Any landlords out there able to give me advice

[MarchEliza]

Hi - I'm renting a 2 bed house for 6 months (me, 15 month DD and partner).

As of the torrential downpour last night there is now a steady stream of drips coming through the ceiling in my dd's room.

Obviously I called the landlady this morning and left a couple of messages but not reply yet.

For full disclosure I have not had to contact her previously (am 2.5 months into contract) and have no reason to believe she is negligent in any way.

I would love to know what people (perhaps especially landlords) think about: a) how long can I leave a situation like this; b) is there anything I can do myself to mitigate damage; and c) what do I do if she just ignores me?

Thanks!

Was an agent involved or has your only contact been directly with the landlady?

Have you moved all your own stuff out of the way of the drips? Stuck buckets underneath?

I think reasonably you have to give her to the end of the day to respond - she may have a day job where she's no access to her phone, for example. I know that's not massively helpful though! The last time our tenant had an emergency we were on a flight to Australia... he knew the plumber though so just called him himself, I was fine with that but he's been a tenant for six years.

Yes I've moved everything, put a bucket down and towels to protect the carpet from any splashes so I think I've done all I can. It's the ceiling that I'm worried about as it already looks quite damaged and obviously that room is now unusable.

Thanks for your input. Hopefully she'll be in touch soon as the weather is due to worsen.

An agent collects the rent but the house is maintained by the ll. I have contacted the agents too to see if they can get hold of her.

May be worth taking photos of both the ceiling and what you have done - buckets, towels, etc, preferably with a date/time stamp on though not sure if that's possible on a phone. Just in case the damage gets worse before she calls you. It will show you have been proactive and may help to pinpoint where the leak(s) are.
Good luck.

She's probably working and hasn't picked up your messages yet. With a roof leak it is unlikely any LL would just ignore you, that would be a very costly error.

All you can do is keep on with buckets and mopping up, mainly to save the ceiling of the room beneath! Move everything out from under and call her again later today.

If it were a pipe burst I'd say call a plumber, but calling a roofer is a bit more of a commitment!

It might be worth shoving a screwdriver up into the bit where the drips are coming from. It may make the leak seem worse but it could save the whole ceiling coming down.

Or any other handy implement to make a hole. (Obviously doesn't have to be a screwdriver. That's just what I've used previously. )

Yes pics are a good idea and I have also saved a ceiling by making a bigger hole at the lowest point so the water can come out too. I forgot that and it was one of my proudest moments too!

Was the existing damage listed on your inventory? Need to keep evidence of stuff like this to protect yourselves and your deposit.

I would ask the agent for advice, it's possible ll is on holiday/away and the agent might have a regular tradesman they can send round.

I'd contact the estate agent.
Did you say in the messages what the problem was? And how serious it is?

Worst case, if you still can't get hold of her, I'd send her a message that I would arrange for emergency repairs and would expect my cost to be recovered through the rent.

Yup - photos, keep calling LL, call the agent and do the hole thing if there is a fair bit of water (steady stream of drips still coming thru indicates there is).

Hi - she has been in touch and asked me to go ahead and organise repairs so , hopefully- all will be well soon.

Thank you all for your very helpful advice!

Yay! Sounds good. Take pictures all through the wreck and repair so she can see what went on and thank her for letting you just get on with it. We used to have to wait for the WreckIt and Scarper builders our LL loved. Everyone hated them, but they were especially pleasant to her and so got the jobs.

Ask the agent if they have any recommendations, they usually do have, and it won't cost you anything to keep them and their preferred contractors sweet

It's her job to organise repairs.

Maybe March is happy to do this, sometimes it works better that way. Sometimes what is 'right' isn't always what is best!