Landowner refusing to replace appliance

moneysavinmonkey

you might be able withhold rent and buy a dishwasher but you must go through the motions first and make sure things are in writing... You are in a good position as you have just signed a 12 month contract so your landlord won't be able to evict you as long as you do things by the book.

I found this guide this on a uni accomodation advice page,
but the same principles would apply to anyone.

http://www.unipol.leeds.ac.uk/Leeds/IFS/Disrepair/

You have a legal right to live in a property that is safe and well maintained. The landlord/agent have a legal responsibility to:

Maintain the structure and exterior of the house. This includes, roofs, guttering, windows, drains and garden walls.
Have all gas appliances serviced and checked every 12 months by a C.O.R.G.I registered engineer (see gas safety information)
Automatically provide a copy of the gas service record to tenants when they move in/or have one displayed in the property.
Keep in working order the installations for the supply of gas, electricity, water and sanitation. This includes pipes to and from the house.
Repair the sinks, WC, hot water, space heaters and gas appliances.
Repair and maintain any appliances that are in the property when you move in. This includes cooker, fridge, freezer, burglar alarm and fire detection systems. They are not responsible for any appliance that you take into the house e.g. television or microwave.
Provide adequate bathroom and kitchen facilities.
Make good any damage to the decoration of the property caused by the repairs and clean up afterwards.
Cover reasonable costs for alternative accommodation if you need to move out during repairs.

Q: How should I go about getting repairs done?

A: Report all repairs immediately, the owner’s responsibility for repairs goes from when they are aware or could reasonably be expected to know of the disrepair. If you wish to move out because of disrepair, you are strongly advised to seek advice first as you could still be liable for the rent.

Always report repairs in writing (see sample letter A). Problems can occur when you just report disrepair over the phone; you may speak to the wrong person, the message may be lost or the incorrect details could be taken down. If you later want to claim a rent rebate because of disrepair you will need some proof as to when the disrepair was first reported.

If an owner has their own repair forms, make sure you use them, but always ask for a photocopy of any forms you complete. Be specific, state the exact problem, which room and what the effects of the disrepair are.

Ideally the landlord/agent should arrange a suitable time and date with you. Access should not be given to workmen without your prior agreement unless the repair is an emergency. Workmen should always secure the property when leaving and should clean up after they have finished. If you have any problems whilst work is being carried out raise them with the landlord/agent.

Always give the landlord/agent a reasonable timescale to work to. The following set of priorities represents what we consider to be good practice:

Q: What should I do if the repairs are not carried out?

A: Send a follow up letter (see sample letter stating that repairs are still outstanding. Depending on the nature of the disrepair, give the landlord/agent between 24 hours and 36 hours to respond.

If the landlord/agent does not respond to you regarding a repair that they are legally responsible to do, you may wish to go ahead and do the works and withhold rent on account. You have to be careful about how you do this. Legally you must do the following:

Inform the landlord/agent of your intention to get the works done and deduct the expense from future rent
Allow a further period for the landlord to do the works
Obtain three estimates, send copies to the landlord/agent with a final warning
Choose the person submitting the cheapest estimate to do the work
Send a copy of the invoice to the landlord and ask for reimbursement or recoup the cost from your rent.
You need to do this carefully as the landlord/owner has mandatory grounds for repossession i.e. can take steps to try and evict you if the rent is two months or eight weeks in arrears. It is safer to pay rent and claim damages.

eyesy

moneysavinmonkey wrote: »

you might be able withhold rent and buy a dishwasher but you must go through the motions first and make sure things are in writing... You are in a good position as you have just signed a 12 month contract so your landlord won't be able to evict you as long as you do things by the book.

Inform the landlord/agent of your intention to get the works done and deduct the expense from future rent
Allow a further period for the landlord to do the works
Obtain three estimates, send copies to the landlord/agent with a final warning
Choose the person submitting the cheapest estimate to do the work
Send a copy of the invoice to the landlord and ask for reimbursement or recoup the cost from your rent.
You need to do this carefully as the landlord/owner has mandatory grounds for repossession i.e. can take steps to try and evict you if the rent is two months or eight weeks in arrears. It is safer to pay rent and claim damages.

Have already got everything in written in the form of emails and the LL has responded to them denying our claim for the LL to pay.

