Can I please ask some advice on my rented house

Question

OK, so ive lived in my rented house for 4 years now, and ive had a problem with my landlord pretty much since ive lived there. The reason being he neglects the house completely and ive been told recently the things he is (or isnt doing) are totally illegal.

Eg,

-He has only had the gas appliances checked once 3 years ago and thats only because my mum asked when he last got them checked.

- None of the gas fires work

-We have told him the gas board have told us that they cant access the gas meter or the gas switch which is dangerous, this was 2 years ago we told him this. He built the kitchen over the meter and taps.

- 2 days ago our kitchen wall started filling with water and the plaster came off the wall, my fellas friend came to sort it out, a leak from the shower pipe under the floorboards, which, are also rotten. The landlord has sent nobody round. If the man had not have come the wall would have fallen down by now he said.

- He hasnt renewed our tenancy agreement regardless of how many times we have asked him to. The only one we have was for 6 months starting august 04

There is loads more problems but this is an example. Ive spoken to an advisor who says we can get compensation for this. Im happy if we only get the rent back. Im so upset now ive had to take time off work as im worried something else will go wrong. We have a 3 year old son now too and it worries me for him. Has anyone any advice on where to go from here please,

Thanks.

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Answer 1

You do have some major problems here, so here goes:-

The Gas Safety check-MUST be done every year, failure to do this can result in a hefty fine. This is something that should be done NOW, all the gas appliances that belong to the landlord are required to be checked.

It is illegal, not to be able to to turn the gas off by the the Gas safety valve, this must be done immediatly. If you were to have a gas leak, this is where you turn it off, it is a legal requirement to have this at hand.

That is the two dangerious things that need sorting like yesterday !

The other things are also outstanding and you should have had them repaired by the landlord, including the shower, despite what some person on here said. The landlord is required to keep the fabric of the building up together, that includes the leak in the shower.

You are paying to rent this property, and as such the landlord should be keeping it up to a good standard or repair.

The question of the agreement, as correctly said before by one other person, you have a Periodic Tenancy which has the same conditions as the original AST, so dont worry about that, there is nothing your landlord can do, if he wants to evict you, he has to give 2 months notice and then go to court. This will cost him £1000+, and it seems that he does not like to spend.

My advice is contact the enviromental officer at the council, or if they have one, the housing officer, whoever, you must do this tomorrow, think of your son, what would happen if there was a gas leak.

Good luck, speak to somebody, and start looking for a better place for the family.

Answer 2

Get in touch with the local council.  Either their environmental health department or private lettings department.  They will take him to the cleaners!  Not having a gas safety inspection done yearly is a criminal offence so you have got him by the short and curlys there!  

By getting the council involved and getting a report from them, as well as ensuring that the work gets done to a reasonable standard, you will have written evidence from a very influential source who will also back you up if he refuses to return your deposit or want to go to court to fight for compensation.  Also fill in a form for council housing in case the council turn round and say it is bad enough to be unfit for human habitation.  They will then have to rehouse you even if it is just temporary.

As well as getting the council involved, write a letter to him pointing out what is wrong with the flat and the number of times you have asked for this to be fixed.  Don't use threats in this letter but send it registered post so that he can't say he didn't get it.  More evidence that he knew about the state of the property.  I think this will end with you having to move out when you can with or without council help.  In your position, as the landlord has proved himself to be untrustable and downright irresponsible, you will have no chance of getting your deposit back so do not pay the last month's rent!

Answer 3

One word----MOVE.

Answer 4

You have to file formal complaints about the problems first.  Send it certified mail on top of that.  Then he has so many days to address the problems you stated.

Also, I find it highly suspect that the gas board told you that they can't access the gas meter or gas switch without issuing a notice to the owner.

They can "red tag" the entire home and prevent anyone from going in it until its up to "code".  So that part of your story sounds a little exaggerated.

Lastly, you could always move out.  I suspect you're paying some really cheap rent.  Why else would someone live in a condemned building with a three year old child?  So instead of complaining about every little thing, why don't you just appreciate the cheap rent.

PS...no agreement means you're month to month.  He can give you 30 days notice to get out of his house.  And he would be well within the legal requirements to do so.  He could also raise your rent if he felt like it.

