Are the Council breaking their Tenancy Agreement by not repairing? PLS READ!

[trubster]

I have lived in a 3rd floor flat in Sheffield for 2 and 1/2 years now and since we moved in we have been complaining about the lack of ventilation in the communal stairway, there are Somalis who live in the same block and when they cook, it stinks the whole flat out, also, the other residents smoke cannabis! The ventilation is rubbish and the smells make me sick.

We have 2 kids and they keep getting ill and I think it is the cleanliness of the stairway as well as the lack of ventilation, because when they stay at other family members they are absolutely fine, but when they come back, they have coughs and vomiting episodes.

Also, in January when there was really bad storms, there was 28 tiles loosened on the roof and half the ridge tile fell off, there was still a lot of loose tiles on the roof and the council refused to move them until I called the HSE 3 months later and they were cleared, after this, the "Repair Job" was classed as "Completed" with half the roof missing, Since then, we have had leaks through the ceilings (Under a cot), damage to the pointing, water damage to walls and god knows how much gas we have wasted heating up the outdoors (Literally)

So I called them up today and said I had enough and some really rude woman said "We are STILL awaiting materials (Tiles)" and it was only reported last month, but I reported this in January, and it was marked as complete, so I complained and they relisted the job.

I am at the end of my tether with this and I want to take the council to court for breach of tenancy agreement (As they promise to keep the property in a good state of repair) and they have failed this to the extent that they have threatened the health and safety of our 2 kids.

I know you can’t sue government depts. (I.E. Councils) but it is "Sheffield Homes" that I am having the trouble with and they manage the tenancy on behalf of Sheffield Council

I really would appreciate some advice.

Thanks

Kev

(Also Posted on MSE)

[MrShed]

What type of tenancy agreement do you have? I assume Sheffield Homes is what is called an ALMO(Arms Length Management Organisation) - I am unsure of the rules regarding this, as they act much more as a department of the council rather than as a seperate subcontracted company of the council.

[Joa]

The landlord has repair responsibility with regards to common areas no matter what kind of landlord it is. Read about The Right to repair here: Disrepair in rented accommodation
and also this is interesting:
Social landlords seek to avoid disrepair claims. No repairs involved. at Nearly Legal
I doubt you will have a valid ground for complaint with regards to lack of ventilation- is not disrepair, it simply non-existent. I would also be very careful with claims about "Somalis cooking"- we all know that cooking smells can be very annoying; Indian, Polish, Turkish etc- not just Somalis; you want to avoid being classed as a casual nuisance racist.
Good Luck!

[Nightmare4banks]

Hi all!

trubster,following reading your post and in my view:

1.You may be able to get a solicitor on a no win fee basis to get you compensation for the disrepair and to compel the landlord to carry out the repairs.Look for solicitor in the local yellow pages and ask if they would take on your case on a no win no fee basis.There is no harm in asking and if you succeed it would should hopefully not cost you anything.Generally if there is a strong case a solicitor would take on the case.I know for a fact that here in the West Midlands there is a specialist no win no fee solicitor in housing disrepair claims.So there is no reason why you should not be able to find one in Sheffield or nearby.

2.You would need an expert report to get compensation.

3.The compensation would depend on the severity of the disrepair and how long the tenant endured it - this can run into thousands of pounds in some cases.Especially if the tenant suffered from health problems due to the disrepair -here medical reports would be needed to backup the claim.

Regarding the disrepair itself:

a.the solicitor would have to obtain a court order/injunction to compel the landlord to carry out the repairs.

b.There should be schedule in place to carry out the repairs within a strict deadline.

c.I cannot comment on your property/hallway etc as I have not seen the property physically.However,again a specialist lawyer in property disrepair would instruct a surveyor to inspect your property and the communial parts to establish the level of disrepair,impact on your health/quality of life and the remedial works that should be carried out as they would consitute a breach of the landlord's obligations to the tenant.

d.Regarding smells as Joa has mentioned you do not want accusations of being prejudice.

e.The drugs issue is possibly form of breach of tenancy and the remedy would potentially be eviction.But would this actually happen?No,I doubt it!

Anyway,I hope you find this information useful.

If you have any questions,just ask.

[death by overpopulation]

Are there any case laws you know of regarding housing associations who have failed to sucessfully carry out repairs to the heating and hot wataer system, leaving a sick man without either for most part of the year? Our solicitor is rubbish and says there is not but i can't beleive that.

[legalyinsane]

When my council failed to do repairs i took photos and e-mailed them to the chief executive, they soon completed all and i was even compensated.