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AIBU?

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Original poster

to withhold rent

47 replies

hedwiggity · 24/05/2014 22:26

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 ??
i posted this in legal matters and havent got a reply yet so posting here

OP posts:
Normalisavariantofcrazy · 24/05/2014 22:27

Contact shelter or see their site.

They have a very good team of people who can help with tenants rights

KaFayOLay · 24/05/2014 22:29

I don't think it is legal to withhold rent, however legitimate your reasons may be.

VivaLeBeaver · 24/05/2014 22:32

The landlord could (eventually) boot you out and then not give you a reference.

Montegomongoose · 24/05/2014 22:32

Put a notice with your mobile numbers on the outer door so deliveries can contact you and write to the landlord as planned. I didn't think a broken intercom is worth withholding your rent for.

JingletsJangletsYellowBanglets · 24/05/2014 22:33

You can't withhold your rent for a non essential repair as it's not in breach of your contract. You can't withhold rent period but if the place wasn't habitable then your landlord would be breaking your contract and you could move immediately. I'm jealous of how cheap your rent is btw. I paid 4x as much renting a one bed.

Original poster
hedwiggity · 24/05/2014 22:38

i consider a broken intercom beyond repair in need of replacing a breach of living standards. surely it is a basic human right to get your mail to your place of living ? also putting our mobile numbers on the front door seems unsafe in terms of the local hooligans prank calling us etc i wouldn't want to advertise that. citizens advice have said i am within my rights to withhold rent as long as i save it for the landlord once the intercom has been replaced

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Realitybitesyourbum · 24/05/2014 22:41

Why don't you put your landlords mobile number on the door? I bet that would speed the repair up!

deakymom · 24/05/2014 22:42

you can't withhold your rent you can ask for a discount of your rent due to the problems you're describing ignore the CAB they are giving you bad advice you can be evicted for that i learned the hard way my flat was falling apart i asked for repairs they said no do it yourself so we stopped payment i got evicted they tarted up the flat and moved someone else in within a week i was lucky the council had a place for me or i would have been on the streets

thecatneuterer · 24/05/2014 22:43

It's never legal to withhold your rent as far as I'm aware and I'm pretty sure that Citizens Advice are wrong on that one. And if you do you're certainly going to be receiving your Section 21 notice pretty soon I would imagine.

Definitely write to the Landlord though and keep on pestering.

Original poster
hedwiggity · 24/05/2014 22:44

ooh could do that realitybitesyourbum once i get the landlords number that is. she hides behind the estate agents and only contacts them when she feels like it, the estate agents themselves have been more than helpful and have been on our side but she has told them to basically do one when they too asked her to replace the intercom system replacing it would cost £450 at the most that only £50 more than my rent costs and there are 11 tenants rents she could use Hmm

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Whowouldfardelsbear · 24/05/2014 22:55

It's a while since i worked in housing advice in the UK, but I think if the intercom is listed on the inventory or on the agreement as a 'chattel' (probably not the right word) then the landlord must fix it.

Worth checking on this though - as i say it's been a while . . .

Sparrowlegs248 · 24/05/2014 23:03

Yabu to withhold rent. You have a legal obligation to pay rent, irrespective of a broken intercom.

If you want to make a complaint about your landlord, contact the Housing Standards srction at the council. Be prepared for the landlord to give you notice though....

As an alternative, why not get a door bell? We have a remote one - bell on the door, and a plug in 'ringer' in the kitchen. Its bloody loud.

If you do decide to withhold rent, make sure you keep it so you can pay all rent that is due. I see so many people who claim to have withheld rent for disrepair reasons, then the issue is resolved by thelandlord and the tenant has spent the money....landlord serves notice.

lurkerspeaks · 24/05/2014 23:06

Put the estate agents number on the door.

However if she is refusing to fix it despite EA advice she isn't a very good landlord.

Don't withhold rent you might be evicted.

JingletsJangletsYellowBanglets · 24/05/2014 23:08

Legally, you are in the wrong. End of. You seem to want justification for what you want to do, which is very different from legal advice. Good luck finding a new flat.

