Help, i need out!!

[sophie T]

Ok, it's a bit of an essay: A month ago i moved into a student house. Since the date i moved in i have only been able to bring myself to stay there maybe 3 or four nights. The house has turned out to be a disaster:

 

The oven (brand new) didnt work for the first 3 weeks, there are 2 showers but only 1 is working - shared between 6, the whole house smells of damp and there is signs of damp in the shower room. The shelves above the bed have come away from the wall and i fear for my life when i have stayed over, the wardeobe was stuck together with chewing gum which,has since collapsed, the agents said that the cleaners would be in the day after we moved in..we are still waiting for them, they sent the inventory company round 3 weeks after moving in, we still have no vacumn cleaner, they failed to give us the front door keys and bedroom keys for the first 3 weeks..and the list goes on. I have visited the agents 4 times myself and my other housemates have been in on seperate occasions also to request these problems be resolved but we are still waiting.

I have decided that i cannot stay in the house in such conditions and so have moved all of my belongings out.

Do i have any way out of this tennancy as the house is unsuitable for living in (i may be a student but i am still human) and i have so far wasted over £400 on rent when i haven't even been able to stay there or will i have to find someone to take it over?? I would feel bad on anyone who moves to this house as i know what a dump it is.

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

[boyfalldown]

Hi Sophie,

 

Not really 100% sure of the legalities so won't advise on those I'm afraid. But there are a couple of practicle routes to take...

 

1) You say student house, some I'm assuming you're at university somewhere. Contact the housing office. They'll be able to advise properly. Depending on the circumstances of you obtaining the lease (ie, was it obtained or advertised through the University) the will also have other avenues they can persue if the landlord doesn't resolve things quickly.

 

2) Irrespective of the above, contact the local council. They will have the power to require the landlord to put things right or prosecute if needed. There are some strict laws on rented property now days.

 

If you have the support of either of the above and just choose to leave I think the landlord would be hard pressed to chase you for rent. Can't really imagine the scene of 'Your honour Miss X owes me £xxx in rent arrears'

'Your honour, the local council says the property is unfit for habitation' flying very far in court, but as I say I'm no expert.

 

Hugh

[sophie T]

Thanks for the advice, i shall see what i can do to pursue this matter furthur.

My only worry is that the other 5 housemates are all staying put in the house, they are a little youger in age and so im guessing they are just pleased to have a house of their own whereas i have the option of commuting and feel that living in the conditions are simply not acceptable.

[blacksheep1979]

You must keep paying your rent. You will be able to claim it back if the property is not as described and or not fit for living in. The laws on rental properties are getting stricter and as such you need two toilets if there are more than 4 people living in a house and two bathrooms above a certain no. (I believe 6 is probably more than enough). Contact the agency (in writing) stating that the property isn't fit to live in and that they need to provide one more working shower. Also ask for all rent back during the period where there was no cooking facilities and only 1 shower.

 

As boyfalldown said, speak to the university housing people as they will blacklist agencies/landlords that don't sort stuff out and this is not something the agency will want.

 

Also check that you have a current gas safety certificate issued by a corgi registered person and hard wired fire alarms as without these the property cannot legally be rented.

[sophie T]

Thanks for the advice, i shall get straight onto it in the morning!!!

I will update the thread once i hear more!!

[Nightmare4banks]

Hi all!

 

Sophie T in reply to your post:

 

Could you please answer the following questions:

 

1.Does each tenant have a tenancy agreement?

 

or

 

2.Are all of the tenants on one tenancy agreement?

 

The answers to the above questions should hopefully enable me to assist you further regarding the tenancy itself.

 

Now regarding the bad state of the property:

 

From what you have posted I would say that the property is a HMO which is a House in Multiple Occupation.There are certain strict criteria governing HMOs mainly but not limited to having:

 

1.Fire resistant doors.

2.Smoke alarms in each room.

3.Fire exits.

4.Adequate toilet and washing facilities.

