What is 'reasonable time'?

saajan_12

HarryGray wrote: »

It seems we cannot agree a deal, but everyone on here seems to think we cannot walk away. - That's what happens when you start creating separate threads, its hard for (volunteer) posters to keep track of your exact situation.
I get that we are bound by contract, but we also cannot live in a damp place when I suffer with illness. - Your contract is to pay rent (and other obligations in agreement). If you choose to live elsewhere that's up to you, it doesn't stop your liability to pay rent. That is unless EH deem the property uninhabitable.. see below.
I think 11 days is reasonable, but some people seem to think these letting agents can take as long as they want. - there's a difference between an arbitrary 11 day deadline and a reasonable period. No one is saying as long as they want, but yes they can take as long as they reasonably need. Say they called repairs in a couple of days who go away needing a part, come back day 10 to fix, test for a day and its still leaking.. the "reasonable time" is now longer.

The long and short is you have a binding contract -> you have to pay rent, no refunds. The only thing that can change is if EH deep the property as uninhabitable but
a) that hasn't happened
b) may not be fully backdated if they ever do visit
c) damp / infestations MAY be relevant to habitability, but ofc that depends on severity. Generally the criteria is VERY severe e.g. 'has running water, & ability to heat = habitable, even if its only through one tap and a kettle, no nice showers.

So I'd focus on keeping on top of the progress with repairs rather than what you can do 'legally' as it'll be futile or setting arbitrary deadlines. 'Reasonable time' can change depending on what needs doing and what unforeseen challenges come up, as long as the LL/agent is not massively wasting time.

ReadingTim

HarryGray wrote: »

Okay, thanks. So perhaps it is worth contacting the landlord directly (although it is a managed property by the letting agent), and telling them they aren't going to be able to get fixes done and we would like to surrender the tenancy. Then the negotiations can begin.

You can try, however, they have not said they can't or won't fix the issue; only that it's not possible within the timeframe you'd like. Now, given that timeframe is somewhat unrealistic, then it is you who is being unreasonable, and you're unlikely to get anywhere with your negotiations. Try if you like, but again, suspect you're going to be disappointed.

As you've said, "they hope to get it done sooner but can't promise" - this is not an unreasonable position. Yours is.

HarryGray

saajan_12 wrote: »

The long and short is you have a binding contract -> you have to pay rent, no refunds. The only thing that can change is if EH deep the property as uninhabitable but
a) that hasn't happened
b) may not be fully backdated if they ever do visit
c) damp / infestations MAY be relevant to habitability, but ofc that depends on severity. Generally the criteria is VERY severe e.g. 'has running water, & ability to heat = habitable, even if its only through one tap and a kettle, no nice showers.

So I'd focus on keeping on top of the progress with repairs rather than what you can do 'legally' as it'll be futile or setting arbitrary deadlines. 'Reasonable time' can change depending on what needs doing and what unforeseen challenges come up, as long as the LL/agent is not massively wasting time.

Thanks for the advice Saajan. I guess what's reasonable to us obviously isn't to anyone else because they aren't living out of boxes in Airbnb's with no hope of getting refunded.

The managed property have not given us the landlords contact details, only their address. However, we have easily found their contact information online. Do you think it may be worth going directly to them to negotiate a way out of the contract? Or is this breaking the contract in any way? There isn't anywhere that states we cannot try and talk to them.

HarryGray

ReadingTim wrote: »

You can try, however, they have not said they can't or won't fix the issue; only that it's not possible within the timeframe you'd like. Now, given that timeframe is somewhat unrealistic, then it is you who is being unreasonable, and you're unlikely to get anywhere with your negotiations. Try if you like, but again, suspect you're going to be disappointed.

As you've said, "they hope to get it done sooner but can't promise" - this is not an unreasonable position. Yours is.

I would compelely agree with this if we had lived in the property for a while. However at the commencement of the contract the property was damp. That's why we don't feel like 4 weeks or whatever is reasonable, because we need somewhere to live.

sal_III

HarryGray wrote: »

I would compelely agree with this if we had lived in the property for a while. However at the commencement of the contract the property was damp. That's why we don't feel like 4 weeks or whatever is reasonable, because we need somewhere to live.

That doesn't make much sense, you would be fine to wait 4 weeks for repairs if the issues occurred in the middle of your tenancy, but find it unacceptable time frame if it's at the beginning? The repairs take the exact same time. Legally it makes no difference. You signed the tenancy, the property is not deemed uninhabitable by EH, only by you, due to your specific health issues. You are liable for rent, end of story.

Early surrender will likely involve hefty fees even if the LL agrees, most likely he has an agreement with the LA to pay the management fees for the full duration and it might be in the 10% region, for 24m we are talking about 2.5 months of rent, best case scenario. Are you prepared to pay it?

Instead of wasting time and effort lookign for an expensive way out, try and find a way to mitigate the circumstances. Like installing a dehumidifier to reduce the moisture in the air and/or stick to rooms that are not affected by the damp. If you have such a severe health issues you must be familiar with what can help you. It will be likely cheaper than staying in Airbnb for weeks. As you have close to zero chance of recouping those costs from the LL.

silvercar

My general view is what is a reasonable length of time is how quickly a owner occupy would sort issues. Landlords don't have magic wands, equally they have an obligation to get on with stuff and sort it out in a professional manner.

If you think they are not making progress and you don't actually want to take the property, start talking about whether the contract is "frustrated". This means that the problems can't be solved and you can't take possession and you and the landlord will agree to cancel the tenancy.