Tenant in need for a little advice.

[seanamarts]

I live in a rented property let by a letting agency. I noticed that last year the wall in my nieces room (I have care of her) was very wet, I immediately informed the agency and was told some one would be out straight a way. Two days later no one had turned up so I called again and was told again that some one would be round later that day. Again no one turned up. After a few days the wall dried up as we found that this only happens every time it rains heavily, and as we had not had any rain for a few days the wall dried up. This was in the summer months. However at the end of October we noticed again that the wall was getting worse and that water was coming up from the floor. Again I called the agency again I was told that some one was coming round. Some one did eventually come round but this was to fix another problem that I had with my toilet. He had a look but informed me that he didnt cover this sort of problem and would report it to the office. Still nothing, A few days later water was now running down the walls, the floor was sopping wet. I almost had to shout at some one at the office to come and see to this problem as I felt that the ceiling was going to come down and that there would be repercussions if nothing was done. some one immediately came out and fixed the water problem that was coming from the ceiling, it was a burst pipe in the up stairs flat. They had drilled two 6 inch holes in the wall first to see where the water was coming from. The landlord turned up, totally ignored me, no apologies, in fact seemed very put out by it all. I managed to get his attention and asked about the water coming through the wall when it rained, he them informed me that it had happened before and that the window needed to be resealed, I needed to wait for the walls to dry out first. he said that he would send a humidifier round to speed up the process.. did one come.. no nothing. After the wall dried out I rang them to let them know that it was now dry so that they could get some one to fill the holes and redecorate the wall from the water damage, this was mid december. I was told some one would be round in the week to see to it. no one turned up. By the beginning of January thick black mould had started to appear on the ceiling and the walls, no matter how much I cleaned it it came back with a vengeance. The wall had become damp again due to the bad weather and again every time it rained the water would just seep through the walls. I have had to throw out a fabric wardrobe because of this and have now had to throw out a mattress where the damp has got to it and have had to buy a new bed. I have now again called the agency and now they have informed me that they are waiting for the insurance to pay out on this before they can do any work. Today I had an asthma attack after again trying to clear up the water. My niece who has never had a days illness before moving here has had a constant tightness in her chest and has suffered with congestion which I feel is to do with this mold. This evening I rang again and demanded some one come out and see to this. I was told some one would be here tomorrow, I shall not hold my breath. Any way can some one advise me on what is a reasonable amount of time before something is done to fix this problem. I am a good tenant, I pay my rent on time and often fix things out of my own pocket so not to bother the landlord. I do suffer with MS and I am not saying that this has effected my illness but I have noticed that I have also been very congested lately and wondered if this has anything to do with the black and white fluffy mold growing in the bedroom. Any advice would be greatly welcomed.. By the way I have since been told that the agency are not very forthcoming in fixing problems like this in fact I am still waiting for my cooker to be fixed, the boiler to be serviced and a window to be fixed. have been waiting for these to be fixed for over 6 months..

[Desperate Daniella]

Hi there,

 

The first thing you should do is check your tenancy agreement about your landlord's obligations and from what you have said he is unlikely to be meeting them.

 

When you have checked that I think you should go to CAB.

 

If your landlord is failing to maintain the property properly and your belongs have been damaged you can claim from him. What is the insurance situation on the property?

 

Sorry I can't give you more info.

 

DD

[seanamarts]

Thanks for taking the time to answer, you may think this silly but I have never seen my tenancy agreement, I know I signed one but never got a copy, but my daughter who rented from this agency at the same time as me has her copy so will check hers in the morning. Its getting to the stage now where if no one turns up tomorrow, I will contact an out side contractor and get them to do it and then bill my landlord or withhold part of my rent until it has been paid.. just wondering where I would stand on that.. waiting for some one like environmental services to do anything to help would be pointless as they take ages to respond and to get an appointment for the CAB is near on impossible. Always come here and get instant advice

[seanamarts]

Have to say that I have been privately renting for over 20 years with various agencies, this is the first time I have had any problems like this, so not sure of my options

[Desperate Daniella]

This is a fantastic forum, and I'm sorry I don't have the instant advice. Is your daughter renting in the same block with the same landlord? In any case, your tenancy agreement may have added bits, or omissions, compared to hers. The agency must give you a copy of the tenancy agreement.

