Is my landlord being illegal?

[Haterenting]

Good evening
Hoping someone can help me out via renting rights and laws.
Private renting a house at the moment. Terraced houses in a high crime area. All houses are built the same with an interior front door and an exterior pvc door on the porch. Yesterday (Sunday) morning I went to go out and the door would not open regardless of the lock working. One of my neighbours (who has been in the window and door trade) has come to had a look and said that the mechanism is broken and I need a whole new door. I contacted my estate agent straight away with all the details who said they could not help today (yesterday) and to contact them in the morning. Contacted them this morning again to explain and they said they didn’t want to disturb the landlady at work but had emailed her to ask permission to send a locksmith. I said this was ok thinking it would be today but that I didn’t think a locksmith would do as we need a new door. They got back to me at 5 to say that they would send a lock smith tomorrow to “assess” what needs to be done however I won’t be getting a new door any time soon and they “may decide to remove it altogether” and leave me with a flimsy inside wooden door as a front door. This door would be extremely easy to break into as it only has a basic turn key lock and isn’t heavy at all. Myself and my children have been trapped in since yesterday morning and now I’m extremely worried about our safety as even once we are able to get out we will only have an insecure interior door as our front door.
What are the laws on this? Am I in my rights to contact someone like the council or CAB? My estate agents are now being very arsey with me by saying they have tried everything they can to get the issue sorted and saying they may leave me without a porch door, which i believe will be a huge attraction for break ins and drug addicts knocking on my door (recurrent issue but have always felt safe with both doors).
I’m just not sure what I can do. I’m sure the locksmith tomorrow won’t be able to fix the door/lock and I’m worried that we will be left unsafe.

Also, if they WERE to get us a new porch door, do they have to do this immediately? As they are saying if they do get one then it won’t be ASAP. And as my interior door only has a three lever lock do they need to change this to a Yale and five lever?

So, you do have a lockable front door behind the pvc front door?

I mean unless you store anything of value in the porch the lockable front door would be sufficient?

@User3covid

I mean unless you store anything of value in the porch the lockable front door would be sufficient?

The interior door would then be the main door to the house.

@Haterenting it's very likely the door change would invalidate your contents insurance.

The bigger issue though is safety abd access. If there was a fire etc one of your main exit routes is currently obstructed. That is not ok and I'd be playing merry hell

You rented the house in its previous state of repair, the landlord is responsible for maintaining the house in the same state of repair. So they need to replace the door.

The inside door is lockable however it is flimsy and since googling ive realised that it doesn’t have the locks legally required for a secure front door in a rented property

@Haterenting

The inside door is lockable however it is flimsy and since googling ive realised that it doesn’t have the locks legally required for a secure front door in a rented property

Then you need to make them aware of that ASAP

@Veterinari they are aware of all of it but dragging their heels and taking as long as possible. When the lock smith comes tomorrow it will be 48 hours that we have been locked in

Phone Shelter, trading standards or the non emergency fire number ASAP since your house is now dangerous if there is a fire.

Can you get out of the back door? What if there's a fire?
Contact the CAB first thing

@custardbear the back door is fine however if it was a kitchen fire then I wouldn’t be able to get out as the back door is in the kitchen

[quote Haterenting]@custardbear the back door is fine however if it was a kitchen fire then I wouldn’t be able to get out as the back door is in the kitchen[/quote]
That's a massive fire risk
Report to your local council (they can remove his landlord's license if he doesn't get his arse in gear)

I'd be sending a strongly worded email outlining the illegal front door, the fire safety risk, the fact that you have children in the house and advising if it isn't fixed within 24hours, you'll be reporting to the council and fire service as the property is currently illegal by rental standards.

www.housing-ombudsman.org.uk/useful-tools/fact-sheets/fire-safety/

If you can't get access out in a fire there's a massive risk here, especially with kids too - I'd be telling the agency they sort it tomorrow by EOP or you'll report them for neglect and risking the lives of tenants

Surely they have a contract that the LL has to comply with basics of risk

If the entire door really does need to be replaced (wait and see what the locksmith says) then it may not be possible to magic one up immediately. If a bespoke one is required it would take about a month to get that sorted.

I'm only repeating what others have said, but issue number one is fire safety. You need to speak to the council and the the non emergency fire department. I would also look up building regs to get some useful wording about escape routes. This is an incredibly serious matter.

The second issue is the front door - your contents insurance now likely invalid and your premium will either go up or you may be refused coverage. Sounds like the lock is also illegal for a rental property. Again, this is one for your councils housing team to help you with. The non emergency police number might also be good as they might be able to advise in terms of security.

I'd love to say you should withhold your rent until this is sorted, but I know it's not that easy as renters have so few rights with stuff like this.

Good luck OP

What ever you do do not withhold your rent. If you haven’t mentioned the fire risk and non compliance of the locks to the estate agent then do that straight away. Then call Shelter for advice. They are brilliant and will know which way to point you. Might also be worth looking at your rental contract to see what provision has been made for household faults/property issues. There are some landlord sites online where experienced landlords can be very helpful towards tenants. I’m sorry I can’t remember the names but if you have a google you’ll be able to find them. Someone is likely to know where you stand.

There should be a condition survey when you moved in. Your rent is based on everything being present. Not minus a door or a door that doesn’t work. Make sure you see the locksmith and ensure it’s a new door or a replaced lock. No door isn’t acceptable. I’m a landlady and my agents would have sorted this ASAP. I would never ever remove a door.

Have you actually told them that you are unable to open the door at all though because they may not appreciate that? Locksmiths usually can come out instantly for emergency situations. However I would not take a tenant's word necessarily that a whole new door is needed and send a locksmith to see whether actually it is just the locks that need changing.

However if I was told that you were trapped inside then that locksmith would be there asap and usually within an hour or so.

To the poster who said about getting the landlord's licence removed in most parts of the UK they do not need licences. However as a landlord if I used a letting agent I would indeed expect to be interrupted at work to sort out something of this nature.

Do you have the landlord's details? I would contact them direct and explain the situation.

I do expect my agent to contact me with emergencies and that includes on holiday. Only happened once but I take it seriously. Do chat urgently to the agent. They should have leeway to do emergency work without full day so from the landlord. Safety work is one such emergency.