Rented Property Help

dr3n

Hi everyone, first post – please be gentle.. my family and I are in a bit of a situation with our letting agent and landlord and we are hoping that somebody on here may be able to either offer a bit of advice or let us know where they think we might stand..? I also offer my apologies for the length of this post – there is a lot to go through but I will do a tl;dr at the end for those that want to skip it..

So, we have been living in our rented property for the past 6 years, which is facilitated through a letting agent and is owned by our landlord.. when we first moved into the house everything seemed fine for the first few months, but then little things started to go wrong and in a nut shell those little things have now developed into big massive things and haven’t really stopped since.. one of the first things that we noticed was that our bathroom was badly suffering from condensation whenever we had a shower. Even with the window fully open and the door open, every time we used the shower or had a bath, water would collect on the ceiling and drip down onto the floor for a good 10 minutes after you got out.. We would obviously wipe it up (post shower) and try to keep on top of it – but after a few weeks we noticed that the walls and grouting were all developing a black mould which was spreading across everything else pretty quickly.. so we purchased some mould spray and cleaned it up without giving it much more thought. But it would always come back really quickly, and we were now noticing that this black mould was also starting to develop in the kitchen, and the living room, and all three of the bedrooms. They were only small patches to begin with – however, my wife is asthmatic so this sort of thing was a concern along with the fact that our youngest child had also just been born, so we were living in a house with an obvious mould problem. We contacted the letting agent (in both writing and on the telephone) to speak with them about it and they essentially ignored the problem. They told us that we had to open the window whenever we had a shower (which we did) and to ventilate the house as much as possible (again which we did). So we struggled on and a year later we had our first house inspection. We pointed out how the black mould was spreading and how it was now turning into a fortnightly battle with me scrubbing every single wall and literally getting through litres of H&G Mould spray to combat the issue.. They again told us that the house didn’t have a problem and that we had to open the bathroom window when we had a shower and that we needed to keep all other windows open to give as much ventilation to the property as possible. It was also at this point that we noticed a patch of the carpet in the living room was always damp and beginning to smell. We showed the letting agent during the inspection and raised our concerns but were again told that we had to have windows open all of the time and they gave us a handy print out pamphlet on how to deal with condensation. We pointed out that we were (and always had been) doing everything they had on their handy tip sheet and were once again told that everything was down to condensation. We were also beginning to notice that our front door was becoming incredibly swollen with damp throughout the winter months, to the extent that we couldn’t actually open it. At all.. From (on average) September through to March the front door could not be opened unless I physically kicked it open from the outside. Again we pointed this out to the letting agent and our landlord and were told that it would get fixed. It was pointed out how this was a massive health and safety issue if the only point of entry was now the back door and were told that we had to open the bathroom window when we had a shower and to open the windows throughout the day and night to ventilate the property as much as possible. Another year goes by and the patch of damp carpet in our living room has now grown to the extent that there is barely any carpet left and you can see through to the underlay. Also a white fungus was developing around it and the smell was getting worse and worse.

We have another house inspection and point out how this couldn’t possibly be down to condensation and that we would like something done about it. The letting agent agreed that it couldn’t be down to condensation and would look into it further. We also point out again that the front door is still sticking during the winter months and how we cannot get either in or out of the property through it. They said they had made a note of it and that we would be getting an answer soon. But we hear nothing, in fact despite being chased by phone and email we keep getting fobbed off and ignored and nothing happens – so much so that we do not have another house inspection for two more years. As you can hopefully imagine upon our next house inspection we were getting pretty angry and feeling pretty raw, as the only thing the letting agents were telling us was to open the window when we had a shower and that it was condensation causing all of the issues. It was at this point that they also told us that we should stop using the (one and only) shelf in the bathroom because this had become swollen through the condensation and that the matter would be looked into. In fact we had a letter from them with their handy tips on how to deal with condensation again.

Skip ahead six months and my wife turns the kitchen light on where she is electrocuted and thrown back from the light switch to find herself on the floor wondering what happened. We contact the letting agent to inform them and they send a maintenance engineer around to see what the problem is. They discover that there is actually water running down the inside of the pillar behind the light switch and tell us that there is a leak in the roof and that the flashing needs to be replaced. No apology or anything.. So they send somebody around to fix it and tell us that the issue has been resolved and that we should open the bathroom window when we have a shower and leave our windows open all of the time to ventilate the house..
Then nothing.. No contact.. No updates..

