How to Report A Landlord That Doesn’t Comply With Health And Safety

Janice Rankin2012-09-13 18:10:23 I have privately rented a room from a couple for about 5 months. On Friday, I told them that I had found somewhere closer to work to rent, and that I would be leaving at the end of the month. Since Friday, their attitude totally changed towards me, and they have been quite nasty - imposing rules about when I can eat, and that I am only allowed to eat in my room (it only contains a bed and wardrobe). This morning, at breakfast, they suddenly told me that I had to leave today as I had woken them up, walking around. When I asked for my 'unused rent' back they said that I had to 'cut my losses' and put it down to experience. This is money that I can't afford to lose, as I have to immediately find somewhere else to live. Can they keep this portion of rent? 132

sam2012-09-17 10:56:41 hi
i was broken into January of last year through a window that i asked my landlord to fix. however he never which'd resulted in me being robbed. the problem is that my landlord is refusing to replace the window he gave my partner a piece of rotten wood to put there instead,
which is still there 7months down the line. he is saying that he will fix it when I pay of the arrears. however the arrears are not mine they are a man that shared our house with us and moved out without notice. I have light no lights in my kitchen and have to put a lamp in the to help me cook as the lighting is hanging from my celing anf trips all my eletric when are used 133

Jeremy2012-09-19 19:01:51 Hello sam,

This makes for an interesting read. I'm sorry to see things between you and your landlord are so bad. You did not ask the bloggers any questions. So did you just want to let off steam, or did you want some advice? 134

MR LES BARKER2012-09-22 16:56:47 MY WIFE AND I, 80 YEARS AND 73 YEARS OF AGE CURRENTLY LIVE IN A PRIVATELY RENTED OLD BUNGALOW. IN JULY THIS YEAR I DETECTED A LEAK IN OUR SHOWER TRAY. THIS WAS IMMEDIATELY REPORTED TO OUR LETTING AGENT. WE STOPPED USING THE SHOWER WHICH CAUSED CONSIDERABLE PROBLEMS AS MY WIFE HAS ACUTE ARTHRITIS AND CANNOT USE A BATH. A MONTH AFTER REPORTING THE PROBLEM AND AFTER NUMEROUS CHASE-UPS 135

Jeremy2012-09-23 21:33:49 Hello MR LES BARKER,

I suggest you now two things. Write them a letter so the agent knows:

1 - Move any of your posessions out of the way and start using the shower again. One month to get a plumber round is far too long. Any damage from leaks are now the landlord's problem. Medical condiition makes it intolerable that your wife can't use the shower anymore.

2 - You are going to get a plumber out. And you're going to deduct the cost of the plumber from your next rent.

Hope this helps, please let us know how you get on. 136

Elle2012-10-12 06:48:54 Hi,

We are having real issues with our property / landlady and need some advice.
We moved into our basement flat property around 7 months ago. When we moved in, we were made aware of damp issues in the kitchen (this was very noticeable as the external wall is crumbling and mouldy) however, our landlady informed us (verbally) that this was mostly a cosmetic issue and that in any case she was dealing with it. She reassured us that damp did not affect other areas of the flat.
We began our tenancy in April, and all was fine until around August, when we had our first major issue; our boiler broke and we had no hot water. Over the next 4 weeks I believe a total of 5 different agencies came to assess the boiler. I could only be there for one of them (the second, where the engineer told me that this was a very expensive problem to fix. I felt that our landlady was just trying to find the cheapest deal - when we began to get upset about how long we had been living without hot water, she treated us as if we were an inconvenience to her. Because we ended up a total of 5 weeks living without hot water, I wanted to negotiate a reduction in rent for that month. My landlady was not entirely happy with this, instead suggesting £10 per month cheaper rent for the next 6 months. I declined this, as did not feel this was fair for the inconvenience, unhappiness and expense that month had afforded us. Looking into it i saw that we could not demand reduction, but could demand alternative accomodation whilst it was being fixed; I offered for her to put us up in a hotel instead, and she conceded and gave us the requested amount off our rent.
Problems from here just seemed to get worse. The lady living in the flat above ours is very noisy, and kept putting her washing on at night (2am - 6am) which rocks our entire flat. We first approached the tenant to try to rectify this ourselves, but she told us she did not have a washing machine, so would not accept responsibility. We informed our landlady, who initially said she would follow up with the tenants letting agency, and then said that it would be better coming from us. This has been ongoing ever since (back and forth between us and our landlady, us and the tenant, and us and our tenants letting agent - our landlady does not seem to have done anything).
Back to the damp - this got progressively worse throughout our tenancy from the start. We really had no problems when the weather was fine, but we noticed when raining that slugs would enter our property - I found them inside the kitchen units and on the kitchen floor. We informed our landlady, and she said she had never had issues with slugs in the property before. We also began to notice damp in other areas - there is a large damp mark under the window sill in the living room and paint is peeling off here - it is also a huge issue in the bathroom (walls crumbling and mouldy as in the kitchen). Our tenancy was a 6 month one, and when we came to renew at the beginning of September, our landlady put our rent up significantly (£50 more a month) because of this we reiterated the problems with issues in the flat; particularly the damp which was so bad, that whenever it rains, our kitchen cupboards fill with water, meaning we are unable to store anything in them. Our landlady's response was that we should not keep food in the cupboards, but in the pantry, which is where we currently keep our fridge freezer (the only space in the kitchen). I asked her how we should store food here, and she told us to put up shelves in it. I asked her where we should keep our fridge freezer, and she said the living room. We also pointed out other issues such as the largest gas hob not working at all *which she said she would look into) and the tv ariel on the roof being broken, which she said was not her responsibility, but mine (is this true?).
Since signing the contract (we didn't want to, but could not afford to move again so quickly)we have had other issues, most notably water coming through my flatmates light fitting from the flat above. This happened 3 weeks ago, everytime we ask our landlady what is happening with it she simply says she is following it up. She then suggested my flat mate by a floor lamp and use that instead.
Yesterday, my flatmate contacted her by email to say how fed up we were, wanting something to be fixed with the damp, and something to be done about the light fitting. Our landlady stated that she 'always tried to follow things up quickly, but having a full time job and the flu means this is not always possible. I am away next week so will deal with things on my return). Again suggesting the pantry for food storage, to turn up our heating to max for the damp, and to use a floor lamp in my flatmates room.

