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

Landlord Health And Safety Failure

Yup, I’m a landlord. But I’m under no illusion; I know we have a bad reputation, a real bad reputation, and much of the bad press is wholly justified. Unfortunately, it’s a tough shit-stain to wipe away while so many rogue landlords continue to operate and run wild (and “ruin it for the rest of us”).

So what do tenants do when they’re dealing with rogue landlords that aren’t complying with health and safety laws? Who do they turn to? Here’s my advice…

Over the years I’ve encountered many shady landlords do the most bizarre shit, either because they’re too lazy to do a proper job, or because they want to cut corners to save money. Of course, the reality is, operating like that is short-sighted, because it’s generally a false economy. But that’s a ramble for another day.

From my experience, most of the neglect is related to health and safety issues e.g. bypassing the Annual Gas Safety check, or failing to provide tenants with hot water and/or heat for an unreasonable amount of time.

I think one of the major contributing factors to why and how landlords get away with neglecting their landlord legal obligations is ignorance. I talk to tenants on a daily basis, and it’s clear most of them are oblivious of their rights, and consequently have no idea if they’re being mistreated in the eyes of the law. That unfortunately works in the favour of the rogue landlord. Ignorance is bliss, as they say.

Your landlord’s responsibility to comply with Health & Safety

As per the “Homes (Fitness for Human Habitation) Act 2018”, Landlords in England have a legal obligation to ensure their rentals properties are “fit for human habitation”, which essentially means the following issues should be addressed:

  • repair (i.e. the building shouldn’t be neglected or in bad condition),
  • stability (i.e. the building shouldn’t be unstable),
  • freedom from damp,
  • internal arrangement (i.e. the property shouldn’t have an unsafe layout),
  • natural lighting (i.e. there should be enough natural light),
  • ventilation (i.e. there should be enough ventilation),
  • water supply (i.e. there should be a supply of hot and cold water),
  • drainage and sanitary conveniences,
  • facilities for preparation and cooking of food and for the disposal of waste water;
  • and the house shall be regarded as unfit for human habitation if, and only if, it is so far defective in one or more of those matters that it is not reasonably suitable for occupation in that condition.

Most health and safety issues will fall under one of those points. All the most common one’s do anyways, that’s for sure. The Homes (Fitness for Human Habitation) Act has given tenants the power to sue landlords through the courts if they fail to comply.

I’ve written a blog post on the ‘Homes (Fitness for Human Habitation) Act 2018’, which goes into much more detail. It’s written from a landlord’s perspective for landlords, but it’s definitely useful from a tenant’s perspective as well, because it will make clear what landlords should be doing to comply with the legislation and what the potential penalties if failing to comply.

While this blog post is specifically about healthy & safety concerns, I do want to mention that Landlords also have a bunch of other legal obligations (e.g. they must manage your deposit properly, provide you with an EPC etc.), which you can peruse through to better educate yourself on your rights (if you want to, that is).

How to report/sue your landlord for not complying with health & safety!

If you’re fully aware that your landlord is breaking health and safety laws, or you have a very strong suspicion he/she is, you should do the following:

1) Report the issue(s) with your landlord

I know, I know, you’ve probably already made your landlord (or letting agent) aware of the issues, but it’s gone unattended and unresolved for what feels like an unreasonable amount of time, hence why you’re here, trying to determine your next steps.

However, while that is probably the case, I just want to clarify how important it is to properly report any matters of health and safety and disrepair to your landlord. If you can’t prove that you have reported your concerns to your landlord properly and given them a fair opportunity to resolve your concerns, you may struggle to build a case for yourself and make headway anytime soon.

When reporting an issue, I recommend doing the following:

  • Report issues with written notice e.g. letters (send via recorded delivery), text messages, emails etc.
  • Document/log all communication so you have proof
  • Clearly explain what the issue(s) is.

It’s also important to give your landlord reasonable time to attend to your concerns. Rarely does anything get fixed overnight. The reality is, some tenants are unrealistic in these matters, by expecting things to get resolved the next day. Whatever your situation is, it’s important to be open-minded and fair.

I’m not going to specify what is or isn’t unreasonable – at least, not in great depth – because it depends on each specific scenario. But as a real ‘loose’ and generic example, I will say that going without hot water for over a month is totally unreasonable in most cases. On the other hand, dealing with a small leak, perhaps that’s not as urgent, so it wouldn’t be totally unreasonable if it gets resolved after one month. Of course, needless to say, every problem should get resolved ASAP in an ideal scenario.

Use your own discretion and common sense to weigh up your situation.

In any case, if after having communicated efficiently, your lousy landlord is unresponsive (when a landlord goes quiet, I’d say that’s the biggest sign that they don’t plan on being useful) or seems completely uninterested in dealing with your complaints, and consequently too much time has passed without any real progress, then…

2) Contact your local Citizen’s Advice Bureau

Before reporting your landlord, you may want to get legal advice first.

I recommend contacting your local Citizens Advice Bureau for free legal advice. They should be able to make you fully aware of your rights and clarify whether you have a case or not.

3a) If you have a gas safety concern

If you believe your landlord is neglecting their responsibility for gas safety, the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) is the place to visit. There is an option to report a landlord online either via the website or via email. Alternatively, a designated team member will call you back within 1 hour (tested, and it works).

Bear in mind, HSE will only deal with the current problems.

Once your complaint is lodged, and assuming it’s legitimate and meets the HSE guidelines, they should take immediate action by writing a letter to your landlord. If they receive no response from the landlord, they will send a second.

If your landlord fails to respond and take reasonable actions to resolve the problem, court proceedings may commence by the HSE.

