To think this landlord is out of order

[Evie998]

I know I’m not really being unreasonable but I don’t get how landlords get away with this. I moved out of a property and within one day it’s been advertised again at almost £225 a monthmore than I was paying when I moved out and is now over market value . It states ‘new roof’ and ‘new boiler’ which I know isn’t true, they’re both about 5 years old. ‘Carpeted throughout’ which is a 17 year old carpet, threadbare and a trip hazard. I’ve looked through the photos and landlord hasn’t changed anything. The gas fire in living room is condemned but landlord has stated there is a fireplace. There is also an issue with damp and mould and the landlord even admitted to me that he’s going to paint over it. The landlord never fixed any issues when I was there. It’s not a safe property at all, I never even had a smoke alarm on top floor, landlord kept saying he’d get it sorted but no one came or kept cancelling, I couldn’t do it myself due to high ceilings and it being above the stairs. The window in bathroom didn’t work and from the photos that hasn’t been fixed either. Just feel sorry for whoever rents this property next

They are out of order but sadly they won’t be the first or the last to act like this.

Are there certain safety standards that landlords have to adhere to?

Not surprising sadly. But you’ll get the usuals along soon defending LLs.

People are desperate for housing and there is a shortage is how and why they get away with it.

Is the ad via an agency?

@Dareisayiseethesunshine she does everything herself. It’s on OpenRent

Im a landlady but use a letting agent to manage property , they do all safety checks / electric , gas , smoke alarms , co2 monitor ect . i assume the landlord is not using this service ? you can use a letting agent to just do tenant finder and ref check and then manage property yourselves which sounds like this person if things arnt being kept to a high standard. If its advertised with a letting agent , for the safety of the next tenant if i were you id contact letting agent , let them know your concerns then leave it be.

I hope your in a much nicer home now OP 😘

I think a 5 year old boiler and roof count as new relative to the expected lifespan of those things. The rest of it isn't good enough but sounds typical of the standard landlord. My experience is they don't fix anything unless incoming tenants require it as a condition of moving in. And if people are desperate they won't insist on repairs.

this is why all properties that are rented out should be checked by local private rent team before going on the market for renting - if any work needs doing then it needs to be checked off before anyone can move into the property.

How is he advertising the property without a smoke alarm? They can't just be a smoke alarm on the wall they need to be wired in to the electrics ?

@MikeRafone I agree. Im not sure tbh regarding the smoke alarms. When I moved in there was one downstairs but never one on the top floor. He kept saying he’d get someone out to do it but never did

I think there is rising damp in the walls also. All my daughters soft toys and our items were getting covered in mould. Even with good ventilation and dehumidifiers on

They get away with it because people are absolutely desperate for homes. There will probably be about 20 people applying for your old home, OP, or more. In fact probably more if there is no estate agents involved as the checks are likely to be less rigorous. Few of these people are going to complain about these issues wheb they are needing somewhere to live.

LLs generally have little to no moral compass in the first place, hence why they are LLs, so they are never going go care about fixing things up to their own cost when they don't need to, they just want to sit back and collect the rent from their latest victim.

Did you have a current gas safety certificate?

You can still report the landlord to environmental health about the damp and the unsafe gas heater.

I lived in a flat that was totally condemned. There was no heating, toilet leaked, no taps in the bath, cockroaches, brown filthy dirty from 50 years of no cleaning, old school 50p meters for gas and electric in every room, broken windows, no smoke alarms. As soon as I moved out they got the builders in and made it all nice for the 'real' tenants? This landlord was a member of my family!

The trouble is good LL are getting out of the business in droves as its just not worthwhile. All that will be left are the slum LL who really don't give a shit about Laws, H & S, repairs or damp.

Those here on MN who call all LL Scum and Property Hoarders ought to be thrilled by the dwindling rental pool - all those people buying instead huh?🙄

hmm, well smoke alarm, obviously is an issue, but really - I still count my boiler as "new" and its about 8, and my roof is certainly "new" at 10, and as to mould, I paint over it - it lasts for years, when it is visible again, I paint over it again - that is how I control it.

Well there is definitely a damp issue in there, in the walls. All our soft furnishings were going mouldy and that was with ventilation and dehumidifier. Paint was always flaking off and bubbling underneath. The toilet also leaks here as well @BobbyBiscuits and there is an issue with the drains etc so it definitely hasn’t been maintained properly, all of these things I reported many times but were never fixed. It was filthy when we moved but landlord demanded a full deep clean before check out

We rented a place like that just before we bought. It was disgusting. We raised complaint after complaint. We were blamed for not ventilating the property (we did) or not heating it. You couldn't heat it, it was constantly damp and mouldy. The toilet was disgusting, mould growing everywhere, the window was broken so you couldn't even close it if you wanted...Still blamed for not ventilating it.

The landlord would once in a while bow to the pressure of complaints (usually once our child had once again been admitted to hospital with breathing difficulties and the EMS had seen the property) and send someone to paint over the mould.

It was honestly vile. And when we moved he put it up a week later with mould once again painted over for another young family to move in. To add insult he stated we left the house in a disgusting state, we didn't. Tried to keep the whole deposit. We disputed and got the majority of our deposit back.

Once rented out again I posted a letter to the new tenants advising them of all the issues and what to be aware of.

Why are you even concerned OP - unless you’re looking to move back there?

A landlord can advertise their property for whatever they like, doesn’t mean they are going to get tenants lined up.

I do agree though - you’d think 17 year old carpets would be replaced - not costly in the grand scheme of things especially if you get a remnant.
The smoke alarm should be there though as should be a C02 detector. I would have brought one then took it with me when I left.

@Evie998 gawd, that sounds awful. Is there any way you could warn perspective tenants against it? Even if you do it anonymously people should know he's a scumbag.

Our landlord is selling our house via auction.. Without photos. They are actually scamming any buyers.. I have read banks can withdraw a mortgage offer if the survey shows structural damage... I so hope so. Some ll have no morals.