Has anyone ever sued their Landlord for not carrying out repairs?

[BlackBarbies]

I really can’t do this anymore.

I private rent and have lived in this flat for two years. I’m a single parent to two young children. My 15 month old DS has a rare genetic disorder meaning he has a severe disability (he gets DLA for this). My 2 year old was referred for an Autism Assessment and it’s been confirmed that she has suspected ASD. I also work two days a week. I’m just adding this to show how much stress I already have on my plate!

Last year August I saw a mouse in the property. I contacted the Estate Agent’s and after a few months of complaining, the Landlord begrudgingly sent out a pest controller to visit the property. Up until this time, I had posted on MN and carried out all advice given. I had looked for entry points and filled about 10 entry points with wire wool. I laid down snap traps, electronic traps and even had glue traps down. I had the plug ins that omit noise that mice hate. I was spraying peppermint oil underneath the kickboards, sweeping and mopping each day and ensuring that no food was accessible for the mice.

Well guess what, a year later and there’s still been mice within the property. I’ve contacted the Estate Agents who have sent the same pest controller who just lays down traps and says that nothing can be done. The Landlord stated that he was increasing the rent by £270 a month. I said enough is enough. I won’t sign a tenancy renewal unless the Landlord PAYS for a reputable company to come round and do mice proofing. He said that he’d only agree to go half on treatment that a company provides (£66 each).

Long story short, I ended up paying for mice proofing. When this was carried out, the pest controller discovered a MASSIVE hole in the wall where the air brick is behind a cupboard in the kitchen. You could fit your head and probably your shoulders into this hole it’s that big. I asked the Landlord to reimburse me what I paid as the structure of the building is his responsibility by law. He said he won’t be doing this.

He’s also confirmed that he won’t be repairing the hole in the wall at all. I’m sick of this. It’s not okay for him to break the law and get away with it. I’ve been on Shelter and Gov and both sites confirm that the Landlord is responsible for the structure and exterior of the property. I’m tired of fighting him for our basic rights. What can I do? Has anyone gone to court and sued their Landlord on a similar basis? My kids deserve better than this and I’m at my witts end.

Thank you for reading this far if you’ve done so x

I doubt it tbh. In general people who rent have not got the spare cash to sue. The extent to which poorer people have been locked out of legal redress, the extent to which law is returning to being the imperialist tool of the rich to keep the poor working class down, was the subject of concern among at least some lawyers before Covid. Some lawyers were always just in it for the money, but some were educated and trained along the old ideas of public service, justice and equality, as in many professions. I have no idea what has happened since, but the cost of living crisis has finally hit the middle class professions themselves so I don’t imagine it’s good.

If you’re already in touch with Shelter they may be your best bet for advice. Citizens Advice also used to offer basic legal services, enough to send a letter at least, so you could try there too. It is shit tbh. In the past the best approach was to find somewhere else. What’s rental availability like near you? Is the father of your children around and of any help?

We tried never to pay on improvements to a landlords property after being stung by their greed, but we did buy our own mouse traps.

Contact the council. There will be someone in the Housing Dept that will help you & make sure the Landlord does the repairs.

There are plenty of solicitors who will do no win no fee disrepair claims - but maybe not when you’ve got a private landlord (as opposed to a social landlord) because you’re so vulnerable to him just serving you with a s21

I'm afraid I don't have any advice for you OP, but just wanted to encourage you to stand up for your rights. As a PP said, so many people just move on in this sort of scenario, and there's always some other poor person desperate for accommodation, that will move in, and find themselves living the same type of hell that you've been through. So good luck, with getting what you're entitled to, stick with it, and don't let the bastards grind you down!

@KatieB55 if I report the Landlord to the Council’s Environmental Health department, do they contact him and say ‘there’s a hole in the wall, you need to fix it.’ Or, ‘there’s a hole in the wall that needs to be fixed by a builder using zyx materials.’ The reason why I ask is because the Landlord is an incredible cheapskate and will probably send his mate round to fill the hole up with some expanding foam when it actually needs cement. The pest controller very kindly covered the massive hole with a mesh material. I couldn’t take the stress of the Landlord sending round some shoddy person who’ll take the mesh material off and risk the mice coming back into the property. I just wonder how it all works.