3b) If you have a health & Safety concern

If you have a health and safety concern which isn’t gas related (for example, if you have a mould manifestation that your landlord won’t address), you should contact your local council and lodge a formal complaint. Each council will have a different procedure, so it’s best to contact your council directly or go to their website and determine the best course of action to proceed with your complaint.

Once you have lodged a complaint with the council, they should assess the situation and act accordingly.

3c) Suing your landlord for failing to comply with Health and Safety

You can actually bypass contacting your local council or HSE altogether, and just go straight for the jugular by suing your landlord through the courts (if the property isn’t “fit for human habitation”). It’s actually a relatively easy process these days, you can make a claim online (follow the previous link for more details).

Or, you can first go through the local council/HSE route and wait for the outcome. Often, most landlords miraculously get their shit together when they get contacted by an official body. Funny that, aye? However, if your landlord is still being a dick and doesn’t buckle under the pressure, then they (the council or HSE) might decide to take court proceedings against your landlord on your behalf.

If the council or HSE don’t take court action, and you feel you have a strong case, you can still go ahead and sue your landlord.

Don’t let your landlord get away with it!

If you’re a tenant that is at the mercy of a rogue landlord that isn’t complying with their health & Safety legal obligations, or any matter of disrepair, report him/her. Don’t put up with it if they’re being completely unreasonable!

Remember, if you let your landlord get away with it now, they will continue to get away with it!

If you’re currently going through this shit, I’m with you, and I wish you the best of luck with your pursuit for justice! xo

288 Join the Conversation...

Showing 238 - 288 comments (out of 288)
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tracey lincoln 8th February, 2015 @ 20:00

I was privet renting a flat .well it was once one big house but over the years it was trend in to nine flats...rooms..he took in every drug addict perverts alcoholics.tramps from the streets whit never coplaind .slept on pissy matresses .and a few fag ends they had picks up from of the streets.. How health and saftey passed that place no one nows.drug worriers at our doctors try'd to get the place close down but no joy.he mad 3 flats just out the roof roof .with no way out if there was a fire..not Evan a rope to grab if u did try to get out the sky light note no ladders. There was a fire me my 20yr old dorghter neirly lost our life's that day.the junky who had been awake for past for days arguing with her junky bioyfriend finally fell to sleep .she had borrowed an electrick Fire from our landlord who lived in his big worm house next door. The heat from the fire eventulie dorghter fire to her bedroom kertons.. My friend who lived across the landing from me never got out ..lost his life in there.there was a fire alarm going of slight lie'but that went of all the time enemy way...eney way the hole block was destroyed..I never Evan had a pair of shoes on my feet nor a coat on my back .we literalise had what we was stood in.. I had spent hours and hours of hard were doing our one bed flat up . . We owns hundrads of pounds just in clothing.60 inch TVs.. Beauty full ferniture i will never own things like I've just lost againe.my x partner broke my jaw few yrs ago.nockd all my teeth out.compansation payd for my TVs.expencive Sophia plus it was a couple of weeks till exams.lost all my presents that I'd been payin for for the past yr.for my 2 kids that live with my sister and my grown up dorghter who's 20.. Every thing gone..surliest there must be some one to pay for this .it was an axedent I have been told .my landlord had been rentin rooms from there for past 25yrs .hes 80 so thing .italion rich old cunt.hed sold the property just a couple of days befor it Brent down...all a bit wears if u ask me' my WhAT IM Triying TO SAY 'is .what ever the other 8 Tenants end up with is a bonkers they had fuck all eney way.... And the building was ruff ..so that'll all be reehomed so owts a bowners ..I'm gutted totally gutters, I'm 42.on bennifit so.pls help with some sort of advice in is there a clame I should be going for'm thank you so so much,xxxxx

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cassief 13th February, 2015 @ 21:36

ive been living in my flat for 6 month now ive got 2 kids under 5 years and this flat is freezing the fire broke ive got mould and damp in nearly every room in my flat my bedroom window is single glazed it dosent even shut proply my walls have no insulation and my walls are cracking and falling down my toilet is falling off the wall my boiler is about 20 year old my electrics are old fashionedthey are like black square things and when all my electrics blew lastweek i had to have a full rewire my landlord is not botbered about any ov this he just happy hes getting his rent ive rang him and he turns his phonr off so ive rang environmental health and there coming on monday and they tell ya if its fit to live in and if its not they help ya to get moved....my landlord is a joke and he needs sorting once snd for all he knew what the flat was like he just saw my 900 pound (2 months rent in advance) and didnt care that he was in the wrong even lettin the flat out

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Sylwia 3rd March, 2015 @ 12:15

Hi,
I have been renting the flat for the last 5yrs in London and have multiple repairs in it but it always take long with our landlord who tries to save money on everything. The building is old anyway but the location is the key so that is why we stayed there for that long. Now we had been experiencing some problems with our gas boiler, since December. After the first plumber visit we were told that water was gathering in one place so he change some the pipes below the boiler and when asked if this boiler is safe he said of course and that it has 5 different safety pins so we should carry on as usual. Well ,the pressure signal was still not fixed and unfortunately the same plumber has died in the meantime ,our landlord has arranged another one to come only to discover that there has been a whole our the pipe going out of the wall which exhales the CO2 so we are lucky that for the last 5yrs we have not accidently died of the C)" as this could happen if the wind blows towards the wall . He also said that he needs to exchange few parts and sealed this whole pipe. We also discovered few cracks in the flat , we have no fire blanket or fume detector or CO2 detector .
As this is a serious matter , wanted to find out what legal steps I need to do for my landlord to check the condition of the building as they insist that it is safe to live. Can anyone advise me ?

