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Issues with rented property

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Hi all, 
We moved into a house on a farm in June 2019
The property is part of a working farm, they rent the surrounding fields out to the local farmer we do not use any of it, the house had been left empty since the death of her father for around 4 years.
After a couple of months we noticed a hole in the carpet in the hallway which was odd as it was recently laid, then another hole, we could hear noises during the night so set up a camera to find rats running around our home whilst we slept, we told the landlords (brother and sister) who agreed to get pest control out, they used poison and monitored for a few weeks, blocked the holes with mesh as best as they could. 
Discovered entry points in the garage where the rats have eaten away at the wall and made tunnels under the house. 
We are still having issues to this day as we ourselves have had to attempt to stop them getting in but they eat through everything.  The landlords are not against us calling the pest controller, however unless substantial money is spent fixing the property externally we have no chance of being rid, pest control have been out and quoted nearly 1k to stop them entering the garage and to fix the wall but has made it clear they will more than likely find another way in, he cannot fix all entry points as the roof is asbestos out the back, the floor above the garage is riddled with woodworm and he would need proof from a surveyor that it safe (is not not) so he can check the wall above also, as they could also be gaining entry from there.
Landlady called him and asked if it was rubbish from us attracting them, he said no, its because of how long the property has been left and she has agreed to do the work at a gradual pace... 
Now this wouldn't bother me but I think we have been really fair, we pay every month and have had nothing but issues, in the last month we have only just had an EPC carried out which was rated a G, this is now E, as they have replaced the water tank (our water was orange) and added insulation in the roof. 
We are currently waiting on the government scheme nest to visit to look into putting a new boiler because our energy bills are through the roof. 
Oil is expensive but the electric is mental, no gas here.
When we moved in they had not changed the property to domestic use, it was still commercial, I could not change this myself and it took ages to sort out, the company billed us nearly 6k for less than 6months electric 
Eventually I changed supplier, which i couldn't do before as it was classed as commercial, however again bills in the thousands, the company has just been taken over by Scottish power and the same again my quarterly bill is £2100, I've asked them (landlords) about the electrics here in the past and she said they were all checked by her electrician she uses and are safe, but when my husband went into the old milking parlour, it was all on still and linked to our metre, there are wires everywhere and we don't know where they are going or what for as there are so many outbuildings not used anymore. 
None of the switches or plugs have earth connections
Nowhere is there a smoke alarm fitted - just ones we have bought 
She says she had it tested, should we have a certificate? She's an estate agent. 
The woodworm is rife. all the wood in the house is covered in tiny holes including the beams, window frames and doors, i'm really worried about the structure of the property and its safety, she even noticed our window downstairs was cracked and sagging when she last visited and said she would get someone here but its all spoken and not written, if we message she will call us to discuss, we try to keep everything done via message.
The house has only been registered with rent smart wales i assume because of the nest stuff 
I am on the council waiting list however as i have a property I'm not a priority, I'm not sure what i need to do, its easy to say leave and rent somewhere else but i have bad credit. my husband lost his job with covid, so behind on energy bills mentioned above. Although never behind on rent I cant see us getting another private rent due to credit score.
I dont know what to do, its starting to affect my mental health

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Comments

  • anselld
    anselld Posts: 8,634 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 1,000 Posts Name Dropper
    edited 30 May 2021 at 2:27PM
    Contact the local Council environmental health and ask them to come and do a safety inspection.  They have the power to take enforcement action against any unsafe conditions ( rodents due to building defects, dodgy electrics, structure etc). 
    Not much they can do about your energy bills now you have EPC E though.  You must have known an old farm building would be difficult to heat when you decided to rent it.
  • Slithery said:
    Move.     
    Thanks. Helpful
  • anselld said:
    Contact the local Council environmental health and ask them to come and do a safety inspection.  They have the power to take enforcement action against any unsafe conditions ( rodents due to building defects, dodgy electrics, etc). 
    Not much they can do about your energy bills now you have EPC E though.  You must have known an old farm building would be difficult to heat when you decided to rent it.
    To be honest I didn't really think about it. Silly I know. We had to take it as the property we were renting and she was the estate agent of wouldn't renew our tenancy as he decided to move back in. So, it was all a mad rush  and we were just grateful to have somewhere to live at the time. I will eventually pay what I owe however I don't know how to find out what is using so much electric
  • anselld
    anselld Posts: 8,634 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 1,000 Posts Name Dropper
    edited 30 May 2021 at 2:40PM
    anselld said:
    Contact the local Council environmental health and ask them to come and do a safety inspection.  They have the power to take enforcement action against any unsafe conditions ( rodents due to building defects, dodgy electrics, etc). 
    Not much they can do about your energy bills now you have EPC E though.  You must have known an old farm building would be difficult to heat when you decided to rent it.
    To be honest I didn't really think about it. Silly I know. We had to take it as the property we were renting and she was the estate agent of wouldn't renew our tenancy as he decided to move back in. So, it was all a mad rush  and we were just grateful to have somewhere to live at the time. I will eventually pay what I owe however I don't know how to find out what is using so much electric
    She has conned you then because you dont need to move out just because your tenancy is not renewed, not unless a Court order is obtained.  Indeed there is no requirement whatsoever to renew a tenancy.
    Regarding the electric, switch off all the breakers at the consumer unit.  Then switch on only the ones you need to operate your appllicances, lighting, etc making note of which one operates what.  Any that seem to do nothing, leave them off.  It is not fullprof but it gives you a good chance of ensuring that you are not running some unknown farm machinery etc.



  • comeandgo
    comeandgo Posts: 5,930 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 1,000 Posts Name Dropper
    Are you able to totally switch off your power supply for a few hours and wait and see if someone shouts that they also have no power.  Having lived on farms it’s quite often that many sheds, houses etc come from the same supply box.
  • Yes we found out after about the section 21 and all that jazz but as he wanted to return home and she offered us her own farm which was a great size in the perfect location and cheaper than we were paying,we thought it was perfect. 
    I will do that now with the unit. And see if it's still spinning. Thank you. You've been really helpful. 
  • AdrianC
    AdrianC Posts: 42,189 Forumite
    Eighth Anniversary 10,000 Posts Name Dropper
    Slithery said:
    Move.     
    Thanks. Helpful
    It is by far the quickest and easiest way to resolve YOUR problem.
  • Slithery
    Slithery Posts: 6,046 Forumite
    Eighth Anniversary 1,000 Posts Name Dropper Photogenic
    edited 30 May 2021 at 2:56PM
    Landlords can't see your credit score, it's just a made up number that's only used to sell subscriptions to the credit agencies. If you don't have any CCJ's or bankruptcy on your file getting another property shouldn't be a problem.
  • Grumpy_chap
    Grumpy_chap Posts: 18,219 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 10,000 Posts Name Dropper Combo Breaker
    When renting a property at full market rent (i.e. the OP), the return for the rent should be largely hassle-free living.  The OP is not getting that so they need to decide to stay and tolerate or move.  

    Regarding the electric, the OP can just switch everything off, one circuit at a time, then just switch back on the ones serving the house.  It is quite likely there is old wiring where the farm buildings are fed from the house.  The LL cannot switch off the electricity to the tenant farmer, but that is not the OP's problem.  If the feed to the tenant farmer is proven to be from the house, the OP can then seek refunds of the excess electricity bills.

    The LL has two options with this property.  Sort it or sell it.
    I don't think the LL will ever sort this property for all the while the OP remains as a tenant.  There is an amateur LL ignorant of what they need to do and, likely, not with the liquid funds to sort the property.

    Considering everything shared so far, I don't see that the OP has much choice other than to move.
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