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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

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Original poster

To expect a flat that is habitable after shelling out £12k to move in

249 replies

orangefusion · 20/09/2014 22:20

I have posted this in legal but for traffic I am posting here too. I am so upset...

...I have just returned from dropping my son off at his first flat as a tennant- he is in his second year at uni having had halls last year. The flat was found by his friends while he was away over the summer and he did not see it until today.
The place is unibhabitable. There is six inches of damp above all the skirting boards, one bedroom is "being treated" the floor is soaking concrete, the whole place stinks of damp- the air is so humid that nothing will dry, it is insecure and the windows need to be open to breathe but it is a basement in New Cross- there are no bars or proper window locks so the windows have to be kept shut. The b***d landlord has taken 6 months rent off the boys, and a £2100 deposit. There was a dead rat in the bin which had clearly been a live rat when it climbed in. I had to leave him there but I wanted to bring him home again or check him into a hotel.
What rights have these poor kids got? The place is disgusting and I am at a loss to know how calling the agent is going to make any difference because they knew it was like this when they let it. They will fob me off with platitudes but they do not have to live there.
I want to cry- he was so excited about living out of halls but this is just so awful.
Any legal bods out there who can suggest the best thing for me to do to help?

OP posts:

CrotchMaven · 04/10/2014 19:25

I have to say the "he knows his rights" thing would make me issue proceedings as soon as possible. He should know everyone's rights and responsibilities and we both know he has failed massively on the latter.

I would have a solicitor give your intentions the once over, though. You don't want to make things more complicated if you haven't followed procedure properly.

I'm going to email one of my friendly building control officer contacts and see what he would do if this whole situation were reported to him. I'll let you know what he says (will be next week as I only have work email for him).

FergusSingsTheBlues · 04/10/2014 20:16

I got landed in a dump too once by friends who found IT while I was away. Utterly disgusting.

Contact university, council and police.

Original poster

orangefusion · 07/10/2014 10:15

Nothing has shifted. I am losing sleep over this now. Every night I go to bed thinking of DS on a sofa in a damp kitchen.
I have asked DS to go and see a lawyer today- he asked me to back off because I got the LLs back up so he has to do it his way.

OP posts:

AWombWithoutAFoof · 07/10/2014 10:39

Blimey, how stressful. Is your son hoping to now take it on himself, and is asking you to step away from it completely?

Do you think you should pull rank (difficult, I know, given his age) and say that as it's your money you insist on sorting it out?

Is he worried about intimidation from the LL?

Something I would say is that I'm sure this procrastination and stone-walling is exactly how these fuckers get away with it. At some point he's going to try the angle that as your son has lived in the flat for X number of weeks he's obviously happy with the way things are.

specialsubject · 07/10/2014 10:52

you can't fight your son too. He needs to step up and help recover YOUR money.

the conditions won't kill him, but why he isn't moving heaven and earth to get out, using all the help at hand, is beyond me.

CrotchMaven · 12/10/2014 18:28

I've heard back from my building control guy. Unfortunately, their enforcement powers only go back 2 years (who thought THAT was a sensible amount of time?!). He says that environmental health have more legal weight, with Trading Standards for the epc.

He's livid for you. Not that that's much help.

What's new?

Original poster

orangefusion · 18/10/2014 09:16

Update; (I'm away in China at the mo so getting information from my son is even more difficult).
Landlord has offered them another flat to live in, only two bedrooms but dry and apparently "nice" (agent's word). DS has not been in touch for a week so I can only assume he has moved or is moving. Facebook doesn't work here and its he only way to get responses from DS.
Thanks crotch for your digging around- the law in this case is an ass. We are holding off doing anything to wind up the LL as he is such a nasty piece of work we know we wont get money back even if we go to court so probably better to take the new place and then not pay him any rent after the six months is up and let him take the pain of getting an eviction order.

OP posts:

Original poster

orangefusion · 29/10/2014 14:57

Update again... one of the other mums has now visited and is as disgusted as I was when I went. There has been some repair work to a broken pipe under the bathroom and outside the front door but there is no evidence that the place has had the work done that was listed in the schedule from the damp company.

Other mum wrote to the landlord again asking for the end of the contract and return of the money. He says it is all fine now. IT IS NOT.

But to get them out and find somewhere else we need the money to put down on a new place and the only way to get the money is to go to court and that means they have to leave. We are stuck with no way to get fair redress either way.

The boys have started to cough and wheeze and I am once more at a loss to know what to do next.

OP posts:

Fizzielove · 29/10/2014 15:38

Is that a water mark around the wall?

Original poster

orangefusion · 08/11/2014 23:03

Fizzie- yes, that is a water mark. The place is vile.

