Hello,
This situation is stressing me out. My landlord in the last year has been having financial issues and as a result of this I feel I have taken the brunt of it.
Firstly, every thing I have had to report her to that has broken (for example, the toilet wouldn't flush) she has blamed me. The plumber told her it was nothing to do with us and was a worn part in the toilet. We then had a leak through the ceiling that was caused by poor sealant around the bath (again, it was old and worn). She initially tried to say we must have damaged it, again the plumbers put her straight on that. This is just in relation to the bathroom. We then had two pipes burst in the kitchen - again, just old pipes, just one of those things. It must have been us being reckless.
Anyway, most recently in April, I told her the decking in the garden was rotting and one of the planks had gone through. The gardeners that pulled it up video'd it and told her how rotten it was and she was fortunate no one had gone through it - it turns out it was over 30 years old as the next door neighbours ex husband had actually laid it down! The back gate has also never properly fitted, this was also apparently our fault, despite the same people who pulled the decking up saying the gate was a complete bodge job and had been made with left over bits of decking. The neighbour confirmed again it was her ex husband who had put the gate up. The ground underneath the decking is unsafe - lots of loose bits of paving stones with very sharp edges and parts that are cracked. There was also a large tree that was tied to a bit of the decking that has now collapsed in the last few days. Coincidentally, she messaged saying 'sorry have not been in contact regarding sorting the garden. We are having financial issues in the last year and unfortunately will not be doing the garden. I am sure you understand, thanks'.
When I responded regarding the collapsed tree and unsafe paving, she went on a rant of how much we are upsetting her, that we do not appreciate her, that she is a fantastic landlord, that if we cannot even manage to pull a tree out then she guesses she will have to find the money somewhere to get the gardener out, that her life is stressful enough and that she is apparently charging under market rate anyway so has been beyond fair to us. This last part is not actually true (I checked the going rate for 2 bedrooms in this area). I am now left in a position where I feel I have to put up and shut up else I risk a tirade of emotional messages and backlash.
Is she trying to get us to leave? Or is this just a way of making us feel bad so we keep our mouths shut and accept anything breaking?
I am a little at a loss for words. I am also confused as she owns 5 properties that she rents out, I am wondering would it not make sense to ditch one or two and then focus money on the remaining ones (I know some of her other tenants and whilst not quite on the same level of disrepair that mine is in, have all had similar issues when trying to bring maintenance up).