When can I legally reduce rent payments?

SarahBDE

Hi everyone. I hope you can help me save on solicitors fees with this one. 

I am an undemanding tenant and have put up with a lot over the past 2 years while always paying on time. During a business trip away, the landlord then took the ultimate Micky and placed livestock into my private garden. He'd trespassed multiple times before, but this took the biscuit. The livestock caused extensive damage, not only to the garden but to personal property. The garden is covered in faeces and unusable. I finally had enough and was no longer willing to put up with any of this, so I wrote up a formal complaint, copying the estate (landlord is an estate tenant who is subletting, with permission, to me) and council (I am waiting on date for inspection). The letter is 6 pages long, outlining a number of legal breaches, fire safety hazards, illegal clauses in the tenancy agreement, repairs he illegally charged me for. The list goes on. When writing my letter of complaint and checking my tenancy agreement and the breaches in the house agains the law I realised that, legally, the house probably counts as uninhabitable.  

In my complaint letter I gave them 14 days to come up with a plan. I wasn't unreasonable, I didn't expect them to fix everything in that time, just come up with a plan. They ignored it all and promised to the estate they are looking into solutions. The two weeks came and went without any direct communication with me or suggested solutions. Therefore, I requested the council to step in and they have raised a job number, though the inspection has not yet happened. I also wrote another letter listing the cost of the damages that I expect to be reimbursed for and also suggested a 50% rent reduction until the issues have been fixed. I'd been reading up on rent reductions and it was my understanding that a court would grant 50-100% in cases with similarly severe breaches and as long as I communicate it ahead of time, I am legally able to do it. They have now emailed me back, accusing me of bullying and harassment and saying they don't agree with any of it and if I hate it so much, why don't I serve notice. Apparently their solicitor will be in touch with me soon. Fine. 

I have spoken to CAB and Shelter, which have been helpful to a point. They both say to not reduce rent under any circumstance. However, I am living in horrendous conditions that don't warrant the full rent payment and I am unlikely to get that money back later. So I want to understand where I stand and what my best next step would be. Thank you so much!

soolin

Others will be a lot more knowledgeable about this than me, but you may want to consider moving out and finding something better as it sounds like any goodwill you have with the landlord has been lost and you obviously can't live somewhere uninhabitable. . If it is so bad as to be uninhabitable then you may be forced to move out anyway as landlord may need to do a full refurbishment , and that might not be possible with you in the house. Are you paying full market rent for this place or has there been any acknowledgement that it is not up to standard and thereby reducing the rent? 

Incidentally, what do you mean by livestock as I'm sure there must be some exclusions about what is and isn't allowed in a private residence. 

Smalltownhypocrite

You have to still pay rent, why ask shelter and CAB and then ignore them. If you stop paying you WILL be evicted.

The COURT can take your side and sanction the landlord or reduce your costs but they will only do that if you have kept paying. That also means you have to go to court (and the fees associated with it) you cannot just decide to take the law into your own hands, you are not a judge capable of making that non bias judgement.

Your EA is right your main choices are to move out or to keep paying... of course you can also take court action and report them to appropriate authorities if they are on breach on their side.

elsien

Slightly confused as to why it took you writing a complaint letter to realise that the place was basically uninhabitable. Was that not on your radar anyway, if it was that bad?

theartfullodger

Which country?  Laws vary.

Is this an agricultural tenancy?  You mentioned livestock.  Those tenancies are different.