 

Also,

 

a.if there is gas supply connected to the property(regardless whether HMO or not),a corgi registered gas fitter must provide a Landlord Certificate every year that covers all gas appliances in the property i.e.heaters if any and boiler(s) etc.The tenants have a right to have a copy of this certificate.Failure to have a certificate is a criminal offence.Electrics should be also given a bill of health - every three years if I remember correctly.

 

b.Regarding any damp,the best way forward would be to contact the Private Tenants Officer in the locality in which you reside.The council(Environmental Health Department) under The Environmental Protection Act 1990 have powers to compel landlords to carry out essential repairs and if they do not do so within certain deadlines,the council could carry out the repairs and bill the landlord accordingly.

Also,they can be fined.This would dealt with in The Magistrates Court.

 

c.Regarding the rent owed if you live in a property in a bad state.You should only pay the rent that the property is worth in rental terms in that bad state.If you took the landlord to court you would get a form of rent refund that is called "demunition in value" to reflect this.This would be determined by the evidence you had of the bad state plus the rent you have paid and the length of time that you endured the bad conditions.Of course,only a judge can decide the amount.

 

 

I hope you find this information useful.Also provide the answers to the above questions,so I can hopefully help you out further.

 

 

If you need more help,just ask.

 

Keep us posted.

 

All the best!

[Bigmac versus]

I am a corgi gas fitter and the landlord is responsible for this and must provide the true certicate when asked, if no certificate is provided then by the sounds of the premises there probably isnt one, you can however contact Corgi who will investigate as the landlord can be fined and even jailed if they were seen to be putting lifes at risk, or Transco,(0800 111 999) if you are worried about the safety of such appliances then advise transco who will call free of charge usually within two hours.

[sophie T]

Hi,

Thanks to everyone for the advice so far...

Nightmare4banks in response to your questions, i believe we all have seperate tenancy agreements- when i signed the contract it had only my signature on it. The agents won't actually let me have a copy of the document as they say they are not allowed..why i have no idea??

The house does have fire doors and smoke alarms in each room but the only fire exits are through the hallway, either out of the front door or the back door (it's a 3 storey house) and in regards to adequate wash facilities there is only one working shower..i read somewhere earlier that by law for a house of 5 person's or more there must be at least 2.

I must be honest and say i just want to get out of the contract, i feel heavily let down already by the agents and i know for sure that i will not be able to reside in such an unpleasant house, i dont even mind them holding on to the rent they have taken for the last month...the deposit back and a severence of contract would be nice but i think im being a litle on the unrealistic side!!

[Nightmare4banks]

Hi all!

 

Sophie T in reply to your post:

 

1.You have a right to have a copy of the tenancy agreement.What the agent is telling you is a load of bull****!

 

2.The best way forward would be to find an alternative "replacement" tenant to rent your room and you move out.This is because that if you have signed a 6 month tenancy agreement say you would be liable to pay the rent for the full 6 months.

 

3.Speak to the agent about moving out(you do not need to give any reasons) and coming to an amicable arrangement about the rent you have paid and the deposit.

 

4.If you get no joy,contact The Private Tenancy Officer within the council of the locality that you are based and explain the facts that:

 

a.The agent refuses to give you a copy of the agreement.

b.The bad conditions that you have endured throughout your tenancy.

 

Anyway,I hope you find this information useful.

 

If you any more questions,just ask.

 

Keep us posted.

 

All the best!

[sophie T]

Thank you very much everyone for the advice,

I have several people coming to look at the property in the next few days regarding taking over the contract however i am still going to pursue the repair issues with the agents as they are so incompetent and as a i am their business they should make all matters a priority.

Thanks, Sophie

[Nightmare4banks]

Sophie T,

 

Good luck!

 

Also,you should see to get a copy of the agreement that you have signed with this agency.

[sophie T]

Just a quick update: I went to the agents last week. They admitted that there had been complaints regarding their cleaning service, they also said that the house was a new one on theri books and therefore they had not inspected it themselves. The agents were fine about me moving out and even said if i can get someone else to takeover the contract they would refund my deposit and give me some rent back, they told me to stop the direct debit so i didnt pay anymore 'wasted money'. The trouble is no one wants a room at this late stage, i guess i shal just have to hope....

