Advice on repairs - from the renters side

Astar1809

Hi Everyone,

Just looking for some advice to manage my own expectations as this is my 1st family home I have rented through an agency.

For context, the house we are renting is an older house on the cheaper end of the 3 bedroom market in our area (I think it was a decent 2 bed propety originally but another bedroom was shoehorned in hence being slightly below average).

Me the Wife and two kids have been living here for two years and have build up a ongoing list of concerns with the maintenance on the property, I am not here to whinge just looking to get some opinions on what time scales I should expect or even if it is the landlords responsibility to repair. The list is below.

Downstairs shower (sitting over a half sized bathtub) has been spraying from the taps and behind the toilet and onto the floor in a location it is not possible to stop with the shower curtain as is sprays up the wall.. ~This was reported 7 months ago and deemed "non urgent".

Upstairs shower, his is a cubicle type shower with sliding doors, I would guess over ten years old. One of the runners snapped mid shower, fell into the other sliding door and shattered the glass. In place of the shower door that has smashed we have put a shower curtain as a temporary measure and tapped the door with a broken runner in the open position so it cannot move. This was reported 10 days ago.

Seals around the kitchen sink have decayed and rotted, leaving gaps where water is seeping into the MDF and generally looking awful despite our attempts to clean the mold numerous times. Reported to the land lord 7 months ago and deemed no urgent.

5/6 fence panels on my properties side to look after have been destroyed y recent high winds. Single panels have been blown down previously (they are old and frail at the best of times) and been "bodge" repaired by placing wood across two panels and screwing in to secure in place. but now they have been very badly damaged (to the point I highly doubt a repair on the current ones is possible) and half the garden is exposed. Reported 10 days ago.

Living room carpet - It was brought up roughly 6 months ago to repair a broken floorboard but as the carpet was replaced by a carpenter not carpet layer the carper has come away from the grips under one of the doors and has frayed about 4 inches from the edge, not major I know but just wondered on this one if I am liable for the repair really.


Any help anyone can offer me on any of the above will be hugely appreciated and I am not complaining as such just looking to learn who should do what and roughly when.

Thank you for any help in advance.

G_M

* Repairing Obligations: the law, common misconceptions, reporting/enforcing, retaliatory eviction & the new tenant protection (2015)


Report in writing to the correct address with a request for timescale for repairs.

Comms69

Astar1809 wrote: »

Hi Everyone,

Just looking for some advice to manage my own expectations as this is my 1st family home I have rented through an agency. - irrelevant really, your contract is - as always- with the landlord

For context, the house we are renting is an older house on the cheaper end of the 3 bedroom market in our area (I think it was a decent 2 bed propety originally but another bedroom was shoehorned in hence being slightly below average).

Me the Wife and two kids have been living here for two years and have build up a ongoing list of concerns with the maintenance on the property, I am not here to whinge just looking to get some opinions on what time scales I should expect or even if it is the landlords responsibility to repair. The list is below.

Downstairs shower (sitting over a half sized bathtub) has been spraying from the taps and behind the toilet and onto the floor in a location it is not possible to stop with the shower curtain as is sprays up the wall.. ~This was reported 7 months ago and deemed "non urgent". - It's not really an issue as long as you reported it , in writing. a new showerhead costs £5.

Upstairs shower, his is a cubicle type shower with sliding doors, I would guess over ten years old. One of the runners snapped mid shower, fell into the other sliding door and shattered the glass. - so it wasn't safety glass?! In place of the shower door that has smashed we have put a shower curtain as a temporary measure and tapped the door with a broken runner in the open position so it cannot move. This was reported 10 days ago. - it's not urgent

Seals around the kitchen sink have decayed and rotted, leaving gaps where water is seeping into the MDF and generally looking awful despite our attempts to clean the mold numerous times. - sealant is what £8? Reported to the land lord 7 months ago and deemed no urgent.

5/6 fence panels on my properties side to look after have been destroyed y recent high winds. - what you've described doesn't exist. You do not have a property side to look after Single panels have been blown down previously (they are old and frail at the best of times) and been "bodge" repaired by placing wood across two panels and screwing in to secure in place. but now they have been very badly damaged (to the point I highly doubt a repair on the current ones is possible) and half the garden is exposed. Reported 10 days ago. - There is no obligation to have a fence

Living room carpet - It was brought up roughly 6 months ago to repair a broken floorboard but as the carpet was replaced by a carpenter not carpet layer the carper has come away from the grips under one of the doors and has frayed about 4 inches from the edge, not major I know but just wondered on this one if I am liable for the repair really. - Maybe. Did you report it?


Any help anyone can offer me on any of the above will be hugely appreciated and I am not complaining as such just looking to learn who should do what and roughly when.

Thank you for any help in advance.

Mostly it sounds cosmetic.

Astar1809

The Shower door shattered in to what seems like thousands of little cubes of glass. Not sure if that is safety or not. With the combination of the downstairs shower unusable and the upstairs one unsafe The kids are having to be bathed as a greater time cost to us parents.

In terms of the fence I mean the boundary line the properly I live in is responsible for. Also I know that a fence is not required but the property was sold as having a fully enclosed garden, that is currently does not have.

And the downstairs shower is spraying from the base where the taps are not the head.

I do appreciate the seals are cosmetic in terms of the moldy look, but the rot and swelling in the wood is not. I also understand sealant in not expensive but is it the responsibility of the landlord or myself to do such things.

Carpet and all others have been reported in writing, we can live in the house and make do, not looking for any reason to get rent reduced just trying to get an idea of timescale and who is responsible.

Thank you for your insight on the matter

Comms69

Astar1809 wrote: »

The Shower door shattered in to what seems like thousands of little cubes of glass. Not sure if that is safety or not. - ah that's ok then. I had images of gagged edges everywhere! With the combination of the downstairs shower unusable and the upstairs one unsafe The kids are having to be bathed as a greater time cost to us parents. - both showers sound safe

In terms of the fence I mean the boundary line the properly I live in is responsible for. - that's fine. as i said there is no requirement to have a fence Also I know that a fence is not required but the property was sold as having a fully enclosed garden, that is currently does not have. - but who owns the fence??

And the downstairs shower is spraying from the base where the taps are not the head. oh I see.

I do appreciate the seals are cosmetic in terms of the moldy look, but the rot and swelling in the wood is not. I also understand sealant in not expensive but is it the responsibility of the landlord or myself to do such things. - neither. It's an optional fix.

Carpet and all others have been reported in writing, we can live in the house and make do, not looking for any reason to get rent reduced just trying to get an idea of timescale and who is responsible.

Thank you for your insight on the matter

Normally I say chase the landlord, but as you're paying below market rent it is risky to cause a fuss and risk moving

Socajam

As a landlord, I would say please take pictures now and keep them for if and when you decide enough is enough and want to move out.
Make sure you date and time the pictures.
Second copies of these pictures to the landlord registered mail with a timescale that you would like to have the work fixed.
Starting looking for somewhere else to live - sometimes cheapest is not always the best.
I never expected my tenants to fix whatever problems however small they encounter in my property.

lookstraightahead

I think it's a valuable lesson to learn that sometimes if you mend things out of goodwill it can come back to haunt you. Be very careful when replacing things like sealant because if it still leaks, you could be blamed for damage.

Comms69

lookstraightahead wrote: »

I think it's a valuable lesson to learn that sometimes if you mend things out of goodwill it can come back to haunt you. Be very careful when replacing things like sealant because if it still leaks, you could be blamed for damage.

That's not true.