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jessica 28th April, 2015 @ 19:20

I have been renting for 7 months now and my property manager is LAZY! I live on the 2nd floor. When i have company i am ebarrased at how dirty the steps and hallways are that lead to my door. The walls have spackle spots all over them and its been like that for 6 months. When we moved in, the PM said she was going to mark the trash cans so that each apartment would have there own, never did it. 2 weeks ago she put letters on all our doors saying there would be assigned parking(we have off-street parking) because some new tenants decided they wanted to be petty and bitch about dumb shit. Needless to say assigned parking hasnt happend yet. Dont think it will. Also, 2 weeks ago the PM told me that the people on the 2nd floor arent allowed to have dogs over 15lb and no pitbulls in the building. Well the Property managers daughter lives downstairs and has a pitbull. Her dog shits in the yard and they dont clean it up. I have pics and video of this incase they ever try to blame it on my 5lb puppy. 2 days ago, the pipes under my sink came apart and i was doing dishes,so water got everywhere. I immediatly told the PM and she said somebody would be over the fowllowing day after 3pm. Do i have to say it?.... the guy never showed. I cant use my kitchen sink. Theres gotta be some kinda law against this. I looked on the internet for an hour and couldnt find anything specific to this situation. I could go on and on about this PM. Our landlord lives in another state and i dont think she knows how lazy her PM is. Even though i have alot to complain about, i dont say anything to the PM or landlord because its not worth making enemies.we all know thats what would happen. So any legal advice would be greatly appreciated.

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john 6th June, 2015 @ 20:22

Baseball bat and his car will fix the problem 😁

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Leslie C 8th July, 2015 @ 12:50

PLEASE HELP! I really just need your advise. My landlord JUST fired the last maintenace man after about 3 years knowing he was using drugs and stealing money from her only to hire a new scumbag maintenance man. The new maintenance man came in my apartment while i was not home and drank my 3 year old sons liquid pain medication and filled it back up God knows what. I knew because I had caught him in my apartment the day before without me being home and without my consent to "fix my toilet paper holder"! He admitted 3 times on the phone to me that " YES LESLIE MY FINGERPRINTS ARE ON THE BOTTLE BUT UNLESS THE COPS ARE GOING TO TEST FOR SALIVA GOOD LUCK PROVING I DRANK IT" Here is the even crazier part... my landlord did not fire him. I have lived there quietly and happily for almost 4 years. Anytime the landlord had a flood in the laundry room or someone there to see an apartment and the maintenance man was too high to do anything she would call me and I was right there to help her and this is how she helps me when i need it. What should I do besides going to the cops because I did that already. The jerks took a halfass report that had more mistakes in it than facts and are taking their time to come process the bottle if they ever even do come. Im actually going to the Camden County Prosecutors office to deal with them but i was hoping you may give me some insight in how to deal with my landlord.
Thanks,
Leslie C

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Daggi 8th July, 2015 @ 13:05

Dear Leslie C,

that's pretty straight forward: tell your landlord that this maintenance guy is trespassing/entering without permission/ breaking in and that you will report him to the POLICE. (If you can try and gather the evidence, eg by leaving a webcam in recording mode for any more of such activities).

You as a paying tenant you have legal entitlement for peace at your good home, and your landlord is responsible for ensuring that.

Warm regards,

Daggi

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kelly 9th July, 2015 @ 16:02

Hi we have had loads of problems with our private rented property, land lord making promises he can't keep, my son is now 5 and had new carpets measured when i was pregnant, the bath is rusty, kitchen sink held together with cable ties, washing machine, fridge and oven don't work properly. no gas safety check in past 2 years. Been saying for past few years about new kitchen and bath.
Was promised whole new kitchen beginning of year keeps coming up with excuses and has the cheek to put rent up.

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Daggi 9th July, 2015 @ 16:30

Dear Kelly,

you and your landlord, your relationship is a relationship between two private parties. I bet deep in your heart you know what you want to do. In your life you are in charge!!!

Best wishes,

Daggi

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iulia 28th July, 2015 @ 12:06

SO, basically my landlord has started building another room on top of mine and my other house mate without telling us when it would start or letting us know whether we need to move out or not.
At the moment, the work has started a little over a week and my colleague's ceiling has collapsed! Luckily they were at work and no one got hurt, but I can see how my ceiling is coming down as well and when checked, the ceiling was very frail as it left 2 small holes in it. I'm scared I will die crushed by the ceiling and I have nowhere else to move, since it is such short notice! I don't know how reporting the landlord will improve my situation...
Any ideas?

Cheers,
iulia

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Admire 15th August, 2015 @ 17:28

The drain was blocked ad thy cal manucipality 2 unblock ad thy found a towel blocking ad that towel was mine ad i don't know who put it because dat towel was lost ago whn i put it on de wire now thy a saying i must pay 200rands they also switch electricity off until i pay dat mny so wat must i do?

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Kendra 23rd August, 2015 @ 01:46

When I moved into my trailer there were roaches all in the kitchen. I called and told my landlord. She said she would put the order in for the exterminator to come out and spray. I moved in at the end of May and the exterminator just came out last month. Since they came out I have more bugs. It pisses me off because when you call the landlord she rushes to get off the phone with you and acts as if she doesnt care and would rather not deal with anything. I wanted to know if I should call DHEC on her because of how nasty the trailer is inside and out or try and give her yet another chance to get things straightened up. Someone please let me know what I should do for the sake of my 3 young children.

