Who is responsible for repairs

dawnyp72

Hi there. I live in a rented property and have had ongoing problems with a leaking shower door, it had obviously leaked before I moved in 4 years ago because there were watermarks on the ceiling below and the carpet (yes carpet!) in the bathroom had some water damage. I have reported the problem several times, the earliest record I have is an email sent in January 2020 but I had contacted them before this on the phone . Up until recently two different people had come out and applied bits of sealant to different areas but that didn’t work. I have put down towels and bath mats, I have resealed the bath myself and put a new seal on the bottom of the shower door but it’s leaking from the hinge. 

The problem I have now is that the floor is rotten. After lifting the carpet I discovered a hole in the floor in the corner and the rest of the floor along the side of the bath and under the toilet is rotten. They sent someone out to repair it, after much mithering but he just replaced the bit where the hole was and said the rest will dry out.
I bought some vinyl floor covering hoping to put that down once the floor was repaired but when I got someone to come out and give me a quote to fit it he said he couldn’t because the floor was rotten and needed replacing and to get back onto my landlord. This was a local handyman but he is actually a retired builder and building inspector. 

I have contacted the landlord/ letting agent and he has said it must have been leaking for a long time (it has, I’ve been reporting it) and I should have put something down to protect the floor and he won’t repair it. 

If you have managed to read and understand all of this I would really appreciate some advice. Tia

theartfullodger

Landlord responsible.  Write (yes write Landlord, copy agent, keep copy) using draft letter on shelter website about reporting repair issues.  And then follow further advice on same page about what to do if not sorted.

Slithery

When did you first write (paper, envelope, stamp etc) to the 'address for serving notices' that is stated in your tenancy agreement? That's the first point at which you have legally reported the issue.

dawnyp72

Slithery said:

When did you first write (paper, envelope, stamp etc) to the 'address for serving notices' that is stated in your tenancy agreement? That's the first point at which you have legally reported the issue.

Really? In my contract it says I should report any maintenance / repair issues to the letting agent. 

I’m also worried if I make too much fuss I will lose my home, obviously they won’t  say it’s because I’ve been complaining. It happened to me many years ago when my eldest was a baby, I got environmental health involved because they wouldn’t sort out problems with damp. Can’t a landlord give you notice to vacate at any time? I really struggled to find a rental property being a single mum with a poor credit history, I will be really stuck if I lose this house.

NortheastEA

shelter are brilliant with this type of thing - it is very scary to have the threat of your home taken away however in most cases you are protected if you do things correctly - try this link: https://rb.gy/kd5iet