abroad which makes this more annoying as she has a greater responsibility to make sure she is reachable in my book! I called the plumbers the LA uses directly to try and cut out the middleman but they are still waiting for the go-ahead and can't do anything until then. Thanks all, hope it gets fixed before I start getting webbed feet and gills!!

pmlindyloo

Don't most people have text and emails these days?!

Still suspect the LA has tried contacting ONCE and then forgot about it. Try harassing them! Threat to with hold rent is always a good one!

Edit

Some little white lies might help -wading through water blah blah blah. After all you shouldn't have to turn the water off whilst you're living in a house.

FBaby

Make sure you have everything in writing, record the date/time you contact the LA, so that if you do end up with no choice but to call someone and then sending the invoice to the landlord, you can show you have taken every steps to get them to deal with it themselves before having no choice but to take over.

mrginge

LindyLou78 wrote: »

Thanks for your reply. This was my first thought but having looked at the info on CAB site this is a difficult path to go down as a very strict procedure has to be followed in order to remain legally in the right. We have had no problems getting repairs done when necessary until now but it seems to me that some set of rules should exist for when landlords are unable to be contacted.

The rules do exist. You've seen them. If you can't be arsed following them then just sit and wait for the LA to sort it.

HappyMJ

LindyLou78 wrote: »

Thanks for your reply. The landlord lives abroad which makes this more annoying as she has a greater responsibility to make sure she is reachable in my book! I called the plumbers the LA uses directly to try and cut out the middleman but they are still waiting for the go-ahead and can't do anything until then. Thanks all, hope it gets fixed before I start getting webbed feet and gills!!

The LA should be able to authorize the work without consent from the LL. What if the LL were dead...or in prison? They will never get a response until eventually someone calls them.

jjlandlord

HappyMJ wrote: »

The LA should be able to authorize the work without consent from the LL.

That's really a contractual matter... So no point discussing.

G_M

How many of the letters in the process have you sent so far, which ones, and on what dates?

Shelter pro forma letters

Sooner you start, sooner you get it fixed.