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The problem is that the agents use the cheapest contractors they can find.
In our last rented property they sent someone to relay flags by the front door as they were a trip hazard. They removed the flags and threw a load of white stones in their place. They also decided to repaint the front door (which I was not expecting them to do) this was at the beginning of December and it was snowing. The paint was still wet at night but we had to close the door in order to go to bed so of course it was stuck the following morning.
On another occasion we had a leak and water was coming down the wall in the hall from the bathroom above. The contractor said that he wasn't sure whether or not he had found the leak so just to be sure he drew a pencil mark round the water stain so we could 'see if it went any further'.
Oh the joys of renting.0 -
The problem is that the agents use the cheapest contractors they can find.
In our last rented property they sent someone to relay flags by the front door as they were a trip hazard. They removed the flags and threw a load of white stones in their place. They also decided to repaint the front door (which I was not expecting them to do) this was at the beginning of December and it was snowing. The paint was still wet at night but we had to close the door in order to go to bed so of course it was stuck the following morning.
On another occasion we had a leak and water was coming down the wall in the hall from the bathroom above. The contractor said that he wasn't sure whether or not he had found the leak so just to be sure he drew a pencil mark round the water stain so we could 'see if it went any further'.
Oh the joys of renting.
Utterly ridiculous.. how these guys do it with a straight face!?
To clarify - these contractors were chosen BY the landlord - the landlord had insisted to the agent that they would be the ones to go in..0 -
To clarify - these contractors were chosen BY the landlord - the landlord had insisted to the agent that they would be the ones to go in..
When you employ a tradesperson or company you have no idea how well the job will go. As in any walk of life there's the good, the bad and the indifferent.0 -
You've suffered a little inconvenience, yes they shouldn't have used your towels and vacuum, and things didn't go quite as you wished, but fgs, how much compo do you want?
If you had a kettle, you weren't without hot water, and I remember hardly using the heating at the beginning of November.
So, that's perhaps, 3 towels (if actually damaged) and a vac lining (whatever one of them is).
How much do you want for "allowing them in" at 8am, when did you want them to do it?0 -
Long story short, I feel that we (as tenant's) should not be obliged to pay a full months rent, - none of these factors make it unlivable so rent is not affected seeing as in one calender month we have been without heating/hot water a total of 5 nights, - reasonable for a boiler replacement. The LL doesn't have to guarantee hot water/heating 24/7 but rather has to provide these and to rectify in a reasonable timeframe when there's an issue. 5 days is reasonable huge amounts of time cleaning the flat, - agree that shouldn't have happened have had 3 bath towels ruined
- were they ruined or need a wash? you MAY be able to claim the depreciated value of them.. £10? , have had our hoover used (without permission) to vacuum up water and have had to go and purchase new inner lining- was this actually damaged due to the hoover not being intended for water?
No liability on the LL/contractors if it was because it was a poor quality lining or it didn't absolutely need replacing, just a bit dirty.
, and have had a load of distress and disruption a) due to less than 24 hours notice of the install and b) quater-backing "operation recovery" - no distress/disruption, those are the normal impacts of a repair which the LL did. They have to do repairs, not guarantee you a perfect house. You could have refused the visit due to the lack of notice. ... Do we have legal rights here? We've asked the Landlord (via EA) for a 25% off considering the above factors.
Thank you!Completely agree - I get on with my LL pretty well, haven't blamed her at all and we've both agreed contractors fault. It HAS been a month now so there's been ample time for this to be sorted!
- from a keeping up friendly relationships perspective, fine but legally your only recourse (if any) is from your LL.
Well I'd argue that less than 24 hours notice that you can't wash at home and have no heating isn't great when paying a fortune in rent. - you chose to let them in, if the repair wasn't an emergency, you could have refused to have them give the proper notice. Nothing to recover now. I think it's a little different renting/ owning; part of my contract is paying for a liveable environment, your mortgage pays for bricks/mortar...
- the mortgage is irrelevant. Your rent pays for accomodation to the same standard as an owner occupier. So you should be subject to reasonable repair timings as if you were an owner occupier. 5 days without heating/hot water for a boiler replacement is reasonable and doesn't make it unlivable.
wow.. that's ridiculous!
The rent is irrelevant as the house was not uninhabitable and the LL fulfilled their repair obligations within a very reasonable timeframe. Your loss is at most the depreciated value of the vacuum inner lining and towels, if these were actually damaged beyond cleaning.0 -
After four years of living in a private rental house that was freezing, with a boiler that kept breaking and empty promises from the LL to replace the boiler if x y or z happened (which did), then I lived in a council place with the same problem.., freezing.
I had asked for a new boiler in council place but given my experience didn't think there was much chance.
One day an engineer came knocking on the door saying he needed to look at the boiler system because he was replacing it. No notice at all. I could have hugged the poor man.
Took a few days. Radiators were replaced as well. I didn't give a damn about hot water not working for a few days. The prospect of living in a warm home for the first time for years was all I needed. And it was totally worth the minor inconvenience.
I cleaned up any mess the engineer made when he moved from one area to another. Dustpan and brush and scrubbing my main weapons. Wasn't a problem. Even managed to strip the wallpaper from behind radiators as they were removed - which had been there for decades.
Warm home, no more waiting for a repair engineer several times a year, waiting for obsolete parts to arrive., I considered myself lucky. Would never have sought compensation. And yes, my bills went down by £10 a week.0 -
Bear in mind you may well get compensation, but you might also get a section 21.
There is some protection for revenge evictions
https://england.shelter.org.uk/housing_advice/repairs/revenge_eviction_if_you_ask_for_repairs"It is prudent when shopping for something important, not to limit yourself to Pound land/Estate Agents"
G_M/ Bowlhead99 RIP0 -
You need to be take a realistic approach to this. Being a tenant and paying rent doesn't equate to getting first class service. Boiler issues happen to everyone all the time. Yes, it's frustrating, yes, it's annoying, but it is as already said life whether renting or owning.
As it's been said too, you will be making saving in your bills with a new boiler, so maybe focus on the positive that comes with being a tenant. If it was your own home, you would be much worse off financially, either without a boiler or with a big bill to pay.0 -
my son shares with 5 others, one is unemployed, often drunk and likes drugs, he steals from the others, he is lead tenant, he has emailed my son to say he will return the money he has taken, he has not as yet and continues to steal food , my son has taken over collecting the rents from the others and paying the landlord, the chief tenant has been reported time and time again to the landlord but the landlord tells them to report him to the police.... it's not his problem, my son has asked to be let out of his agreement so he can move without paying 2 rents, the landlord has threatened him with court if he does not pay until his contract expires.... the landlord has taken no action against the lead tenant and thief, my son has kept his emails confessing to the thefts and offer of reimbursement.... landlords suck0
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