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Amy 26th August, 2015 @ 17:29

Why do the HSE only deal with the present situation? I'm reading their case study and seems like they take previous years very seriously. Can you provide a link to your claim?

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Nicola 10th October, 2015 @ 15:06

I was left for a year with a boiler constantly breaking down on a weekly basis being left for up to 3 weeks till being 'bodged' fixed for a week until calling out again with a young child Aswell! Finally after not taking no for an answer got a new boiler installed a few weeks back but still leaking roof, old crumbling windows, broken cooker still waiting to be sorted for the last year! Give up time to move on again :-(

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Anna 21st October, 2015 @ 09:10

We live in a semi detached house that has been converted into a flat, our original neighbours upstairs moved and rented the flat out to tenants from hell.
They have since been evicted but ourselves and the adjoining house next to us have now got cockroaches, rentokil looked upstairs where the problem stemed from gave a quote to the landlord of the above flat but he refused to pay as said he couldn't afford it as insurance company wouldn't pay out, ourselves and next door have spent money on bombs etc is there anyway we can get this money back from him

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Alison 26th November, 2015 @ 16:45

My landlord asked me to sign a new lease agreement. Once he had the signed agreement he now tells me I cannot flush the toilet between midnight & 7am as I am causing a disturbance! I work in a bar 6 nights a week and do not get home until 1:00am, Is he breaking any laws by this as he only informed me of this after I signed. He says that when I flush the toilet when I get home is causing a nuisance to him & other tenants. I also have to take my shoes off to walk up stairs as this is also a nuisance. These are flat shoes that I have stood in all nigh, not big heavy shoes

He also comes into my flat to deliver packages and empty the meter when I am out or in bed in the morning without any notice. I have a new flat as I believe he is in breach of his contract but he now wants 6 months rent. Can he claim this?

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kira 26th November, 2015 @ 20:22

All private landlords are cockroaches except for the exceptional rare exotic floor liners, who house and furnish their rent payers with beautiful persian comforts and walk-throughs. Please start a free housing revolution as roof over head is a most basic and human right to shelter.

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kira 26th November, 2015 @ 20:28

Housing if a fundamental human right and never not a luxury - when did it become so fashionable for property owners to profit from the most poorest members of our society and when did having shelter become such a common and legal tradeship?.

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Laura 28th December, 2015 @ 16:31

Hi, Can anyone tell me my rights as a tennant after a flood. House flooded Boxing Day and landlord is not returning our calls. left messages to tell him house is un-habitable but no reply. No safety checks for gas and electricity have been done and has reached the hieght of sockets in the kitchen and electricity has been tripping. Have ripped all flooring of downstairs out but walls and units especially in the kitchen are unusable and covered in sewage water. Rent is due tomorrow but will have to find a new property, do i still need to pay my rent? All other houses in the street have had council and landlords out to them but nothing for us, not even a phone call. We have even had a lovely charity bring us cleaning things and food parcels. Can our landlord just ignore us like this??? Any advice would be much appreciated.

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shikira pressley 29th December, 2015 @ 18:14

Hi Laura,

I am not sure if anyone has yet replied to your post yet wanted to try and advise you of your tenancy rights in the circumstances you have found yourself.

You are not obliged to pay any rent to a landlord in the event of a flood and in which your health and safety placed in serious jepordy. Make an urgent visit to your local Citizens Advice, even if you have to sit there all day to see someone as a matter of priority. They shall write a letter of serious complaint to your landlord and hopefully find you temporary shelter in the meantime and until the flooding subsides and tests carried out regarding safe usage of appliances after such a natural yet catostrophic event.

The threat of being electrocuted by exposed or tripping electricity cables is immensley dangerous even if you are not able to use electrical appliances - live currents will still be running if the mains are still connecting the house appliances. Your personal safety is of more importance than paying any due rent - you have legal human and tenancy rights to have the rent stopped or significantly reduced in the event that you cannot use the rented premises for its full intended purposes.

Going to the Citizens Advise Bureau will help you with all this and there is no shame at all in using their free legal advisory services in the situation you are currently faced.

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Liz 17th January, 2016 @ 10:17

My landlady told me they were going away for a week and would give me the contact number of their husband. She never gave this to me and it has now been 1 week and 5 days without heating (it is snowing outside) and a significant leak in the study. It is freezing and damp which is setting off my asthma and I have no number to contact about the leak. I tried her phone but it is switched off. Can someone please advise?

Thanks,
Liz

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Kirsten reynolds 27th January, 2016 @ 02:26

I live next door to a provide rented property ,the land lord lives in the same street , he puts alsorts in the house we currently have a alcoholic who has all his mates around drinking smoking weed and taking cocaine and heroine there quite blatant about it , the land lord is aware but isn't bothered so long as he gets his money ,we live in the Wolverhampton area what advice can you suggest many thanks. Kirsten

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Ang 8th March, 2016 @ 14:49

Hi,I have been living in my property for 8yrs now and today had only the second gas check done since moving in. The boiler was replaced just over a year ago by my landlady's hisband and his friend who was supposedly corgi registered. Turns out the boiler is unsafe and whoever fit it didn't have a clue what they were doing! What can be done about this? Also, I have had a damp problem since moving in, work has been done but didn't solve the problem. I have been waiting at least 5yrs for it to be sorted with her promising to get it looked at every summer but nothing ever gets done. My daughters health is now suffering as a result of this. Any advice would be muchly appreciated. Thanks

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Josephine shamey 30th May, 2016 @ 16:47

I live in a 3 family house on the top floor. The landlord boarded up my porch door there for denying me access to my porch. I reported it to the board of health and they cited her. She was instructed to remove the boards and has not complied. Can I take down the board myself? The nice weather is here and I would like to be able to sit out and enjoy my porch.