SarahBDE

To answer some of the questions:
It is not an agricultural tenancy. I had an agreement with the landlord that he mows my lawn and I pay him for it. He couldn't be bothered to do it in the second year (but didn't tell me) and while I waited on him, I tried to get on top of the grass myself, which was a loosing battle. He then put sheep in my garden while I was away, without my consent. 
I am in England on an AST.
I am not currently in a position where I can just up and leave. I am also aware that previous tenants have had similar issues and me leaving would just mean the next person moves into this situation. 
The rent was reduced for the first four months of me living here due to the poor conditions. The landlord then upped the rent again but without doing any work. The rent I pay is above market rate for the condition the house is in and would be market rate if it was maintained to a basic legal standard. 
And it took me writing a complaint letter to realise because I am not up on the law. Before moving here I lived in my own flat. What I refer to when I say uninhabitable, I mean rooms not having heating, a heating source for one room not being safe to use as it poses a fire / carbon monoxide risk, exposed pipes across doorways, not being able to maintain temperatures above 18 degrees when it is cold outside. I am an undemanding tenant, I was careful and stepped over the pipes, I didn't fire the unsafe oven, I wear two sweaters in the winter. I did put up with too much for too long. It's not that I never said anything, I did address but didn't press the issues and as they kept mounting up, they became too much to bear, especially since sheepgate. 
I have involved every authority and agency I could, including council, estate, even my MP, while my landlord is taking no action to remedy any of the issues nor does he communicate with me in any meaningful way. There must be a way to put pressure on the landlord to finally take action? This is where I was told that I am allowed to reduce the rent by a reasonable amount as long as I give my landlord notice. 
Why would I ignore CAB or Shelter? I am not. I have conflicting information which is why I came on here to ask my questions. 

sheramber

 This is where I was told that I am allowed to reduce the rent by a reasonable amount as long as I give my landlord notice. 

Where  were you told that? 

Who told you?

Emmia

SarahBDE said:

To answer some of the questions:
It is not an agricultural tenancy. I had an agreement with the landlord that he mows my lawn and I pay him for it. He couldn't be bothered to do it in the second year (but didn't tell me) and while I waited on him, I tried to get on top of the grass myself, which was a loosing battle. He then put sheep in my garden while I was away, without my consent. 
I am in England on an AST.
I am not currently in a position where I can just up and leave. I am also aware that previous tenants have had similar issues and me leaving would just mean the next person moves into this situation. 
The rent was reduced for the first four months of me living here due to the poor conditions. The landlord then upped the rent again but without doing any work. The rent I pay is above market rate for the condition the house is in and would be market rate if it was maintained to a basic legal standard. 
And it took me writing a complaint letter to realise because I am not up on the law. Before moving here I lived in my own flat. What I refer to when I say uninhabitable, I mean rooms not having heating, a heating source for one room not being safe to use as it poses a fire / carbon monoxide risk, exposed pipes across doorways, not being able to maintain temperatures above 18 degrees when it is cold outside. I am an undemanding tenant, I was careful and stepped over the pipes, I didn't fire the unsafe oven, I wear two sweaters in the winter. I did put up with too much for too long. It's not that I never said anything, I did address but didn't press the issues and as they kept mounting up, they became too much to bear, especially since sheepgate. 
I have involved every authority and agency I could, including council, estate, even my MP, while my landlord is taking no action to remedy any of the issues nor does he communicate with me in any meaningful way. There must be a way to put pressure on the landlord to finally take action? This is where I was told that I am allowed to reduce the rent by a reasonable amount as long as I give my landlord notice. 
Why would I ignore CAB or Shelter? I am not. I have conflicting information which is why I came on here to ask my questions. 

Why are you still living there? 

Another tenant might move in and will confront the same issues, but if it were me I'd forget the complaint etc. and I'd be out of there.  

SarahBDE

Emmia said:

SarahBDE said:

To answer some of the questions:
It is not an agricultural tenancy. I had an agreement with the landlord that he mows my lawn and I pay him for it. He couldn't be bothered to do it in the second year (but didn't tell me) and while I waited on him, I tried to get on top of the grass myself, which was a loosing battle. He then put sheep in my garden while I was away, without my consent. 
I am in England on an AST.
I am not currently in a position where I can just up and leave. I am also aware that previous tenants have had similar issues and me leaving would just mean the next person moves into this situation. 
The rent was reduced for the first four months of me living here due to the poor conditions. The landlord then upped the rent again but without doing any work. The rent I pay is above market rate for the condition the house is in and would be market rate if it was maintained to a basic legal standard. 
And it took me writing a complaint letter to realise because I am not up on the law. Before moving here I lived in my own flat. What I refer to when I say uninhabitable, I mean rooms not having heating, a heating source for one room not being safe to use as it poses a fire / carbon monoxide risk, exposed pipes across doorways, not being able to maintain temperatures above 18 degrees when it is cold outside. I am an undemanding tenant, I was careful and stepped over the pipes, I didn't fire the unsafe oven, I wear two sweaters in the winter. I did put up with too much for too long. It's not that I never said anything, I did address but didn't press the issues and as they kept mounting up, they became too much to bear, especially since sheepgate. 
I have involved every authority and agency I could, including council, estate, even my MP, while my landlord is taking no action to remedy any of the issues nor does he communicate with me in any meaningful way. There must be a way to put pressure on the landlord to finally take action? This is where I was told that I am allowed to reduce the rent by a reasonable amount as long as I give my landlord notice. 
Why would I ignore CAB or Shelter? I am not. I have conflicting information which is why I came on here to ask my questions. 

