Renting? Scaffolding? No one told me?

[Snowtimex7]

Hiya. Honestly more of a rant that an opinion as there’s literally nothing I can do.

In January I moved into a ground floor flat with my Partner and Baby. The flats are concrete and in a quiet area one of the reasons we chose here as it so quiet. You never hear the neighbours or anything. We rent. A year tenancy

Last night I was on fb and saw someone posted a picture of the flat block in my towns group, someone commented shame the view will be ruined by scaffolding. I messaged her. This Monday coming scaffolding is going up for a minimum of 19 weeks to change the balconies.

So my landlord told me a quiet area no disruptions and now I have five months of building works and unable to use my kitchen window or my child’s bedroom window and door to the balcony? In hot months? I was not informed and if was informed in January probably would have not moved in. I love the flat but I’m here alone with a baby in the day. And it gets incredibly hot in the sun and now I can’t open anything north side, can’t have my daughter in the room so nap time will be elsewhere and just the fact I wasn’t told? I’m actually really angry about it. He must have known as this person said she was informed months ago and has to pay a fee for the refurb.

He knows we have a baby, he knows I’m home alone, he knows we wanted a peaceful quiet area? We pay a lot in rent and haven’t asked a single thing upon moving in. Touched up faults ourselves and got it cleaned as clearly they didn’t. We have letting agents who never contacted us either?

Am I wrong to be angry? Is this normal?

I don't know how having scaffolding is going to make you more lonely, but for the heat get an air conditioning unit and chuck a cup of ice beneath your fan. If it's super hot your doors/windows should be closed anyway, with curtains drawn to keep the sun out.

I think if you can prove that your landlord had knowledge of this prior to your signing up for the flat, and didn't tell you, that you will have very strong grounds for complaint. Then you could ask for a rent reduction or ask to break your lease without penalty and move elsewhere.

@Eteri it won’t make me more lonely but home alone with a baby and random people outside who if they walk round the back (one flat width) they can literally come in. I haven’t gone out in a year so wary of people.

The sun comes directly in and curtains and windows closed this place becomes a heat box. Like a greenhouse as it’s al sliding doors.

@AmandaHoldensLips I don’t really want to move now as there is literally nothing. My friend has been looking since Christmas. Just don’t get how they can not inform us? And the disruption? Should have been told. Apparently the woman received a letter and a bill months ago. And her friend also owns a flat here got the same letter. It’s a hefty bill so won’t give a week notice

Oh and then after they want to dig up the front gardens and change them. Then changing garage doors so this is like 8 months possibly longer of work

Why can’t you open your windows? I’m sorry I don’t understand, and why what do you mean they can literally walk in?

Are you doing something about your anxiety about being wary of people? That’s not a healthy way to be, and you need to seek help for that.

And you think we’re going to have a hot summer? . (Presuming you’re in the uk of course).

Have you spoke to your landlord yet? If so this is your first port of call. He may not actually know if the previous tenants got the notification?

You need to find out what work is being carried out and if it will affect you. Working on flats where people are living also means they will only being allowed to work certain times during the day. No earlier then 8am for example.

Before getting stressed out over it gather more information and find out how you will actually be affected if at all.

@Bluntness100 the rest of the tenants got a letter saying to keep the windows and doors on that side closed due to the dust etc and disrupting the workers.
The other side is all doors to a patio which I’ve been told they have access too.

Yes I’m sure I’m the only person in the uk after an on and off lockdown wary of other people!

@Moooooooooooooooooo already last weekend it became a hot box and we had to open all doors for a breeze. So yeah this flat is a greenhouse. All windows it gets hot

[quote Snowtimex7]@Eteri it won’t make me more lonely but home alone with a baby and random people outside who if they walk round the back (one flat width) they can literally come in. I haven’t gone out in a year so wary of people.

The sun comes directly in and curtains and windows closed this place becomes a heat box. Like a greenhouse as it’s al sliding doors.[/quote]
If you are on the ground floor then scaffolding won't make any difference to access risks.

And even with scaffolding up, you will still be able to open your windows and doors.

I think you are overeacting. Massively so.

@Flowerlane I haven’t yet. Trying to get as much info as possible. Don’t want to cause a problem if on the off chance we don’t get much affected. Apparently the letters go to the house of the owner so he should of got it. As well as a hefty bill which they have begun paying. But then again the person before us left randomly half way through another year lease so maybe she did know.

I’ll try and get as much information. Thank you!

@ElizaLaLa I’m just going by what another ground floor resident was told 🤷🏻‍♀️ Might all be fine but I think I have the right to know for building works for 5 months and then gardens and garages to be all changed?

[quote Snowtimex7]@ElizaLaLa I’m just going by what another ground floor resident was told 🤷🏻‍♀️ Might all be fine but I think I have the right to know for building works for 5 months and then gardens and garages to be all changed?[/quote]
Well no, because you don't own it.

@ElizaLaLa we pay to live here so we should be notified?

I agree you should be notified, and I agree also building work is a pain in the backside. So I don’t think you’re being unreasonable there. But I think you’re catastrophising quite extremely.

You’ll likely be able to open windows and doors, no one will gain access to your property. You need to calmly speak to the agent or landlord ans ask what the work entails.

Yes I can understand that paying a high rent on a comparatively short lease only to find yourself in the middle of a noisy dusty building site during summer months is more than annoying. I think you need to read your lease, go back to the letting agents and LL to verify when they knew about the building works. If you can get a solicitor to negotiate a reduction on the rent on the grounds that you wouldn't have agreed to lease had you known about the disruption. Being told to keep windows shut due to dust is a major issue in a badly insulated flat.

Tbf that would annoy me Yanbu

Are they changing the balconies because of the fire hazard cladding issue? I know lots of blocks of flats in London have been affected because they didn't use fire proofing on the balconies. If so, surely it's better to suck it up for a few months and know you're living somewhere that's safe?

@LoudestCat14 no cladding. It’s all metal and concrete this building. They are updating the metal and changing the colour apparently

I'd be furious too. I don't know where you stand legally. I'd be tempted to move out and pay one months rent and let him sue you for the rest. Or ask to be rehoused by him as your place is uninhabitable.

@Felifox thank you! I will take a look

as pp has said if this was previously rented it may be the previous renter received notification & didn't bother to inform the LL?
Contact your LL & tell them & ask for partial rent rebate but it isn't him that is doing the work & the work needs doing (mind if you were a council tenant or social tenant in the block you would stand a chance in a smoky place of getting any rebate no matter how long it was up (& yeas that's very wrong - but it happens)

The LL was out of order if he specifically told you that there would be no "disruptions" and he knew about the works. I think you would be justified in seeking a rent reduction or early release from the tenancy without penalty on those grounds. I suspect that he knew he'd be unlikely to get tenants if he was upfront about months of work going on.

But it's the same for everyone living there, including owner-occupiers who not only have the hassle and disturbance but have to foot the bill for it as well.

How awful - no advice but sympathy, I had similar once.

I think some people have a bit of an empathy deficit.

I wouldn't be nearly so annoyed by building work now that I own my home, because I know I will be here for a long time and might want to do building work myself. Also it's a house so nobody else's scaffolding is going to be across my windows (as it was when lived in that rental flat - blokes popping right outside windows all the time - on the 3rd and 4th floor - no privacy unless I wanted to live with the curtains closed for months!).

When I was paying £££ in rent (not investing in a mortgage), the building work went on for most of my fixed term tenancy, and I could have perfectly well lived somewhere else had I known, yes I was super annoyed. Different kettle of fish.