rented accommodation landlord served with enforcement notice

HurdyGurdy

https://www.lutontoday.co.uk/news/dangerous-flats-in-luton-must-be-pulled-down-1-8713406

My son and his partner moved into these flats two weeks ago. It's not been a happy process, with the landlord not providing them with the promised sofa, being unable to find any supplier who can provide broadband to the property, and then finding mice in the flat. They received a letter from the council today telling them that the landlord has been served with an enforcement notice.

They are going to see the CAB on Monday to see if they can advise, but if the flats are not in line with the plans that were agreed with the Council, does that nullify their lease? Could they just leave, or would they still have to give their two months' written notice?

As the flats have been said to be unsafe to live in, would they be able to get their money back from the landlord/letting agent?


Sigh - and I thought my earlier thread today about them finding mice in the flat was a big problem. Seems minor now.

parkrunner

From the link,


Residents currently living in the flats will be able to seek housing advice from the housing solutions team. Anyone with concerns can contact the development control team on 01582 546302 [EMAIL="developmentcontrol@luton.gov.uk"]developmentcontrol@luton.gov.uk[/EMAIL]

anselld

My reading is that only the fifth floor is deemed unsafe, ie the unplanned loft accommodation. Is that where they are?

Otherwise, I imagine that the enforcement notice will be disputed for some considerable time prior to any demolition taking place and I don't think the enforcement notice will have any direct impact on the Tenancy agreement at least until things come to a conclusion with the Council.

G_M

If the property is deemed 'uninhabitable', and cannot be made habitable in a reasonable timeframe ('reasonableness' of the timeframe is relative to the length of the tenancy), the the contract is 'frustrated' legally. It ends with no fault on either side due to the inability for it to be fulfilled.


If the property remains habitable, or can be mae habitable within a resonable timeframe, the tenancy continues: the LL must continue to provide accomodation (either within the property or temporarily elsewhere) and the tenant must continue to pay rent.

EachPenny

G_M wrote: »

If the property is deemed 'uninhabitable', and cannot be made habitable in a reasonable timeframe ('reasonableness' of the timeframe is relative to the length of the tenancy), the the contract is 'frustrated' legally. It ends with no fault on either side due to the inability for it to be fulfilled.

Based on the article alone I'd have thought it unlikely the fifth floor flats will ever be habitable as the changes required to make that floor habitable would be contrary to the planning consent (which the Council appear disinclined to vary).

I would also suspect the dramatic '‘Dangerous’ flats in Luton must be pulled down' headline might be slightly OTT though.

Unless the planning department were completely unaware the construction work was happening (Luton is not a big place) then I would have expected them to intervene at a much earlier stage if the building was departing a long way from the approved plans. The developer may be able to get the conditions discharged by carrying out remedial work... although the contaminated land strategy one might be tricky. :shocked:

Time to hunt out the original planning consent.....

G_M

I made no comment on whether or not it was or wasn't habitable. Indeed - I didn't even read the article!


I was simply outlining the housing law as I understand it in these kinds of circumstances.

HurdyGurdy

Bit of an update . . . .

My son contacted the CAB who has given him the contact number for a law firm who offer free telephone legal advice, but only between 10.30am and 12.30pm on Tuesdays and Thursdays. I can imagine the challenge it will be to get through, but he will try tomorrow.

He contacted the council's Housing Solutions team, who put him through to Planning, which was unhelpful because that wasn't his concern.

This weekend, he emailed the three local councillors for the ward the flats are in, asking if they could advise and support in any way. One of them said he would ask the relevant Housing Officer to contact him as a matter of urgency. He didn't hear from them today however.

On Saturday, they left the property and came back to stay with us, due to having several mice running around the flat. My son's (severely autistic) son was due to come for a contact visit tomorrow and they couldn't bring him to an infested property. My son sent a text to the landlord asking how much notice they had to give if they wanted to leave. He said one month, and they would lose their deposit. (The tenancy agreement states two months notice in writing, which can only expire after the first six months of the tenancy.)

But - talking to my work colleagues today, they said that I could access free telephone legal advice through our employee assistance programme. I contacted them today, they confirmed what G_M said - that the contract is frustrated and advised that my son is entitled to request immediate release from the tenancy agreement. This is especially due to the contaminated land situation, which is if it correct, will not be rectified, and the building WILL be demolished. This means that the landlord cannot fulfil their obligation under the tenancy which is to provide a flat for rental at that location, as the building will not exist.

They also said that my son would be entitled to the return of his deposit in full, and that he could claim compensation of the return of at least part of the rent paid so far.

Whether this is successful of course, remains to be seen, but a letter is being sent to the landlord tomorrow requesting the above.