Money Moral Dilemma: Should we push for a rent reduction or show 'forbearance'?

byngmaster

Please don’t consider a rent strike.
If you have signed a tenancy agreement then you have entered into a binding contract. If you refuse to pay rent then after this is all over the landlord will be able to evict you AND pursue you for your rent arrears which if you don’t pay would mean you could end up with a CCJ. 

The best thing to do as is mentioned earlier is to document everything with photos.

Send an email to the landlord (he should have provided one on your tenancy agreement) confirming the state of everything and that it needs to be repaired.

If you have bern provided with appliances then the landlord is obliged to make sure that these work.

What I would say as a Landlord myself is be understanding of the current situation and try to have a conversation with them. No one likes to be attacked and if you are forceful then you will likely not get the outcome you desire. I always try to be fair, how would I feel in this situation if I had moved into a house like this and they weren’t able to be fixed? Treat your landlord with respect and hopefully they will do the same to you. 

lilmisstrouble

Check what your tenancy agreement says. This crisis does not relieve anyone of their legal liabilities but always take a reasonable stance when approaching landlord initially, to foster good relations from the start

Itsalwayssunnysomewhere

I also am a landlord and as much as most people like to assume that we are filthy rich, that couldn't be further from the truth. Yes, there are some very fortunate filthy rich ones out there, (just like in any industry) but the majority aren't.
For me, there are two issues that stand out here.  Firstly, I'm staggered the tenant(s) agreed to rent the property in the first place, given the state of it as they describe.  One would have thought that prior to agreeing to rent it, a prospective tenant would have either walked away, or at the very least negotiated a reduction based on the condition/lack of cleaning.  Plus, how do we know the rent wasn't a reduced rent because of the condition anyway?  Tenants aren't stupid, so one has to question why they would have paid full price on an unloved property in the first place.
I'm not sure the lack of cleaning should justify a constant rent reduction though.  Ok, so the first month could be reduced if the tenants agreed to clean from top to bottom, but to expect an ongoing reduction for a very short term issue seems a bit odd.
I had tenants a few years ago who negotiated a £50 a month rent reduction, and in return they said they'd do the garden.  I agreed, but 12 months later I increased the rent to what it should have been.  Everyone was happy. They stayed for over 6 years.
Secondly, in terms of photos being taken, there is an issue regarding the timing of these, and this comes from a Landlord course I attended.  In the event of a dispute, all photos need to be date stamped to prove when the photos were taken.  It's much harder for the tenant (and the landlord) to prove anything when photos have been taken after the move in date.  How do we know the tenants themselves haven't accidentally broken the bed for instance?  To take a photo a number of days/weeks after moving in unfortunately won't cover the tenants if the landlord decides not to help. 
If a dispute is raised with the deposit scheme, rather than rely on what the tenant/landlord is saying, (as quite frankly it could all be fabricated), they will look to find evidence that cannot be disputed ie date of photos, signed inventory at check in, dated emails etc. The less of this type of evidence there is, the less of a case you have.
Most landlords would make a commercial decision and even if they thought the tenant make have broken something, if they are a good tenant they would probably contribute or even pay for a replacement.  If the tenant is a bad tenant, landlords are less likely to be as generous as unfortunately, there are some out there who will intentionally damage things to try and get new replacements.

luckylex

I would send a registered letter so that they would have to sign for it then they could not say that they did not receive it as you would have the proof

rbtc_2019

I don't think I've ever checked the individual burner rings or individual appliances in a kitchen during a property viewing. Most of the time, these viewings happen whilst people are living there, so you don't flick every switch or turn every dial during a walk through. Likewise, so much can happen to a place between a viewing and a move-in date. So I'm not sure why folks are saying you are stupid for not noticing.

The fact is properties should be rented (as per your contract) in a fit state for living, and your landlord should have checked the property and ensured this was the case on the day the previous renters moved out, and updated you accordingly on whether fix ups needed to be done.

Did he return the previous tenant's deposit?

Is your deposit in a deposit protection scheme?

Can you buy a hot plate between you and deduct from rent (discuss with landlord first)?

Most landlords are able to carry out emergency jobs (I have had this myself) - is your property let through an agent or private? Jobs can be done when you are out having exercise, so it seems your landlord is a little iffy on this point.

I'm sorry you are having this at a time when you are stuck in the house, i imagine it is frustrating trying to all cook on two rings and clean up someone else's mess. You want to feel comfortable in your home.

Perhaps talk to Citizens advice to see where you stand?

For what it's worth, I have been in a few similar situations where the landlords fails to act, sometimes for months on end. I used to buy the appliance / service and deduct from rent, but you do need to get your landlord to agree on this. Given the current situation I imagine most will. Yes, sorting this stuff out is through you own labour, but it will be probably the quickest way forward. 

Otherwise, you could check with Citizens advice over withholding rent. Our landlord was re-fitting our shower room and it was unusable for almost three months due to an insurance issue/block management stalling/delays in fitting. He agreed to deduct a fifth of the rent per month.

Good luck!

njt1907

It's a national pastime to attack landlords for being rich landowners and to be hostile because they don't work and just wait for the rent to come in. I must be doing it wrong. I drive a 17 year old van and have spent 13 years renovating absolute wrecks and turning them into good houses so people don't live in the dumps I used to to live in when we rented in the 90's. I work nights and weekends doing repairs and maintaining standards and  yes eventually, this will be my pension. Your landlord is almost certainly a normal person with a job, debts and a conscience. If you get on the phone and ask he'll probably do what he can to resolve the situation. We can do this type of job even with the lockdown. If he doesn't then speak to your council's housing standards team and they will deal with it for you and he'll be pulled into line. Just don't follow the advice of the morons who've clearly got an anti-landlord bias because they've listened to too much Corbyn and hate anybody who's got (probably through work and sacrifice) something they haven't. Private landlords are decreasng in number rapidly so enjoy dealing with them while you can before you start having to fight for council houses and long waits for poor quality repairs. I speak from experience.

Willumn

One thing that worries me a bit (apart from Stalin's ridiculous unhelpful advice) is that the cooker is quoted as having two non-functioning burners.

PLEASE make sure your Carbon Monoxide alarm works properly, assuming there is one already fitted - test it!  If there isn't one fitted, apart from other questions ref alarms and HMOs, get one ASAP and use it.  Even folk like Screwfix/Toolstation sell one for £14 and there are plenty of others available.  At that price Toolstation deliver free

RedbullRJ

The fact that "two burners on the cooker" aren't working would seem to indicate that it is a gas cooker and belongs to the landlord. As such was a Landlords Gas Safety Inspection carried out before you moved in, and if not why not?  The Landlord is responsible for the gas installation being maintained in a safe condition at all times and should always have a gas check done when an old tenant moves out, to ensure it has not been left in a dangerous condition before you moved in.  If the cooker is faulty, if and/or when, were any other gas appliances last checked or serviced?

Scrapit

stalin said:

Nobody can be evicted for the next few months. So refuse to pay rent until it is fixed. #rentstrikenow

Terrible idea.
But I would be asking for a rent reduction until the repairs are carried out. The landlord probbably is correct in saying they can't get anyone out to you but if it would be treated as an emergancy normally that should be fixed now whilst maintaing social distancing.

DPS-2016

Fixtures and fittings included as part of a rental should be in a decent state (after all, you're being charged for it - furnished is more than unfurnished).  I'd expect a rent reduction to be in order, lockdown or no lockdown, until the issues are sorted.  
As you've alluded to, these aren't minor issues and ought to have been sorted prior to the rental - lockdown sounds like it's being wheeled out as an excuse.