Sorry for the hugely long story but wanted to get it all in there! We are good tenants, clean, tidy and always pay our rent on time - but we find ourselves miserable in our own home. We are in a position to move now, and all we want is to be able to get out of our contract early (we signed for another 6 months in September) - we are not in a position to move now but will be in January), get back our deposit and in the mean time, have the light fitting fixed. I don't see how anything can be done about the damp now in that time but do wonder whether living like this has damaged our health....

Please help!

Elle 137

Elle2012-10-12 06:50:30 * that last bit doesn't make sense. To clarify - we are not in a (financial) position to move now, but will be in January! 138

Judy2012-10-13 19:21:48 My son and his girlfriend have been renting since July. There is a damp problem in the flat and the letting agent moved them upstairs to another flat within the house in September. Some of my sons possessions and clothing were damaged due to the damp and the letting agent said they had to claim off the landlord giving pictures of the damage and costs to replace the property.They did this. Now the letting agent says the landlord has sold the house and they can not claim for the damages as it is not the new landlords problem.
Can they claim aginst the new landlord?
Can they claim against the letting agent?
Any help would be gratefully recieved. 139

Louise2012-10-15 17:56:20 Hello,

We have lived in our rented property for 4 years now, we have never been behind with out rent or even paid late. Due to the bad weather this year some of the filler holding the glass in the windows has started to come out leaving some panes of glass exposed. We have spoke to our landlord about this but he is unwilling to do anything about it. Also the front room window has been painted shut so we can't open it at all, when i emailed him about this he said for safety reasons its been painted shut but surely for safety reasons we need to be able to open it???

Your help would be great

Thanks 140

Jeremy2012-10-18 22:36:13 Hello Louise,

Rubbsh landlord. And a bullsh1tter too. All houses need an escape route on each floor back and front where soeone can get out if there's a fire whihc blocks the normal exit door. In most places that's a window big enough for someone to crawl through.

So painting it shut is probably a breach of fire regs.

You need to write the landlord a letter giving them a reasonable amount of time to put both problems right. Also say if they've not dorted it by date xx/xx/xxxx then you'll get three quotes to do teh work and get the cheapest to do it, deducting that cost form the next rent and providing an invoice to make the invoice + lower rent money given = normal rent money for that month.

If he gets funny with you then leave. He doesn't deserve good tenants. 141

Jeremy2012-10-25 20:46:46 Hello Judy,

Sorry for my late reply. The problem should lay with the original landlord. He would still be the person liable for any potnenial compensation even thought he has sold the flat. 142

Alex2012-12-07 16:25:27 Hi, I wonder if anyone can give me some advice... I moved into a property in March 2012, and since the colder weather has come around, I have noticed that black mould has started to crop up in the two rooms that have outside facing walls, one of which is my bedroom.

There are a few fairly huge cracks in the walls which the landlord basically painted over before I moved in but they are now very noticeable.

The damp and mould is so bad in the living room it has now damaged my own personal property (a bookcase that has bowed at the back and is literally covered top to bottom in furry mould)- on top of this, the 2nd bedroom, which is at the back of the property, has had rainwater running down the walls when we had a heavy downpour.

At the time, I called my landlord in, who said he would 'have a look at it outside' and never did to my knowledge.
In this same bedroom I also find huge puddles of water in the middle of the floor after heavy rain, with no real indication of where it has come from.

I can't imagine the mould is due to poor ventilation, as the property is so badly insulated that there is a constant draught in most rooms, and I have spent a fair amount of money on topping up a 'pay as you go' gas meter, which then gets used up as the heating needs to be on, practically full blast, for around 3 hours before the place even feels remotely warm. My bed, for example, is so cold at night that it actually feels damp.

I have contacted the agency who I found the property through, and have been informed that they do not manage the property, which means I will need to go to my landlord. Here's the thing; he lives in the property below me, and it could be as simple as knocking on his door, but where would that leave me in legal terms? I'm not sure what to do first, should I submit something in writing? Also, my lease is up in March, but I don't particularly want to continue living in a property that ultimately is going to be detrimental to my health because of this damp and mould in the rooms I spend the most time in. I don't know where to start! Please help! 143

richard2012-12-08 12:02:37 Hi, looking for some advice. I have an apartment in a block of 18. The owner of the building has no management company set up and therefore does not keep the building in a very good state of repair.

