Stuck Renting // Bad condition

Marsh_Samphire

Hi, good luck with Env. health, I had a friend in similar circumstances. Their privately rented, tiny, one bedroom basement flat was full of mould too and they had a little baby, the health visitor said it would make baby sick. They were on the council waiting list and they got more "points" because of the health issues and the council rehoused them sooner as they had moved up the list because of the extra points. Now they have a lovely 2-bed council house with a garden.

musey

See the link below for an excellent site regarding landlord/tenant issues (I have no connection to the site)

http://www.landlordzone.co.uk/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=3

Before posting any queries I would recommend searching the forum for similar topics as these sorts of issues have been brought up before. Also have a copy of your tenancy agreement to hand as you may well be asked for details from it by the "experts" on the site. Lay your post out in an easy to read bulleted or numbered format, that way you will likely get an answer to each seperate issue.

I am a landlord (well landlady actually) myself and am sickened at times by the poor standards some landlord allow their properties to get into and still expect tenants to pay rent on. However I have to admit I would not have provided an de humdifier for the cellar, cellars are generally unsuitable for storage (unless treated in some way) and are prone to damp. The damp on the front & back walls would be of greater concern to me.

Take advice from the Env health people, they can instruct the landlord to make necessary improvements to the property. I would also take advice from CAB regarding any potential eviction and possible redress against the landlord. Start to communicate in writing to the landlord and keep a copy of all communication, if you have a phone call follow it up with a letter that gives the details of the call and the agreements made (a pain I know but it will make things easier for you to show how reasonable you have been about the issues).

If you have had an assured shorthold tenancy agreement the minimum notice the landlord can give you is 2 months, however they must serve notice on a particular form and on a certain date. If they serve the notice incorrectly (ie. not on the right form or don't give the right date for requiring possession) you can ignore the notice as it is invalid. It is not up to you to tell the landlord what they have done incorrectly, it is up to them to serve it correctly in the first place. Keep a log of all issues/communication records will be your allies in any future proceedings.