rented house advise

[digidude]

my missus lives in a privatley rented house, and the landlord has recently upped her rent by £20 a week

since she moved in, getting him to do repairs is a nightmare, last winter the boiler packed in, tried getting hold of him for 2 days, called to his house, before getting someone in to fix it, he went ballistic, also told him, last year, that the windows were screwed and needed all the seals replacing, which he said hed sort

winters here again, and despite the heating bein on full blast, woke up this morning, and the temp on the clock in the bedroom was 8 degrees, thats only slightly warmer than my fridge

he called to the house a few days ago, and was in the middle of telling the missus that the windows have a 25 year guarantee, theres nothing wrong with them, and the cold in the bedroom wasnt as bad as she was making out

i arrived, told him that im an experienced window fabricator and glazier, and basicly he was talking crap, and ALL the seals need replacing, he then changed his mind about what hed just told the missus

i offered to get the stuff needed, and do it all myself, but he said that he would sort it, that was 3 days ago. the missus daughter is now ill through the cold, the missus has chest infection, in my opinion, from sleeping in the cold.

can the missus legally stop paying this extra £20 untill he sorts it out, should i just go ahead and sort it out, and invoice him for the materials, which i probably wont get back

any advise would be brill

 

[Evastar]

can she look into moving? as he sounds like a nightmare of a landlord to have.

 

[digidude]

dont ask lol, before she moved into this place, she moved 7 time in 11 months, im not joking lol, 2 of those times was back into a same house, twice lol

 

[Bronto]

My daughter had a similar problem with rent increases, if you are a short term tenancy the landlord can legally put the rent up at the renewal of each new tenancy agreement but there are a few rules he HAS to follow

Just had a look round Dude, some interesting bits here, I'm sure the law is the same in England and Wales ?

Can a Tenant do the repairs the landlord will not do? - TenantsTips

Shelter England - Landlords' responsibilities

Shelter England - Repairs in private lets

 

[Penners]

I'd hold back all the rent never mind the extra £20.

Tell him to sort his act out or you'll get all the work done and deduct it from the monthly rent.

Seriously I don't know how these landlords get away with it. If it was one of my houses that I rent I would have the plumber round to the boiler the same day you can't leave tenants without heating especially 2 bloody days.

If the seals are gone and the house is damp then you will be in your rights to demand this fixing as the tenancy agreement is not just to protect the landlord it’s supposed to protect the tenant too.

Basically money talks stop paying the cnut and give him 2 options

Option 1 you sort it and deduct costs for materials plus your labour
or
Option 2 He sorts it and when you’re happy with the work completed you then start paying your rent again.

 

[dont do it it"ll hurt]

is he on the council preferred landlord reg ?/
if so you can report him to them
he should get a warning from the
or you misses could go to them and get a visit off them to see if the house is fit to live in they can force him to do repairs and even say the house is uninhabitable that will screw him up
have a look at those sorry if wrong but dont think i am
kink regards

 

[**override**]

I agree with most of the above,but other thing she can do is fone the c.a.b. or a solititor and see were she stands....

 

[skinz]

Mate I had a quick look and found this information, I would need to check my old books to be 100% sure but a starting point for you.

Also this seems like Grey area that also seems to depend on if you are in an assured short-hold tenancy or long term.

Can tenants withhold rent for lack of service?
The usual rules in cases like this are that tenant requests landlord to carry out repairs. If landlord does not comply within a reasonable time frame, then tenant repeats request giving landlord a specific time by which the repairs are to be completed. Tenant also submits quotations from contractors to complete the repairs, and if landlord again fails to effect these repairs, tenant does so using the lowest quotation and deducts this sum from the rent paid to the landlord.
1. Yes! And its a criminal offence if the agent doesn't comply within 21 days under S.1 Landlord & Tenant Act 1985. You MUST however make the request to the agent in writing, not orally.
Basis for T to withhold rent from L?
1. It sound like the property is not fit habitation, you need to call your local Environmental Housing Officer who will determine that.

Eviction takes quite a long time, you would need to be 2 months in arrears before the LL could issue a section 8 notice and would have to go to court to get an eviction order which takes another 4-8 weeks.

