Private rented house - issues!!!

[paulamcb]

Myself and my husband have been living here for 2 years and pay rent on the 1st of each month......we have been a day late with 2 payments (probably due to paying by online transfer) and the landlord states they have incurred fees with the bank and we have had to pay the £70 fees back to the landlord.

 

I told him we would pay and at the same time requested they come and take a look at a mould issue due to no ventilation in the bathroom.

 

We found the house through a friend - ie our friend is friends with the landlord and if we pay a day late or mention certain things like problems with the house, the landlord goes to our friend and discusses things that I think he should not be really.

 

So.....how do i ask him to check out our bathroom problem and at the same time ask him not to involve our friend??

 

its like if we say or do the wrong thing the landlord runs to our friend....like its his fault! Then we get a lecture off our friend

 

Annoying...

[MrShed]

1) Bathroom issue really depends on the individual layout of the bathoom. Does the bathroom have openable windows and do you open these during showers/baths etc?

2) I would simply say to the landlord that you would rather any issues are not discussed with your friend and discussed with you directly. If the LL is reasonable, they should be OK with this - they are treating it somewhat more informally than they should be, but this may be down to the initial way in which the tenancy commenced.

3) I wouldnt pay any bank fees until the LL shows you proof that they occurred. If they did, yes you are liable.

[paulamcb]

We have paid the fees - anything for a simple life but probably should have questioned it!

 

Since we moved in no windows in the house opened...untill last summer when they managed to chip away the paint that sealed the bedroom window shut. This is now the only window in the house that opens.

 

The bathroom window is painted shut and mould is getting very bad plus paint peeling badly off the ceiling.

 

I dont want us getting charged because our bathroom is getting what I can only say as 'minging'!!!

[MrShed]

The obvious solution then would be to make the window openable would suggest this to the landlord.

 

It is pretty unlikely they are going to go to the level of putting in dedicated mechanical ventilation (i.e. a fan).

[Ed999]

My comments only apply if the premises are entirely within England and Wales, and you were granted a shorthold tenancy (under which you - and your spouse/partner/children, if any - have exclusive use of a seperate dwelling, which is not shared with another tenant nor with the landlord), and you were over 18 years of age when the tenancy was granted, and the rent is less than £2,083 per month.

 

This posting is supplemental to the information in this forum's "sticky" threads and is NOT to be read in isolation.

 

 

Myself and my husband have been living here for 2 years and pay rent on the 1st of each month......we have been a day late with 2 payments (probably due to paying by online transfer) and the landlord states they have incurred fees with the bank and we have had to pay the £70 fees back to the landlord.

 

 

Administrative charges : Late Payment charges

 

Where the landlord is purporting to impose administrative charges on the tenant, the starting point is always the tenancy agreement, i.e. the contract. On its true construction, does it give the landlord the right to impose the charges in question?

 

It is unlikely that a court would find there to be an implied right to impose charges on the tenant; but a court would probably feel bound to uphold any such clause that had been expressly agreed as part of the contract.

 

The only statutory issue is whether the contract clause - if there actually is one - amounts to a penalty, and is therefore unlawful; or whether the charge amounts merely to a genuine pre-estimate of the loss. The larger the charge, the more likely it is to be held to be a penalty. A small charge, such as £15 per default, might well be so small as to be a reasonable estimate of the actual cost to the landlord of a late payment, and therefore not invalid.

 

IMHO the court would look at it as a question of actual expense to the landlord, who will incur (for example) a £20 bank charge for a bounced cheque.

 

A figure of £12 has been approved by the Office of Fair Trading. On that basis, it's reasonable for the landlord to recover any amount up to £12, if the contract permits a charge to be made. Remember: £20 is now the usual item charge imposed by a bank if a cheque paid in bounces.

 

Therefore fixed charges for late payment are not necessarily an unlawful penalty, for the OFT has approved a fixed charge of £12 per default.

 

Invite the landlord to prove that the charge is a true reflection of his financial loss. He won't be able to, if the charge exceeds about £20.

 

An admin charge is imposed to meet the actual cost of the extra administrative work involved in issuing a notice of default and a demand for payment, and is not based on the interest rate chargeable on overdue rent. Such interest will be payable in addition to the admin charge.

 

 

 

I told him we would pay and at the same time requested they come and take a look at a mould issue due to no ventilation in the bathroom.

 

 

Tenant's Repairing Obligations

 

The tenant has a duty to treat the property in a 'tenant-like manner'. This is defined by the Court of Appeal in the leading case of Warren v Keen [1953] 2 All ER 1118, CA.

 

Basically, the tenant must take proper care of the premises, and must repair damage to the premises caused, wilfully or negligently, by him, his family, or his guests.

 

If the damp is due to condensation, the tenant pays the cost of the repairs. Condensation is due to the tenant's failure to keep the premises properly ventilated.

[MrShed]

Tenant's Repairing Obligations The tenant has a duty to treat the property in a 'tenant-like manner'. This is defined by the Court of Appeal in the leading case of Warren v Keen [1953] 2 All ER 1118, CA. Basically, the tenant must take proper care of the premises, and must repair damage to the premises caused, wilfully or negligently, by him, his family, or his guests. If the damp is due to condensation, the tenant pays the cost of the repairs. Condensation is due to the tenant's failure to keep the premises properly ventilated. (Sorry Quote isnt working for some reason). Ed - in this scenario, can the tenant possibly by found negligent for not ventilating the room when no manual or mechanical form of ventilation existed?

[paulamcb]

The window is painted shut and there is no fan, we have asked the window to be opened and have informed them of the mould...this should not be down to us to pay for surely

[MrShed]

The window is painted shut and there is no fan, we have asked the window to be opened and have informed them of the mould...this should not be down to us to pay for surely

 

I agree fully, hence my above post.

[mariner51]

Which is the lesser of 2 evils? Being resp for forcing open & repainting a single window that had been painted shut (was LL aware that it had been painted shut?) or being resp for damage caused by condensation due to (inoperable?) window.?

[Ed999]

Ed - in this scenario, can the tenant possibly by found negligent for not ventilating the room when no manual or mechanical form of ventilation existed?

 

 

What I was thinking about is my own bathroom.

 

When the children have been steaming it up by having a bath - unlikely, I know, but it can happen - the wife simply leaves the bathroom door ajar afterwards. After a few minutes the condensation begins to go, in the blast of cold air off the landing; and within a half hour the condensation is entirely gone.

 

It is NOT necessary to open the window. In cold weather it certainly isn't desirable to.

 

We have NO ventilator and NO extractor fan, but have never suffered from mould.

 

 

The landlord is responsible under section 11 of the 1985 Act for only limited repairs.

 

In summary, section 11 of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1985 imposes a statutory obligation on the landlord to keep the following in good repair and in proper working order:

 

• the structure and exterior of the dwelling, including drains, gutters and external pipes;

 

• the installations for supply of water, gas, electricity and sanitation (including basins, sinks, baths and toilets); and

 

• the installations for space heating and water heating.

 

The tenant is responsible for everything else, in respect of damage (including condensation damage).

 

 

West and Smith's Law of Dilapidations contains much useful guidance, in

Chapter 3.

Edited July 20, 2011 by Ed999