Harringay, Haringey - So Good they Spelt it Twice!
Advice on legal rights to withhold rent
Wondering if anyone knows the legal position on withholding rent if a landlord/letting agent is failing you miserably?
Situation is, my daughter's bedroom is in a loft conversion, which is poorly insulated and is damp (things in the built-in cupboards are actually wet, not just musty) and damp is now coming through the walls at the gable end of the house.
I notified the letting agent of this more than a month ago and have chased them several times since. Initially there was a contractor booked to come out about 2 weeks ago, but they cancelled saying they think they know what the problem is but with the snow it wasn't the weather to do the work and they'd want to do it when they come.
I pointed out that while that may be the case, it's not the weather for a child to be expected to sleep in a damp room and for me to be expected to continue paying almost £2k a month for it.
I know I can take steps to have the council enforce the work (it's a private house/rental) through the environmental health. Obviously this isn't going to please the landlord, but I'm past caring.
I feel I should be given a reduction in rent, or refuse to pay at all until it's fixed. But where do I stand if I do this? I don't want to be evicted, but fundamentally I can't be expected to put up with it.
Any advice would be appreciated.
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by ElleCarumba on
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Don't withhold your rent
Unfair as it seems, if you do it then gives the landlord power to evict you. You need to remain in the right.
Contact Shelter's housing advice line and they will talk you through your options and can help you pursue your landlord. It is free.
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Permalink Reply by Liz on
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Just to add to what ElleCarumba says, there is an excellent section on the Shelter website that goes through all the options, including going to environmental health and to court. You should not withhold all or part of your rent as the landlord will almost certainly try and evict you.
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Permalink Reply by Andrew T on
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There is a page on the Shelter site that explains how you can withhold the rent and arrange the repairs yourself, but warns the landlord may try to evict you
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They also say it's an extremely risky strategy. Not to be recommended in the first instance.
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Permalink Reply by cara howard on
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Thanks everyone. It seems I'm stuck between a rock and a hard place. The landlord has now had 5 weeks since I notified them (via the agent) and they have done nothing at all. It's a loft conversion and obviously it's not properly insulated as inside the cupboards in the room is actually wet, not just damp.
The trouble is, everything I do to stir it up will end up back at my door, they will find an excuse to keep my deposit when I move, or terminate my contract, but I don't see why they should just keep taking my £2k a month and do nothing.
I had been promised a call yesterday afternoon with an update and it didn't happen, so it seems I will have to go down the Environmental Health route through the council and have them enforce the repairs on the landlord.
It's just so disappointing that they do nothing when I have a child sleeping in that room, what kind of people are they?
Anyway, thanks for the advice.
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Permalink Reply by JulieB on
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I don't have any advice but it makes me so angry that Landlords can get away with such crap. I really hope they sort it out for you soon.
The house next door to us is owned by a private landlord who lets it to the council for temporary accommodation. When we moved in 9 years ago the state of their gutters meant water cascaded down the walls, it's never been fixed so I'm sure their back bedroom must be soaking wet.
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No, it's Keats. I've actually been in to their office today and conveniently no one who deals with lettings was in. I've also spoken to the Environmental Health who have said if I wish to formalise it they will contact me to arrange someone to come and inspect it and enforce repairs on the landlord.
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Permalink Reply by Esat Karahasan on
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Cara, you could go down the legal route of not paying the landlord the rent which is to pay the rent into an escrow account which will be held and controlled by a solicitor payable to the landlord when he has resolved your dispute. I would wither speak with a solicitor about this or take some advice from the CAB on the correct way about doing it, but ultimately it can be done if the landlord is in disregard or even breach of his part of the tenancy agreement. The agent can and may also help arrange this for you holding onto the rent in a client money account as although they may not directly manage the property or have authority to carry out repairs they still also have a duty of care to you and your daughter. Try also getting a damp proofing company in to give you an idea of the cause and level of damp which will help in your fight against this unprofessional landlord, try Kenwood thy have a free estimate service which includes a full report and damp inspection as described.
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Permalink Reply by Milda Rami on
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Agree. They've quoted us almost £3000 while another damp company found nothing and neither did builders who did the renovation.
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The situation now is that having spoken to the Environmental Health, suddenly the landlady was able to get her contractor to come round. The agent also had one come round and he told us that the damp is due to uncapped chimney pots and the fact that the loft conversion which is my daughter's room is not insulated whatsoever, so you can imagine just how freezing that is.
Why on earth would you convert the loft into a bedroom and not insulate it? Corner cutting cheapskates.
Now awaiting formal notice on what will be done and when.
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