miss

[disney1982]

Two weeks ago i could smell gas in my house I rang Transco (on the advice of my letting agent)who then condemed my boiler,I then rang my agent who sent a contractor that day.He said there was two leaks but he could only find one of them his advice was to replace the boiler.The next day I contacted the letting agent who informed me they were waiting for the landlord to get back to them because he had to ok the work,this then went on for a further 3 days on that friday the landlord said he wanted to try and fix the boiler the contractor came out that night to get the serial number off the boiler but said he did'nt think it was going to work as the boiler is that old it would be safer to replace the whole thing.We then had to wait another week for the part to come in.The part came in today when the contractor came to fit it, he striped the boiler and said there was no point in fitting the part because the whole boiler needed replacing because he found more faults.So we are now at the point where the whole boiler needs replacing I have three children one of which is 11 weeks old and no heat,does anyone know where I stand as far as paying my rent I have been told that I dont have to pay my rent but that was by the contractor can anyone help.

[demon_x_slash]

Stopping rent is the LAST resort, as if you fall behind by two months the landlord can seek to legally evict you. If the landlord refuses to replace the boiler (replace, not fix, it's obviously past it and therefore unsafe), go to your local housing officer at the council and raise an urgent complaint. You could also replace the boiler yourself and then reclaim the costs from the landlord if things get really desperate. Nightmare4banks can probably advise you further on the detriment aspect.

Good luck.

[disney1982]

In are tenancy it states we are not allowed to do any work are selfs it has to go through the agent other wise they will not pay.We were also told to hold £260.00 back by the letting agent but they still expect that back do I have to pay this as my rent is £150.00 per week.thank you for your help

[blacksheep1979]

You should be able to claim back the rent for the period where you didn't have hot water and heating as these are necessary for letting a furnished property. As for not getting the work done yourself, you can, if the landlord has been given adequate notice and chance to replace or repair something then you can have it done and reclaim the costs from the rent. You would have to get several quotes for this though.

[disney1982]

Do you know the best place to get this info in writing to be able to show the letting agent thanks very much

[MrShed]

- Without heating or running hot water, the property was technically uninhabitable. As such, you are entitled to a full refund of the rent for the time you were left without these amenities.

- The ABSOLUTE maximum time, IMO, that a tenant should be left without these is 48 hours.

- Regardless of what your tenancy states, you have a legal right of offset should the landlord not perform repairs he is obligated to do. This means that you can do the repairs and deduct the amount from the deposit.

- Contrary to what is said above, you have no right to have a full replacement, provided any repair is enough to keep the boiler safe.

My suggestion would be as follows. Due to the severity of the disrepair, writing a letter is unfeasible. I would telephone the agent, on a mobile with recording functions. Record the conversation you have with them, but ensure that you inform the agent at the beginning of the conversation that you are doing so. In the conversation, inform the LA that within 24 hours of the time of the conversation, you expect the boiler to be replaced or repaired to a safe level. Inform them that should this not occur, you will get 3 estimates for the replacement/repair of the boiler, and if replacement, a statement from the engineer stating that the boiler is beyond economical repair. You will then utilise your legal right of offset to use the engineer with the lowest estimate to replace/repair the boiler, and the total cost of all of this will be deducted from the rent. Also inform them that due to the uninhabitable state of the property for X time period, you will be deducting from the rent payment the payable rent from this period also. Finally inform them that should it get to this stage, you will inform the local housing office and environmental health of the issues.

I would not then permit the conversation to go any further. Do not get embroiled in any discussion about these points. If they push, simply state that you are not looking to get their agreement, you are merely informing them of your intentions. After the conversation, send a letter with the same information detailed. If it comes to 24 hours and they have not done anything, do as you have said, sending a COPY of the receipt to the agent, stating that you will only send the original once you have in writing from them their acceptance of the amount deducted from the rent.

Hope this helps.

Looking to the future, be aware of three things:

- Expect to be evicted as soon as possible by a Section 21 notice, which is basically evicted with no reason. You can do nothing about this, and to be honest you are better off out of it.

- I would definitely in this situation be withholding the last months rent to cover the deposit, which they will almost certainly try and deduct from.

- They may well try and reclaim the money or evict due to rent arrears. In this case, do not worry too much - simply make sure that at every stage you have maintained documentary evidence of proceedings, and you will be able to show these in court. NEVER under any circumstances forward any originals to the agent, always a copy, and also ensure that other than the first call any further communication is made in writing only.

- Finally(sorry fourth thing!) be aware of the potential of intimidation and/or harrassment on the part of the agent/landlord. Again, keep documentary evidence of any such offence. Most importantly, if they try to enter the property they have NO legal right to do so without your explicit permission.

[disney1982]

I do have hot water but no heat is this the same if I have only one and not the other.

[MrShed]

Yes the same...don't worry about that. Just assume I meant heating.

[MrShed]

Hang on, how can you have hot water without the boiler?

[disney1982]

I have an electric immersion heater

[MrShed]

Ah

[disney1982]

thank you for all your help.

[Jhawc24]

If you need some support contact Shelter: Advice and support you can ring, or email.

Good luck, Joan

[strangewayofsavin]

Hi, ask your LA for a copy of the corgi certificate for the boiler, if they cannot get you a copy or, do not have one, the let is illegal, I would personally, not get the work done, the reason being, it would be very expensive, also you could find yourself in breech of your tenancy agreement, most assured short hold tenancies have a condition that states all repairs to be made by the landlord, if you breech this, they can evict you. As I said ask for the boilers corgi cetificate, and threaten to involve Health & saftey. some advice on boilers is available on the web site hse.gov.uk
Pay your rent, and make a note of the period, and demand a rebate. don't be worried about threatening them with action. All of the tenants rights are available in a leaflet called "tenants and landlords" available from all local authorities or citizens advice.

[MrShed]

Incorrect. The tenant has a legal right to do the work and charge the landlord, regardless of what it states in the AST. This does not put him in breach of contract.