 

If he's not meeting his obligations, you can probably withhold rent, but I'd rather you heard that from someone else here as I'm really not certain where you stand legally.

 

You could book a CAB appointment just in case ...

 

DD

[seanamarts]

Yes she did live in the same block (converted house) I have downstairs she had the upstairs. I will call the CAB and see where I stand with this, unfortunately due to my disability I do find it hard to get out and about and see people like the CAB, but desperate times calls for desperate measures so may have to to get this sorted.

[Desperate Daniella]

That's good because there likely to be almost the same, and it's his obligations we are looking at here.

[seanamarts]

just a quick update, well some one did turn up ( a maintenance worker) and had a look, and said he would get back to me. He did say that if nothing was done to get this sorted I should go to the environmental health authorities as it WAS a health hazzard and my landlord should acting to get this sorted asap.

[seanamarts]

Just to update you on the progress here... THERE IS NONE!!!!!! in other words nothing has been done,all the landlord has done is send round another builders, last one was a plasterer and said the same thing as the other two that were sent, all they do is say what needs to be done then go. I have phoned environmental health services and all they tell me is 'as long as they are showing that they are doing SOMETHING, there is nothing they can do to help me.' So in other words the landlord only has to assess the problem and he dosnt have to fix it... thats the impression I have been given here.

My niece was rushed to the doctors the other night with breathing problems and pains in her chest, she has a nasty cough and has done nothing but wheeze in the last few days, she has never had any kind of illness before and I can only put it down to the fact that water is pouring through the walls when it rains followed by black mold that I am cleaning on a daily basis. Ive not been well myself and my asthma has become a problem too. Please if any one can give me some advice on what to do next I would be so grateful as I am at my wits end. If nothing is done soon I am going to have to send my niece to stay with family. she has exams at the moment but the land lord dosnt give a monkeys arse and she dosnt need this at this time. thanks guys in advance.

[Desperate Daniella]

Hi,

 

Did you check the lease about his obligations? If he's not fulfilling them I would withhold the rent. Of course he's got to fix it. Phone back to EHS and insist you speak to someone senior who has a brain and can appreciate that sending round builders every couple of weeks to do an assessment is not solving the problem.

 

Have you taken photos?

 

DD

[seanamarts]

yes have checked my contract and he has to fix the problems with in a reasonable time. And have taken photos and have logged every visit and comments that they have made. EHS have said that if nothing is done by friday I have to call them again and will ask to speak to some one higher up

thanks Daniella

[seanamarts]

Oh for got to say that I have done a bit of digging about with regards to this landlord and he has not got a very good reputation for fixing problems... He knew about this problem before I moved in here and done nothing about it then hence the lady moving out before me, she was only here for a few months before she had had enough. The lady who lives up stairs is also having the same problems with things not being fixed. Im afraid I dont have the option of moving as I just cant afford it at the moment, but I will start to with hold part of my rent until something gets done

[MrShed]

OP - just came across this thread.

 

Can you please give me a brief synopsis of the situation and where it currently is?

 

Sorry - dont currently have time to read all of the above.

 

When you do I'll advise accordingly.

[seanamarts]

Thanks Mrshed, heres a brief summary.

moved into flat march, nicely decorated.

noticed during the late summer months water was seeping through walls when rained heavy. told landlord about August time and again in october, he said it was due to the seals that had gone in the window and would get some one round to fix it. Never did

beginning of November pipe started leaking in the upstairs flat, reported this but landlord said again was to do with the window. mid November floor was flooded, walls were pouring with water and ceiling getting very wet. called him out again and found and fixed leak upstairs, told me he would bring round a humidifier (never did) and to let him know when the walls were dry.