@Atnilpoe I did think I read something like that! If I start a legal case then the Landlord will most likely evict me. It seems best to start a case once I’ve left the flat instead

We had a landlord who falsified gas safety check records (the fire was found that it should have been condemned) - we didn’t sue but chased it up with environmental health (I think that was the department) and we very quickly received a section 21 to start the eviction process (and nothing came of his illegal activities). Basically what I’m saying is if you do take further steps (and I totally get why you would) be prepared that he may well start eviction proceedings (which he is well within his rights to do sadly).

@UpaladderwatchingTV thank you so much! My son has weekly physio and OT in the flat so I’m usually quite passive with the housing stuff as I don’t want to get uprooted. I’m just disgusted with the Landlord and I refuse to let him get away with breaking the law. I’ll certainly fight for our rights!

Wow really😳 so you only reported him to Environmental Health and didn’t even start a legal case? I’m guessing once the Council contacted him then he served you with a Section 21 notice? Under what grounds though?

Environmental Health will serve an improvement notice if necessary (which will require the the problem to be fixed within a certain period. Talk to them first before considering private legal action.

You don’t need grounds for a s21 notice - that’s the point of them.

The landlord absolutely cannot serve a sec 21 in response. If they do ignore it.

Apologies if I missed something, but if the main issue is the mice- and the hole has been covered in mesh- and you no longer have mice- why try suing the LL?

Yes, I realise you paid for the mouse proofing- but given that the LL sounds like an A-hole and you already have so much on your plate- wouldn't suing be even more stressful and potentially costly if you didn't win? Could you rent elsewhere nearby for a similar rate? What did the mouse proofing cost?

Okay then this is a more sensible route to go down. I’ll fill in the form on the council’s website and see what the next steps are.

Even if the Landlord was to serve me with a Section 21 notice, the council’s advice is to stay in the property until the bailiffs turn up in order for them to help us. Otherwise we would have made ourselves voluntarily homeless. It’s all a shit show and I rather it doesn’t come to that but I’ll get in touch with Environmental Health thank you

There’s still a man sized hole in the wall that he’s legally responsible for repairing. Who knows how long the mesh can stay put….

See if there is an ACORN association where you live or a Tennant's housing union as they fight really hard for issues like this and often win, worth a try x

https://www.acorntheunion.org.uk/

The council tried to pursue it with health and safety executive - but as it was later rectified (gas fire removed, gas pipe capped) they said there was nothing left for them to do. The guy from the council was as pissed as we were.

S21 didn’t need a grounds to be served. Our fixed term lease (I think it was an assured short hold lease - initial period was 12 months) had come to an end and we were then just in a rolling contract. He just needed to serve that document to begin the process.

@Greenvelvetdress thank you so much! I’ve clicked on the link and I can see that there’s one in my borough. They often stand outside of my work place so I’ll follow their FB and see when they’ll be there again! I’m also going to send them an email. I really apparently your help x

@MissGroves ahhh right I see. The Landlord is still awful for serving you notice despite the fact that he broke the law. I’m going to contact environmental health and see what happens

Nonsense, of course they can.
The only way they’d be stopped from doing so is if the council stepped in and served an improvement notice.

I understand you’re trying to help, but telling someone to ignore a valid S21 is terrible advice.

When we had a mouse we were told to sort it ourselves. We got a cat. In this house we get slugs but they've said they can't really do anything as it's not clear where they're coming from

Sorry I just saw about the huge holes in the wall

A LL can currently serve an S21 for any reason. This is under Govt review & I believe is currently with the House of Lords.

If your LL serves an S21 & you don’t move out, he might get bailiffs to evict you. The bailiffs might only give you a hour or two to get out so be prepared for that.

If you get any warning letters, don’t ignore them.

Eviction will make you homeless & you might end up in a B&B for months, living in one room. The local council might advise you to stay put after the S21 is served so they then have a legal obligation to house you. If you make yourself homeless before that they won’t be very helpful so be careful.

Environmental Health is yr best option not only for mice issue but also surely you’re losing heat via that hole? The LL definitely has a legal obligation to maintain his property.

I am so sorry that you find yourself in such a vulnerable situation. It’s LL’s like yours who give decent & responsible LL’s a bad name.