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

Smodlet

HazyJo, you may have a point, I'll admit I had not thought of that but there may be (probably are) factors I am not aware of. And, since we do not know the whole picture, maybe we should not judge. I do not share your faith in council housing policy, but hey, who knows. Maybe pride is a factor. G_M, you are absolutely right and my inexperience of the mire that social media is, is showing. Thank you for your assistance. I printed off the precis you so kindly provided, along with a few of the most relevant links and took it next door. The young lady now has this info, and the knowledge she can come to us (and, it turns out, our wonderful neighbours the other side) any time for a break, support, whatever. I am so glad I have neighbours like this and don't live in a place where no-one ever speaks to each other.

Rosemary7391

I'm glad you've got some useful information for your neighbour Smodlet. You might be interested in this thread for examples of what can happen when people like your neighbour do get the relevant authorities involved for various problems - might give her some hope!

amandaxx1

Poor girl, sounds like she's in a bad situation all round. Good to know there are people like yourself trying to help out.

I think the bottom line is she needs to contact the landlord. Maybe explain to her that she doesn't have to go in all guns blazing, just bring up that it's very unclean and could LL arrange for it be made habitable.

Best of luck x

Smodlet

:A, Rosemary7391. Thank you so much, it does give me hope and encouragement to see a troll put right in its place. I'm gonna subscribe to that thread so I can go back to it whenever I need cheering up. You absolute star!

BTW, I have been trying to translate your signature, boy, is it a long time since I did Spanish at school... it is Spanish, right? I think there is something in there about your language, hearing and understanding and it ends with "help me!".

Mossfarr

From a landlords perspective a young couple who are first time renters, no deposit, relying on benefits, without any experience of managing a household - are a financial risk. Very few Landlords will take them on, that is why they get desperate and accept any property they can get. That is why they are easy prey for rogue landlords - they genuinely do not have much choice.
The brother of one of my tenants was in this situation, the property he lived in didn't even have a front door - it was kicked in by police arresting the previous occupant. The landlord simply nailed it shut and relet it immediately, he just gave them a back door key! (they now rent from me).
In this young womans' case she clearly has no family support either - also often a bad indicator to a potential landlord.
In defense of landlords, we often simply can not take the risk. It is a business, we usually have mortgages to pay and sometimes it is our only source of income.
Much much more needs to be done to clamp down on bad landlords.

Smodlet

That is exactly right, Mossfarr. I do know, in this instance, this is not some vulnerable LL whose only income is the rent on this one property. The !!!!! in question describes himself as a letting agent. We know this because he offered to buy our house for rather less than it is worth, what a surprise, and gave us a business card. The previous tenant never did find out who the actual landlord is, unless it is him/his company... stinks of rodentry to me. Sorry, I am stealing that word, it's so good.

I know more of this young woman's situation than I am telling because it is not relevant to the legal aspect and I had a bad feeling about trolls before I ever started this. I PM'ed someone but they replied they only respond on threads. I almost wish I had not started but at least now I feel I have done all I can. Thank you again to yourself and everyone who helped rather than hindered. I will take it as a lesson and keep my own counsel as much as possible, until the next time I am desperate for help.

LannieDuck

Smodlet wrote: »

"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.

It's not massively important, but just for info: Toxocara and Toxoplasma are two separate infections.

Toxocara comes from dog poop, and can infect young children playing with the soil in playgrounds. It's one of the primary reasons why people are urged to clean up after their dogs in public places.

Toxoplasma comes from cat poop and from undercooked meat, and can cause congenital abnormalities if a woman contracts it whilst pregnant. It's the reason pregnant women are advised to avoid contact with cat litter trays.

marksoton

Cutting through the BS.

This young lady needs to be informed of her legal recouse and inact it. That's it.

G_M

marksoton wrote: »

Cutting through the BS.

This young lady needs to be informed of her legal recouse and inact it. That's it.

Must restrain myself...... no - can't!

spelling?

Passing an Act of Parliament?

:silenced:

Smodlet

marksoton wrote: »

Cutting through the BS.

This young lady needs to be informed of her legal recouse and inact it. That's it.

You are quite right, marksoton and she has been given a very good place to start, mostly but not wholly from the precis the wonderful G_M so kindly provided me. Had I had to do all this research myself, with no assistance, chances are she would have moved out before I got my brain cell around enough stuff to be of any use to her.

Thanks again to everyone who helped rather than got in the way for no good reason. Y'all know who you are and it was especially good to hear from a decent LL like Mossfarr for the other perspective without condemning tenants for being poor/a bad risk. There, but for the grace in many cases, methinks.