landlord refuse to offer compensation for impact of a water leak

nc11

hi all

i've been renting a flat for 6 years from a private landlord. never had an issue or a problem. 7 months ago, we had a leak from the flat upstairs which has been noticed only recently. the walls are damp and there's water standing under the floor all around. 

landlord has been "trying" to handle it with his insurers for months. lots of appointments, plumbers and other contractor visits, a lot of disruption and recently also health issues (headaches mainly). a couple of weeks ago he finally informed me that i'll have to vacate for a month or so and have the floor can be raised and everything repaired.

the problem is that the contract ends in 2 months and he wants to raise rent by 15% which is too much for me. it means i'll have to leave and possibly have nowhere to return to. also, he refuses to offer any compensation for the 7 months ordeal i had. i tried to reason with him saying that i'll drop the request if he's reasonable on the rent but he doesn't care.

does anyone know what's a reasonable compensation for such disruption? is it based on a standard of some sort?

thank you!

marcia_

nc11 said:

hi all

i've been renting a flat for 6 years from a private landlord. never had an issue or a problem. 7 months ago, we had a leak from the flat upstairs which has been noticed only recently. the walls are damp and there's water standing under the floor all around. 

landlord has been "trying" to handle it with his insurers for months. lots of appointments, plumbers and other contractor visits, a lot of disruption and recently also health issues (headaches mainly). a couple of weeks ago he finally informed me that i'll have to vacate for a month or so and have the floor can be raised and everything repaired.

the problem is that the contract ends in 2 months and he wants to raise rent by 15% which is too much for me. it means i'll have to leave and possibly have nowhere to return to. also, he refuses to offer any compensation for the 7 months ordeal i had. i tried to reason with him saying that i'll drop the request if he's reasonable on the rent but he doesn't care.

does anyone know what's a reasonable compensation for such disruption? is it based on a standard of some sort?

thank you!

 Is he providing alternative accommodation? 

subjecttocontract

Your landlord is not responsible for gravity or a leak from the flat above yours. There is no automatic right of compensation. Tenants should not expect any better treatment by virtue of them paying rent than an owner occupier would receive in the same situation. It looks as though your landlord has been trying to resolve/ fix the problem and has offered a solution. It's take it or leave it, your choice.

Ksw3

Our landlord gave us half rent for a month but he was a lovely bloke but just took forever to fix anything. As I understand it this was good will only. 

dinosaur66

this is your neighbours above you fault / maybe through there negligence or accident .

not sure why you want compensation from your landlord / that was a sure way to put his back up / hence i would guess the 15% rise in rent

_Penny_Dreadful

Does your landlord own the leasehold for the upstairs flat too? 

You can ask your landlord for compensation but if he doesn’t willingly offer any compensation then you’ll need to take him to court. Assuming you’re in England then it’s the Homes (Fitness for Human Habitation) Act 2018 you’d use. However the Act doesn’t apply in cases where delays have been caused by the landlord having to negotiate with 3rd parties such as leaseholders and freeholders. 

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/homes-fitness-for-human-habitation-act-2018/guide-for-tenants-homes-fitness-for-human-habitation-act-2018

What does your tenancy agreement say about having to move out for repairs? Does it say your landlord has to provide you with alternative accommodation? 

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

Would a 15% rent increase take your rent to be in line with market rents? 

nc11

subjecttocontract said:

Your landlord is not responsible for gravity or a leak from the flat above yours. There is no automatic right of compensation. Tenants should not expect any better treatment by virtue of them paying rent than an owner occupier would receive in the same situation. It looks as though your landlord has been trying to resolve/ fix the problem and has offered a solution. It's take it or leave it, your choice.

understood, however as he's the owner i would have assumed its his responsibility to address and repair in a 'reasonable' timescale. 6 months is not reasonable especially with damp and mould!

nc11

marcia_ said:

nc11 said:

hi all

i've been renting a flat for 6 years from a private landlord. never had an issue or a problem. 7 months ago, we had a leak from the flat upstairs which has been noticed only recently. the walls are damp and there's water standing under the floor all around. 

landlord has been "trying" to handle it with his insurers for months. lots of appointments, plumbers and other contractor visits, a lot of disruption and recently also health issues (headaches mainly). a couple of weeks ago he finally informed me that i'll have to vacate for a month or so and have the floor can be raised and everything repaired.

the problem is that the contract ends in 2 months and he wants to raise rent by 15% which is too much for me. it means i'll have to leave and possibly have nowhere to return to. also, he refuses to offer any compensation for the 7 months ordeal i had. i tried to reason with him saying that i'll drop the request if he's reasonable on the rent but he doesn't care.

does anyone know what's a reasonable compensation for such disruption? is it based on a standard of some sort?

thank you!