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Tamara 17th June, 2016 @ 19:17

Trailer park owners, they have you by your throat, it costs a lot of money to move a mobile home I would warn against ever moving to a mobile home park!!!!!

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Bibi 17th August, 2016 @ 03:38

Hello, I have couple of questions that concern my living situation and renting. I have lived in a home that was built in 1980s for 8 yrs now. The tenants before me lived in the home for 5 yrs. They adviced us that the landlord hadn't done any type of upgrades and repairs. About 4 yrs ago we began to have termites and I let my landlord know but till this day she hasn't tented the home. My walls all falling apart, like literly falling(pealing off). Things are getting rusted, my screens are deteriorating because they are the originals. I'm getting infested with bugs!! I'm freaking out because I don't know what to do. Also, the carpet is more than 10 years of age and slowly threading away. Please help my with what route to take.

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Jenny Avila 3rd September, 2016 @ 13:45

Hello I have some concerns about a space I was renting for my business. First of all to start off I had to pay a parking exemption with my money since the landowner never provided one. From the day I started to move in there I started paying for rent , I had one month with no AC until he decided to finally fix it , I would go days without going because it was not fair to have my customers in such a hot place. Also , he had two rooms without a door and had so much unsanitary items along with clothes and garage sale items he would do every weekend in my location I was paying for!! He sea if he would get rid of it but it seemed like it would just feet worse everytime so I decided to leave because all he tried to cover was the entrance to my office space with a big plastic bag :( which make it look very unprofessional and unsanitary. I did not want to get into any problems with the inspections so I left August he 6th. I paid him $100 for the week we stayed since my rent had passed already the end of July . He owes my husband $500 that he had borrowed from him and now he doesn't want to give it back because he says its for the rent of August ? We left the 6th and that's why he asked for the $100, but now he doesn't even want to give my husband the money he owes him and is just trying to find any way to keep it. I really dislike my landowner now because we have right and I would hate for another person to go through this everytime with the same location. Apparently I'm not the first person that he does this to but I am not going to let him get away with it anymore. What can I do??

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Eva 2nd November, 2016 @ 21:32

Hi i am at my rented property for second winter and after notifying landlord that first floor is not insulated at all and gets up to 15 degrees cokd at night with heating on. My son has a cokd for 3rd month in the row - i put him to sleep in hak and two bodies as its gets so cold around 1-6 am. It as well cost fortune to heat the house. There is wet wall in downstairs living room since I moved in, taps in bathroom are turning every time i want water and what is most funny house is inspected every 3 months and they take pictures but nothing is being done.
I am at the stage that I want to move put but I have 2 months notice - Its too long I rather have only month notice and wish to have my full deposit returned - as they inspect every 3 months anyway. I have 2800£ in deposit only it can easily cover nice modern flat/apartment with rent and deposit together. What can I do?

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Nelly Meneses 13th November, 2016 @ 14:27

I live in this apt for over 10 years, I have no problem with my landlord when anything needs to be fix. Now I have a problem with the humidity smell in my kitchen and sink counter, he comes to the kitchen and can't smell amything, also around the neighbourdhood the pipes has been change and he is blaming that the smell is coming from the sawers but is not , it is humid, dump smell. I had been asking him to change that counter that it is probably 30 years old and he refused by saying, "You know how much this will cost me?" Do I have to leave with this smell on my health cost, just because he refuses to change that old counter? But before I report I have to find a "free legal advice??" Landlord are always right and the are protected by the law no matter what. We are the ones who pays the rent or their mortgages and the law are not on our side not even for our health reasons!!!! What should I do in this case, where to go and who to call for this matter?

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Blake 9th January, 2017 @ 11:42

My landlords have broken my boilier in front of me. Plus they are always going on about the damp in my home being my own fault when I
Leave all my windows open and have tryed everything to help it.my mate next door to me moved due to the landlords braking his toilet left it hanging of the wall leaking. For over 6 month's also he spent over 80£ getting carpet cleans now they have ripped it up and took it the the skip I had a leak in my roof causing damp took them over a week to come out and sort it

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John and Linda 11th January, 2017 @ 10:29

Our slumlord made multiple promises to fix major problems before we moved in.
Then over two years later we have still been living with a rat problem, no heating (three winters)no toilet working, leaking roof, dangerous roof structure, carbon monoxide leaking from the over, tripping plug sockets, dangerous electrical sockets crackling, serious black mold issues,garage left open and fences blown down at the back, mattresses everywhere at the back, drain covers loose and dangerous, rat holes, freezing house, no proper shower.
Just a filthy disgusting English sh*thole that seems all too common these days.
All of this cost £950 a month in Luton which we paid on the day for two years and three months until we eventually had to just leave and now the landlord E Adedeji is witholding the deposit and not responding to any correspondence whatsoever.
Pls advise.

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Simon Pambin 11th January, 2017 @ 13:47

I'm surprised you stuck it out that long without calling in the Environmental Health department.

Your landlord should have provided details of which of the recognised protection schemes he used to protect your deposit. They all have a free dispute resolution service which you can use to get your money back (less any justifiable deductions).

If your landlord hasn't provided details or, worse still, hasn't protected the deposit, you can sue him to recover your deposit plus a penalty of 1-3 times the deposit. If the property is as bad as you say it is, I'd anticipate the penalty would be towards the higher end of that scale.

