landlord issues

debndot

hi, please can anyone give some advice?
we moved into our rented house 2 years ago, when we went to view it with the agent the house was in a state, no door frames, radiators ripped off the walls ,light fittings missing, we were told it was the previous tenants but turned out the house was bought as a repossession.
We were told all the problems would obviously be fixed and would be available in a month, we paid deposits and signed the 3 year contract(our choice) and waited patiently.
3 months later after lots of chasing we were allowed to move in.
We got the keys the night before and went in to have a look before we moved. The house was a mess, everywhere was covered with dust, the wooden flooring had no edges, no door bars between rooms, the oven, sink and fridge were filthy, and the conservatory window hadn't been fixed.
A huge corner sofa that we had asked to be removed had been left and also an old broken tumble dryer. we put these in the garage and asked for them to be removed after a year of nagging and finally getting no reply to texts or voicemails i gave up on that.
Last november the landlord came round, first time since we moved in, 18 months previous, we reported all the problems that were still outstanding to her - heating doesn't work in main bedroom, radiators leak in the corners as rusty, conservatory not only has a cracked window but a seal missing so is open to the elements, meaning a very cold downstairs as the patio doors are only internal ones so have no seals and a damp and mouldy conservatory.
We were told it was a very busy time of year for her so would get it sorted as soon as she could. A month later we hadn't heard anything so emailed her with a read receipt on it to confirm she had received, it was received and read and ignored, so we sent it in letter form too. Still we have had no contact as no form of contact gets returned.
We haven't wanted to go over the top with nagging as we don't want to be asked to move out at the end of the day.
We have found out that a gas check is a legal yearly requirement that has never been carried out either.
We now have the opportunity to move to a house not far away and wondered if there may be a way out of our contract as we don't want to stay for another year or so in this condition. thanks for reading

elverson

Can you divide that into more than one paragraph please?

G_M

debndot wrote: »

we moved into our rented house 2 years ago,

we paid deposits and signed the 3 year contract(our choice)

We haven't wanted to go over the top with nagging as we don't want to be kicked out at the end of the day,

also we have found out that a gas check is a legal yearly requirement that has never been carried out. we now have the opportunity to move to a house not far away and wondered if there may be a way out of our contract as we don't want to stay for another year or so in this condition. thanks for reading

You cannot be kicked out before the 3 years is up (unless there is a 'Break Clause' in the contract- is there?).

You can only leave early yourself if

* you request an 'Early Surrender' and the landlord agrees, or

* there is a 'Break Clause' - is there?, or

* if you can show 'repudiatory breach of contract' by the landlord. This is not easy.

As an example, In 1992 ('Hussein & Others v Mehlman') the judge ruled that rent was not payable from the time the keys were returned. But in that case the LL had deliberately ignored a multitude of very severe repairing issues, & ignored both Environmental Health & a surveyor, over an extended period of time.

So what action have you taken to enforce the repairs? Have EH been involved? Have you got a surveyor's report on the condition of the property?

Read also:

* Repairing Obligations: the law, common misconceptions, reporting/enforcing, retaliatory eviction & the new protection (2015)

You can report the lack of gas safety report to HSE here.

Pixie5740

The short answer is no, nothing you have written is a way out of your contract. Check your tenancy agreement for a break clause. If there isn't one, and you want to end the tenancy early you will have to negotiate and early surrender with your landlord. Your landlord doesn't have to agree to an early surrender but if they do then they can pretty much dictate the terms.

WRITE (ink, paper, stamp get proof of postage and use paragraphs) to your landlord at the address for the serving of notices in your tenancy agreement. Keep your letter to the point listing the repairs which need attending to and reminding your landlord that the annual gas safety inspection is overdue.

If your landlord does not respond, or fix the repairs and arrange for a gas safety engineer to come out then you can escalate the repairs to the council and report your landlord to HSE for the lack of gas safety certificate.

See Shelter's website for more information:

If a private landlord refuses to do repairs.

RIPironman

Just ring Shelter in the first instance, they will be able to help give you the best information.