To withhold rent until repairs are made

[hedwiggity]

i live in an apartment and the landlord has refused to fix the intercom system even though me and other tenants have complained that we pay £400PCM she has said it is too expensive and as soon as we step past the front door we are cut off from the outside as things like takeaways post and parcel's cannot get through to us and havent for months, i have had to phone post office to explain this to them why their post is going back to them and we don't know it is there.. so anyway am i within my rights to refuse rent payments until it is fixed ? i would save the rent into my savings account and pay it all in full once the repair has been carried out and we received post etc once again and i would also write a formal letter too the landlord and ask that the intercom be repaired and keep a copy as proof
what else can i do ??

[specialsubject]

withholding rent is breaking your contract and that can get you evicted.

if your landlord won't fix things, stop giving them money the correct way by giving notice and leaving.

alternatively, you could team up with the other tenants, write a collective letter and ask for it to be fixed. I agree this is not good enough so you need to apply some collective pressure.

Is there no letterbox for the post? Most delivery companies will accept instructions to call a phone on arrival so you can meet them.

[ballsballsballs]

OP, I'm pretty sure you can't legally withhold your rent. It's worth getting in touch with Shelter and they can tell you what steps you can take legally.

[CharityCase]

You can't withhold rent but under certain circumstances you can pay it into an escrow account held by a solicitor ( so you don't have the benefit of it) until the dispute is resolved. Don't know what circumstances warrant this though.