Damp in rented house for 17 months. Do we have a claim?

greatcrested

OP seems to have edited the first post. No longer asking asking about compo, but about escalating the repairig issue.

As advised: Environmental Health. And read:

Post 2: Repairing Obligations: the law, common misconceptions, reporting/enforcing, retaliatory eviction & the new tenant protection (2015) plus the Homes (Fitness for Human Habitation) Act 2018

But you now also say "we are going to give our notice and leave asap anyway. " so escalation seems somewhat pointless after all this time, other than to protect the next tenants - though any action via EH would be likely to come to a halt once you leave.

leftism

AdrianC said:

leftism said:
But we've paid full rent and not got a habitable house. 

How long was your initial fixed-period tenancy? Was there any break clause in that?

12 months. And now we're on a rolling one month contract. We had hoped to have leave months ago but our house purchase fell through. 

leftism

greatcrested said:

OP seems to have edited the first post. No longer asking asking about compo, but about escalating the repairig issue.

As advised: Environmental Health. And read:

Post 2: Repairing Obligations: the law, common misconceptions, reporting/enforcing, retaliatory eviction & the new tenant protection (2015) plus the Homes (Fitness for Human Habitation) Act 2018

But you now also say "we are going to give our notice and leave asap anyway. " so escalation seems somewhat pointless after all this time, other than to protect the next tenants - though any action via EH would be likely to come to a halt once you leave.

I've not edited the original post. I do want compensation. I don't think they should be able to treat people this badly and provide a substandard, unhealthy place to live and still get paid the full rent every month. 

When we had a similar issue a few years ago (but less long lasting), the landlord refunded us a portion of our rent for the months we'd lived with the damp. 

We'll leave bad reviews with pictures of the house we've had to live in after we leave to try and warn others of the dangers of going with this landlord.

We didn't escalate it to EH months ago because we always wanted to give the benefit of the doubt. It always felt like it was about to be sorted. It's only when you look back and see just how long that this has gone on for that you realise just how neglectful they've been. 

Comms69

leftism said:

anselld said:

On the other hand the Fitness for Habitation act does mention the possibility of tenant compensation for tenancies granted after 20 March 2019  ...
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/homes-fitness-for-human-habitation-act-2018/guide-for-landlords-homes-fitness-for-human-habitation-act-2018#penalties-what-happens-if-i-do-not-comply

Yes, this is what I'd read. Thanks. 

A lot of you seem to think I've got no chance. Surely they should at the very least provide us a home that doesn't cause health problems. Or is there just no protection for tennants?

Where's the personal responsibility here? You've chosen to remain in an unhabitable home. You've said 'we', so are there kids involved in this?

Comms69

leftism said:

greatcrested said:

OP seems to have edited the first post. No longer asking asking about compo, but about escalating the repairig issue.

As advised: Environmental Health. And read:

Post 2: Repairing Obligations: the law, common misconceptions, reporting/enforcing, retaliatory eviction & the new tenant protection (2015) plus the Homes (Fitness for Human Habitation) Act 2018

But you now also say "we are going to give our notice and leave asap anyway. " so escalation seems somewhat pointless after all this time, other than to protect the next tenants - though any action via EH would be likely to come to a halt once you leave.

I've not edited the original post. I do want compensation. I don't think they should be able to treat people this badly and provide a substandard, unhealthy place to live and still get paid the full rent every month. 

When we had a similar issue a few years ago (but less long lasting), the landlord refunded us a portion of our rent for the months we'd lived with the damp. 

We'll leave bad reviews with pictures of the house we've had to live in after we leave to try and warn others of the dangers of going with this landlord.

We didn't escalate it to EH months ago because we always wanted to give the benefit of the doubt. It always felt like it was about to be sorted. It's only when you look back and see just how long that this has gone on for that you realise just how neglectful they've been. 

Where will you do that?

AdrianC

leftism said:
I don't think they should be able to treat people this badly and provide a substandard, unhealthy place to live and still get paid the full rent every month. 

But you've spent the past five months doing that entirely voluntarily. You could have moved out five months ago.

Step 1: Mitigate your losses.

leftism

Comms69 said:

Where's the personal responsibility here? You've chosen to remain in an unhabitable home. You've said 'we', so are there kids involved in this?

Please try to understand me a bit here mate. These thing happen gradually. We were constantly being told it was about to be fixed and I didn't have the time or money to just move my whole family. Moving is expensive and stressful. 

Yes, I've got kids. As I mentioned in the original post, one of whom has had health problems. 

leftism

Comms69 said:

leftism said:

We'll leave bad reviews with pictures of the house we've had to live in after we leave to try and warn others of the dangers of going with this landlord.

Where will you do that?

Google, Yelp, everywhere we can. I don't think they should be able to treat people like this and have no repercussions. 

Comms69

leftism said:

Comms69 said:

Where's the personal responsibility here? You've chosen to remain in an unhabitable home. You've said 'we', so are there kids involved in this?

Please try to understand me a bit here mate. These thing happen gradually. We were constantly being told it was about to be fixed and I didn't have the time or money to just move my whole family. Moving is expensive and stressful. 

Yes, I've got kids. As I mentioned in the original post, one of whom has had health problems. 

Indeed, but ultimately it's your job to ensure kids are in a safe environment. I think the priority just needs to be finding a safe home for you family. 

leftism said:

Comms69 said:

leftism said:

We'll leave bad reviews with pictures of the house we've had to live in after we leave to try and warn others of the dangers of going with this landlord.

Where will you do that?

Google, Yelp, everywhere we can. I don't think they should be able to treat people like this and have no repercussions. 

Just consider that when looking to rent properties, no-one checks google, or yelp. 

AdrianC

leftism said:
I don't think they should be able to treat people like this and have no repercussions. 

What's the most effective repercussion?

The tenant moves out.