It gets to the point where we have now got through several litres of H&G mould spray and the area of damp carpet in the living room has now spread to about 1 metre in size and is now really (really) smelly.. We are both incredibly stressed about everything (as you can probably imagine) by now and feel that each time we bring up the subject that the letting agents are either wilfully ignoring the problem or trying to pin the blame on us where the only advice they can offer is to tell us to open the bathroom window when we shower and to keep other windows open at all times to ventilate the house. It is now November 2015 and my wife, myself and the kids all have permanent coughs, and we are all wheezing.. So we get in contact with the landlord and the letting agent to demand that something is done. It has been nearly 4 years by this point - so they send around a damp expert to take a look – he and the landlord pay us a visit and look at the mould throughout the house and the carpet and he confirms that it is definitely damp but that fitting a condenser in the loft would alleviate some of the problems in regards to the condensation. However, he also says that they would need to look further into the problem with the damp under the carpet. He promised to generate a report that would be sent out to us, the landlord and the letting agents - we still yet to see this report despite repeatedly asking for a copy. Two weeks later the letting agents come around again for another house inspection – we point out the sticking front door (again), the mouldy carpet (again) and the black mould throughout the house (again).. They agree that the carpet issue is definitely damp and that they will send through their advice as quickly as they can. In fact it was so bad for the guy who came around he said he had to leave after 10 minutes because it was getting onto his chest and he didn’t like the smell. He told us that "off the record" we should just leave the house as quickly as possible. So we wait two weeks and get another letter from them telling us to open the bathroom window when we shower, to have windows open throughout the house both day and night in order to ventilate and that we should now additionally set the heating to 21 degrees at all times. They do not mention the carpet or the damp that is eating it away or the front door that wont open, or anything about providing us with the report that the damp specialist had passed onto them.

It is now March 2016.. And the letting agents sent another damp specialist around to house to look at the problem – this was yesterday.. He came in and looked around and lifted the carpet beneath the damp patch in the living room and discovered what I can only describe as a wet sand pit. Underneath the underlay the floor has deteriorated so badly that he could push a screwdriver into the concrete beneath with little to no effort.. He said that he’d never seen anything like it before. He went outside and found that at the base of the wall (pretty much all the way around the outside of our house) that there is a gap where water is leaking in underneath the brickwork/wall and that is what’s causing the damp. He says that the carpet will need to now be ripped up, they will have to dig out all of the “wet sand” and then fill it back in with concrete, strip the plaster from the walls and re do them and paint every wall throughout the house with damp solution.. He also said it would take at least a year for the concrete in the living room and walls to dry out properly once this work has been carried out.. He also said that the pointing needs doing over the entire one side of the house as again he was just picking the brick away with his screwdriver with no resistance..

So we are now at our wits end.. We need to get out of here.. We need to leave – they have known about these problems for the past 5 years and have done absolutely nothing about it apart from telling us to open the bathroom window when we have a shower. And now by the look of things we are facing masses of work throughout the house, loads of upheaval and additional stress that we simply do not need.

Is there anything we can do? Can we demand compensation that would allow us to find a new house and move out as quickly as possible? As it stands we are not in a position financially where we can just drop another massive deposit on another property - so should we be perhaps looking at taking them to court? We just don’t know what (if anything) we can do to resolve this issue now – so any help or advice would be much appreciated.. We just don’t know which way to turn anymore.. If anybody would like to see the photographs of the problems mentioned above that we have taken over the years or any the correspondence we have received regarding these issues then I would be more than happy to post them – if you think you can help..?

Again I apologise for the length of this post.. But there is so much I have missed out still – like how the letting agents and landlord keep asking me to clear the gutters when it is stated in the contract that it is their responsibility, or how the boiler broke and we had no hot water or heating for weeks, or how the house was flooded on a Friday afternoon due to a corroded pipe in the bathroom and were told that there was nothing they could do because it was too late to send somebody around on a Friday afternoon and that we would have to deal with it ourselves in terms of finding an emergency plumber.. honestly, the list goes on and on…

Please? Can anyone help??

Tl;dr rented a house six years ago, found damp and mould issues pretty much straight away, have continually informed landlord and letting agents who have ignored the problem and done nothing about it.

kinger101

Can't be bothered to read all that, but I'd suggest finding somewhere else to live.

mrginge

Good lord.
Think I'll skip the novel and just agree with kinger101

HappyMJ

Wow that's a long post.

