Renting Nightmare. AIBU to be furious.

[Helpme0rentalhell]

Got keys to our new rental this morning. Arrive with van full of stuff and the place is revolting. Think kitchen from hell with food from July still in the fridge. Although not pleasant I have moved into not properly cleaned rentals so got some cleaning products and put some rubber gloves on.

Bedroom 2 which we were going to use for our baby has what looks like blood stain on the floor. I'm scrubbing away on hands and knees to ready room and uncover a used needle. (Apparently landlady is an aesthetic nurse and its botox/lip filler needle rather than drug needle). Cue trip to the hospital as unsure whether a cut on my leg was due to needle or not.

For a place to be on the dirty side is one thing, but used needles is just another level. I keep thinking about what if my baby had picked that up. Surely this just breaks any contractual obligation I have at all?

I want to break the lease and find another place but would need to do so in five days which includes a bank holiday. My stress levels are through the roof.

Do any knowledgable mnetters know where I stand legally? Or has anyone been through a similar situation?

I'd be contacting the letting agent both by telephone and in writing/email to insist that they have the place professionally deep cleaned at their expense and that they also cover any costs you incur as a result of it being unfit for habitation.

And it doesn't matter if it's a botox needle rather than a drug needle, nice ladies who get fillers can have blood borne infections too and a used needle is a used needle.

Why do you ask AIBU when you know full well your Not BU?

I had this with a 1bed. Food splatter even on ceiling where someone had thrown their dinner all over walls, boot marks on walls, ants nest, broken window. They rang 6pm the night before & said it was too dirty/bad to move into. I had nowhere to go & so went ape & got the first 2weeks rent halved, to compensate for the hassle & cleaned it all again, as all the cleaner they got in did was hoover, saying she 'didn't do walls' .

Dreadful, absolutely dreadful. Really feeling for you OP Hope you took photos though, in case you need them for evidence.

I don't think you get to legally break the lease over this. But the landlord/letting agent should get the place thoroughly cleaned to an acceptable standard. Have you spoken to them? If you clean it all up yourselves then there won't be anything for them to do...

Did you take pics of all of the filth/damage before you started cleaning?
I had this with my last rental, wish I'd taken pics of it all in retrospect as when I moved out they docked my deposit for previous tenants detritus.
If you haven't I'd highly advise in future calling agent out, photographing and documenting it all together. Putting it all on an email as well including images and signatures on documentation from agent. So that when it comes time to move out you won't be blamed and charged for something that wasn't your fault.
I'm very sorry to.hear about the state of what you received and the needle incident, completely unreasonable to be rented to you in that state.

Pictures, lots of pictures before you touch it. Call the Letting office.

That is absolutely disgusting.
And it doesn't matter in what way the needle was used, if it's a used needle there's a risk of blood bourne contamination.
I'd be demanding a thorough deep clean at their cost and the costs of somewhere to live whilst this is being done!

Absolutely disgraceful.

Take loads of photos. I have made it my rule now to arrange to sign contract and collect keys from the property itself after being stung too many times in the past. Any agent or LL that refuses to do that is immediately ringing alarm bells with me.

You will not get anywhere. Legally it is a minor issue and you have signed up to a more material issue - a lease.

Trust me, you will get nowhere. This is why the private rental sector needs a substantial overhaul. Too much power is in the hands of landlords and a sizeable minority should not be allowed to let property.

Vent your fury at your MP so the weight of dissatisfaction grows.

There should be a 14 day cooling off period for customers of private landlords.

Call the agency ASAP tomorrow morning. Explain that you moved in the house in a totally unacceptable condition and that you have many pictures to evidence. Say that you spent x hours cleaning and that you expect them to compensate you for it.

Follow up with a letter highlighting again the situation and including the picture. Try not to let the emotion get in the way as the fault could be either with the landlord or the agency.

I moved in a flat 4hst was in a shocking state some years back. We got in touch with the agency but they were fobbing us off. After a few days we contacted the landlord directly and they were horrified by the situation, very apologetic and said they would deal with the agency. The agency called the following day to apologised as indeed, thry were supposed to have organised a cleaner and they deducted £200 from our rent the following month.

How was the rental when you viewed it? Did the agents not do a check-in inventory before you moved in - which should have been sent to you so all the problems should have been noted there? (Although they probably wouldn't have noted the needle) did you take photos of everything before you started cleaning?