[blacksheep1979]

get them to put it in writing that they have agreed to release you from the contract and that you can stop the dd - they may change their minds once the landlord starts to complain about lack of rent.

[sophie T]

Thanks blacksheep1979,

i will get onto it right away!!!

[sophie T]

Just a quick update on the situation - I have sent a letter to the agents requesting my deposit back and for them to reimburse the rent for all the inconvenience caused. I have shown several potential tennants around since but as nothing has been done to rectify the house no one wants to move in. I shall update as soon as i know more...

[MrShed]

You can always utilise your "right of offset". My suggestion would be to write to the letting agent, listing all of the issues, and demanding they are repaired with 7 days. State that if they are not, you will get them repaired and charge them the costs. If they do not repair the problems, get 3 WRITTEN estimates for each repair, and use the cheapest of each to get the repair done(or middle, if you have good reason to believe the work will not be up to scratch). Take before and after photos. After this, do NOT pay the full amount of rent, pay the rent minus the amount you have spent. This is your legal right of offset. Send the agent COPIES of all the estimates. Job done!

[sophie T]

Thanks for the advice MrShed!! However i moved from the property over a month ago and have not paid any rent from the beginning of October (which the agent has not even requested) after talking to several tenants of various properties under the same agent a few have informed me that they have not even signed a contract or paid a deposit yet..some have been living in properties for nearly 2 months!! This makes me think that the agents are indeed cowboys and cant even manage their own files properly let alone houses.

Im going to stand my ground on the basis that the agents were in breach of the contract from the start as the house should never have been let in it's present state. As the repairs have still not been carried out they have not kept to their side of the contract making it negate, therfore i shall be rquesting all monies be returned.

Appreciate the advice so far everyone, thanks!!

[MrShed]

Hmm...sophie, be aware that should the case go to court, I think you would find it extremely difficult if not impossible to persuade the judge that the contract was broken. It is a common misconception that if one party is in breach of the contract, the other party can unilaterally then take that contract as broken. The only way you would be able to do this is if the problems with the property were somewhat more fundamental, and would be things classing the property as uninhabitable, which the items you have listed above do not. The best you can probably hope for is enforcing the letting agent to carry out the repairs required. I'm sorry that this is not what you want to hear, and I do not neccessarily agree with it, but this is the law. If you want some more specifc advice on this, I would advise you to visit LandlordZONE Property Forums , letting has very specific rules and regulations, and people without a specific knowledge of this legal area will struggle to apply general knowledge to the situation.

[sophie T]

Thanks for the advice MrShed.

I understand what you are saying and i shall visit the property forum for furthur reading and advice. Hopefully i can gain more of an understanding into the laws (i love this site!!)

As regards to the state of the house the way i see it (bear in mind i am just a student) is that i have paid for something which is not up to standards. The agents have failed to correct any of the above issues after almost 2 months and so I have been forced to move elsewhere, costing me more time and money. I feel that if it was any other situation in which an individual had paid for something and it was not up to scratch a refund should be on the cards or the situation should be rectified in another way immediately.

Im doing another viewing today of a potential tenant but after that, if they decide not to take it i shall be issuing the agents with a request of a refund of deposit etc. They have pretty much agreed that the are not doing what they should and they admitted they had not even looked inside the property as yet.

Im hoping though that the person i show around today will just take the contract and let me get on with my life...we shall see!!

[MrShed]

You are right, but letting is different. Don't get me wrong, I am not saying it is fair. But I do not think any court would agree that the property is uninhabitable, and as such you would still be liable for the rent. This happens to be my particular area of expertise, so unfortunately(!) I do know what I'm talking about here. Of course, if the agent agrees you have nothing to worry about! The forum I have posted above really is an excellent tenant/landlord site, and nothing gets their goat more than bad landlords giving them a bad name, so I cannot recommend highly enough.

[sophie T]

Thanks MrShed, I shall get on to the forum tonight!!