It's time to move on.

Hand in your notice and find somewhere else to live.

If you don't have the money for the deposit and first months rent then stop paying the rent on the house you are in to save the money. You do not use current landlord's for references anyway (as current landlords always give glowing references to help get rid of non-paying tenants) so you won't have a problem. They would need to take you to court to get the money and you can pay any resulting CCJ within 28 days and it won't appear on your credit report.

FBaby

Why or why have you stayed for so long? Surely you have had plenty of time to put money aside towards a deposit?

You can go to court, however, I expect the above will be the first thing a judge will ask you.

G_M

Not just one of the longest posts ever, but made impossible to read by having so few paragraphs.

Cut out the waffle and focus on the key facts/issues.

One paragraph (better still bullet point) for each.

Then I'll read and respond.

xylophone

So we are now at our wits end.. We need to get out of here.. We need to leave

I'd second that - why have you put up with this for so long?

dr3n

hey everyone.. many thanks for the feedback and responses so far.. i did stress from the start that it was a lengthy post as i didn't want to miss anything out - hence the tl;dr however, im certainly not holding a gun to anyone's head or forcing anybody to read anything that they do not wish to read..

we do however appreciate the responses we have had..

in regards to why we haven't moved sooner - well, there are a few reasons.. firstly i was made redundant about 3 years ago and only having one income meant that we simply couldn't afford to leave.. we also have two small children that are settled in school and didn't want to disrupt them.. thirdly we live in a small village - so rented property is a rare beast that doesn't raise its head very often - so to say that we have felt trapped for some time now simply because there hasn't been anywhere else to move would be a reasonable explanation..

HappyMJ

dr3n wrote: »

hey everyone.. many thanks for the feedback and responses so far.. i did stress from the start that it was a lengthy post as i didn't want to miss anything out - hence the tl;dr however, im certainly not holding a gun to anyone's head or forcing anybody to read anything that they do not wish to read..

we do however appreciate the responses we have had..

in regards to why we haven't moved sooner - well, there are a few reasons.. firstly i was made redundant about 3 years ago and only having one income meant that we simply couldn't afford to leave.. we also have two small children that are settled in school and didn't want to disrupt them.. thirdly we live in a small village - so rented property is a rare beast that doesn't raise its head very often - so to say that we have felt trapped for some time now simply because there hasn't been anywhere else to move would be a reasonable explanation..

You're always going to have issues with this property so at some point you're going to have to make the decision to leave and find somewhere else...in another village...in another school...in a cheaper property. You've got to move. As you say it will take one year to dry out the property. That's just far too long.

You can write letters. You can report the landlord to the council. It may end up that the landlord will issue a section 21 notice to you requiring you to leave so major works can be completed. It may be the landlord actually fixes the property. I think it will still have problems though. The property is currently uninhabitable.

The property is so bad it's affecting your health. I wouldn't even bother trying to enforce it's improvement. You've got to look after yourself so it's now time to move.

As I said earlier if you don't have the money to move then stop paying the rent and save the money for your move.

dancingfairy

1) do a benefits check and check you are getting everything you are entitled to
2) when was the last time you signed a contract and how long does it have left to run.
3) you could apply for council housing. The weight will depend on your area and your situation ( sadly you really should have done this 6 years ago).
4) contact your local environmental health department at the council. Again, sadly you should have dne this sometime ago, but still. They can force the landlord to do repairs and can possibly help you get out of your contract if the house is deemed to be unfit for human habitation. You may also find involving environmental health gives you more points to secure housing , if you are considered in need of it.
5) ask the council what help they can provide ie a loan for a deposit etc.
6) do you know where your deposit is registered?
7) you can take the landlord to court but this will take time and cost money and could prove stressful. I'm not sure on what grounds you could sue though and whether you'd be likely to win. To be honest you'd probably be better off saving your time, energy and money for finding a new house.
Good luck.
Df

dancingfairy

You can contact shelter the housing charity for help and advice.
I'm thinking you need to apply for council housing, getting as much evidence together about the state of the house and how it's affecting you all ( along with backup from your doctors etc) but shelter can advise you if thats a viable option.
Df
P.s another option if environmental health declare the place unfit is that the contract continues but the landlord has to find alternative accommodation for you ( so you'd continue to pay him rent and he has to find somewhere else), in fact this may be covered by his landlords insurance.