Problems with rented accommodation/landlord

[verymerryberries]

I have been renting a house with a friend for 5 months and we are having increasing problems. The house is very damp and seems to be getting worse. After contacting the landlady last month, she sent a builder round who just told us to "keep an eye on it." The damp patches seem to be spreading quickly though and we tried to contact her last week but cannot get hold of her.
Last night we realised we had water dripping into the kitchen cupboards which is directly below the bath and we had to throw away a lot of damp, mouldy food. The ceiling above the cupboard is very wet and soft. We tried calling, sent texts and left voicemails and have yet to hear from her.

Also, in November when the boiler had a service, we came home to a safety warning attached to the gas fire in the lounge stating it was unsafe to use for various reasons. This was nearly 11 weeks ago and we still cannot use it.

Our 6 month tenancy agreement ends soon and we were then expected to go on a rolling 1 month contract. I guess I'm unhappy paying the full rent while the landlord isn't attempting to fix the problems that she is aware of. Any advice would be great, (or ideas on how big a job it may be to fix the dripping water in the kitchen) thank you.

the advice, quite simply, is 'move'. Your landlord doesn't care, won't fix things and ignores you. Who in their right mind doesn't fix a leaking bath?

report to environmental health, give notice and go. If you give your notice a month before your 6 month expires you can leave at the end. After that it is one month from you, again to expire on the day the rent is paid. Of course you can leave before then, but that is when you stop paying.

please do not give money to slumlords, same as you don't to others who provide poor service. Plenty of decent properties out there.

ps with-holding rent will get you in trouble. Just give notice and leave.

Give notice.

Agree - give notice & get out, this is a shocking way to treat tenants. We rent out a flat ; we have an agent to deal with any problems and I would be horrified if our tenants were living in those sort of conditions.

And yes, report to environmental health.

Actually if you leave on or before the last day of your fixed term tenancy you technically do not have to give any notice. Eg if your tenancy end date is 20th February, then that is when the contract finishes. BUT be careful - if you stay one day beyond that then you automatically go onto a Statutory Period Tenancy where you have give a month's notice (on specific dates).

It's true that most people would inform the landlord they were leaving at the end of the fixed term, out of courtesy and so the landlord can find someone else. (Or not realising they don't have to give notice). But in your case, does the landlady deserve any courtesy? Or you could just tell her you will be leaving, but don't worry if it is less than one month before the end of your tenancy.

I would start looking for somewhere else immediately. The landlady obviously doesn't care.

What are the dates of your tenancy on your contract?

...and of course if the landlady can't be contacted, it is a bit hard to inform her!

you are legally entitled to your landlord's address. If there is an agent, make a formal request. If there isn't, raise it directly with her. If she doesn't reply, tell her that you will be serving your notice to 'x' address and it will be deemed to be received if sent there. Keep copies of correspondence.

this is to stop any possible shenanigans about not receiving your notice.

as an aside - if the bath panel can be easily removed, look under the bath.

Thanks for the replies. It seems giving notice and moving out is the most sensible option, the thought of having to move again however is not so great. The rental was never going to be a long term thing (we are both trying to save to buy) so part of me is tempted to try and hold out. The tenancy agreement ends on 10th March.

I have had a response from the landlord saying that she will be around Monday morning with a builder to have a look and that she can meet with us to discuss our 'other concerns' during the week, but in the meantime could we please refrain from using the bath/shower!!

The bath panel is firmly attached and so I cannot check, from the description however, she thinks it may just be a trim that needs replacing.

I also agree about moving, and especially with specialsubject's point that you are rewarding someone who takes money for not providing you with a comfortable or even safe place to live (fancy seeing how damo/mould might affect your health?), and takes even more money by allowing food to be spoiled and asking you tomake otger arrangements to stay clean. You're not seriously going to go to work without a bath/shower, are you? So that's a gym/ friend's house - both subsidies for your thief of a LL.

Keep on with the excellent work documenting the problems, great idea about thr Environmental Health at your local council, and find somewhere normal to live. You have the right to light, water, warmth and comfort. It is disgraceful that you have not had them.

"damo" ought to be "damp"!

So how are you supposed to clean yourself? Strip washes I suppose (!)
Very unreasonable. I shouldn't plan on staying longer than 10 March if I were you. She doesn't deserve to have tenants!

I know you don't want to incur the expense of moving again, OP, but you really can't win with this type of landlord (the ones that don't like to maintain their property). Often this type of landlord will seek to blame damp problems on the tenant - saying its caused by drying washing indoors, not opening windows enough (even in freezing weather) - and of course the longer you stay the more likely the damp problem worsens and the more likely she is to want to blame you and perhaps try and keep your deposit.

And to reiterate - check your contract and see if it says anything about notice (although there may be stuff in there that is unenforceable - there often is) - but I am pretty sure that on a fixed term contract you CAN leave without giving notice so long as you don't stay later than 10 March - I would make it the 9th to be on the safe side. Post on moneysavingexpert.com or landlordzone.com - I have heard this mentioned by knowledgeable people there many times, but I advise you to check if you decide on this. After all, once you give notice no doubt you will be pestered with constant viewings. (if so, make sure to point out the damp and collapsing ceiling to viewers!) And this landlady doesn't deserve to have notice.

But of course you will have to weigh this up against the likelihood of her throwing a fit when she realises you are leaving and she will have an empty property. She will probably be under the impression you are obliged to give notice, and will give you grief re deposit etc, though you should win eventually. Up to you in the end.

I'm luckily staying with my sister this weekend so will be making full use of her shower, my house mate however has said that she will not wait until Monday evening,possibly later to shower and so will continue to use the bath.
I will dig the contract out when I get home and have a serious think. Will let you know what she/the builder say on Monday...

if the deposit is protected she can't 'give grief'.

this is not a leaking trim by the sound of it.

give notice or continue to live in a dump. She doesn't fix things.

Living in a damp house is horrid - I've done it and hated it!

If you can manage in the house until 10th March and all the problems are fixed could you....

1. ask for the final month rent free (or at the very minimum 1/2 price) to account for all the inconvenience

1. ask the landlady to buy a good quality/large capacity dehumidifier - this will remove some of the water in the air, but you will need to run it for most of the day to get the maximum benefit and possibly move its position in the house during the day. This will of course add additional costs to the elec bills, so you could use this as another reason for reducing the last months rent.

If you do want to leave on 10th March then it might be an idea to give your landlady your notice when you see her on Monday, this its a good months notice and should be ok

If the issues can't be fixed then from what you've written it seems that is not possible to live in the house, (eg.not being able to have a bath / shower, mouldy food, damp spores in the air which can cause health issues, etc) and for these issues it renders the T&C of the contract void and therefore you can leave at any time without having to pay rent upto March 10th and should get the deposit returned in full.

If the landlady gets a bit funny about it all then you can call environmental services / a housing specialist to come round and view the house. alternatively you could say that you will speak to lawyer (whether you do or not is upto you).

It sounds like she is a lazy landlady and hoping that you will just play along with her - It sounds as though you may need to be a firmer and play a bit more hard ball to get her to respond.

I've had at least one contract which requires a LL to pay for alternative accommodation if the rented property is uninhabitable.