To think landlord is taking the biscuit?

[PropDes]

Reported cracking on ceiling in bedroom back in July. LL got a quote for the roof but did nothing. Said the damage to the roof was due to roof next door. For the last few months LL has been telling me he has been chasing next door to get this roof fixed. More cracking appeared in September. I asked LL for immediate attention to prevent further damage. Water started dropping through ceiling in early October. Again I chased LL saying roof needs immediate attention asap and to call out emergency roofer. LL still chasing next door up (instead of finding roofer) and said next door had arranged roofer for following week. Following week no one came. More water dropping down from ceiling. LL said he would chase next door again. Another week went past. Apparently next door did send roofer last week but they didn't fix it because more water dropping down from ceiling.

I'm at my wits end!! Constantly contacting LL and asking to send someone urgently but all he seems to be doing is chasing up next door who aren't doing much/anything. Over 4 months since I first reported issue and nearly a month of water dropping through the ceiling. I have put towels and bucket in bedroom where water is dripping. But what else can I do here? LL doesn't seem to be taking this seriously at all. I have kids in the house if that makes any difference.

Sounds awful. Could you contact CAB for advice, put something in writing to LL ASAP. if it’s causing damp or the ceiling is a risk of falling on you then it’s unsafe and environmental health could get involved.
Why can’t he contact his insurance if it’s next doors roof causing the problem? Our neighbours roof was causing us problems, our insurance sent an assessor out who contacted neighbours insurance. It was fixed within a week!

www.citizensadvice.org.uk/housing/renting-privately/during-your-tenancy/dealing-with-repairs/

We have had a hole since January in the kitchen.

Fallen in once with bricks and rubble.
4 weeks to board it up.
Still got a boarded up hole. Sagging board.
Rains in every wet day..
3 roofers haven't returned.. Ll still taking full rent though..

Contact your environmental health team. This is what they are there for.

CAB advises this will likely trigger a termination of your tenancy - which is why we haven't done anything...

@HazelandChacha thanks. What would you suggest I put in writing to LL? All of our correspondence has been in writing so far so I least I have evidence of all the chasing up. Or should I go straight to CAB/Council?

@Pumpkinsonparade that sounds awful. Have you reported to council? What would happen if you do not pay full rent? My contract says LL should make repairs in reasonable time which I don't think this is so he has not been sticking to contact. I am also continuing to pay full rent but think I should get a discount although LL has not offered that (of course). This whole thing causing a huge amount of stress.

I’m just saying what CAB advises on that link I posted but if you’ve already put it in writing contact Cab & see what they recommend

“Asking your landlord to make repairs

Write to your landlord as soon as you notice a problem. You could be held responsible if it gets worse. It’s best to put it in writing - send it to your landlord and keep a copy yourself.

If a letting agent manages the property for your landlord, write to them and they should talk to your landlord. The letting agent will be responsible for making sure your landlord does the repairs.

If your landlord's responsible for the repairs, they should do them in a ‘reasonable’ amount of time. What counts as reasonable depends on the problem. For example, a broken boiler should be fixed sooner than a leaky tap.”

What would happen if you do not pay full rent?

Read the link. You should continue to pay rent

Keep paying your rent. If you don't, you'll get into rent arrears and your landlord might then try to evict you

This is such a horrible situation for tenants to be in. LL doesn't do anything and water is leaking but tenant is expected to carry on paying full rent? There needs to be more government regulation here. I also do not want LL to terminate tenancy especially near to christmas but do not see any other hope other rather reporting to council now. Should I say to LL I will do this in the hope something may happen or just do it? I also do not understand why LL has not contacted his insurance either.

I would just go straight to environmental health.

Keep paying the rent otherwise you are both in breach.
If you go to environmental health they come and check EVERYTHING and the landlord can land a huge list of repairs they MUST do in a set time frame, often things you’ve not looked at or reported. They also cannot just evict you and get someone else in.
Usually the threat of doing this would push most landlords into just sorting out the problem reported rather than potentially being handed a report with £100k of repairs no one knew about.

I never understand why LL devalue their property and consequently their financial investment by failing to undertake running repairs. (Maybe you can use this line of thought in your communication with him/her).
I would also have a look at Shelter's website.

I'm surprised that he's not more concerned as this will be wrecking his property.

Years ago when was a postgrad student, I remember having an ongoing issue with a repair that dragged on for months. Eventually I wrote a letter to the landlord explaining how it was affecting my quality of life and asking for a rent reduction to compensate for the inconvenience until the problem was solved. He miraculously managed to fix the problem within the next couple of days....

Contact Environmental Health. They will serve a notice to the landlord, and if he still doesn't do the repairs, they will do it themselves. As long as your tenancy started after Oct 2015, you are protected from eviction for I think a year if you go through this process - the landlord can't serve a Section 21 notice. More details here:

www.thetenantsvoice.co.uk/advice_from_us/contacting-the-environmental-health-department/

What I don't understand is if I give notice to quit the property they would have to spend £££ to get it habitable for a new tenant!!

Give Shelter a call and ask their advice