The main problem now is that the communal fire alarm was triggered ealy one morning and was just put on silence mode by one of the other tennants. The owner of the building has now stated that he does not look after the fire alarm and it is not his responsabililty. The fire alarm has now been left in silnt mode and has not been re-set. I do not know if this will work in the event of a fire.

Can anyone advise where I stand legally and if the owner of the building is responsable?

Thank you. 144

Rachel2012-12-20 23:19:59 We moved into a friends property December last year in emergency circumstances, knowing the property was in a pre-refurbished state having non of the following:
Boiler
Washing facilities (a toilet was installed as only an external one available at the time)
No heating
No kitchen facilities-microwave was provided only
Only partial electricity supply ( parts of the house with no electricity supply had cables hanging out of walls and ceilings)

An agreement was made that we could live here rent/bill free until the property was brought into a functioning and habitual state a time scale given for this was the following April (2012)

Since then whilst some improvements had been made (electric shower, back garden landscaped, kitchen wall painted red, walls plastered cables still hanging out) mostly progress has stalled or taken a step backward. We now have no bathroom,(with shower also removed) still no boiler, no kitchen, no heating (electric heaters were supplied but Landlord removed them 3 weeks ago) and barely one room (our bedroom) being liveable in. We currently wash by boiling a kettle in a bowl this has been the case for the last month.

And yet despite the original agreement none of this is coming free. First he wanted us to pay some bills, (which we had no problem), which soon changed to wanting rent and now it seems he wants us to pay for the improvements. This comes about with no discussion or negotiation.

After returning from a recent trip 3weeks ago we found the property was locked by an additional key that was not supplied to us, we were not able to access the property without the landlords aid.
We have decided to move but financially we cannot afford it at the moment. We receive threatening letters when we return from work, stating that if we don't pay he will remove us from the property.

We are concerned about whether we will have a place to come back to (if he will remove our belongings and us from the property) does he have the right to start demanding this money? 145

Nina2012-12-21 19:43:53 I recently moved out of a property which was burgled - the burglars broke in through a communal door, then kicked through my front door to my flat. The landlord sent a locksmith that night to temporarily secure the door but when the locksmith recommended getting a new door fitted (current one lockable but not secure) the landlord became abusive and said he would take us to court to recover the cost. Can he do this?

My tennancy agreement was on a laptop that was stolen and the landlord has not sent a copy despite several emails (I wanted to have everything in writing) requesting this. I just wondered if anyone could advise? Since moving out he has also said he will take us to court for: small amounts of dust in two storage cupboards, a windowsill and a broken tile in the bathroom that was broken when we moved in. I did report the tile amongst a few other minor faults when we moved in but the landlord is claiming he never received this (despite the fact he came out to the flat 2 days after we moved in to rectify one of the faults). 146

Jeremy2012-12-23 16:47:39 Hello Nina,

The landlord is responsible for maintaining the fabric of the building. The damage caused by the burglar can not be recovered from you unless you can prove you acted negligently and enticed the burglary. This would be very difficult, proably impossible.

Do you have a copy of the moving-in inventory. What did it say about cleanliness, borken tile, etc.? What did the moving-out report you both counter-signed say? I assume your landlord passed you details of whihc goverment approved scheme he used to secure the deposit. 147

Jeremy2012-12-23 16:57:32 Hello Rachel,

If a landlord wants to increase rent there are two choices:
- Mutual discussion and agreement;
- A more formal process which involves the issuing of legal forms

Your landlord has taken neiher of these routes, so he can not start to charge a rent (i.e. increase i.e. from £zero)

If he does remove your posessions and / or you from the property then go immediately to the police and your local council. The authorities take landlord harasment seriously.

Additionally, the contract is unusual. You have agreed to live in a temporarily sub-standard house for a free rent period.

Your "friend" has reneged on his bargain. You are now living involuntatily in a house which is unfit for human habitation.

You could be due to compensation if you take him to court for forcing you to live in delapidated conditions. Bearing in mind how beastly you've been treated, I would be tempted to gather evidence and do this. 148

susan2012-12-30 00:53:46 my child is a student. with friends have rented a house. it is growing mold everywhere. ( green on bedding white furry on carpet black on walls) the extractor fan in the bathroom does not work. there is no window. they would ventilate the place but all windows are painted or screwd shut. they have no gas safety cert. there is a crack through the wall letting in water thus mold and the roof leaks....Landlord is a builder and says its condensation. just to really improve things there is no electric meter and a tenant from 2yrs ago tells them there never has been. what do they do? 149

Jeremy2012-12-30 18:46:33 Hello susan,

Does this blog: http://www.propertyinvestmentproject.co.uk/blog/landlords-responsibility-to-repair-and-maintain/

help? 150

Joanna M2013-01-21 09:35:40 Hi, I am a student living in a rented student house. Last night I turned my light out and it started flashing on and off so I went back over and on turning it on I was quite badly electrocuted. I still can't feel my arm properly and I have had to leave the light on as it just flashes which is costing. I was just wondering how far I can complain about this matter and who I should complain to? Thanks 151