I am still waiting to speak to CAB - will then send an email telling the LL of our intention to pay it out of the rent and take it from there... thanks for the advice!

silvercar

That guide looks like something produced by the uni for landlords that have signed up to its private letting scheme; it won't stand up in court for every tenant in the country to apply its guidelines.

Communication is the key, tell the landlord you are not happy and want him to replace the dishwasher. Then offer to organise it yourselves and present the bill (or agree to deduct it from the rent). For starters the landlord is within his rights to dictate how much he is going to spend on a replacement.

eyesy

silvercar wrote: »

Communication is the key, tell the landlord you are not happy and want him to replace the dishwasher. Then offer to organise it yourselves and present the bill (or agree to deduct it from the rent). For starters the landlord is within his rights to dictate how much he is going to spend on a replacement.

I've already tried that - they have simply refused flat out to spend a penny. What choice do we then have but to go out and shop for one ourselves (and spend within reason)?

Cheers

Lavendyr

Silvercar, it's not specific only to that uni, but I don't know whether it would stand up in court either.

Have a look here for more OP:

http://england.shelter.org.uk/advice/advice-4081.cfm

moneysavinmonkey

It doesn't say anywhere that it is specific to uni accomodation..

shelter site states....

If any items in your home become dangerous or unusable through everyday wear and tear, you should report the problem to your landlord straight away. They can then decide whether to repair or replace the item. Your landlord is not allowed to charge you for this and should not keep your deposit.

i'm trying to find it this is in legislated, common law or just a code of practice.... CAB should advise the OP on this in any case.

OP should make sure they take letting agreement + inventory to the appointment, is the rental through an agency?

eyesy

moneysavinmonkey wrote: »

OP should make sure they take letting agreement + inventory to the appointment, is the rental through an agency?

The original agreement was through an agency but after the first year when we renewed we went through the landlady directly (presumably to save costs for her).

SquatNow

Suggest to the landlord that you have received significant electric shocks off of the dishwasher.

If the landlord fails to fix a dangerous appliance and you are injured he'll be criminally liable and could face a prison term.

There will be a new dishwasher in place within a week.

carolt

I am shocked - of course if you rent a place with appliances they should be kept in working order. Our dishwasher broke down last summer (at the same time as the boiler! - so no hot water for 2 weeks to wash dishes/us! until it got fixed...rather slow) but they were both fixed.

But I wouldn't consider staying somewhere where landlord's attitude is so unpleasant. Given that you've just signed a contract, I would stay for the moment, and if necessary get yourself a dishwasher (I recommend freecycle if you don't want to pay...anything at all!) but would look around to move asap. It doesn't sound like he intends to replace/repair anything until he's got the cost back by upping your rent.

Obviously this is a short-sighted decision on his part, because unless your rent is very cheap or your property highly desirable, he's probably going to lose more on the void period while he hunts for another tenant, than he will hope to gain from what he's doing. But some people just have to learn the hard way....

If there's any hope of your staying, longer term, don't get into legal arguments - dishwashers are too cheap (or free on freecycle) to make it worth it. My local freecycle regularly has dishwashers come up as people replace their kitchens and go for all the posh new fittings to match...

To get revenge, make sure you're in for all the viewings of your property by prospective tenants when you're ready to leave, so you can tell them (discreetly) just what a !!!!!!! your landlord is, and ensure it saves them an unpleasant landlord and costs him in lost rent....

DO make sure you check your tenancy agreement - we sign a 12 month contract, in which rent is agreed for 12 months, but can still be chucked out after 2 months notice (or first year it was 6 months) - the fact that it's a 12 months agreement may give you just security of rent but NOT of tenure...... Worth checking.

Good luck!

SquatNow

Unless you rental agreement states it, you don't have to let the landlord et el show prospective tennants around. It a common curtosy people do, but you don't have to.

Even if the rental agreement states you have to allow the landlord to show people around, he still has to give you 48 hours notice. Plenty of time to plant a few stink bombs.

If it's a terraced house, you can also get all your friends to park outside. No-one wants to rent a place with no-where to part.

I'm all for treating good landlords fairly... my landlady is great, but if they behaive like muppets the deserve to be treated like muppets.