Private Tenant - Leak for 3 months - No end in sight

Utterlyconfused81

I honestly do not know where to start, and will try to keep this as brief as possible as I realise people’s time is precious.  The below is just a snippet of the ridiculous situation we find ourselves in.

 

We moved into a new rental property 4 months ago as the previous property was put on market and sold by our then LL.  Options are fairly limited as we have a small dog, which whilst immensely well trained, naturally puts off a high number of LL’s it would appear. 

 

Property looked nice on the 2 viewings we had, advertised as “recently refurbished and finished to a high standard throughout” by the Letting Agent.  The LL was willing to accept our dog, as such we proceeded with the TA.  Though our deal breaker with this was that it was on the basis that the LA be responsible for the maintenance and not the LL which we have confirmed would be the case, twice.  Only upon signing the TA and picking up the keys 40 minutes later from the LA offices were we advised it was in actual fact the LL.   The below is exactly why we did not want to end up in this type of situation. 

 

Within no time at all a number of issues with the property started to arise.  The main one being what appeared to be a leak in the bathroom, coming from the bottom of a door frame which is relatively close to the bath and shower. 

 

Contacted the LL immediately to advise of this via her preferred medium of communication WhatsApp.  Not ideal but guess it’s a form of digital record at least.  She advised us to monitor it and report back if it got any worse.  Naturally it did.  She then advised that her contractor had told her from the images we had sent it was just glue coming from where the door frame had been fitted.  We questioned this but again were advised to monitor and report back if it got worse. 

 

It kept getting worse, we kept notifying her, she attended the property more times than I can remember to look and claim there was no leak even though by a couple of weeks from the start it was running towards the middle of the bathroom floor.  Worth noting that this was all in July when it was immensely warm so that was maybe not helping show the full extent. 

 

Finally, she came round with her contractor on a Saturday afternoon where they pulled off the cover for the side of the bath, she cut up a load of nappies and forced them into the crevices between the floor tiles and the plasterboard walls under the bath.  The contractor relayed to me via my LL, as he did not appear to speak English, that there was no leak.  By this time water had started to come up through the door divide between the bathroom and hallway that separated the bathroom floor tiles and the laminate flooring in the hall.  The contractor then proceeded to claim the water must have been where I had mopped the floor 6 days prior.  Not being an imbecile, I know how to mop a floor without soaking it through so I was not buying that.  We were informed again to monitor and report back.  I then said maybe the flooring should come up so that the floorboards could be inspected and even one removed to check for leaks underneath.  No pipework under there was the response from the LL via the contractor which I have since had varied as utter lies.

 

For a few days we thought it had been resolved as there was no sign of water.  Sadly, it eventually came back and it was only then we discovered that nappies had been used to try and absorb the leak.  Eventually they had become so soaked through they could no longer absorb any of the water and it ultimately had to go somewhere. 

 

This then carried on for a number of weeks with multiple visits by her and an elderly gentleman, no idea who this guy is as she has never introduced him.  Neither of them speak particularly good English which makes trying to discuss with them really difficult.  She seemed to fail to grasp that a water leak will not resolve itself and that if left ongoing would likely end up with water damage to her property, something we were imploring for her to avoid for both parties' sake.  I worked in construction briefly when I left school so I had some knowledge of what I was saying.  I had advised that the laminate flooring be taken up to ascertain the state of the floorboards as by August / September water was appearing between the laminate boards and the bathroom door frame had started to warp and show significant signs of moisture damage.

 

A week and half ago LL and the elderly gentleman came round yet again in the evening, had a look and went to leave when my partner insisted they take up a section of the flooring.  They were very unhappy at being asked to do so; however , it was immediately evident that this leak was only getting worse and had caused rather a lot of damage.  The laminate flooring was already becoming discoloured, the underside was covered in black mould, as was the underlay which was falling apart.  The floorboards were soaked through.  The LL wanted to put the flooring back down which we immediately put a stop to as we explained this had gone on long enough and they needed a reputable plumber to come and find the leak first, fix it before any remedial work could be undertaken.  This again seemed to fall on deaf ears.

 

We got a message a couple of days later stating, not asking but stating she and her contractor were coming to look that Sunday evening.  I said no problem however with it being a Sunday it was to be just a quick visual inspection then arrange for someone competent to come and undertake the work at a more reasonable time.  They turned up an hour and a half early, unannounced, went upstairs and proceeded to rip up some more flooring.  Then proceeded to smash holes in the plasterboard walls, both hallway and bathroom along with tiles  that surround the back of the bath / shower.  They were here for just short of 3 hours during which time at one point there were 4 of them standing around the bathroom doorway.  Again, claiming there is no leak and that she would go away and “have a think”.

