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AIBU?

To deduct from rent

49 replies

Worzilgummidge · 08/03/2019 10:47

I can't get my landlord to repair a electrical fault or reimburse me for fence panels he keeps promising and nothing is happening and he now appears to be ignoring me aibu to think about taking it off his rent money

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PolarBearDisguisedAsAPenguin · 08/03/2019 10:54

How have you tried contacting and over what period of time? If you don’t pay your rent in full, be prepared for him to give you notice to leave.

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Worzilgummidge · 08/03/2019 10:56

By text and whatssap mostly have called but he rarely answers. Been going on for 2 weeks.
I have suggested knocking it off rent but waiting for a reply.

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GreenThing · 08/03/2019 10:59

Don't pay less than the full rent unless you are in a position to get a mortgage immediately.

If you want to stay in the property, or get references, you must pay.

Your local council might have a department that oversees private landlords. They won't be bothered about fence panels generally, but the electrics should be up to legally safe standards I think.

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LakieLady · 08/03/2019 11:05

I'm afraid you would be in the wrong. You have committed to paying £X a month rent and that is your legal obligation.

If there are disrepair issues, especially if the electrics are unsafe, you should notify the council's environmental health department as they have the power to force landlords to undertake repairs.

Did he agree to pay for the fence panels? If so, and you're out of pocket because he hasn't, I'd email him and remind him. You could suggest that to save him the hassle, you'll deduct what you paid from next month's rent and say that unless you hear from him otherwise, you'll assume that's ok with him. But bear in mind that if you have the usual shorthold tenancy, he can issue Notice to Quit for any reason or none and that there's nothing you can do about it (providing that he's issued all the right documents at the start of the tenancy).

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Worzilgummidge · 08/03/2019 11:12

I will carry on paying in full because I like it here and not in a good position to go elsewhere but it gets you mad to think your been fobbed off.

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Worzilgummidge · 08/03/2019 11:14

The electrics are not unsafe just some sockets are not working and it's so inconvenient trying to use my appliances.
Has for the fence panels I am gathering he is responsible for those.

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Worzilgummidge · 08/03/2019 11:15

I signed a 2 year tenancy

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Worzilgummidge · 08/03/2019 11:16

He has never agreed to pay for fence panels he just keeps saying I will speak to management team. I have looked online and it seems to suggest that landlords are usually responsible for fencing

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DianaT1969 · 08/03/2019 11:18

Was an inventory done when you moved in? If yes, and these things weren't working then, or in disrepair, it should have been noted in the report.
Switch to email, so that you have a clear record of everything.

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Worzilgummidge · 08/03/2019 11:21

No Diana no inventory was done

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Worzilgummidge · 08/03/2019 11:23

When I moved in the panels where already dodgy and the lady next door replaced one but now 2 are constantly falling out and I have replaced these.

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swingofthings · 08/03/2019 11:29

You're going à out it totally wrongly. Fences is not a legal obligation to have so ultimately, your LL could decide not to replace. As it is, it sounds like he is trying to find out who is responsible for it. If you've decided to go ahead and replace yourself, he could say that it was your choice and doesn't have to reimburse you. You should have written to him a d ask what his intention were before deciding whether to pay for it or not.

As for the electrics, if it isn't urgent, then waiting two weeks is nothing. Getting an eke teician to come just to change a socket is mission impossible in some areas as they much prefer to give their time to bigger jobs. You'll have to be more patient as you'd have to be if you owned the property.

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userschmoozer · 08/03/2019 11:32

Talk to a solicitor, CAB or Shelter. You need to get some advice before you do anything; you can legally deduct the cost of repairs from rent but it depends.

england.shelter.org.uk/housing_advice/repairs/doing_the_repairs_if_your_landlord_wont

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Worzilgummidge · 08/03/2019 11:34

Yes I'm aware of been patient swing.
I was actually embarrassed about the panels because neighbour had done the last one so I felt quite bad because I never paid towards it and they have a large aggressive dog as well

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Worzilgummidge · 08/03/2019 11:36

Shelter website says you can give your landlord a time frame and if it isn't done say your gonna take from rent but to get 3 quotes and send them to him

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WhatToDoAboutWailmerGoneRogue · 08/03/2019 11:36

He doesn’t have to replace the fence panels, and you can’t deduct the price of it from your rent.