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Tim 13th January, 2017 @ 18:07

My wife can't open our back door because there is some problem with the frame I have spoke to the letting agent but she says there is nothing she can do but surely this is a fire risk can you advise me please

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Ian 19th January, 2017 @ 18:44

Moved into flat 21st November reported the toilet flush broken. When I flush the chair have to wait 30/40 mins before flushing again. Rang estate agent 4times but still waiting. Is it a health and safety issues?

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TYC 5th February, 2017 @ 18:12

My name IS TYC and I live in a old house to where there's a water leak and a gas leak no smoke detector up and a wall heater in the second bathroom which is another reason I couldn't get the gas along with the leak on the property. I keep hearing broken promises about the gas and the lights. I have a older meter and a new meter up on my house and the new meter is connected to the old meter and not to the pole to where all the lights don't work in the house. Then the old meter the wire's melted to where only two rooms had power and the maintenance man said that the landlord wanted him to check it out so the house would burn down not for our safety but the house. To where I was afraid that the house was going to catch a fire on us so they bought smoke detector but didn't put them up so I just put them through out the house. They tried to evict me but it failed the judge told him to fix the problem as far as the water leak and the only thing they did was drain the water from under the house and claimed that they fixed the problem to where the second bathroom has no water at all it's like they didn't connect it back or just stop the water flowing into that restroom. After that didn't work he gave me a 24 hour notice for none payment of the rent but I am trying to keep my water on which is 1,900.00 from all the water that was leaking and my light bill at the time was 900.00 and my rent was 900.00 They dropped the rent to 700.00 but no help with the leak or the bill to where the constable that brought the 24 hour notice said that they still did fix this water leak and as I'm moving my stuff out of the house now the want to use my lights to fix the leak and I have pictures what can I do about this. The landlord is talking about a lawsuit against me please help me

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ED AND KARLA 12th February, 2017 @ 09:52

We've been living in our home for a year. We rent a 4 bedroom house from an old guy that told us he didn't live in/ on the property. After moving in we found out he was living in the garage and he's doing drugs. He has moved in several other roommates renting out the rooms separately. He harasses the tenants so they will leave and just move in new people. We called police they won't do anything. Isn't it illegal for him to live in the garage doing drugs all day long. And he is always looking in the Windows spying on everyone in the house. He eats the tenants food sneaks in the house taking showers. It's weird and annoying and not what we signed up for. Seems illegal to me.

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iqra 29th April, 2017 @ 17:46

hi i need advice on my landlord whom i happen to be related to, i moved onto a 2 bedroom house with my husband and son whilst in my first trimester of my pregnancy. we descovered that there are a huge amount of mice here, the toilet pipe leaks, the electrics wont safe nor was our gas. i stressed to my landlord about my fear of mice, not only that they are a hazard around my 1 year old and my unborn child. pest control came to deal with the prob but the guy said they wont go away until the scurting boards were in line with the floor and all exterior and interior holes are covered. its been 5 months since then and my landlord hasnt done anything. i threatened to .ove out for the sake of my children and because of how it had knocked my confidence living in fear or pests. they then had an electrician come out to do work which was shocking as to the fsct that there were faulty wires. a gas engineer had also been out and had discovered that the boiler needed checking just before we moved in. basically i had been cooking when it was dangerous. please help i dont want to take action in the qrong way or be unloyal as a family member but im scared for my children and myself what can i do?

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Ashley Bruce 29th April, 2017 @ 22:34

We moved into an apartment after Cornerstone informed us that the apartment was sealed of all cracks and the bed bug and Cockroach infestation has been resolved and they were only working on one apartment that had them but promised our apartment was sealed. We moved in and found two bed bugs and countless cockroaches, the window in the bathroom fell on top of me because there was nothing holding it in. Our floors are falling apart and nails are sticking up which have already scratched my eight month old son and the bottom of my husband's feet and mine. There are cracks all over the windows and the frames. Our fridge is tilting forward you can pretty much topple it over our stove is broken. My husband got shocked when he had to put the control panel back on the stove and one of the elements is not working. We have informed the manager responsible for taking care of the property on several occasions and nothing has been resolved they have yet to get back to us. This is not just one landlord this is now a company called Cornerstone that runs and takes care of the property for the landlord. I need to know what steps we can take to get this resolved and if there is any legal action we can take.

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Steve 23rd March, 2018 @ 22:24

It’s been 4 months since our midterm inspection when I raised the issue about our smoke alarms not working correctly. After numerous phone calls from myself and a visit from an electrician we still have no working alarms. The electrician took the alarms apart 8 weeks ago and has not been back since. I have called the company myself and I’ve also called the estate agents 4, 5 maybe 6 times to rectify. My girlfriend is pregnant and has now moved out also with my 3 year old son as she doesn’t feel safe which is fair enough. I’m pretty much at the end of my tether now. I pay £770 a month and feel like refusing to pay any future payments until the house is safe and my family move back in. The question is, am I within my right to do this? Any knowledge on this matter would be really appreciated, thanks

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Retti 17th May, 2018 @ 00:36

Have been a resident of the same apartment for the last 8 yrs. Landlord and his team were the best then they decided to sell the property. New landlord never interacted with tenants verbally always through notices then the rent was raised however no new improvements were made. New maintenance team were NOT professionals on any level just handymen. Building manager left with the previous owner and there has been no reputable replacement since. New tenants were not screened properly. Drug sales, loud music, loitering, unattended children and trash being strewn everywhere but the dumpster. Building smells of marijuana, been reduced from 3 to 1 grimy laundry room in the basement. Landlord has been told of the problems, acts concerned but you can only communicate through texts unless he's at the property. The only thing that has changed is the door locks. Rent raised just for door locks? Local authorities have been called for domestic violence. Should we discontinue attempted communication with landlord and just continue to make reports to the police?