 

To try and wrap up as this does seem to be going on, and again this is only the tip of the iceberg, the following Monday we had a builder (35 yrs in the industry, also qualified plumber / electrician and highly reputable) who is the husband of one of the women who works with my partner come and give us his opinion.  He very kindly said in order to find the leak the bath would need to be removed, the tiling around it also in order to get behind and try and find the cause of the leak.  Once it had been ripped out, leak found and fixed, it would then need to dry out before remedial work could be done. Furthermore the bath had been incorrectly fitted as had the shower section attached to the tiles.

 

That Thursday the LL actually arranged for a building firm to come round that evening and visually inspect to provide a quote.  Their advice was verbatim to the information we had been advised earlier in the week.  They further confirmed the presence still of a leak by running the shower, though due to access could not ascertain the point of it.

 

We heard nothing back from the LL regarding her quote until I messaged and asked on Saturday when she replied she had not heard back from them.

 

Sunday, we had to move furniture from one room to the other, moving our bedroom furniture to the smaller room at the rear of the property due to noise associated with issues with the gutters being like waterfalls at the front that have gone unresolved for over 3 months.  Whilst moving items we realised a few items could go up into the loft where we discovered 2 further leaks, all being above where there is already water damage.  1 We could not establish where it was originating but some of our boxes were soaked from the base up and there was a very sodden board.  The 2nd was obvious as it was dripping from the sprayed-on insulation which leads me to believe it is roof related.

 

We informed the LL and she came out to inspect during which she asked (mekely and as if a victim in all this) if we would be prepared to move out.  She claims she can not afford for the repair work to be done fully.  She admitted that she had had the quote from the builders and it is more than she can afford, or is perhaps willing to pay. 

 

I have contacted the Councils department for private tenants and they have assigned an Enforcement officer who is visiting next week, but my concern here is that she will claim hardship, which I don’t know how when I paid her 6 months advance (£9600), and push for the work to be done by her contractor who has proved completely inept to date. 

 

I fully understand LL being able to employ the persons of their choosing but surely when there’s been multiple failures a line has to be drawn where qualified and experienced people come and do the work.

 

As it stands, she advised earlier that her contractor is booked for 3rd Nov to come relay flooring and replace tiles with no mention of finding and fixing the leak prior.

 

Ultimately do we have any grounds to not only insist that this is done first, but to insist someone other than the contractor who has been to date, proved to be inept, failed to fix or identify anything, lied and doesn’t appear to be able to speak English undertake the work?

 

Any advice on this would be hugely appreciated as these last couple of months have proven to be incredibly stressful for both myself and my partner. 

anselld

That is a lot to digest, but a couple of comments ...
  You cannot possibly do a deal where the LA is responsible for repairs.  The LL is always ultimately responsible and holds the purse strings.
   It is a sensible step to contact the Council.  They have enforcement powers and Landlord financial hardship is not an excuse if enforcement action is taken.  However, they will only take enforcement action against items which are deemed a safety hazard.  It is difficult to know if this would qualify without knowing the frequency or quantity of water.  If it is a small amount that could easily be wiped up after showering they might not feel enforcement is necessary.  Wait and see what they say.

jj_43

It’s a difficult situation to be in. Unfortunately you should recognise that leaks can be very problematic to resolve and that you won’t be given full control of the situation. Your experience as a homeowner might be very similar, finding experienced and reliable trades, getting quotes for works etc all takes time, and letting agents are not always great either. While that is on going there will be little things that can help the situation. Being flexible on visits ultimately helps you for example.

HampshireH

jj_43 said:

It’s a difficult situation to be in. Unfortunately you should recognise that leaks can be very problematic to resolve and that you won’t be given full control of the situation. Your experience as a homeowner might be very similar, finding experienced and reliable trades, getting quotes for works etc all takes time, and letting agents are not always great either. While that is on going there will be little things that can help the situation. Being flexible on visits ultimately helps you for example.

I don't feel this is helpful at all to the OP. They appear to have been nothing but flexible. There is no excuse for repeatedly getting out people who aren't competent to locate and fix a leak. 

OP had paid nearly £10k upfront to live in what is currently their home. It should be maintained and there is no excuse for repeatedly putting off repairs.

OP you need to wait for the enforcement officer to come out. Don't expect miracles but be honest. 