 Is he providing alternative accommodation? 

yes he agreed to that, however by the time the work will likely finish the contract would have run out and i might find myself with nowhere to come back to.

subjecttocontract

nc11 said:

subjecttocontract said:

Your landlord is not responsible for gravity or a leak from the flat above yours. There is no automatic right of compensation. Tenants should not expect any better treatment by virtue of them paying rent than an owner occupier would receive in the same situation. It looks as though your landlord has been trying to resolve/ fix the problem and has offered a solution. It's take it or leave it, your choice.

understood, however as he's the owner i would have assumed its his responsibility to address and repair in a 'reasonable' timescale. 6 months is not reasonable especially with damp and mould!

Agreed, 6 months is not reasonable but it still doesn't mean he hasn't done the best job he can. If you don't know the circumstances surrounding the issue you can't apportion blame.

I owned a flat with a water leak into the bathroom ceiling. There was a lengthy exchange of communications between me and the upstairs leaseholder, the freeholder, the building insurance company, the managing agents and various plumbers as to who was responsible for repairs.......It took months to resolve.

There is a general assumption that when something goes wrong someone else has to pay to rectify......that is not always the case and can take a long time to resolve.

I've no doubt it's been a very trying time for you but it still doesn't mean you have any entitlement to be compensated by your landlord.

_Penny_Dreadful

nc11 said:

marcia_ said:

nc11 said:

hi all

i've been renting a flat for 6 years from a private landlord. never had an issue or a problem. 7 months ago, we had a leak from the flat upstairs which has been noticed only recently. the walls are damp and there's water standing under the floor all around. 

landlord has been "trying" to handle it with his insurers for months. lots of appointments, plumbers and other contractor visits, a lot of disruption and recently also health issues (headaches mainly). a couple of weeks ago he finally informed me that i'll have to vacate for a month or so and have the floor can be raised and everything repaired.

the problem is that the contract ends in 2 months and he wants to raise rent by 15% which is too much for me. it means i'll have to leave and possibly have nowhere to return to. also, he refuses to offer any compensation for the 7 months ordeal i had. i tried to reason with him saying that i'll drop the request if he's reasonable on the rent but he doesn't care.

does anyone know what's a reasonable compensation for such disruption? is it based on a standard of some sort?

thank you!

 Is he providing alternative accommodation? 

yes he agreed to that, however by the time the work will likely finish the contract would have run out and i might find myself with nowhere to come back to.

How will the contract have run out? Your right to occupy the property doesn’t end just because the fixed term ends. You either need to serve notice to bring the AST to an end or your landlord would have to serve a valid notice and then go to court to get a possession order. 

nc11

_Penny_Dreadful said:

nc11 said:

marcia_ said:

nc11 said:

hi all

i've been renting a flat for 6 years from a private landlord. never had an issue or a problem. 7 months ago, we had a leak from the flat upstairs which has been noticed only recently. the walls are damp and there's water standing under the floor all around. 

landlord has been "trying" to handle it with his insurers for months. lots of appointments, plumbers and other contractor visits, a lot of disruption and recently also health issues (headaches mainly). a couple of weeks ago he finally informed me that i'll have to vacate for a month or so and have the floor can be raised and everything repaired.

the problem is that the contract ends in 2 months and he wants to raise rent by 15% which is too much for me. it means i'll have to leave and possibly have nowhere to return to. also, he refuses to offer any compensation for the 7 months ordeal i had. i tried to reason with him saying that i'll drop the request if he's reasonable on the rent but he doesn't care.

does anyone know what's a reasonable compensation for such disruption? is it based on a standard of some sort?

thank you!

 Is he providing alternative accommodation? 

yes he agreed to that, however by the time the work will likely finish the contract would have run out and i might find myself with nowhere to come back to.

How will the contract have run out? Your right to occupy the property doesn’t end just because the fixed term ends. You either need to serve notice to bring the AST to an end or your landlord would have to serve a valid notice and then go to court to get a possession order. 

thank you. yes, i understand he will have to initiate a legal process to "force" me out, however that is not a situation i would want to find myself in. i have been a good and quiet tenant for 6 years and it's the first time we had an issue to deal with. if he was reasonable with the rent we could carry on the tenancy, and no the 15% is much more than market or within the block we're in.