Kris2013-01-25 21:41:26 Hello there,
I'm Kris and looking for advice and tips where to complain about my landlord. I've been living in a shared property for over a year now and my landlord's behaviour went from rather nosy to harassing. There are other tenants moving out (main reason is the landlord though) and the landlord is showing the flat for future tenants and has sent a text to everyone to keep the flat nice and tidy and that we must keep our shoes in our room during the showing period otherwise he will cut from the deposit for damages. Everyone in the flat tries to avoid confrontation with him (and the ones who're just about to move out afraid of deposit cuts), so we've hidden our shoes as he ordered. I failed it ones, he sent a text, that he told me to do so and that he now is going to put them in my room. I was at work when this text came and couldn't check my phone for a while and by the time I could, he already entered my room - without my permission - and placed my pair of shoes in. I wasn't happy for it at all, and again, didn't complain as he is a difficult person to argue with. Second time when I failed to put my shoes away, I was at home watching telly in my room behind closed doors and he suddenly opened in with my shoes in his hand and chuck them on the floor. I went like, Hey, would you at least knock before you come in? He went like, Sorry, I didn't know you were in. I told him, If you knocked, you'd have known this! I was furious big time! Third case, I left two pair of shoes intentionally in the hallway, another text came, that he’s going to put them in my room and this was the last warning. I replied that hallways are designed to keep shoes, coats, etc in them and that I'm not happy that he is messing with my personal belongings. He replied, due to my uncleanliness, he is going to terminate my contract and has given me one month notice.
Does this qualify as harassment? Where and how could I report him or take legal action against him?
PS: I don’t have to mention, that he does the whole landlord thing illegally, so there is no Gas Certificate or DPS. Cash in hand every month.

Thanks for your respond in advance! 152

Beki2013-02-14 01:25:20 Hey, I'm looking for some advice about if there is any action that we can take against our landlady.
We took on a flat that we were led to believe only needed superficial decorating needed to it - and we made an agreement that we would re-wallpaper/paint where needed for a reduced rent. In the second bedroom there was some plaster coming of the wall in the top corner, because it was summertime we thought nothing more of it - there didn't appear to be any other damage in that area and it's an old flat.
We notified the landlady that we wouldn't be fixing this problem as it wasn't what we initially agreed upon when we first moved in, nearly 10 months ago now. As the weather got worse, we realised it wasn't just superficial, we were having leaks in this spot of the wall and ceiling in several places, and by the sounds of it on other parts of the ceiling on the top floor as well. As our landlady owns the shop below us as well, we told her directly rather than going through the agency as we thought this would save time however on our 6 month inspection we told the agency about the problem. In December (about two months after) we finally had someone come in to figure out a quote, they immediately said that it was definitely the roof and that a scaffolding would be needed - but there was no way it could be done til after christmas anyway.
So we waited until a few days after christmas and went to the agency to see what was being done - they hadn't heard from the landlady yet. Then after going in nearly everyday over New year for 2 weeks we found out that the landlady was DECIDING on whether she would let it get fixed.
We've had no idea what to do about this, the flat is in a conservation area as it is so the windows are old and draughty on top of this. We have put a deposit down on a new flat, and will be handing in our notice on Monday so obviously not too much can be done in regards to us but I was wondering if there was anyway to not have to give the months notice as the weather is just getting worse, we have 4 bowls under the ceiling at this present moment in time. And also we've been given the impression that the flat will just go back up for rent after this and don't want to let anyone else endure the same as what we have.

Thanks
Bekix 153

Ann2013-02-14 10:28:41 Hi,
I have some medical conditions ( epilepsy and asthma ) which through my letting agent/landlady not doing repairs in about 2yrs has made BOTH medical conditions worse sine november 2012 i have been unwell with flu like symptoms and from december to now i have had epileptic fits every month all this is down to is that the landlady will not fix my faulty boiler.
I have also been to citizens advice twice over this matter and shelter twice but of little use, due to the fact i with held one months rent the letting againt is now claiming that i have been avioding there letters , calls and visits this is not true as i have only had 2 letters ( both on same day ) no calls no emails ( i keep all my emails and unknown to them is someone is always here as my partner moved in when i 1st got ill back in november he was also here when i was ammitted to hospital and he said the only person that had been was our nieghbour. i want to move out of here as i honistly feel it will kill me but i cant find anything for an emergancy move , i also had a run in with my letting agent and thay told me that the tenancy i signed is null and voied reason is it is out dated but i have not singed any other
like i said earlyer the letting agent is unaware my partner is here which makes him a witness that thay have not called or anything but he can confurme that i have been serverly ill for 4 months and getting worse

please help 154

Nicola2013-02-19 15:40:29 Hiya,

I'm just wandering if you could help me. We have lives in our property for nearly four years and we have been having some damp problems and mould for two years. In the summer it's fine but winter time is when it all comes back. It was that bad in the kitchen that the wall actually came off showing what was underneath the plaster. My landlord had someone fill it up but now that area has started going black.
My landlord has blamed us saying it's the dryer for all the problems but his maintence guy has come out and had a look and all underneath our kitchen cupboards the floor is wet so now all inside our cupboards the wood has gone black and we can't use any of our bottom cupboards as this fur/mould has grown on them. This guy said it was extremely damp, you can smell it as soon as you open the cupboards. What should I do? We are no arrears at all and we have been asking him to fix this for two years. He has now only got someone in to look properly at it but has been blaming us. We pay rent and can't use our cupboards due to damp and I have to cook in there and I have 3 children. It would be so easy to move but I don't see why he shouldn't sort this problem. Can you advise what would be the best plan of action?