December- to report water still coming through walls. promised to send some one - no show

First week in January same thing- no show

Called again the following week and was told they are waiting for an insurance assessor to inspect the damage. again no one turned up.

week after that called and demanded some one come and see the water. some one showed up and said it will have to be an outside contractor who will check where the water is coming from.

Monday called again (after niece who lives with me was rushed to doctors with wheezing and chest pains on the sunday) water was so bad the floor was soaked and the wall were so wet it was pointless trying to dry them because as soon as I did it was soaked again. some one came round scratched his head said he had no idea where the water was coming from and would get back to me.

I have to clean the mold off the walls almost on a daily basis, I have had to replace a wardrobe and a bed plus curtains because of the mold. I threatened him with EHS but his response was he is trying and as long as it looks like he is trying the EHS wont do anything. I called them and they said just that, but did say they would call him on friday to see what the progress was.

thats where I am now, just waiting, niece is ill with a chest problem Im ill with asthma which I rarely suffer with, and im at my wits end on what to do. Thank you in advance sorry its so long.

[MrShed]

Does your niece live with you?

[seanamarts]

yes, I have full care and control of her since May of this year due to family troubles, I was a foster carer for teenagers some years back and was the only one who could take her in, but It may come to a point where she will have to be moved with another member of the family because of this, she is 16 and is doing exams at the moment and because she has had to have time off school this will cause problems where her exams are concerned.

[MrShed]

I suggest you ring EH again - they are wrong, quite simply, to give you the answer they did.

 

Ensure that they know that a minors health is potentially at risk.

 

I assume that this is an upstairs room, not downstairs, going from what you have said?

[seanamarts]

im in a ground floor flat. will defo ring EH on friday to make sure they ring my land lord. but its not the first time he has done this he knows all the tricks to get round them.

[MrShed]

If EH do their job properly, there should be no "tricks".

 

This sounds most definitely like penetrating damp due to an issue with guttering - having not seen it that is.

 

Can you see any water running down the exterior wall when it rains, and if so where from?

 

Your other option is to get someone out to resolve the issue and deduct this amount from the rent. You can legally do this, if you do it correctly, but be aware it will almost certainly result in later eviction due to the damage to the landlord/tenant relationship.

[seanamarts]

I know exactly what the problem is but he wont listen, I live in a converted house and the window in the bedroom has been blocked off half way down, when the rain is heavy and hits the side of the house it pours in through cracks around where the plastic boarding has been put on. To start with it was just a small damp patch, but where it hasnt been repaired it has got worse. Especially since we had that cold weather and where we had the leak from upstairs. I am presuming that where the water has frozen during that cold spell we had the cracks have got bigger so it lets more rain in which soaks through the wall. there are no leaking guttering, no cracks in the walls out side. and the landlord did say that they have had problems with the window in the past. It did start under the window. but now has spread right across the wall.

I am worried about getting evicted if i take further action, I suffer with MS and have a heart problem and moving will be a huge problem, apart from this problem the rest of the flat is very suited for my needs. But I supose I will have to cross that bridge when I come to it.

[MrShed]

You have to be aware of the potential for eviction, but its a trade off between getting the issue sorted or leaving it be.

 

In any event, force EHs hand first and foremost.

[seanamarts]

so can they evict me because im making a fuss about this

[MrShed]

You can be evicted for no reason once out of a fixed term once given the appropriate notice.

[seanamarts]

hmm My contract was for 6 months initially, and when moving in the landlord said I could stay here for as long as I liked as he wanted a tenant who was prepared to be here long term. Does he have to give good reason to evict me, or can he just give me notice to quit for no reason.

[MrShed]

No he doesnt have to give good reason once you are out of the initial term.