Please tell me you took pictures of EVERYTHING.

Didn’t you get a check-in inventory? If not, why not?

Is it through and agent or direct through LL? Agents can be really shit and in my experience frequently tell lies.

It might take me forever to list the the number of issues I had with my property when I moved in.

All the cupoards in the kitchen had the fronts smashed off them, There were baking trays covered with foil containing moldy food, the lino had a huge chunk missing out of it, there was only 1 plug socket, there were skirting boards missing in the hall and kitchen, the hall carpet was covered in urine stains from the previous tenants dogs, there were huge gaps around the windows letting drafts in, all upstairs carpets were dirty and stained, the kitchen sink was leaking and the cupboard rotten as a result, the air vent covers were missing, the outhouse door was hanging off its hinges, the garden was covered in tonnes of the previous tenants rubbish, the bathroom was minging, the internal downstairs door had 3” gaps where they had been cut too short, there were dodgy light sockets plastered into the walls and painted over, there was a gaping hole in the mains board and best of all I found no gas safe check was done (legal requirement)! After having to wait over a week for carpets to be cleaned so we could use the bedrooms and a gas safe inspection we thought all was good, however kept getting headaches when going by the loft but gas safe man came back out said it was fine. Then a few weeks later it broke, agents wouldn’t get an engineer out so I got my own, turns out the origional gas safe registered engineer lied about checking the flue and it was pumping out carbon monoxide, gas safe condemned it and cut off any gas supply to my house. I had to move out and stay at a friends for 4 weeks mid winter (I moved in just before christmas) whilst I waited for parts to arrive. I still had to pay full rent!

I took photos of everything. I have gutted the whole house (almost). I had a water supply reinstated into the back ‘porch’ and turned it into a utility room, I put in a whole new (to me) kitchen, I had extra plug sockets installed, I replaced internal doors, I redecorated the whole of downstairs including all new flooring and skirting boards. Upstairs I redecorated throughout and replaced the bathroom flooring and my bedroom carpet including adding underlay (all the origional carpets are office grade with no underlay), I’ve filled all gaping holes in the process removing drafts. I have replaced all plug socket covers, light switches and ceiling roses. I sent the LL photos of the state of the house when I moved in (he was gobsmacked apparently he’d given the agents £3,000 to do it up and all they had done was magnolia’d the walls and pocketed the rest, he sacked them and I got a new agent, on my 4th lot now). Hes really pleased with what I’ve done and promised no rent increases for at leat 3-4 years which he stuck to and had heating installed in the kitchen at my request as there was none. Rent has gone up in small incriments since and he always pays my fees at renewal. My latest inspection was yet another new agent, she was ‘trying to work out why I’m being charged massively under market value in rent’ once I explained she understood. I’ll never lose my deposit because no matter what I do (my cats like to scratch wall paper for instance) because no matter what I could not possibly leave it in a worse state than when I arrived and I have the photos to prove it (no inventory was taken before I moved in either). I now have a nice home and my landlord appriciates having a good tenant so doesn’t ramp up my rent so its mutually beneficial. I’ve been here 7 years now.

Thank you for all the replies. It sort of made me feel better I'm not the only one this has happened to, but also desperately sad it's happened to you all too!

We weighed up getting a new place in time and breaking the lease and decided to stay. The property has been deep cleaned this morning by two absolutely amazing ladies and I'm feeling much better about the whole thing.

I have pictures of EVERYTHING. They've been sent to the directorate level of the agents and I'm now dealing with a "deeply concerned" director who has made promises to get to the bottom of how this has happened.

Allegedly an inventory was done. I'm waiting eagerly to see what it looks like. Either way if one was or wasnt done we have enough ammo for life really!

I honestly wouldn't wish how I have felt over the past two days on anyone! It has been a living hell. We are now going to be squirrelling as much money away for a deposit as humanly possible so we can buy and never go through this again!

Well done for going to the director OP!

My previous agent took photographs for their check in inventory, photographs at inspections and photographs when I left. But current agent didn’t even do a check in inventory. I arrived to piles of junk and broken furniture in the house. Nowhere near as bad as yours though. Glad you’ve gotten it cleaned now. Make sure and invoice the agents for the cost of cleaning.

Private renting in the UK is total shit. The worst I've ever seen in the 9 countries I've lived in.

Make sure when you complain you have it by email to ensure it's in writing. Best of luck op