Thank you 155

Linda2013-03-11 22:19:30 My son moved into a flat in May. It was a desperate move at the time. He has an electric meter downstairs in the shared entrence. However the landlord has told him he has to purchase cards for this meter only from the landlord himself. They don't sell them in the shops as they are an old system so i have been told. Trouble is i believe the landlord is fraudulently taking more money from the electric than my son is using. He spends over £50 a month and works 5 days a week so is only home at evenings and weekends. I told him to ask the landlord for the name company who supplies his electric and the landlord refused to give this to him. My son has never recieved a bill for electric since he has been in the flat. Aquiring electric cards from the landlord is something of a hit and miss game. My son works from 7.30am until 4.30pm having half an hour for his lunch break. The landlord only makes himself available until 2.30pm so when my son needs the electric cards each month he has to miss a lunch break to go and see the landlord for the cards. Is the landlord within his rights to withhold the information of the supplier? and is there any way we can find out if my son is just paying for his electric used or if the landlord is taking a cut to pay for his office next door in the same building?? 156

Dagmar2013-03-12 03:50:21 Dear Linda....

50 Pds/month for electricity is not that much, which averages around 10-12.50 Pds/week. Before you two accuse his landlord of fraudulence you better check the electricity consumption of every single item in your son's household. Meaning you need to look at the back/bottom of every electrical appliance and transfer from Watt how much it cost him to run each individual the appliance per hour on an average rate and then sum it all up. - Is he running an old fridge? That can well cost ya already 20-30 Pds/week alone!!! Another thing I can think off is a high-Watt gaming computer, even only used for a couple of hours every evening. So I would be very very careful to accuse his landlord of not being honest with him. He needs his/her reference when moving out so he better works on a friendly relationship by regularly keeping his rent and bills in good order. If an old/expensive appliance is responsible for his electricity consumption, simply switch the appliance to something more greener or simply cough up. Also, every electricity company (British Gas, NPower, EDF asf) provides free advice on how to keep one's ecological footprint low, meaning how to save in electricity. Mind you, in these days the electricity companies can vary in their tarifs too, eg British Gas is one of the most expensive. What's cheap to a person on a special tarif maybe much more for a person on a normal tarif. If your son cannot shop around for a cheaper tariff due to that the landlord is not revealing the company or being non-supportive, it's up to you if he simply copes or moves out. For 10-20 Pds more or less a month, is it really worthwhile to sweat over it??? Imho you are really talking pennies, even though he's not at day-time in the place. That's up to you to ponder. Best of luck!!!! 157

Will2013-03-22 00:03:06 Hi, myself and my partner moved today from Edinburgh to Bristol into private rented accommodation as I am moving down for a job. However, when we arrived after a long drive today, the flat is filthy. In particular, the kitchen is covered in mess leftover from the landlord's fridge. Also, there was food left in the oven that had gone mouldy and just a general stench and dirtiness.

After checking my contract with him there is nothing stated to say that he will have the flat clean for us, although we are of course expected to leave it clean following the tenancy. Surely though it is an expectation that a flat should be clean enough to live in when a tenant arrives!? When we viewed the property he promised he would clean it when he left and even tried to claim to me that he and 3 others did clean it - our photo evidence suggests otherwise!!

I have demanded that he sends a professional cleaner to do the job properly but am not entirely certain this will happen.

How can I get around this issue? I have already paid 6 weeks deposit up front as well as the first month's rent and if the issue isn't resolved to a satisfactory standard then I would ideally want to be able to walk away with my original rent and deposit (now held in a deposit scheme) intact.

Any help greatly appreciated. 158

SpeedySpod2013-03-22 08:44:40 @ Will:

'If life gets ya lemons learn to make lemonade.' In other words: get for 5 quid cleaning utensils, put vaseline into your nose, rubber gloves on your hands and get on with half-a-day scrubbing job on your own elbow greese. You will feel much better in two days when you can forget about it, instead of having this now for a long time on your mind. Peace to you!!! (btw: all tenants have to leave a deposit with the landlord for things like that incl. repairs. Looks to me your new landlord cashed that deposit in from the previous tenant without using it for the property to prepare the place for you. Welcome to the UK - over 70% are rogue landlords. Learn your lesson, this is not a guy who keeps his word. Next time you move into rental accomodation and you don't fancy issues like these, then go with an estate agent. You pay more for your rent, but allover these kind of issues ('negligence on the landlord part') will be avoided and you will live much happier with peace on your mind. Big word of warning: what-ever your landlord does or Not does, you still have to cough up the full rent disregards. Landlords know that, to them its a 'no loose situation'. If you are not happy with your new landlord in the long run as you are not be impressed at the start, imho negligent landlords like this can usually be not much bothered with their property in the first place so on the upbeat they most likely won't pester you so you can enjoy the place in piece and privacy. As they are only interested in milking the cow without feeding it...it'll all balance itself out later on. If the rent is okay = affordable and he's not pestering ya in the long run, what's an initial clean in the equation??? Put up with it, live in that place for 6 months, be a good tenant, then decide...that's my advice. Good luck!!! 159

Benji2013-03-22 14:14:42 @Speedy,

'Welcome to the UK - over 70% are rogue landlords.'

