Am I entitled to a rent discount?

[Akira181]

Hi there

 

So far in this flat, the windows have leaked in heavy rain, wind also gets through the double glazing windows in bad weather, the washing machine has broken 3 times, we appear to have a insect problem in our kitchen no matter how clean we keep it, and we had a burst pipe in our bathroom.

 

Everything has been fixed apart from the windy windows and we can't prove the insect problem. What I'm asking about is mainly the leak.

 

Initially we were told not to use the hot water as that was believed to be the source of the leak and that a plumber would be round in a few days to fix it. He came, said he couldn't locate the leak and would have to get a joiner in to remove the ceiling tiles to expose the pipework.

 

2 weeks and still no progress, all this time still not using any hot water. I phoned up the LA again and they said they'd send another plumber around. At this point, the leak was so bad the wall was wet and soft, you could hear the leak, and a constant drip was viable. Me and my flatmate were at uni when the plumber came so he let himself in but reported there was no leak present!!

 

After this, our LA tried to bill us for the plumbers for false call out charges, which I promptly complained about and got cancelled. They said they'd send out a third plumber and asked for us to be present, which we agreed to but he never arrived.

 

About 40 days later, the leak got so bad, it started leaking into the flat below and after they complained to my LA, a joiner and plumber arrived in the same day. They tore the ceiling down, found the leak and shut off the water going to the boiler. A few days later, they replaced the pipe albeit with rubble lying everywhere.

 

All in all, we were without hot water for around 45 days and the ceiling still isn't put back together yet.

 

Am I legally entitled to any discount in rent or is it down to the landlord's goodwill?

[borisbeaver]

Contact your council's rent officer. They can give you great advise and confirm the rental value of the property.

[Akira181]

how would I get in touch with my council's rent officer?

 

To be honest, I think the rent on my flat is pretty cheap already. It's a pretty big 3 bedroom flat for only 575 a month + bills. Two reasons for that is that it's in the east end of glasgow and the furniture in this flat is pretty old.

 

I'm also moving out in a few months, is contacting my council's rent officer worth the effort?

[Joa]

You are entitled to rent discount in my view. write to your landlord (LA, i presume?) and make a suggestion. Tell them briefly what disadvantages you've had to put up with and explain that you'd like significant reduction in your next rent.

The way to look at it though is such: burst pipes happen- it is not the l/lord's fault. I's the way the l/lord has acted to remedy the problem which gives rise to any claims for rent reduction. 40-45 days to fix a problem and lack of hot water- it's unreasonably long. Mess that you have been left with needs to be taken into consideration.

I'd say 25% off next month's rent. Keep the outstanding money safely though, in case you will be required to pay it back (if the l/lord is not reasonable and goes to court). Finally, keep this in mind: if the l/lord refuses to agree to your terms ( you must try to get their argument in writing/recorded or witnessed!!), your deposit may be affected.