Rental nightmare - options for tenant?

DGDG

Advice very much appreciated! We are currently in a rented house and are experiencing a nightmare. I would like to understand where we stand: what can we do other than give notice? We would like to stay but a) all issues need to be fixed asap, and b) I wonder if a reduction in rent or any compensation is an option, given all that has happened.

Thanks in advance!

- child with asthma, so we were assured that the house would be steam cleaned as previous tenants had a dog. This did not happen and we had to arrange and pay for this ourselves the day after moving in
- House was filthy with urine stains in loos etc etc, notified the managing agent and sent photos on our moving day. This was a Friday afternoon and they were unable to come up with a solution so we paid for cleaning ourselves. The following week they offered to send the cleaners around but that would not have put things right as we had to move in that day.
- The agent has confirmed that we will be charged for end of tenancy cleaning once we move out, regardless of the above. I disagree but wonder if we stand a chance of avoiding paying twice, once when we moved in and once more when we move out.
- They promised to address any issues with the house before we moved in. This did not happen. Worst is a failed damp course which predates our tenancy, which is now causing the paint to peel off the wall and potential mould (we bought a test which showed high levels of mould; I realise these tests may not be accurate but still an indication). They have declined to address this in any form. We reported this in January when the paint stared coming off the wall and they have not even addressed the cosmetic side of things so one wall looks terrible since nine months
- We have repeatedly asked that they carry out a mould check to ensure our health is not at risk but this has not happened. One of our children has frequent nightly nosebleeds and I am very worried (the gp is of course assessing this)
- Double glazing in one window was loose and dangerous, engineer advised us to stay away until this was fixed. That took 4.5 months - we have young children so this meant we had limited use of that particular room
- Conservatory is leaking. It leaked when we moved in and they fixed it after about a month but the leak returned after about eight months. It has been raining in since August and we have had a bucket on display to catch the rain ever since then. One of our tables has been damaged despite our best efforts to protect it.
- survey left us with a 1m x 0.5m hole in the kitchen ceiling, and an increased flow from the leak
- fixing said roof will take one week and will be very messy, only access is through a window in one of our rooms - that is if LL approves it!
- A panel from a cupboard fell on my face when I opened the door, I had a nosebleed. They never responded when I emailed about this
- Aside from this there have been several other issues and in total we have accommodated over 28 visits over the past 14 months from various engineers for surveys and works. We have rented and need before and we are not complaining about small issues as husband enjoys a bit of DIY and happily deals with these!

This is a central London property and we are paying what feels like a small fortune in rent.

Comms69

They cannot charge you (or more specifically they will not be successful in doing so) for an end of tenancy clean - as long as you leave the property in the same or better condition than when you moved in.

Pixie5740

DGDG wrote: »

Advice very much appreciated! We are currently in a rented house and are experiencing a nightmare. I would like to understand where we stand: what can we do other than give notice? We would like to stay but a) all issues need to be fixed asap, and b) I wonder if a reduction in rent or any compensation is an option, given all that has happened.

Thanks in advance!

- child with asthma, so we were assured that the house would be steam cleaned as previous tenants had a dog. This did not happen and we had to arrange and pay for this ourselves the day after moving in
- House was filthy with urine stains in loos etc etc, notified the managing agent and sent photos on our moving day. This was a Friday afternoon and they were unable to come up with a solution so we paid for cleaning ourselves. The following week they offered to send the cleaners around but that would not have put things right as we had to move in that day.
- The agent has confirmed that we will be charged for end of tenancy cleaning once we move out, regardless of the above. I disagree but wonder if we stand a chance of avoiding paying twice, once when we moved in and once more when we move out.
- They promised to address any issues with the house before we moved in. This did not happen. Worst is a failed damp course which predates our tenancy, which is now causing the paint to peel off the wall and potential mould (we bought a test which showed high levels of mould; I realise these tests may not be accurate but still an indication). They have declined to address this in any form. We reported this in January when the paint stared coming off the wall and they have not even addressed the cosmetic side of things so one wall looks terrible since nine months
- We have repeatedly asked that they carry out a mould check to ensure our health is not at risk but this has not happened. One of our children has frequent nightly nosebleeds and I am very worried (the gp is of course assessing this)
- Double glazing in one window was loose and dangerous, engineer advised us to stay away until this was fixed. That took 4.5 months - we have young children so this meant we had limited use of that particular room
- Conservatory is leaking. It leaked when we moved in and they fixed it after about a month but the leak returned after about eight months. It has been raining in since August and we have had a bucket on display to catch the rain ever since then. One of our tables has been damaged despite our best efforts to protect it.
- survey left us with a 1m x 0.5m hole in the kitchen ceiling, and an increased flow from the leak
- fixing said roof will take one week and will be very messy, only access is through a window in one of our rooms - that is if LL approves it!
- A panel from a cupboard fell on my face when I opened the door, I had a nosebleed. They never responded when I emailed about this
- Aside from this there have been several other issues and in total we have accommodated over 28 visits over the past 14 months from various engineers for surveys and works. We have rented and need before and we are not complaining about small issues as husband enjoys a bit of DIY and happily deals with these!

This is a central London property and we are paying what feels like a small fortune in rent.

A lot of this is covered in the Tenancies sticky at the top of the board. Have you read it?

DGDG

Yes Pixie, I have, and I have also read up on our rights in other places. I am mostly looking for real life stories of how people have actually enforced their rights in similar situations, and what solutions have been reached. All we get from the agent is silence, or them blaming the landlord. Meanwhile we are here with the rain coming in etc, not sure what steps to take next...

Pixie5740

DGDG wrote: »

Yes Pixie, I have, and I have also read up on our rights in other places. I am mostly looking for real life stories of how people have actually enforced their rights in similar situations, and what solutions have been reached. All we get from the agent is silence, or them blaming the landlord. Meanwhile we are here with the rain coming in etc, not sure what steps to take next...

You've written to the landlord at the address for the serving of notices then and escalated the repairs to environmental health? What had been environmental health's response?

quantumlobster

DGDG wrote: »

Yes Pixie, I have, and I have also read up on our rights in other places. I am mostly looking for real life stories of how people have actually enforced their rights in similar situations, and what solutions have been reached. All we get from the agent is silence, or them blaming the landlord. Meanwhile we are here with the rain coming in etc, not sure what steps to take next...

First thing to ask is whether you have written to the landlord (not the agent) reporting the issues. For the avoidance of doubt, in this circumstance, "written" doesn't mean email, text message, or whatsapp. It means a posted letter.

Rambosmum

You need to put pen to paper an write to Landlord, NOT the letting agent. Give a time frame (e.g. 28 days) and then escalate the issues to environmental health, most councils have a private tenancy department - they will come out, assess and then start discussions with the landlord on what needs doing, but will only do this once you have tried to resolve things with the landlord.


You need to stop engaging with the letting agent and go straight to the organ grinder.