PS again....you could also withhold rent until he fixes the problems.  That's a risky move but it would force him to do something about the issues.  Then if he tries to evict you then you really have a strong case of illegal eviction.  He can't evict you because you complained about all the issues in the house.  Again, make sure he has been FORMALLY notified of the problems.

Answer 5

I agree with elaeblue, get out of there fast, your landlord is a accident waiting to happen and should be arrested for neglect.

Answer 6

blimey why are you staying there? tenancy agreements gives certain rights to both you and your landlord as you're staying there without a tenancy agreement you really dont have any rights to comp! sorry,  if i was you with a 3 years old i'd get somewhere else to live asap and put this all down to bad luck and move on!

read the link below to give some good advice on this

Answer 7

You won't get any compensation, as you're voluntarily staying in a property you consider unsuitable or unsafe, without a tenancy agreement.

Your only recourse is to move.

Any work you do to maintain or upgrade the property is your problem, I'm afraid.

If you had thought the property so bad that you'd moved out after repeated requests, and had to rent temporary accomodation, you may be in line for some money, but the situation here doesn't warrant any recompense.

Answer 8

First of all you have a very good case against  your landlord, please phone you  environmental health team and ask for the housing department explain to them the situation and they will act on your behalf.  

Ask them to visit you house they will take photos compile a report and can enforce the work to be done and your landlord must pay for the work also they can write and speak to your landlord but you must do this today

Answer 9

Contact your local authority trading standards might be the place and tell them. If they can't assist then they will know the correct department to go to.

Answer 10

You have a right to be worried!  Each point in turn:

Gas checks - must be doen every year - it is law and he can be prosecuted for not getting them done.

Gas fires - the tenancy will say he has to 'provide and maintain adequate heating'.  So if you have central heating which works fine he probabally isnt in breach of his contract.  Doesnt make it right though.

Gas meter - I would have thought the Gas Board/ Transco would take action here, they have enforcing powers if they have told you it is dangerous.

Shower leak - not the Landlords fault, he cant be blamed for a leak or ensuing damage, however he does have a duty to repair and make good.

General state - the best people to talk to about this are not CAB but the Housing Officer based at your Council.  Every Council has one, usually based in the Environmental Health dept.  He or she will come out and have a look and have the powers to force the Landlord to carry out repairs that they think are necessary.  If not they can prosecute him.

Tenancy agreement - it doesnt matter that a new tenancy hasn't been issued it is considered a rolling tenancy - your rights and his resposibilites are exactly the same, nothing changes.

Compensation - I dont know which 'Adviser' told you you can get compensation for this as it is simply not true.  Basically he is in breach of contract, and in English contract Law you can only sue him for your financial lossess as a result of his breach.  So for example if you asked him to do a gas check, and he didn't then you paid someone yourself to do it, or you paid for necessary repairs because he refused to do them, you could sue him to get the money back. You cant sue for inconvenience or because you have had a hard time of it I'm afraid.  The only time you can sue for compensation is if you have suffered ill health such as stress due to his negligence (or failure in his duty of care) to you.  But then you have to prove it which is the hard bit.

Get the Council Housing Officer out is my best advice, they have the enforcing powers!

Ps ignore Sam D's bit of advice - he has to give you 2 months notice in writing by law, not 30 days, plus dont withold rent in lieu of repairs, this tactic is playing straight into his hands and will not benefit you.  Good Luck.

Answer 11

I think tis highly unlikely that you will get any compensation or any rent back. You are choosing to stay there and without a tenancy agreement so you havn't even got any proof you are tenants.

From expeieince I can tell you landlords like yours never change. The best thing you can do is move, find a rented property through an agency that way you have a point of contact that isnt your landlord and agencies wont take on properties that are maintained to legal standards.

You really should move, if you've been tehre three years and nothing has changed then nothings going to change now. Just put staying there and paying rent so long as a lesson learned and move to somewhere better and safer for your child.

Answer 12

to be honest i really think you need to consider moving there should be loads of places to rent in your area or put your name down for a housing association house.

    it just doesnt seem worth the trouble that your having and once you get into a legal battle with your landlord it may get worse before it gets better and it sounds like you could do without that.

best of luck.