Can anyone advise on landlord/tenant problems?

['chelle]

Hi

Ok, before my nail tech days I was a qualified legal bod, but my knowledge only goes as far as employment and a bit of criminal law. My brother is having real probs with his landlord, and I wonder if any of you can give some advice on what to do? (sorry if this next bit is long)

He and his lady friend have rented this house. The landlords promised that the kitchen would have a cooker, and that the guttering would be repaired. They have been there 3 weeks, they still have no cooker, the guttering hasnt been touched, and on Saturday the patio door fell off.
The landlord lives far away so its a local agent who's dealing with it. My brother rang at 11am saturday to get the door fixed, and was told theres not much they can do because its the weekend, and that they would sort it next week. They also said that they cant fix the guttering yet as the landlord wont give them any money, and so they intend to take it out of his next months rent at the end of the month.

My brother suffers from a recurring condition, and basically he has to eat properly or he becomes ill. He's been living off sandwiches and he's off work sick at the moment.

Now I know that the agents could have got an emergency glazer round, even if it was just to board up the patio, then fix the door during the week. I also know that it is their responsibility to keep the house in a habitable state. The patio door has been leaning against the gap all weekend, god knows how they havent been burgled (and if they did, their insurance wouldnt be valid I bet).

He is going to see the agents tomorrow and has rung me for advice, but I've only been able to give him some basic advice. I know about contract law so I've told him about how they have to keep to their part of the tenancy agreement or he can take civil action, I also know that local authorities take a dim view to landlords who keep tenants in undesirable conditions, especially where health is affected, and that the local authority can step in and take action.

I've told my brother to give them time limits to fix these things and say that he will have no alternative than to take civil action and contact the local authority if they dont comply. He's worried that they will get kicked out if they kick up too much of a fuss, and although they have a contract I have to agree that an unscrupulous landlord might decide to kick them out. I've told him to be firm but reasonable, but apart from this I dont know if there is anything else he can do.

Does anyone have any first hand experience of a situation like this who could advise me? Anything you can suggest would be great, thanks.

 

[Mrs.Clooney]

My hubby and I are landlords and I like to think that we are fair and not unscrupulous like your brother's landlord. Awful situation and so not right!

The best thing in this circumstance is to have documented and visual evidence. Tell your brother to take pictures preferably with dates on them and to log the dates and times he spoke to the estate agents and to inform the estate agents that he is documenting all this info. It takes time but it is better for him to put everything in writing even if he hand delivers it. Might put a cracker up their xxxxx to get them moving with their responsibilities!

The agent has to act in the interests of both the landlord and the tenant and yes, they should be able to contact somebody to sort out any problems in the absence of the landlord. The landlord pays a fee for this. Most agents are in contact with reputable companies to do emergency repairs.

I would also advise that your brother gets a GP letter concerning his health issues and use this to add weight to his battle with the landlord. He may be worried about being given notice on the rental, but then would he really want to be saddled with a troublesome unscrupulous landlord. HTH

 

['chelle]

Thanks so much for that, I'll give my brother a ring. I wouldnt even mind so much if they were bad tenants, but they are spot on, they have even offered to pay their rent early so they can fix the guttering!! Not that he should have to but I bet not so many landlords have tenants as reasonable as that.

Thanks again its a big help

 

[Susie H]

I spent nearly 10 years in private rent:irked:
Your bro has a right to use his next months rent to get a repair man in, get a receipt and give it with the balance of the rent to the agent. He has a right to expect urgent work, like a working cooker and exterior doors to be fixed within 48 hours none urgent like the guttering to be scheduled in a timely fashion.
The reality is, he would be best served by asking the agent now, to find him another property when his short hold is up, because the landlords cop out is to say he won't be renting again because he's going to sell.
Good landlords are worth their weight in gold because the bad ones far out number them.

Not because they set out to cheat peeps but because they don't realise that some of that income from the rent has to be used for repairs, they honestly don't give that side of things a thought.

 

[tinkywinky]

I'm a landlord to two properties and quite frankly I'm appauled for your poor brother. I would suggest contacting CAB to confirm where he stands legally.

My tenants got everything and more from me, if there was a problem they got it fixed that day

They even took the p**s and didn't pay the rent for two months.

So I've gone the other way and decided not to be a landlord for one of the homes & live in it myself.

Hope he gets sorted.

xx

 

[Mrs.Clooney]

I'm a landlord to two properties and quite frankly I'm appauled for your poor brother. I would suggest contacting CAB to confirm where he stands legally.

My tenants got everything and more from me, if there was a problem they got it fixed that day

They even took the p**s and didn't pay the rent for two months.

So I've gone the other way and decided not to be a landlord for one of the homes & live in it myself.

Hope he gets sorted.

xx

Unfortunately, yes Tinkywinky, there is the other side of the coin where the tenants act like absolute b*****ds and take the p**s because they have rights :irked:! We had a tenant like this and it gave my hubby and I unbelievable stress and there was nothing we could do because he was always just one step ahead of the law.

Hope you get it sorted though 'chelle as this landlord sounds like he doesn't really care.

 

[bubbabinks]

My nan lives next door to a rented property and when the fence blew down it became apparent what the landlord and agent were like.
The agent wouldnt pay for any unauthourised repairs.
The fence got repaired 6 months later, this was a nightmare for my nan as both my nan and neighbour owned dogs!

When the tenants moved out there were so many repairs the landlord hadnt done like fix a hole in the bathroom ceiling, that they left all the lights on and the back door wide open when they went. They also left a bin bag full of spuds in the kitchen to go off!

The agent usually has authority to do the repairs up to a certain amount before they have to then get permission from the landlord.

My sister who's a landlord has an agreed figure of £50 repairs, because she knows a lot of people in various trades who can do it for her and usually quicker then the agent.
The reason she agreed such a low amount was because before that she paid 4 times for the agents guy to repair a boiler that he didnt manage to actually fix!

Like everyone has said everything should be done in writing and make a note of dates/times and conversation if the agent phones them.