It was your choice to go ahead and replace them without agreement from him that he would pay, so there is no obligation for him to pay. If he is avoiding your calls then it sounds like he isn’t interested.

Same with the plugs. It wasn’t urgent or unsafe, and you chose yourself to go ahead and have them fixed without agreement he would pay. So again, he doesn’t have to pay.

Attempting to deduct things from your rent that your landlord hasn’t even agreed to is unacceptable and a surefire way to mark yourself as a difficult tenant he may not want.

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Worzilgummidge · 08/03/2019 11:36

I wi do for electric but probably let the panels go

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thecatneuterer · 08/03/2019 11:37

He is under no obligation to pay for fence panels. If he previously agreed to pay that's different, but if you just decided to buy them then he doesn't have to reimburse you. LLs don't have to provide any fencing at all.

He should be sorting out the electrics though. It sounds as though a whole circuit has blown. Is one switch of the fuseboard down instead of up?

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RB68 · 08/03/2019 11:38

IS the fence even belonging to the property or does it belong to the lady next door - you need to check. In future do not pay for anything unless you can remove from the property or it is of more benefit to you.

Sockets should work and if they don't there is an electrical fault that has potential to cause fires so it is more serious than it might seem. I would be formally telling them through official routes - agency or in writing - that the electrics are faulty and this I am sure will contravene regulations and you should have a checked and working electrical system (you need to check up on landlord responsibilities for proper checks on electrics) Do however make sure its not just a fuse or the trip not being flicked back if it has blown.

Once you check the right way of doing it write again to inform him of his responsibilities and that the repair work is outstanding.

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thecatneuterer · 08/03/2019 11:41

Attempting to deduct things from your rent that your landlord hasn’t even agreed to is unacceptable and a surefire way to mark yourself as a difficult tenant he may not want.

Totally. Years ago a tenant did that to me for a minor fault with the bathroom floor that she hadn't even told me about! I gave her a Section 21 notice that very day. Had she just mentioned the floor to me I would have fixed it and that would have been that.

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thecatneuterer · 08/03/2019 11:45

you need to check up on landlord responsibilities for proper checks on electrics

I can help you there. Only LLs of houses in multiple occupation are required to have 5-years electrical safety checks/certificates. Otherwise LLs are just required to ensure electrics are safe in whatever way they see fit. A LL should definitely have a circuit fault investigated in a reasonable timeframe (it's not an emergency). So just put this in writing to your LL and ask him to send someone. (But in the meantime just look at the switches on your fuseboard - you may just need to flick a switch).

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Worzilgummidge · 08/03/2019 13:32

Nothing has tripped and he said his management team have stated electrics are okay. He has now said that according to his manager team the cost of repair to the sockets should only be 20 to 30 pounds Confused I doubt that.

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Worzilgummidge · 08/03/2019 13:33

The problem seems that its seems too difficult for them to just simply send thier own I find that unacceptable

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Worzilgummidge · 08/03/2019 13:34

I have to now get quotes and submit them to him

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Worzilgummidge · 08/03/2019 13:46

I went ahead and got the panels done because I felt it was urgent and I'm not one of those neighbours that likes to neglect things like this. It was a case of putting up with an aggressive dog and constantly propping up panels whilst I go back and forwards with the landlord and getting nowhere or putting up with it and I felt they couldn't be left.
The fencing apparently is 50/50 between me and next door she rents off the council and I'm private rent so it's a grey area. Anyway if I have to suck up the cost of the panels I guess there isn't much I can do.

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