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Charmaine Jones 4th August, 2018 @ 14:00

I have a one bed glat in Swansea iv lived there te for 2 yrs or more anf tberes been allsorts of repairs that need doing i iv got aleak ubove my door that the landlady had a couple of men that didnt have a clue wat they were doing so the leak keeps coming back my bexroom carpet is soaking wet and i dont even k ow where its comong from i had a leak from m the e toilet it took them weeks to sort out but again it was ok for a week and now it must be comi g from the toilet or shower coz that had a leak aswel actually theres so much disrepair there its unhabitual i wouldn't have a dog live there so iv had to stay with someone cause the flat has caused me to have cchest pains and so much stress i cant cope anymore so pleazr i need help so you can see for yourself and hopefully have a warning letter to my landlady about it. I have mental health and its really had a bad effect on me. Thankyou miss jones.

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carla 5th September, 2018 @ 19:55

I have been renting a house for the past 5 months the house smells really musty .the walls in my bedroom were bulging ij one spspot told my land lord he brought in some friend to fix it they took the wall apart didn't find anything but there were black spots all over it .never treated for mold in that room then my ceiling started sweating in my dining room because there was no ventilation in the attic so he came and just broke out the window and put a screen (that was his cheap fix) now the attic gets wet from rain plus I think there is mold up there .I did home mold test kits an them show alot of mold on them in a matter of 1 day .the roof leaks I can see split in the roof from power cords pulling against the how .told him I don't think that that is safe .still hasn't looked into it .what can I do

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Linda 23rd February, 2019 @ 15:13

I have no hot water no heating no profe iv pand my rent door ant safe down stairs cart have a wosh no tenancy agreement never

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Yasemin 16th April, 2019 @ 23:37

I’ve been a tenant at a property forjist over 3 years. There was no gas safety check done and eventually the boiler started to be faulty. I kept reporting this to the landlord. With no response. I then smelt gas an she told me
To call the emergency number. They came out an it was condemned. Seems the flu wasn’t connected to the actual boiler with an 8 inch gap. She then issued me with a section 21. Since then I found out the owner of the property is actually her son and not her. He isn’t on my tenancy agreement and I’ve never met him. To then top it off I called environmental health officer who came out and issued 3 warning letters for carbon monoxide alarms, fire alarms and electrics to be done. The letter came hand delivered to my property my daughter opened the letter and it was addressed to the landlords son. Which states he lived at my property? An there is an intrest only mortgage on the property too. Myself and my children was ill for some time. Turns out we had carbon monoxide poisoning.
I’ve no idea what I can do as she is now claiming I owe rent arrears I’m which she can escalate a possession order. I’ve never had a rent book and most times paid direct over the counter into her business account?

Can anyone advice me on how I can basically take this woman to court for the injustice which she has caused myself and my two children.

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Roto 8th July, 2019 @ 22:21

Hi, I live in a student accommodation, I am so tempted to report my landlord atm I've had many problems with them, I can name at least 100 for the past 8 months I lived here, for 5 months the lock on our flat didn't work, it basically never locked and when it did we could get locked out of our flat which meant any one could just walk in to my flat and take stuff me and my flatmates reported it at least 10 times w, our accommodation is infested with mices and rats when I look down outside theres always a rat that's trying to get inside the wall. My laptop blowed up on me cause the plug sockets were faulty, I ended up having difficulty breathing because someone been doing drugs and they really dont care we have reported it. Idk if I should take him to the court or report him or not I'm scared I got evidence of everything what does everyone think

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Crissy 2nd February, 2020 @ 20:39

So i moved into a house and i found out there is bed bugs and cockroches.. Bad enough ive seen both during the day !! Its barely been a week since ive moved in.. Landlord says he will spray but i had no idea there was bugs and i wouldn't have moved in if i knew there was bugs
. i feel like my stuff will be rewined like my bed and stuff... What can i do about this !!!???

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Deborah ground 8th April, 2020 @ 00:38

Hi there I am a mother of a son living in a house where the “landlady” is live in type he was dating the “landlady’s” daughter and is paying £500 pcm to live there, he however is no longer with the gf and she has moved into another room in the property food is meant to be included in the rent but shopping is very scarce and has only been done 3 times in the last 6 months since he moved in the living conditions in which he lives are not fit for man nor animal in my mind the place is disgusting and filthy so even if there was food to eat anyone wouldn’t want to prepare food there anyway in case of hazzards this house the electrics do not work properly no gas safety inspection records given to my son and he hasn’t been given his tenancy agreement.
My son is 19 years old and suffers badly with mental health and they( she as a landlord) are adding to his everyday stresses as we are under covid 19 lockdown I have been advised that the landlady can not just throw him onto the streets but is going out of her way for my son to be as uncomfortable as possible ie no food, no WiFi as it is turned off whenever she feels fit the house is unfit by way of unhygienic and cluttered the evening I had to collect my son from the property and take him to my home so he could eat and to calm him down as he has spent the last 4 days alone with not even so much as a word from the landlady or the ex gf while at my house I have calmed him down and contacted the mental health team when he returned back to the property (can’t call it home) he found that someone had been in his room (as there are no locks) and ran sacked his things and stolen Jewellery and now TV sticks that he was able to watch tv which I gave to him so they are in my eyes Antagonising and harassing him to provoke a reaction so they have. Probable cause for eviction so in return he has got into a state once again and had to call the mental health team again I am unfortunately in no Position to have my son come home due to being in temporary housing myself also I am going through a care proceedings with my grand daughter to gain custody so it puts me in a very awkward Position And right now I am fumin!!🤬 to say the least and I am trying to keep calm for the sake of my son and my own sanity could you tell me what I/we can do about this I know it maybe a long shot but I am desperate also I wonder what my son is paying £500 pcm for just a bed??? Ridiculous I do know that this so called landlady is up to her eyeballs in debt accumulated before my son moved in cash cow springs to mind please if there is anyone that can help or advise I’d really appreciate it many thanks

