Is it legal to rent out a property if the boiler is held together with gaffer tape?

booksurr

so have you seen the gaffer tape yourself or are you just guilty of pointless sensationalism. What safety related function is said tape performing? Are you qualified to know? What does the gas safety certificate which your neighbour should have say?

so she is paying £25 more rent than the last person, so what. She saw the price before she moved in and could have chosen somewhere else instead

how do you know the cleanliness of the place is an inherited position? How come she has not made it better in the time she has been there, or has she in fact made it worse?

Follow GM's advice!

dc197

If she has not cleaned up animal faeces since moving in, surely she is compounding the problem by allowing it to fester? I clean up after my pet daily and it only takes a few minutes of elbow grease. Perhaps you could even help her by doing this favour?

theartfullodger

Your neighbour (not you.) should take advice as above and also go see local CaB or 'phone Shelter 0808 800 4444.

moneyistooshorttomention

If the boiler is that bad - then I wonder what the chances are of it doing something like exploding at some point?

If that boilder is a health hazard one way or another - then I wonder just how the landlord would fancy having a claim brought against him for damaging someone's health? Don't know if there are any chances for someone else to drop that little thought into conversation with the landlord at some point (with a meaningful look on face)?

It's been my experience (in a different context) that even the thickest of people can "get the gist" of what one is saying to them if what you're really saying is "I know what you're doing is illegal/unsafe/etc/etc - and I'm quite happy to drop you in it if you keep trying it on:);)".

sheramber

Smodlet wrote: »

This is the property next door to us, just had a long conversation with the very young, very pregnant, very scared young lady resident, who tells us the boiler is falling to bits, the flooring is full of holes and therefore a trip hazard and there is a light switch which she thinks is unsafe. The landlord has raised the rent £25 p.c.m. since the last tenant left yet has not even cleaned the place; animal faeces on floors and skirting boards, which a pregnant person should not even be touching (toxicara)

Surely, there must be something she can do? I suggested calling the council but she is terrified she will be evicted if she dares to complain, which I understand.

Somebody, please help; she is paying the rent and will not cease to do so, so the landlord has no excuse at all, not that renting a property in this state is excusable. Please can someone offer helpful suggestions? Why is it always the poorest who suffer the most and have the least justice?:mad:

It is Toxoplasmosis that is the danger from touching cat poo.

Smodlet

"Go round there with a couple of pairs of rubber gloves, a gallon of disinfectant, a shovel, two buckets and a scrubbing brush and apply some elbow grease?"

Thank you so much, Moneyistooshort, for actually reading what I wrote, at least someone is trying to help.

I would go around there to help clean but for several things:
1) My health prevents me.
2) Her boyfriend may or may not be violent, not about to find out. Apparently he has "kicked her leg, not a proper kick".
3) She was in such a desperate state, about to be homeless, no money for a deposit, had to find somewhere which did not require one or a guarantor, so yeah, she was forced to scrape the bottom of the barrel. Does anyone really think anyone would live in such a place if they had a choice? If only we could all be as rich as you.

On other points, she has been there barely three weeks, not six months and she is cleaning it! It is so bad it will take weeks. She does not have any pets, the mess was caused by the previous tenant, who paid £25 less per month, we know because she told us.

Her "man" is putting all his energies into the garden, from what we have seen. It has never looked so good. Maybe his priorities are a little askew but he seems to be leaving all the cleaning to her.

If only this were a dream/my imagination; oh, what a lovely morning, I'll go and stroll around my 75 acre estate with not a neighbour in sight!

To those of you who are actually trying to help instead of making assumptions because they can't be bothered to read properly, thank you very much.

theartfullodger

Great smod: Has the following happened yet, please??

theartfullodger wrote: »

Your neighbour (not you.) should take advice as above and also go see local CaB or 'phone Shelter 0808 800 4444.

Gigervamp

I don't know why so many here are asking why she signed a tenancy if the place was dirty.

We've seen on here countless times where tenants have been promised before moving in that repairs and cleaning would take place before moving in, only for the tenants to discover on moving in that nothing has been done.

Smodlet

Thank you, artfull and GigerVamp. Artfull, can you now see why I wanted to PM this? To avoid the element these threads invariably seem to attract, that's why but I thank you for your help and respect your wishes.

I am sure the LL promised her the world, plus the previous tenant was supposed to come back and clean after she moved out again, because she told us she would pop in to see us when she did; this never happened. Maybe she figured she would never get her deposit back anyway, so why bother, I really don't know.

I will have to try and take the young lady aside and let her know I have found out some stuff, if she would like the information... whether she acts on it, is up to her but, as already mentioned, she is terrified of being evicted if she complains. It is all very well to point out reasons why this should not happen in law but that hardly means it won't in practice. And once you've been evicted it's a bit late to start taking the LL to court, I would venture... to say nothing of the fact she is one week away from giving birth and it ain't Christmas... no stable handy at this time.

Smodlet

"It is Toxoplasmosis that is the danger from touching cat poo."

Which I think is caused by the toxicara present in said poo, no? Either way, pregnant people should not have to go near it.