I've just fallen through my bathroom floor

[MhysaMhysa]

Sorry for posting here don't know where to put this.

I have damp in my house and my landlord won't do anything about it.

Previously, part of the kitchen floor collapsed and he nailed it back on and said he'd sort out new flooring, never happened.

This morning I was bathing DD and a piece of floor half the size of a tile collapsed and I fell through it, it's deeper than it looks, came up to above my knees.

Can't get in touch with my landlord but when I do, what should I expect to be done to properly fix this? I don't know anything about it, so it's unlikely I'll know if he is doing what he should, although I'm assuming nails and a hammer aren't going to cut it this time.

If DD had fallen through it, she could have really hurt herself.

Good luck. I think they've tightened up the rules about this - or are about to.

www.gov.uk/government/publications/homes-fitness-for-human-habitation-act-2018/guide-for-tenants-homes-fitness-for-human-habitation-act-2018

The other thing I hope Housing will clarify for you is where you are likely to be housed if they offer you emergency housing.

I live in NW Surrey and there is no emergency accommodation in my borough - it’s all in Slough or Croydon. So families who are placed there end up with their children out of school for six weeks (maximum stay in emergency), unless they have a car and are able to do the school run themselves.

Then when you are given temporary, it may not be close to where your family and schools are, as long as it’s still in the borough. If you turn it down, they will remove you from the list as they’ve made their one reasonable offer. People are expected to move and transfer their children to another school to access council housing.

It’s shit, especially in your situation. I’ve supported lots of families through this process and I know what the options are in my area. I’d expect them to be broadly similar elsewhere in the country.

What is the source of the damp?
You say the landlord wont fix it.... is the landlord aware of it or the extent of it? Have you previously reported the state of the floor? To whom?

OP I really feel for you in your situation and the landlord sounds a nightmare .

I'm wondering if @PigletJohn ( or anyone else with some practical know how ) might comment on your pics and be able to offer any advice on living with that floor . It looks to me as though the tiles have been laid with nothing solid underneath them to support them .But I'm guessing it's round the edge where the bath is ,not the whole floor . And surely ( dear Lord ) the bath is resting on joists .It must be otherwise it would have moved the second it was filled with water .

I'm not trying to minimise your sitiuation in any way at all ,it sounds dreadful ,but was just trying to address the practical situation of you living there at the moment .

I would speak to Shelter for advice in the first instance. They'll make sure you don't get fobbed off by the Council and can tell you what rights you have in this situation. When I used them to deal with a crappy landlord, they wrote all the letters on my behalf, they were fantastic.

Thank you all for all the useful advice and the links, I'm going to read through them now.

I think the system works as familyofaliens described. My oldest DD is 11, I had her very young and at one point ended up in homeless accommodation, beside junkies, men fighting constantly and blood on the cot mattress. I've come such a long way from there and swore never again. She's just started secondary school and my youngest nursery, the thought of having to move them and drag them about now is completely devastating. It took me years to set up a normal life here. I feel as if my LL has me by the balls so to speak.

I've had to arrange a builder to come today off my own back as I'm unsure if the structure is affected or if it's safe and I'm too scared to use the shower or bath and can't go without it.

I will call the shelter and CAB after that for some advice. I have sent him texts so I have copies of everything. I'm putting off contacting the council until I know exactly what I'm going to do.

Thank you all

• What is the source of the damp? You say the landlord wont fix it.... is the landlord aware of it or the extent of it? Have you previously reported the state of the floor? To whom?*

Yes he knows the extent of it. He's seen the mould growing on the walls, I've told him the whole house smells of it and that it can be dangerous, he told me to open my windows.

And yes I have previously reported the state of the floor to him, I have sent him pictures and lists of anything wrong in his flat, when he does deal with something it's always a quick fix or cowboy builder.

My own fault I know, but I have actually improved his house and replaced things I didn't need to for the sake of not hassling him or causing any problems, so it upsets me even more when something like this happens that I can't fix and he doesn't want to deal with it.

This is so awful OP .

I wish there were a helpful MNer with some building expertise who could pop round and reassure you .

You're not in SE London by any chance are you ?

He sounds exactly like our old landlord, OP.

Best thing is to move. I know it's complex and difficult but getting away from landlords like this is the only thing to do. They never change.

If he fixes this it is highly likely it'll be a bodged job. Then there will be something else in a few months.

it looks to me like it is a piece of laminated floor tile. Probably about 8mm thick. I think I can see a bit of foam underlay sheet in the hole.

Incredibly, I can see no floorboard under it. I can see something at the edges of the hole that might be the edge of a joist, or it might be a bit of T&G on the adjoining laminate. there is a small chance it was laid on a subfloor that has failed and collapsed, for example chipboard that turns to mush when it gets wet (common in bathrooms). Feel around and see how thick the floor is, and if there is a board under the rest of it. You can poke your camera in, with flash, hut don't drop it. Use a lanyard or wriststrap if you have one.

If the whole floor has been laid with laminate and no floorboards beneath, it is incredibly dangerous. It does not have adequate strength to support the weight of a human body.

If this is a ground floor the void beneath might be a couple of feet, or it could be more.

I don't know how you go about dealing with rogue landlords (the pro-landlord lobby likes to gloss over them). If there is a housing officer at the council you could try to get them involved.

Rogue landlords like to get rid of tenants who complain, so start looking for another home now.

