I'm asking this on behalf of my BIL and his fiancé. They took up a new tenancy with a private landlord about November time last year, and since then they have had A LOT of damp spreading throughout the house, the boiler leaks and water leaks from the ceiling when it rains.
It is a shambles.
The landlord has been very sluggish in his approach to it all, delaying coming out to look at the problem, making excuses for not turning up and getting a bit arsey by saying to BIL, "Me and you are going to have problems it seems."
At the moment that house is unliveable. All that disgusting damp all over the house is a health hazard and with them both being asthma sufferers it is not ideal at all. The leaky boiler and ceiling as well. They have moved in to my MIL's for the time being.
The landlord eventually came out to the house today. He has told them that he is going to get "a few builders round" to sort it out. But he needs to arrange it first and he'll let BIL know. When asked about the boiler the landlord said he's already had someone out to sort that once, to which he was told the problem has not been sorted. My BIL has taken loads of photos with dates on them of the damp, the boiler and the leaky ceiling to back them up.
He is seriously of withholding rent. This is where my question comes in. In these circumstances where the property is unsafe and inhabitable does it void the contract whereby the tenant no longer is liable for rent? It makes sense, if they can't live there then why should they pay? The photos he has taken would be used to prove to a court that this house should not be up for rent in those conditions and that they have a reason for not paying the rent. Moreover the landlord has not been quick to get the problem sorted.