Dampness and having to move out for 3 months

G_M

The landlord could always use the 'contract is frustrated' card. Throw you out and pay you nothing.

or, ineded, you could do this yourself. Reject the LL's offer, claim Frustration, stop paying rent, and sort out new accomodation for yourself.

Though NI might be different of course. I've no idea.

parkrunner

Out of pocket expense, definitely, compo........the world's gone mad.

SnooksNJ

Your compensation is not losing your mind and having your blood pressure skyrocket arguing with a landlord for the rest of your tenancy about dampness problems. In 2 months you will be stress free in a nice new decorated home.

t0rt0ise

Housing Association gave us £500 to move out plus removals arranged and all expenses returned, and would have given another £500 to move back but we decided not to and stayed put. So a disturbance allowance is not so far fetched.

mrkjd

F Baby, how do you know it is nobody's fault? Did the landlord have a full structural survey done before buying the property that would have revealed the leaking pipe? Did the agent know anything about the other dampness in the property and review the property's suitability for rental before taking it on their books? Are the landlord / agent not insured to cover such eventualities? Does the tenant not have a reasonable expectation on signing a 12 monthly rental agreement that the property will be suitable for that period? The property was clearly unsuitable for renting and somebody needs to shoulder responsibility for that. "Beyond a Landlord's control" should mean if the place (for example) was struck by lightening or a third parties negligence impacts the property. Buying a property with a longstanding damp problem and slapping a "To Let" sign on it doesn't look like "unforeseeable" to me.

I agree that "compo" has to be for actual losses but I don't think it is fair, as others have said / implied that the losses are necessarily petty - losses mount up in these sort of circumstances. I am also not convinced that "inconvenience" cannot be claimed for. The tenant has a statutory right to Quiet Enjoyment and being turfed out into an inferior home does not seem enjoyable or quiet. And let me translate your last statement re serving an S21 "having a tenant who fights for her rights would make me nervous".

Kynthia

Not everything is someone's fault. Surveyors can't spot hidden problems and insurance doesn't pay out for a problem that should have been spotted before purchasing. So which is it, should it have been spotted or is it something the insurance is paying for, or it could be neither and the landlord is massively out of pocket?

Yes you shouldn't be out of pocket but renting a property doesn't guarantee you will never be inconvenienced so you can't argue that or demand compensation fir it. Quiet enjoyment means living in the property without interference from the landlord or their agents. You want interference if you want repairs to take place. So that's not an argument you can use. If you are paying normal rent then you should be moved somewhere you can live without interference in the mean time, so no viewings. If you are paying reduced rent then it's down to negotiation. It would be reasonable to ask for reasonable moving costs and out of pocket expenses. I don't believe you are entitled to any other monies.

I personally would go for the tenancy being frustrated with works needing 3 months. Unless the property is fantastic it's a big disruption with two moves and what if the works overun? Surely it's better to get your deposit back and find somewhere new to settle.

FBaby

Well yes there is a possibity that the landlord failed to get a survey done which otherwise would have picked up the fault but if that was the case OP might not he had the property at all. Since they grèvent asked advice on breaking the lease it sounds like they are happy with it despite this issue.

The high likelihood though is that a survey was carried out and didn't pick up the problem or it happened afterwards. It also sounds like they do have insurance since the work is going to take place it juste doesn't extend to paying compensation to the tenant who is being rehoused elsewhere.