Reducing rent paid if years old house problems continue to stay unfixed?

Murphybear

I am sorry to hear of your problems.

I agree with the others, do not underpay your rent because you can be evicted for this which may ruin your chances  of getting a council property.  

Once a property is reported to Environmental Health they will inspect it and force the LL to sort out the problems.  They will also force him to sort out any issues which you have not brought to their attention.  

bunnygo

as others have said, keep paying the rent - the council will try everything not to house her and not paying rent gives them an easy 'intentionally homeless' defence.

unfortunately there is very little enforcement of the legislation for decent homes. She rents from a crook and he will know all the dodges. Here's hoping for a council place soon - although they can be no better!

saajan_12

janewatts said:

Hi there. Any advice/opinions appreciated please.

My niece has privately rented a property since 2018, with one problem after another. Some things have been bodge fixed by the landlord's mates then go wrong soon after again but most just stay in the state it was, despite umpteen visits from the landlord and contractors to inspect things. It's always just a waste of my niece's time, the landlord hopes she'll get bored trying and just go away, which has largely worked. - how has this been going for years?! Niece should have reported in writing, and followed the Shelter processes long ago. 

The problems includes a badly damaged felt pitched roof from the 1970s with visibly missing flashing on the side, 25mm of roof insulation (so the EPC says, we've only just found out), badly fitted doors and double glazing throughout, and a 'conservatory' (using that word loosely) roof that allows water to pour in - this goes across the whole width of the house and is an essential room, it's not just a little unused sun trap. Amongst other things, but these are the worst. My niece has tried to fix what she can, but these things are all big jobs.

Landlord has tried putting the rent up before it was allowed (less than a year since last one) and I have been helping my niece now it is actually a year later. It is being investigated by the rent review board, who are visiting next month. - is the new proposed rent in line with the market? If so, then will likely be allowed, separate from the repair issues. 

My question is, regardless of what the rent review board say, what are people's thoughts on reducing the rent paid to the letting agent by say £50 per month, to cover the extra water her constantly running toilet costs (proven on years of water bills), and the extra money wasted on utility bills? - Thoughts are it would put niece into rent arrears, and only make it easier for the LL to evict. Rent is a separate issue, and bills over the course of years are very hard to compare (lifestyle usage could have changed, rate per unit of water changed etc). The recourse is to deduct the cost of the fix from the rent (after following the Shelter process exactly), not an arbitrary figure which still leaves the LL paying for the fix plus the £50

My niece is waiting for a disabled council property to come up, she wants to get out asap, and the landlord already tried evicting her last year, then didn't follow up the section 21 notice, so it lapsed. I think if it ever got to court this year, and it wouldn't be for non-payment of rent, just slight underpayment, a judge is unlikely to evict a single disabled mother with two young children in these circumstances anyway. - A S21 is indefensible, its a contract between the LL and Tenant, which can be terminated (albeit via court). While the S21 process is in place, they absolutely will be evicted. That may actually help with getting a council property though, just possibly after some upheaval. 

More to the point, can she do anything to shame the landlord into taking some action? The letting agent is a complete joke, we've spent over a year exchanging emails since I've been helping out, or trying to, which they get paid to do but I don't! When my niece tried to do an SAR to get confirmation of all the times she'd discussed things with the estate agents, they said they couldn't access previous employees' emails (on the same email account as now?!) and that the landlord had refused to let my niece see any of the quotes or correspondence from their side, as it wasn't her property, so all they sent her was her own emails back! - wasting time querying the correspondence, its up to niece to keep a copy of the times she has reported each issue in writing, and then follow them up. Any other emails are irrelevant.  

Looking forward to any thoughts, and apologies for the long post.

Thanks for reading.

Comments in line. The dallying with past correspondence and bills isn't really relevant and just prolonging the matter. I'd focus on

1. checking when each issue was reported in writing
2. follow the shelter process to escalate the complaint and put the LL on notice that they need to fix or you will
3. get quotes and pay for a fix at a reasonable price, and deduct from rent

Beyond that, rent (including any increase determined by the review committee) remains payable in full. A S21 and possession order might actually help niece get a council house, rent arrears will only hinder that. 

strongeyecontact

Thanks everyone for their comments and apologies for my slow reply due to some awesome health issues. 

Ramouth, this is great and we'll definitely look into it, thanks. theartfullodger, my niece is disabled and has dyslexia, so I am helping her but any formal correspondence will come from her, such as the report to the rent review board, I just help her put it together.

strongeyecontact

Thank you Murphybear and bunnygo, this ll is a shocker :-/ my niece has more than enough to cope with every day with so many health issues and really doesn't need this.

saajan_12 as above, my niece has many problems, most of which are much worse for her than her ll. She has kept some records but wanted to get her full file from the letting agent via an SAR but the ll blocked that too. The problems are all huge (damaged roofing, poorly fitted cheap double glazed doors and windows, new conservatory roof needed) and she is in no position to spend the thousands of pounds this will cost. But I'm grateful for your comments and we are now following up wit the council to get their help.
  

MultiFuelBurner

So now the LL is reading to get things fixed you won't let the contractors enter?

london21

Will say continue paying full rent or find alternative. 

strongeyecontact

london21 said:

Will say continue paying full rent or find alternative. 

Thanks, I think that's the consensus  she has been trying to get a council house for over a year but only recently had her disability taken into account so she has been put up the list, hopefully that won't take years to happen!

strongeyecontact

MultiFuelBurner said:

So now the LL is reading to get things fixed you won't let the contractors enter?

I'm not sure what reading to get things fixed means but if you mean ready, then of course no, this is not the case and I don't believe I've put anything that would suggest that. That would be imbecilic.