Do you have a source for that or did you just make it up? 160

SpeedySpod2013-03-22 20:58:33 Benjii, this is a figure I have been told at one of the Home Offices in Cornwall. Rogue landlords are indeed very very common and they do express themselves like in the described scenario by Will. If it helps, just get in touch with england.shelter.org.uk/ and see if they have an accurate figure for you. 161

Benji2013-03-23 00:10:31 @Speedy,

This is what shelter said in their Rogue Landlord campaign;

http://england.shelter.org.uk/?a=280819 (cached)

"We know renting a home can be a risky business. A minority of rogue landlords still operate in the UK"

A 'minority' isn't the same as 'over 70%'.

Rogue landlords are indeed very very common and there are far too many of them- but making up statistics doesnt help matters. 162

SpeedySpod2013-03-23 08:36:07 @Benji...

Thanks for your input and 'correction'. Why would I make up statistics if I admit to figures from hear-say? I have given you my source and then I have given you a better one to do your own research. Is it even possible to get a clear percentage in the first place? Matter is that there are still many rogues out there and that YOU have not given any productive advice to help Will out with your marbles of wisdom. Obviously, the whole chat here is highly subjective. People share their experience - that's all. What is your expertise on this topic, may I ask??? - May Peace and Happiness be with you, nice day to you! 163

SpeedySpod2013-03-23 08:40:12 @Benjii...

in case you have NOT noticed: England.shelter only records the rogues that have been successfully taken to court!!! Of course, that figure is a minority. - May I advice on skeptical thinking??? 164

Benji2013-03-23 11:14:31 @Speedy,

Of your 'sources':-

Shelter have stated rogue landlords are a minority.

Even though they fully realise there are a lot more rogues out there than the <0.01% of prosecutions reflect. They are still a minority.

"I have been told at one of the Home Offices in Cornwall."

There are no 'Home Offices in Cornwall'.

Unless you mean this estate and letting agent;
http://www.westcornwallhomeoffice.co.uk
Who would probably disagree with you anyway.

If you are referring to the Council, then you must have been talking to the cleaner.

No one professionally involved in housing would make such a daft statement. 165

SpeedySpod2013-03-23 11:30:47 @Benji:

Well, YOU know it all. Yep, there was a Home Office in Penzance, but it has closed down a couple of years ago. Disregard the information is still valid. If a letting agent tells me that 70% on the private market are rogues then this is from a reliable source due to day-to-day experience. What's your agenda? Waisting people's time with your shallow provocation but you have nothing pro-active to say for yourself? Check up on yourself, check out your own 'sources'. 166

SpeedySpod2013-03-23 11:49:16 Oh, look...no Benjii comments prior to this. Could it be you are a troll, a shadow lurker? Taking a pro-active stance for landlords, do you? Could it be you have a vetted interest to make landlords look good???? Hhhhmmm. To anyone who follow this thread: be skeptical!!!! 167

SpeedySpod2013-03-23 11:51:11 @Benjii:

'No one professionally involved in housing would make such a daft statement.'

- citate YOUR source for that. Proove it!!! 168

Benji2013-03-23 12:25:17 @Speedy,

So your source was a letting agent that has closed down?

Was it the same one who gave you this advice :-

"Next time you move into rental accomodation and you don't fancy issues like these, then go with an estate agent. You pay more for your rent, but allover these kind of issues ('negligence on the landlord part') will be avoided and you will live much happier" ? 169

Benji2013-03-23 12:29:01 @Speedy,

'Oh, look...no Benjii comments prior to this.'

HeHe. As it happens Ive wasted my time littering this blog with hundreds of my comments. Usually taking the Mick out of landlords admittedly, but sometimes helping. There are quite a few "thanks Benji"'s to show its not all been useless advice.

"Could it be you have a vetted interest to make landlords look good????"

Hopefully I do the opposite. There are a lot of crap landlords about, and a bit of mickey taking might help them take their responsibilities more seriously.

"Waisting people's time etc"

- Yep, youre right, time to move on. Thanks for the laughs, no hard feelings. As you say, Peace and Happiness to you too. 170

michlle2013-03-23 14:18:27 hi, i am currenty living in a two bedroom third floor flat with my parnter and our 18month old daughter. we have rented the property from a private landlord since november 2011. the place is riddeled with mould in every room. both bedrooms, the lounge, kitchen and bathroom. we have contacted our landlord a few times now about this situation and he has totally ignored us, he has even resulted to not even answering the phone now. my parents also rent a property from him but recently he fitted an electric boiler system in their home with central heating. our flat has no heating what so ever only one plug in heater that totally rinses the elecricity bill. both myself and my partner and more importantly our baby daughter are all becoming ill from the clearly visable mould spores developing in all areas of our home. pleasecan you help with any advice has im at the end of my teather. many thanks 171

SpeedySpod2013-03-23 14:45:31 @ Michelle:

You've got several options. Mould infestations sounds serious, many young children run into breathing problems and asthma. Aspergillus fumigatus (germ that grows in moist dark places) can even cause lung cancer... ask your local Citizen Advice Bureau for advice. Do you want to report your landlord? Can you move out? (if you get evicted because your landlord smells trouble your local council can offer you an interest-free loan for the cost of moving if the eviction has not been because of your fault) Also check out England.shelter for more tips.