Why are you still living there? 

Another tenant might move in and will confront the same issues, but if it were me I'd forget the complaint etc. and I'd be out of there.  

I love that for you. You've made better life choices that allow you to be more flexible. There is no question that I'd be better off moving. Of course I would. I am just not in a position to do that at this moment in time. Until I can, this situation needs to be liveable. And for me personally, I could not live with myself if I move out and the next person burns down in this house. Surely tenancy laws are there for a reason? To hold landlords to account? To stop these kind of things from happening? 

Emmia

SarahBDE said:

Emmia said:

SarahBDE said:

To answer some of the questions:
It is not an agricultural tenancy. I had an agreement with the landlord that he mows my lawn and I pay him for it. He couldn't be bothered to do it in the second year (but didn't tell me) and while I waited on him, I tried to get on top of the grass myself, which was a loosing battle. He then put sheep in my garden while I was away, without my consent. 
I am in England on an AST.
I am not currently in a position where I can just up and leave. I am also aware that previous tenants have had similar issues and me leaving would just mean the next person moves into this situation. 
The rent was reduced for the first four months of me living here due to the poor conditions. The landlord then upped the rent again but without doing any work. The rent I pay is above market rate for the condition the house is in and would be market rate if it was maintained to a basic legal standard. 
And it took me writing a complaint letter to realise because I am not up on the law. Before moving here I lived in my own flat. What I refer to when I say uninhabitable, I mean rooms not having heating, a heating source for one room not being safe to use as it poses a fire / carbon monoxide risk, exposed pipes across doorways, not being able to maintain temperatures above 18 degrees when it is cold outside. I am an undemanding tenant, I was careful and stepped over the pipes, I didn't fire the unsafe oven, I wear two sweaters in the winter. I did put up with too much for too long. It's not that I never said anything, I did address but didn't press the issues and as they kept mounting up, they became too much to bear, especially since sheepgate. 
I have involved every authority and agency I could, including council, estate, even my MP, while my landlord is taking no action to remedy any of the issues nor does he communicate with me in any meaningful way. There must be a way to put pressure on the landlord to finally take action? This is where I was told that I am allowed to reduce the rent by a reasonable amount as long as I give my landlord notice. 
Why would I ignore CAB or Shelter? I am not. I have conflicting information which is why I came on here to ask my questions. 

Why are you still living there? 

Another tenant might move in and will confront the same issues, but if it were me I'd forget the complaint etc. and I'd be out of there.  

I love that for you. You've made better life choices that allow you to be more flexible. There is no question that I'd be better off moving. Of course I would. I am just not in a position to do that at this moment in time. Until I can, this situation needs to be liveable. And for me personally, I could not live with myself if I move out and the next person burns down in this house. Surely tenancy laws are there for a reason? To hold landlords to account? To stop these kind of things from happening? 

So, you reduce rent payments unilaterally, and then get evicted, or (if you're in England) the landlord decides they don't want you as a tenant and issues a S.21 with similar effect (presuming they can), or does more things to make you even less comfortable.

Paying less rent doesn't make the property less dangerous - and it sounds like the works needed would really require the place to be empty.

I'm sorry that you're in this situation. As you're in this bind, is the rent already lower than properties with similar bedrooms/space in your area? Have you sought out any other form of housing, sought to put yourself on waiting lists etc if you qualify.

Edit: if the place is fixed up, then presumably the rent would also rise? 

Grumpy_chap

SarahBDE said:

 There is no question that I'd be better off moving. Of course I would. I am just not in a position to do that at this moment in time. 

Is that because you are paying below market rent for the area?
Or some other reason that ties you to the property?