You can legitamately use "set off" where you pay for repairs and recoup it against the rent but you need to follow due process

You should go and see your local Citizens Advice Bureau they will provide the support you need to manage the above. They will also help you with advice on getting your deposit protected, if he does not protect the deposit you may be able to apply for the 3x penalty
Can T withhold rent, as no hot water supply?
1. Lack of funds (and L's absence in USA) can make no difference.
You have statutory rights, under s.11 of LTA 1985 [search LZ for what these are], and L's failure to comply is a criminal offence.


With regard to the repairs, I appreciate your frustration, but could the landlord could claim that the repairs have only just arisen? He is entitled to a reasonable period of time in order to rectify the problems and lack of funds is most definitely not a defence. My suggestion would be to ask for clear information from the agent about when the work will be done. Failing this, google Lee Parker v Izzet for an idea of when you are entitled to deduct from your rent to pay for repairs.
Not sure failure to comply with section 11 is automatically a criminal offence is it?
No, not automatically. Sure, it's a breach of an implied covenant- but letting an uninhabitable property (e.g. one without hot water mains supply due to L's negligence) is often what leads to:
a. specific performance proceedings [s.17 of LTA 1985]; and/or
b. local authority enforcement action
1. The tenant has the right of remedy under S.11 to have the work done and to deduct the cost from rent due. Also the L is likely to be in breach of the Defective Premises Act 1972
In what circumstances can a tenant withhold rent? - Yahoo! UK & Ireland Answers
Tenant can not withhold rent. She could, conceivably, sue you for breach of contract - but in that situation, a judge decides what is fair - not her.

If the 'washing facilities' were for personal washing (sink/bath/shower etc) you're on dodgy ground because you are in breach of the 1985 Landlord & Tenant Act and the lack of those facilities rendered the property uninhabitable - therefore a judge would find that no rent is be due.

 

[skinz]

Also I think these links would be your best starting point mate

Freezing weather, no boiler for a month, withhold rent?

Freezing weather, no boiler for a month, withhold rent? - MoneySavingExpert.com Forums

Tenancies, deposits and rent : Directgov - Home and community

Tenancies, deposits and rent - private rentingTypes of tenancies - private renting

The rights and responsibilities of both tenants and landlords; also the different types of tenancy and what they mean

Deposits, rent and changing a tenancy agreement - private renting
How to change a tenancy agreement, what happens if a tenant dies and information on rent increases and subletting

Ending a tenancy - private rentingThe legal rights and duties of tenants and landlords when ending a tenancy or licence

Deposit protection schemes for private tenantsHow deposit protection schemes work, who needs to use them and how to choose the best scheme for you

and lastly a forum for landlords

http://www.landlordzone.co.uk/forums/

Hope this helps

Edit : by the wya dont withold the rent and put your issues in writing to him and there is proceedure you have to follow to be legal. Ill try and find what that process is mate

 

[skinz]

Here ya go found the process, at the bottom of the page link

Shelter England - Tenants doing repairs

 

[ellie1998]

<snip>
Eviction takes quite a long time, you would need to be 2 months in arrears before the LL could issue a section 8 notice and would have to go to court to get an eviction order which takes another 4-8 weeks.
<snip>

A section 21 is better as you don't even need to give a reason.

To be honest this landlord is a cowboy so won't even know what a section 21 is. Any landlord worth his salt will keep the property tip top as it is in their best interests to do so.

 

[stefblak]

did he give her notice of the increase in writing. also it should be in the contract she signed what the landlord HAS to do.

 

[jamesyboyjim]

these are all great posts and advise but if i could advise one thing, it would be to get her an electric blanket

our flat is always freezing and i used to struggle sleeping due to the cold but now i stick the blanket on for an hour or so and get into a toasty bed and provided i stay wrapped up i'l be warm enough all night without needing it switched on the whole time

not even a northerner could tolerate the cold of this flat lol

 

[DOOBIE]

if you do withold the rent then make sure you dont spend it and can pay him when the work is done as i think once you withold the rent as soon as you whitheld bill is greater then the cost of repair he can evict you not 100% sure but it happened to us a few years ago as mold ate our bedding and carpets furniture so we witheld for 12 months as we were claiming for £6000 of damage to our stuff and then we made an agreement and moved out (we didnt sue they wrote off our areers

 

[mapman]

as the above said dont spend the money open a bank for the rent so by lay they see you are putting the money aside ,if he compleats the work you can then ask for compo ,

 

[2old4this]

Also check if the landlord has a Gas Safety Certificate you should have been given a copy if not contact HSE. i have had same 5 people living in my house for last 3yrs all in full time jobs