Maybe Benjii wants to add something now as he's such a great source of wisdom???

Good luck to you and your young-one, Michelle. Take all the help you can get. 172

hannah2013-03-23 22:28:52 hi,
i hope some one can help. We moved into our property in June 2012 and all seemed ok, a few minor problems that were sorted rather quickly but now with the cold weather things have got a lot, lot worse. In our attic "bedroom" ( I say like this as i would not make my worst enemy stay there) we have sever black spore mold (I suspect at least as cleaning has no effect on it) the bedroom has single glazed wooden framed windows that are rotting, no heating other than an electric thing which i doubt is even safe to use and no insulation. as you come into the main bedroom there is a large "hole" in the corner of the rooms floor which is covered by carpet, the floorboards seemed to have moved as a gap has appeared between carpet and skirting board and one of the plugs does not seem to be properly fitted. coming down the stairs there are cracks and holes all down the side of the wall which i have filled with toilet paper to keep the heat in, the back door is a flimsy wooden thing that i (a 5"odd female) could kick in no problem with a "bedroom"door handle and poor locking system (there is also a gap all around the door) in the kitchen the cooker door has dropped to the point where we are unable to open drawers and cupboards near without fear of burning ourselves! the extractor fan has dropped and is now at a rather precarious angle. Ohh cant forget the huge hole that is down the side of my back door that is rotting! in the front room the pipes for the radiator are on the floor and not even boxed in properly leaving another rather large hole letting a huge amount of cold air in, the casing on the gas fire is coming away. the front door is an internal fire door so i doubt actually legal! the lock again is awful! we have had two sets of draft excludes put on and still no luck with retaining heat! along with all of this we have MASSIVE cracks in every room, a front room door that outdoes fit the frame and a bathroom door that doesn't fit either. we have emailed and phoned our landlord countless times about the problems and had no luck, i sent another email yesterday asking him to come out to the house so he can see all of the issues, we also have photos of everything. Ohh and to top it off my partner has been very ill recently with lung problems and i have a severe skin allergy all of which have started since we moved in to this house. Can someone please give me some pointers as to what our next steps could be as at the moment I'm begrudging paying my rent each month for the state of this house! thanks 173

Michelle Lee Kosik2013-03-26 02:28:28 No, I blew the whistle on Google and agreed to publish my story on Wikipedia today so they are not happy. 174

SpeedySpod2013-03-26 21:38:49 @ Michelle:

I understand how you feel. Try to stay cerebral, upsetting your current landlord is sadly not the way to go if you haven't got the finances to pull it through. As you need his/her reference for your next move. Try to document all your issues at your home incl. taking photographic evidence, talk to him/her, give him/her a deadline to fix the issues. Mind you, with mould growing on your walls he/she may easily blame you for not running your heating accordingly. In the long run, if he/she's non-supportive and the issues are not of your fault, save up for a move. Whistle-blowing before giving an opportunity to fix issues is rarely the way to go forward. England.shelter has an interest in rogue landlords who have been successfully taken to court, so only guilty when charged. Good luck, dear.

@Hannah
A tenancy agreement works both ways. Disregards what the state of the property, ALWAYS PAY YOUR RENT on time, do NOT hold back. Do everything possible to make you look like a good tenant, as in court the opposite will not be in your favour. You acting out self-justice by not living up to your signed agreement makes you equally bad as your landlord and will always be frowned upon in court if it ever would come so far. Landlords do know that they are in the stronger position, the onus is up to you to proove them. Also to you: seek further advice from your local Citizen Advice Bureau. All the best!!! 175

amy2013-03-30 01:55:24 looking for some advice, i rent a 3 bed house from a letting agency. i live with my 5 month old son. here is a list of problems im living with
living room: the wall on the outside has a huge crack along the top of the window. the wall is also wet there is holes where cables come through from the outside. paint is very crumbly with mold that is starting to go black and where the damp is next to a plug socket, which is sinking into the wall.the doors wont shut properly and it never gets warm in the house its very drafty.
kitchen: draws benches and cupboards are falling to bits, no smoke alarms, 1 cooker hob is working the rest don't, it also makes a rattling noise when main fan oven is on.. radiator doesn't heat up in there,the extractor fan above trips the electric. damp around window.
bathroom: light doesn't work, toilet is blocked for no reason, shower looks ancient with no actual shower head on it which i haven't used. also keep hearing scuttling in the roof which i now know is mice as i found one inside the house.Black recurring mould on ceiling.
small bedroom: wallpaper coming away. the room smells foisty and a floorboard is loose in the corner which could be a way mice are getting in as its above the bathroom where i hear the scuttling noises.
upstairs toilet is also blocked. which could be linked with outside where there is an open manhole with the piece of rotted wood that was originally covering it and sewerage blocking it
black and gaps in skirting boards it gets very cold and house doesn't heat up.
I am not in a financial state to move and will be forced to extend my tenancy after the 6 months is up in may. Me and my son are always ill,full of phlegm and coughing and sneezing since we moved in. we need to move out but local council wont help me and landlord are aware of repairs and say someone is coming out to fix the problems but no one ever turns up. Im only 18 and have no help, i have no idea what to do its getting me depressed can someone give me some advice? thanks in advance. 176

Dagmar2013-03-30 19:49:44 @Amy...