Original poster
hedwiggity · 24/05/2014 23:12

nottalotta our flat is on the 3rd floor up through brick walls and metal beams that hold the building together i'm not sure the signal would get through for a doorbell otherwise i would i think i'm just going to move tbh i can rent a 3 bed house for the price of this 2 bed apartment and have a2 gardens and a driveway and the council tax doesnt really go up that much either for it Hmm plus landlord installed electric heaters on the wall when she bought the building and did it into apartment and the heater eat through electricity so a house with C/H will be so much cheaper. i cba fighting the immature little wretch anymore i hope the nice estate agents blacklist her from renting out through them

OP posts:
QuintessentiallyQS · 24/05/2014 23:12

A wireless doorbell cost under £20 in Homebase/B&Q, you can fasten it to the wall with velcro if you dont want to drill.

Is it the same landlord for all the flats? Or is there a free holder or management company that would be responsible for the intercom?

OldLadyKnowsSomething · 24/05/2014 23:13

Could the tenants club together to pay for the repairs, and each withhold that fraction of the rent, giving the ll the receipt to use for her tax returns?

Any ideas as to the legality of that. (Haven't a clue on this one, but know it's not unusual with the ll's consent.)

QuintessentiallyQS · 24/05/2014 23:13

X post, just move then.

HecatePropylaea · 24/05/2014 23:19

Could all the tenants club together and fix it then bill her?

Original poster
hedwiggity · 24/05/2014 23:22

same landlord for all the flats. according to the estate agents and the neighbours or apartments used to be old mills and factories these then got bought up and turned into apartments and the landlords wealthy father then bought her our block so she would have income always Hmm only flaw in this plan is she has the mental age of a 5yo and refuses to do anything that doesn't benefit her plus she has no business skills whatsoever she will probably be bankrupt in a few years and learn a life lesson

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Original poster
hedwiggity · 24/05/2014 23:25

plus all the other tenants are lets say less than desirable characters i think i went knocking on their doors asking if they would be willing to club in to fix the problem they would abuse and maybe try to hurt me. they don't seem to care the bills don't get paid and the post doesn't get delivered the only tenant i like the look of is a nice chinese lady with a baby we pass in the halls and nod to each other but i dont think she speaks english or she's just shy like me

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ChelsyHandy · 24/05/2014 23:32

No, you can't because your remedy in contract is to pay up then sue for breach of contract. Not to withhold payment.

Who is to say that one of the other tenants didn't break the previous system? And will do so again? Because they have lost their key or something?

jacks365 · 24/05/2014 23:36

Being able to withhold rent pending a repair rings bells with me, I do know that there is a solicitors in our nearest city who specialises in this type of thing so I would advise finding a specialist solicitors local to yourselves to advise you.

GreeboOgg · 24/05/2014 23:57

Get a wall mounted letter box for ~£40 quid, paint/stick your flat number on, and then drill it into the wall next to the intercom buttons.

Deduct whatever the mailbox cost you from your next rent, and email your letting agency (with a scanned copy of receipt) to explain why.

If agency or landlord complain about said postbox, tell them you will take it down and make good any damage/holes in the wall once the intercom is fully functional.

For take-away and parcels etc., there is generally an option to use leave a mobile number so the delivery person/courier can contact you if they can't get in.

You do have my sympathies, I've lived in some odd places with some really odd post-related arrangements! (Including having one oddball photocopy all my mail before it was passed along, which I think may be illegal? I just went along with it though, I always got my mail and she was only too happy to take any deliveries I wasn't around for... Though I do sometimes wonder what she did with all those photocopied envelopes. Made a nest a la X-Files maybe? Confused )

Original poster
hedwiggity · 24/05/2014 23:57

the electrician told us the system was broken from corrosion inside the box he took pictures of this to show us there was mould and rust all over the wires for it, it was a mess he said it was a cheaply made system from china and not upto UK standards he offered to fit a new one but the landlord has refused saying her system is fine Hmm im no electrician but i know rust and corroded wires are not fine.

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