Ceiling Collapsed, rented property

Rogen07

Hello,

I’m going through a problem at the moment in a rented property. It is managed by a letting agency.

There has been a thin crack in the dining room ceiling since we moved in since June 2017, however in the last 2 weeks the crack has got a lot worse.

We were due an inspection a day or two after it became worse and we let them know then. Following this we were told by the lady that came round that she’d marked this as severe and needed urgent attention and that someone would be in touch.

Just shy of a week later, nothing had been heard and I emailed with a photo and asked for someone to come and look at this as soon as possible.

The next day the ceiling collapsed while I was in the house. Scared the life out of me and made a huge mess and caused damage to our possessions.

We’ve been told to move out for at least a week and £200 will be deducted from our usual £650 of rent.

We’ve been told this is the only compensation we are getting. Nothing for the damage or the stress. We feel this is neglect on their part and their lack of action could’ve caused risk to life.

I’d like to know if I’m being unreasonable, if I’m in the wrong or not and what I can do to fight this further if I am in a positive position here.

Any help would be much appreciated!!

Thanks,

Nick

diggingdude

Contents insurance?

Rogen07

We do have contents insurance, but we don’t see why we should pay the excess and I assume incur an increase in cover cost because of something that isn’t our fault.

This is assuming contents works in the same way as say car insurance, this is the first place me and my fianc!e have lived in together so we are a bit unsure about some stuff, but it doesn’t seem fair or right that we have to use it.

HampshireH

Just make sure the ceiling isnt asbestos.

If it is and it has collapsed over your belongings created debris etc it should be cleaned up by a removal company to prevent contamination.

Obviously not an issue with plasterboard.

Was it a leak that cause it to collapse? Is it the wholevceiling or a small area?

What do you want from them? No one can say whether you are being reasonable or not unless they know what you actually want

There may have been a risk of harm but that didnt happen.

Rogen07

There shouldn’t be asbestos as it’s lath and plaster (if that’s the right way if saying it).

There was no leak, there has always been a crack in the ceiling but only very thin. In the last 10 days it has grown each day until the fell of its own accord.

We advised the estate agents on day 2 of that 10.

It is approx. Half the ceiling that has collapsed but we have been moved out while they take it all down to recomplete.

What we want from them is some additional compensation for the distress it’s caused me, I’ve had trouble sleeping since (it happened on Thursday) and I’m not too keen on being in the property now. So something for the distress, the damage it has caused and lack of swift response from them.

It does state in our agreement that any issues with ceilings or roofs are classed as an emergency by them and nothing was done in 7 days. The work was only allocated after another email sent by me.

The items that were damaged came to a total of around £800. Something that we don’t have to hand.

I also had to take time off work to clear the room and other things.

comeandgo

You knew the ceiling was cracked and getting worse, did you move things out of the way in case it came down? You do not have any legal right to compensation for distress, you could still ask the landlord though. Insurance is for events just like this, to cover you for things that are not your fault.

Rogen07

We did move breakables out of the way, however the larger furniture like sideboard, dining table wasn’t possible to move that easily. It was these items that were damaged.

We will try though, thanks for your response

Rosemary7391

That sounds really odd. Ceilings don't normally just fall down! However, unless the reason for it points to the landlord being at fault there isn't a lot to be done except contact various insurance companies and clear up the mess. Sorry sometimes life chucks you something unpleasant!


Is the LL paying for your alternative accommodation? I'm sure the resident LLs will correct me but I think that's the sort of thing LL insurance will cover.

Rogen07

When I spoke to the letting agency, they said that it would be helpful if we could find somewhere to stay as waiting to see if it’s covered in the insurance who would pay for alternative accommodation would take longer. However there has been a deduction of £200 from our £650/month rent

Norman_Castle

Write a full list of actual costs for damage and alternative accommodation.

Ask exactly what the £200 deduction is for and how they decided on this figure.

Ask if the landlord has public liability insurance.

Rogen07

At present we have done both of these.

A full list has been sent over with our complaint and this hasn’t been entertained at all by the letting agent at present.

The £200 deduction has been granted by the landlord for our time out of the property for work to take place