Looks like you are in a very awkward position, in particular with such a young one. If you are stucked and you can't move out on your own (try to get more qualifications under your belt by taking on more courses for free child care with the local college?) - is there any way how you can make yourself comfortable in a best possible way? I've been myself once in a similar situation for eight years. As my landlord was non-caring I fixed things by myself incl. a leaking roof. Eg the socket next to the dampness - bann it from using, by putting a plastic cover on it. Use DIY cardboard pannels mounted with tin foil to reflect the heat back into the room. Wrap yourself and your baby in blankets while you study towards a degree. Live/spent most of your time in the healthiest room that is available to you. Eat healthy, go outdoors for regular exercise, learn about 'power foods' that keep you both healthy. Do everything possible to prevent depression while you mature as a mum...try to dig yourself out of that place with positive thinking. Believe me, one day you will be proud about yourself. That's what I would do as obviously, by the looks of it, you won't get much help from your landlord. Save up for a deposit by putting every month a little aside and you'll be out in a year or two. Learn to become a better survivor while raising your young one. Also, aren't there any SureStart-schemes around in your area where you could meet up with other young mums and dads? Hope all this will help you. Stay strong, dear. 177

Jeremy2013-03-31 10:33:11 Your landlord seems determined to both take your money and provide a terrible place to live. If you've exhausted all reasonable steps with him, then get Environmental Health in. Things like tripping electrics and open sewage should get them motivated to do something for you / against him. 178

John2013-04-17 16:14:32 Can anyone advise please. We moved into a house that was impossible to keep warm for various reasons eg old heating system/no insulation/single glazed wooden bay window etc.The boiler and gas fire failed their gas safety check in December when it was freezing and we were told as the boiler was 30 years old it was beyond repair and the whole heating system would need replacing. After six days still nothing had been done as agents said owner (who lives in Australia)would not release funds and they could not tell us when it would be fixed. We had had to move out and were sleeping on relatives floor and called EHO Housing Standards. He came round and found lots of issues with the place apart from the boiler and contacted our landlord on our behalf. Nothing got done apart from British Gas managed to get boiler working again under warranty. The EHO officer emailed the landlord asking if he would release us from our contract so we could move to a warmer house and he agreed. The EHO officer forwarded this email on to us so we had it 'in writing'. We finally found a house 2 months later and put a deposit on but were told when we gave our notice in that the landlord had changed his mind about releasing us from his contract and we would need to pay up to the end of the tenancy (October). We will therefore have to stay and lose the deposit on the new house. The EHO says he is powerless. Does that email not give us any claim that we had the agreement in writing? 179

Claire2013-04-21 09:34:57 I'm having bad problems with my landlord! I have had a faulty boiler now for 12 days, and it still won't be replaced for another week (so I'm told). Had to buy 2 electric heaters which the electric is going down pretty fast. The landlord told me he would compensate me for buying them and give me extra to buy more electric. Still waiting after 3 days. My electric went last night after 9pm so I messaged him again and said that it will stay on till 9am today so could he put that money in my account asap. Still nothing. Messaged him again saying I'm now sat here with no gas or electric and he still hasn't done a thing. I've got 2 small children and it's really affecting them aswell. Any help please as to my rights and what I can do. Thank you 180

Anthony2013-05-03 16:07:40 hi i have a question.

basically my landlord has been a pain in the arse since i moved in,i rent my property privately and initially paid close to 1000 pounds just to move in.
the place was a disgrace,it was unfurnished and clearly hadn't seen a lick of paint in quite some time.
the problem i have now is that i had a problem with my door (nightlatch) in which i couldn't open or close it so i was basically using a mortis lock all the time.
the landlord agreed to have the door fixed and sent his builders out.
unfortunately the builders done a shoddy job and one day when i went out upon return i found myself locked out of my house with no way of getting in.
this was due to the fact that as i have closed my door the snip on the nightlatch has fell down and basically prevented me from accessing my house.
i contacted the builders and they made me wait outside for 2 hours with my dog and my girlfriend.
upon arrival they proceeded to chisel away at the wall area around the night latch destroying the plaster and breaking the door so i could gain access.
i would like to point out that the damage caused was not rectified for a number of weeks.
eventually the same guys come round to rectify the damage they had caused (after much persistent calling to the letting agents) and ultimately re-do the job they failed to do in the first instance.
christmas day next and after travelling to my mums house for christmas dinner i return to find the exact same thing had happened,understandably i was not happy.
as it was christmas i could not get hold of anyone to get the door opened and thus had to boot the door in.
my question is this.
even though the landlord has sent these cowboys out to proceed with the work (even though they done the job wrong twice) can he now refuse to carry out this work based on the statement that my door still has "ample security in the dead bolt" even though the plaster and damage to the door is rather substantial.
i do not want to withhold the rent as this is quite silly but i want to know if i have a leg to stand on basically as they are saying its their word against mine,even though the key i snapped trying to open the door is still stuck in the lock.
please help as im at a loss. :( 181