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janette mcdermott 7th June, 2020 @ 22:48

hi i live in a shared house the landlord wont do the repairs my daughter lives in the bottom flat her windows glued shut because he dont want too fix the window , and she cant lock her door because it needs fixing plus his other house has a living room where as hes made ours into a bedroom so we have no communal area the back gardens full of rubbish ive asked for money for it too b removed he wont we have mice because of it plus ive reported the oven not working he said its ok but we have to buy chippy most nights plus we have no safety equipment in the house anywhere like no smoke alarms etc so what can we do about it

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Ange 4th September, 2020 @ 22:54

I am private renting a house that is currently connected to a septic tank, along with two other adjacent houses.
This septic tank is failing and is situated in my next door neighbours garden. It has been discharging due to failure into the wooded area at the bottom of the garden.
It is absolutely stinking. It’s toxic human waste. I can not hang laundry on the line in my garden. I can not sit outside in my garden. It makes me physically vomit as soon as I smell it. I have recorded five consecutive days and night of this horrific smell. Just this week. It has spoiled my enjoyment of living here ( rural location ) my landlord won’t do anything about it. Environmental health were involved until they went into furlough. It’s driving me nuts. I don’t know what to do. My landlord is a filthy rich bastard, who drives around in an Aston Martin all day. Complains about making any kind of repairs. Including kerosene boiler repair. Left me for three days without hot water. And accused me of blocking the sani flo loo, when it was broke when I moved in. He was sending a corgi plumber to blag that the boiler was ok, until it packed up. And the corgi plumber ran a mile saying tell the landlord that he needs to get an offtech plumber in to sort it. This plumber said the boiler had not been maintained in years. And told me to install carbon monoxide alarms. WTF. SURLY THIS IS ALL WRONG !
I have never had a landlord like this before. He is creepy and I have caught him hanging around the property many times. He also said a few weeks ago, that he was worried that some other repair guy would do something sexually to me. So he called him and told him not to bother coming out. WTF. I am pulling my hair out..

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James 10th April, 2021 @ 07:51

I live in a privately rented property for last 10 year, and when I first moved in my landlord couldn't do enough to make sure I was happy and content in my home.
If I needed anything he was only a phone call/Text away and he would pop by, but early 2014 showed a different side of him he was never available and took ages to reply to my calls and texts.
Late 2014 it was like he had fallen off the face of the earth that was the last I heard from him.
It's been 7 year now no calls no texts no nothing apart from two notes thru my door asking if I'm OK, yet I call him and nothing.
Early 2014 I had a burt pipe back of washer landlord sent a plumber round and I nipped out to put money in bank, on return plumber was putting tools in his van as he had finished.
That evening I went to use kitchen sink to find plumber had not only fixed burst pipe but also disconnected whole water supply to both taps.
Not only that but some of my personal belongings had Vanished, I called landlord but nothing I text landlord still nothing.
2016 my boiler broke its not a combi boiler it's one of the old free standing boilers, I had engineer come out and look at it he said there is nothing he can do as he can't get parts and I would need a new boiler, I paid engineer out my own pocket because I could not get hold of landlord.
It's now 2021 and I ain't seen my landlord since 2014 I've had no working boiler since 2016, because of the freezing weather my house is full of damp and mold which is effecting my health.
I now suffer from asthma and chest problems I've also had 3 lung infections, I work a full time job to make ends meet and pay scrooge his rent so I'm not out on the streets.
I can't move as I need landlord reference or guarantor, council waiting list is about 2 or 3 year.
All I want is a place to call home and be happy

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Louise 28th January, 2024 @ 13:36

My partner and I got an offer of council property due to being in temp accommodation. We moved into the flat and first few night I was freezing cold! All heater in flat are on all day and night. We found a gap round the top of the windows I can put my fingers all the way along then when there closed. We had an inspector out and he didn't touch the windows to see the problems, the housing officer came out and once again we aren't listened to. Before I moved into the flat I had a mini thoracicotomy with rib resection evacuation of empyemas and decortication of right lung. I'm vulnerable and my partner has COPD. Since being in the flat my partner has been in hospital 4 X and now is being out on anti biotics for rest of his life. Both our drs have written letters stating both our breathings have been the worst and really need to get the flat maintenance done to help our health problems and letters stated we have been severely unwell due to draughts from the windows. A joiner came out to fix kitchen unit and my flat was minus 2 so he called the housing officer to tell her we have all the heaters on and it's still minus 2. We got out into a b&b for 2 days then the 6 joiners were to come and put in a new livingroom unit and all new windows! None of this has been done. I now have had to put pj bottoms along the top of the window while it's closed to stop some of the wind blowing in and now have no faith in getting normal double glazed windows. My partner is exasperating and now spitting up blood and I've got a lung infection again. I can't have my daughter or grandkids it's actually had me in tears. I was willing to pay a company to say what they think about the windows but I was told I can't as it's council property so what can I do? I feel so depressed about this as it's really making us ill.

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