Hi.
I'll give background first just to explain:
DH and I rent a flat on a shorthold assured tenancy. We moved in a couple of years ago, and the flat was sold to new LL about nine months later. The new LL said they wanted to do various bits of work to renovate. We have been entirely co-operative about this, have always arranged to be in to let workers in, but it's only been maybe 5-6 days spread over a year, so not a great hardship. That said, a couple of things broke (shower didn't run hot, and the loo seat rusted through in such a way it needed a plumber in to fix it). The LL didn't fix these promptly at all (shower took weeks) as they said they wanted to use someone they knew who'd work cheaply, and asked us not to go through the Lettings Agency (who still technically manage the property, but who the LL said would be more expensive). It has all been fixed now but we did explain we were not very happy to have been paying full rent for such poor treatment.
Last spring, the LL suggested they might do a big job replacing the windows and frames. They said could we let them know when we planned a summer holiday and they'd try to do it then. We agreed we were happy with this and would be happy to move out temporarily to accommodate work as we did plan to go off on holiday that summer. We heard nothing back until now. LL now want to do the work and want us to get in touch with their builder to arrange times.
Problem is, I am a student who works at home (and the amount of work I could do elsewhere is very limited, so I can't just decamp to a library). I am working like crazy to finish my thesis and it's really not convenient either to move out or to faff around organizing times with builders (in the past this has been quite a job since their builders are very disorganized).
I would really like to know where I stand legally before I approach the LL. They are very pleasant people despite the issues we've had with them and I don't want to get it wrong. But this work is not anything we've asked for, and we've not let the condition of the property get worse so it needs doing any more than it did when we moved in (there is a condensation problem, but it's been like that throughout the tenancy).
Is it possible at all to say no to this work? Or at least no for the next couple of months?
Thanks for reading if you got this far!
Please or to access all these features
Please
or
to access all these features
Mumsnet has not checked the qualifications of anyone posting here. If you have any legal concerns we suggest you consult a solicitor.
Legal matters
Renting - LL want to get builders in. Advice please?
11 replies
LRDtheFeministDragon · 03/05/2012 13:36
OP posts:
Please create an account
To comment on this thread you need to create a Mumsnet account.