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Unlicensed HMO and Difficult Landlord.
Lexipedia
Posts: 6 Forumite
Hello, apologies about the length of the post.
I moved into a 3 story house with 3 other students, it did not say on the rent page that the house was HMO registered so before renting we emailed the estate agent if it was OK that 4 people move in, we were reassured that we could move in. After moving in we had problems with the boiler for three weeks, no hot water or heating in the winter and the 3rd floor bedrooms in the roof are very cold, I could see my breath in the room and couldn't sleep it was so cold. Emailed the estate agent constantly about the boiler and it took the boiler leaking everywhere and then CO2 alarm going off and an engineer coming round to tell us "the boiler was f**cked" for it to be replaced.
After that we have had problems with mould and damp, paint falling off and peeling from the roof, one Tennant has a really uncomfortable mattress and had problems with bites. My bedroom in the roof developed two holes in the roof that had water running out of them when it rains. The water runs into an electrical socket in the wall. We have genuinely been concerned about the roof caving. There have also been various other minor problems. The fire alarm is not loud enough to hear on the second and third floor, my bedroom has a window that would be impossible to escape from in the case of fire and two of the bedroom doors do not close properly and none of the rooms have locks.
I contacted the landlord directly about the holes in October and she told me she would be getting someone to sort it the next day, that never happened. We have also contacted the estate agents numerous times about this in person and via email with no resolution.
We got a letter a few days ago about the housing executive preforming a house inspection on the 30th of May. I rang to enquire about this and found out that the HMO license for the house had not been renewed since last May.
My query is: What is going to happen with this? When they do the inspection will they see these issues as a reason to issue a notice of disrepair/unfitness? Is there a chance we will have to leave the house? Also if they find reason to charge the landlord is there any point in us applying for a rent refund application?
We have been good tenants, always paid rent on time and kept the house clean.
Thank you very much for your time and any advice given.
I moved into a 3 story house with 3 other students, it did not say on the rent page that the house was HMO registered so before renting we emailed the estate agent if it was OK that 4 people move in, we were reassured that we could move in. After moving in we had problems with the boiler for three weeks, no hot water or heating in the winter and the 3rd floor bedrooms in the roof are very cold, I could see my breath in the room and couldn't sleep it was so cold. Emailed the estate agent constantly about the boiler and it took the boiler leaking everywhere and then CO2 alarm going off and an engineer coming round to tell us "the boiler was f**cked" for it to be replaced.
After that we have had problems with mould and damp, paint falling off and peeling from the roof, one Tennant has a really uncomfortable mattress and had problems with bites. My bedroom in the roof developed two holes in the roof that had water running out of them when it rains. The water runs into an electrical socket in the wall. We have genuinely been concerned about the roof caving. There have also been various other minor problems. The fire alarm is not loud enough to hear on the second and third floor, my bedroom has a window that would be impossible to escape from in the case of fire and two of the bedroom doors do not close properly and none of the rooms have locks.
I contacted the landlord directly about the holes in October and she told me she would be getting someone to sort it the next day, that never happened. We have also contacted the estate agents numerous times about this in person and via email with no resolution.
We got a letter a few days ago about the housing executive preforming a house inspection on the 30th of May. I rang to enquire about this and found out that the HMO license for the house had not been renewed since last May.
My query is: What is going to happen with this? When they do the inspection will they see these issues as a reason to issue a notice of disrepair/unfitness? Is there a chance we will have to leave the house? Also if they find reason to charge the landlord is there any point in us applying for a rent refund application?
We have been good tenants, always paid rent on time and kept the house clean.
Thank you very much for your time and any advice given.
0
Comments
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I depends a bit on the council in your area. If the house is decided to be unfit to live in, they will issue an order telling the LL what repairs to do, or a notice saying the place is unfit to live in and then everyone will have to move out (sounds like not a bad thing to be honest). A quick google found this which will give more information:
https://england.shelter.org.uk/housing_advice/repairs/health_and_safety_standards_for_rented_homes_hhsrs0 -
Thank you for the information and link I really appreciate it! The house has been a bit of a nightmare. It would just be so much hassle having to move house this late in the year, however, I suppose you're right that it maybe wouldnt be a bad thing. I have being doing research on this prior to posting and did find out quite a lot, I just couldn't find solid answers to my questions.
On a side note I completely forgot to say that this is in Northern Ireland.0
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