The University seem to have taken on the case in earnest finally. to be fair to them, I suspect our boys were not as on the case as us mothers, but they are still living there in mould and now sub zero temperatures. We hope that we can get them out soon.

OP posts:

Adayinthelife · 19/11/2014 18:20

How are things now, OP?

whois · 19/11/2014 18:34

My god I can't believe this is still going on and the boys are still living there!

I know you've all spent a lot of money, but in this instance wouldn't it be better to write it off, move the boys elsewhere and then fight the fight via a lawyer when they aren't living in that hell hole?

Or go and do a mass sit in at the LL office of something?

So appaling there is so little that can be done it seems :-(

BumWad · 19/11/2014 19:40

Horrific OP!

Did they manage to get out?

AWombWithoutAFoof · 21/11/2014 12:45

Any resolution to this, orange?

Original poster

orangefusion · 21/11/2014 13:39

Nothing has shifted. The landlord has sent in some cowboy builders (not the damp firm that he made a big deal of getting a quote from) who did not warn the boys and left the place damp AND covered in plaster dust and mess. They hacked off some plaster and made good but have not put in a dpc.
We are still hoping for the EHO to return but the boys are on long days at college (9-18:00) each day and have to take a day out to be in the flat for the EHO. The whole thing has ground us all down so much. Us parents havenot got another £12k to put down on another place- they are trapped and the bastard LL knows that.

OP posts:

staplemind · 21/11/2014 14:20

if they took plaster off and plastered over it again - mould wasn't treated
chemicals need several days to dry then it can be plastered off

Have you contacted www.housing-ombudsman.org.uk/

Original poster

orangefusion · 22/11/2014 20:12

Staple- the boys need to do the ombudsman thing, I am hoping to get them going on this but they are on a very intense degree course and in labs for three full days a week plus lectures and coursework.

We are not going to let it go, but it is proving very very difficult.

OP posts:

staplemind · 22/11/2014 23:16

Can't parents do it on their behalf?

Besides - if this place is damp it ma trigger asthma. I myself hate dampness and would look for a better place to stay for my child. Can't they move a bit further to i crease chances of finding sensible flat or a house?
I know it's hard to find inexpensive place in London but not impossible if the are willing to add a bit of commuting to their day. Most of students who are London based would be commuting at least one hour.

HairdresserHairdresser · 22/11/2014 23:37

Really really hope you get somewhere with the university.
I lived in somewhere where the council (can't remember who/what) said llandlord had to fix the damp unliveable conditions or be fined in 6 months.
We were told to pull the ferns (yes ferns growing under the wall paper) off the wall ourselves, and one of his friends dropped some wall paper round and told us to wall paper ourselves over the damp.

The drain blocked outside, and one of his mates, just used our mop to unblock it.
We didn't get anywheres but it wasn't the state your sons in. But the agent continued to show people round, and when people looked round we gave the a leaflet of the problems and took them room to room to point out the damp, agents were well pissed.

Original poster

orangefusion · 24/11/2014 07:39

Staple- you need six months rent and another deposit to get another place- we (they) dont have that kind of money for a second time- that is why they are trapped- do you not think we have tried to get them out and somewhere else? It cost £12k to get them in there...

OP posts:

whois · 24/11/2014 07:46

Staple- you need six months rent and another deposit to get another place

Not every single LL requires six months upfront - if the parents all act as guarantors you might be able to find somewhere.

staplemind · 24/11/2014 07:46

Have they involved council/lawyers/ombudsman yet?

roses2 · 24/11/2014 08:20

If you take the landlord to court and won't pay up, you can either ask the court to deduct from his salary if paid through a company or you can put a charge on his house(s) so he cannot sell until you've been paid. There are ways to get money back, it just takes time.

Original poster

orangefusion · 26/11/2014 21:00

Thanks for the recent adds- staples and roses and whois.

Acting as a guarantor is more, way more risky than paying up front. This was never going to be an option- this landlord wanted my bills, my bank statemetns and my payslips to be a guarantor- excuse this but FUCK that, I am not providing anyone apart from my bank with that kind of information about me.

I saw my boy for the first time since September last night- So lovely to see him and so painful too. We did not go to the flat- I was in west London he is in East but we had a wonderful dinner in a fab Iraqi restaurant and my lovely DS seems ok- he is resigned to staying there for now. The place is apparently a bit drier- the works done have made some difference but not a lot. He says they can ride it out till xmas and then we will review.

It was just so good to see him looking ok and so perky and tucking into the best middle eastern food this side of the med that I forgot berating him to get it all sorted and just kinda stroked his movember stubble and fed him more food.

I have had to let this lie, it will come back when the weather gets even colder and they get a leccie bill. I cannot fight this for them any more.

OP posts:

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