Write down a clear time line (bullet points of dates and facts not the post above) and ensure they have this information to support their visit/your report.

Whilst your landlord hasnt fixed this they haven't ignored you either so there is hope that they will acknowledge any intervention by the enforcement team.

When your LL asked if you would move out what did she offer you in terms of monies already paid back?

silvercar

The landlord should be claiming on their insurance for some of these costs, assuming they have insurance. 

Some policies cover "track and trace" to find where the leak is coming from. Most should cover the costs of damage caused by the leak. Some will cover the costs of you staying elsewhere for a few days while the repairs are carried out.

Utterlyconfused81

"You cannot possibly do a deal where the LA is responsible for repairs.  The LL is always ultimately responsible and holds the purse strings".

Sorry I fully understand that, I meant more to with regards having to report to and deal with the LA directly, not the LL. 

"It is difficult to know if this would qualify without knowing the frequency or quantity of water"

I have attached some pictures to give you an idea of the damage visible to date.  Please also note that there is water damage on the kitchen ceiling directly underneath this leak which had been touched up prior to moving in.  When asked previously the LL claimed different leak.  2 weeks ago, when asked by my partner what was the cause of the leak that damaged the kitchen ceiling she told her they never found it!

"Write down a clear time line (bullet points of dates and facts not the post above) and ensure they have this information to support their visit/your report".

Enforcement officer has a clear breakdown on times and dates with regards this leak and the numerous other issues we have had and those that are still outstanding, many thanks for the advice.

"When your LL asked if you would move out what did she offer you in terms of monies already paid back?"

She offered to return any rent paid to date should we hand back the keys before the 6 months is up.  This is not really of any great help to us, and benefits her more as she will do another botch job and put it back on the market only for others to have to suffer the same substandard property we have had to endure.  There are currently no suitable properties in the area, nor is it a good time to be looking to move so unless we find something that is suitable it may not be an option right at this moment.

"The landlord should be claiming on their insurance for some of these costs, assuming they have insurance. "

My partner mentioned about the insurance on Sunday, to which she said the LL acted quite strange to before then telling her it would take too, 6 months and then a surveyor would come out.  I know nothing about this so no idea if there’s any truth to that or whether it is an outright lie to mask her maybe not being insured. 

 

Is it a legal requirement?  It is certainly referenced in my TA that the LL must have insurance. 

Sorry, for some reason the pictures did not upload in order, I was trying to show the degree to which the leak got worse over time by failing to identify and repair far earlier.  

Ultimately, we do not feel safe in the property as we have no faith that it meets any kind of standard.  4 weeks ago, we had a gas leak which was advised as being significant and could have easily resulted in loss of life.  This was identified as being due to incompetent installation.  The was just the cooker, heaven knows how the boiler was fitted and by who. 

DE_612183

mould is not good and a health hazard - council should take that seriously

Utterlyconfused81

DE_612183 said:

mould is not good and a health hazard - council should take that seriously

One can only hope. 

I got a message from the LL earlier advising the a contractor will attend on Tue or Wed next week to relay the floor and tiles.  No mention of a plumber to fix the leak, no attempt to dry off the damage, simply just a cover up job that will not fix the issue of the leak, nor prevent further water damage occurring.  

The Councils Enforcement officer is coming Mon, I would hope he will agree from the level of damage and mould present, both on the flooring and plasterboard behind the tiles, that this will need to be rectified correctly, as in the detail provided by 2 separate experienced builders, rather that the botch job an elderly Chinese woman and her two "team" members wish to do.  

SecondStar

Jeez, you had me at ‘gas leak that could’ve resulted in loss of life’. I’d be taking their offer at your money back and getting the heck out of dodge, let alone the damp grossness that they’re left you with.

Utterlyconfused81

SecondStar said:

Jeez, you had me at ‘gas leak that could’ve resulted in loss of life’. I’d be taking their offer at your money back and getting the heck out of dodge, let alone the damp grossness that they’re left you with.

Sadly at this point there would unlikely be any money back as the next 6 months of the tenancy would start and payment be due from 6th Dec.  As mentioned earlier, having a very extensive look at what is currently available, there is very little that is even remotely appealing, further restricted too by finding a property that will accept us with our dog, which in obviously non negotiable, think we'd both rather be living in a tent than without her. 

That said, I do understand that anything other than this "might" be better, but I'd hate to panic into somewhere that we actually didn't like for a further 12 months, not to mention potentially jumping out of the frying pan into the fire.  Though to be that unlucky would be beyond cruel.