Asking for a rent reduction as property in disrepair

Cherylraymond

Hi. I moved into my rented property 11/3/21 since the 17/3/21 i have experienced numerous issues which I have notified the landlord of. They are very slow to act appropriately.  I have now been left for 3 weeks without the full use of my bathroom and it will be over 4 weeks before any repair work begins. I need to vacate the property too. My property has a water leak which they knew of but didn't reply prior to renting. I now have a hole in the ceiling , water coming through the walls into sockets, wet, damp, black mould, it stinks and is severely detrimental to my health. I was rushed to hospital last week due to an attack caused by stress, each day I'm finding it harder to breathe and feel unwell. I am looking for another property to move out, but that is easier said than done.  I want to ask for a rent reduction,  but not sure how much I should ask for, what would a court awarding?? I know I can request 100% for the time I need to vacate,  would it be reasonable to ask for 50% for the weeks I have endured this, affecting my health and left without a full working bathroom ?? Anyone ever had any experience of this.  I have tried calling cab and shelter but can not get through for advice. 
Many thanks in advance

RAS

Check Environmental Health or your local housing office, who may have a Tenancy Officer

tacpot12

50% is a bit much for the loss of the bathroom. If your health is as bad as you say, no amount of money is enough, you need to move out. As per the advice from RAS, contact your  local authority as they will have a team that can help force the  landlord to act (they will issue an improvement notice) or they can start the ball rolling to get you rehoused temporarily. 

[Deleted User]

Cherylraymond said:

Hi. I moved into my rented property 11/3/21 since the 17/3/21 i have experienced numerous issues which I have notified the landlord of. They are very slow to act appropriately.  I have now been left for 3 weeks without the full use of my bathroom and it will be over 4 weeks before any repair work begins. I need to vacate the property too. My property has a water leak which they knew of but didn't reply prior to renting. I now have a hole in the ceiling , water coming through the walls into sockets, wet, damp, black mould, it stinks and is severely detrimental to my health. I was rushed to hospital last week due to an attack caused by stress, each day I'm finding it harder to breathe and feel unwell. I am looking for another property to move out, but that is easier said than done.  I want to ask for a rent reduction,  but not sure how much I should ask for, what would a court awarding?? I know I can request 100% for the time I need to vacate,  would it be reasonable to ask for 50% for the weeks I have endured this, affecting my health and left without a full working bathroom ?? Anyone ever had any experience of this.  I have tried calling cab and shelter but can not get through for advice. 
Many thanks in advance

At this stage a court would award you nothing as you have to exhaust all other avenues before taking your landlord to court. 

https://england.shelter.org.uk/housing_advice/repairs/is_your_home_fit_for_habitation

After reporting the repairs in writing to your landlord the next step is escalating the matter to your council’s private renting team. 

https://england.shelter.org.uk/housing_advice/repairs/complain_to_environmental_health_about_private_rented_housing

As your landlord does appear to be doing something albeit slowly you might not get anywhere with the council but if you don’t try you’ll never know. 

Has the landlord told you that you need to vacate the property whilst the repairs are carried out? 

steampowered

tacpot12 said:

50% is a bit much for the loss of the bathroom.

Not sure I agree with this. You can't be expected to poop in the front street or go without showers for 4 weeks. Inability to use a bathroom makes a house unhabitable (that's certainly Shelter's view on the subject - see https://england.shelter.org.uk/housing_advice/repairs/is_your_home_fit_for_habitation).

If the house is unhabitable then the rent reduction is 100%. Plus the landlord will be liable on top for the cost of the tenant sourcing alternative accomodation. 

steampowered

Personally I would put it in writing to the landlord that the house is not habitable, explain why, and ask them to make the repairs immediately. 

Make sure you put it in writing so that there is a paper trail if you do end up needing to go to court or to fight through the deposit protection scheme to get your deposit back.

Also, have a look at your tenancy agreement to say what it says about repairs and what it says about unhabitable properties.

pinkshoes

Cherylraymond said:

Hi. I moved into my rented property 11/3/21 since the 17/3/21 i have experienced numerous issues which I have notified the landlord of. They are very slow to act appropriately.  I have now been left for 3 weeks without the full use of my bathroom and it will be over 4 weeks before any repair work begins. I need to vacate the property too. My property has a water leak which they knew of but didn't reply prior to renting. I now have a hole in the ceiling , water coming through the walls into sockets, wet, damp, black mould, it stinks and is severely detrimental to my health. I was rushed to hospital last week due to an attack caused by stress, each day I'm finding it harder to breathe and feel unwell. I am looking for another property to move out, but that is easier said than done.  I want to ask for a rent reduction,  but not sure how much I should ask for, what would a court awarding?? I know I can request 100% for the time I need to vacate,  would it be reasonable to ask for 50% for the weeks I have endured this, affecting my health and left without a full working bathroom ?? Anyone ever had any experience of this.  I have tried calling cab and shelter but can not get through for advice. 
Many thanks in advance

Could you give a little more detail? What exactly do you no longer have use of in the bathroom?

I would contact Environmental Health if you have water dripping into sockets and black mould/damp caused by the leak. I'm not sure why you'd want a 50% reduction to stay somewhere if it is a Health and Safety issue. I think I'd been looking to cancel the rental contract. 

A friend of mine had something similar about 15 years ago and environmental health condemned the apartment due to the excessive mould. The LL had to pay for alternative suitable accommodation for him whilst the work was done. As there was limited accommodation available, he stayed in a hotel then had access to the apartment to use the kitchen so he could cook! Not ideal, but better than staying in a mould infested apartment!