If it was me I would find out what's underneath, and lay down a piece of 18mm flooring ply to walk on. Some DIY sheds will cut it to size. Preferably a length that will fit the floor running from wall to wall so it can't slip sideways.

You will not be able to carry a 2440x12200mm sheet, but you might be able to carry half of it, or if it is cut into quarters.

It is sometimes sold in pieces 2440x610. which are not very expensive and, because the span several joists (lay it across joists, not parallel) will safely take your weight.

www.diy.com/departments/building-supplies/timber-and-sheet-materials/sheet-materials/plywood/18/_/N-8tvZ1z0niir#icamp=SRD_18mmply

Not all vendors will cut to size. Precut pieces work out dearer.

www.wickes.co.uk/search?q=plywood+18mm%3Arelevance%3ADepth%3A18+mm&text=plywood+18mm#

Use the biggest piece that will fit, that you can carry, it will be stronger that an assembly of small pieces.

If you are offerred 22mm or 25mm thicknesses, that's fine, but a bit heavier and (usually) dearer.

Just wanted to thank PJ as it was me who waved for his advice .

Im thinking that it's just the edge round the bath which has nothing under the tiles ...

I'd not considered it being on an upper floor .

As a landlord I am genuinely disgusted and horrified at this. OP, your landlord is a complete cunt weasel and deserves no mercy. Tell him unless he sorts the issue pronto. I. E within 72 hours you are going to every local and national paper and also going to sue him for your personal injury as a result of his negligence.

For what it's worth, any decent landlords despise people like this, we don't want it glossing over, for every bad landlord there are 10 decent ones but the bad ones make all landlords look like assholes.

Dont hold any punches. The threat of legal action for personal injury if he even dares issue you with a section 21 should be enough to scare him into action.

You have all been so helpful, thank you again.

pigletJohn thank you so much for taking the time to write all that. It is a ground floor flat. The floor feels really thin, I don't think there is anything else under it apart from the joists and the mushy stuff you can see in the second picture. The tiles around it feel like they're going to go next. Your info about what to do in the meantime is extremely useful.

I had a builder come to look at it, he said underneath is rotten and the whole bathroom needs to come out, aired, some sort of spray to stop the wood rot spreading to the rest of the house, re-tiled and the plumbing and bath looked at. He said it's not safe to use and because the tiles are slanting towards the bath it could very well collapse. He estimated £5000.

Passed this all on to my landlord and he's said he will get another estimate, looked the guy up and he's an electrician. I've stayed in all afternoon and he's a no show and LL isn't answering my messages or calls. I'm going to have to report it aren't I, if it's not safe I have no other option.

Sorry feel like I'm going on and on I'm at my wits end.

treacletoots I know not all LL are arse holes, some are fantastic from what I've heard.

I just don't understand why you wouldn't want to look after your income and investment, it doesn't make sense to me. Saving money short term but long term it will end up costing him so much more.

I feel like I'm at the stage of threatening him tbh, I don't want to but nothing else seems to be getting his attention.

peridito thank you for getting the attention of piglet also.

Oh I'm so sorry to read your update .

It's simply unbelievable to me that tiles would be put down with only that thin underlay ( think they use it under laminate ,but obvs over a solid surface ) underneath .

I hope you have some support in RL ,friends/family .

You have nothing to apologise for on here ! Keep posting ,you are not going on !

I wonder if you could get help/support from a local councillor ,maybe they could tackle the landlord and get works done ?

Sorry you are having to deal with this . I agree with others about contacting the council and shelter. Keep photos. You might want to write it out for yourself (you’ve got a good summary here. If some of it is by text or email print them or copy and paste somewhere just in case you lose them/the phone.

When you contact the council tell them about any other outstanding repairs. They may be more likely to take action quicker if they know that he has already had time to do other repairs or does dangerous/ineffective repairs

Thank you both.

Last night he suddenly text to say someone he knows was coming round. It was actually a real builder. He said the same as the first one, but that it's already spread and it's not just the bathroom that has to come out, it's possibly the whole house and at least two joists are gone throughout.

I have messaged LL but haven't heard anything yet. The builder reckons he won't be able to claim on his insurance as it's neglect. I have a feeling he will end up selling his flat cheap rather than fork out the thousands of pounds that will cost.

Ive looked at some of the links pp have posted and they say to give LLs time to fix the problem then the first step is to write an official complaint. I'm not sure in this situation that applies since it's dangerous though, so will call them today if he's not going to arrange for it to be done.

Apart from anything he's also extremely sexist. There are several examples, but he's told me multiple times I need a husband to make sure I can pay my rent (always do, never been late) and the more I think about it the more I feel like if I was a man I wouldn't be having this issue. Maybe I'm just over thinking now though.

Not overthinking I'm sure .What a rude ,ignorant person he is .And he's ruined his property and lost loads of capital .

I hope someone comes back with advice about steps to get rehoused .

When I called environmental health they were bloody useless. I was getting water pouring through the ceiling and my DH was getting electric shocks on the bathroom pull cord due to this. They wouldn’t file a report until they saw it with their own eyes, even though I had videos. It basically only happened during and after rain but it wasn’t raining when the officer came over. Typical.

I think involving a local councillor can often speed things up when dealing with situations like that HotChocolate . Did it get sorted in the end ?

hotchocolate Sod's law isn't it! That's awful, esp if you had video footage of it happening!

peridito thank you, you're lovely