Advice Required Urgently - Rental Accommodation with no bathroom!

newportlad

Hi,

Hope someone can give me advice here, I've a bit of a problem on my hands.

Today I signed a rental agreement for a single room in a house in howth, i had viewed the property 5 weeks previously, During this viewing i only saw the kitchen and the bedroom. There was a number of people waiting after me to see the room also so it was a rushed viewing. i asked the landlord what the bathroom was like and he said it was a basic bathroom. Anyways i didn't ask to see this bathroom because of the rush and wasn't really too bothered.
I was offered the room that evening and paid the deposit a few days later, they said wen i move in i can start paying rent. i paid rent today and got the keys and when i moved in i discovered there is no bathroom. the house is made up of bedsits and perhaps all these are ensuite and my room only one without.. not sure no one was there so i couldn't ask and i couldn't get in contact with the landlord. i've paid rent for july and next one is due 1st of august. i want to cancel the whole agreement and get a refund, am so furious, was really looking forward to moving in.

Has this happened to anyone? any advice would be much appreciated. thanks

Senna

Wait, there is no bathroom at all? not every down stairs etc?
Is it possible that there is one, but the door is locked? if all other rooms have en-suites, is it possible that the landlord locked the bathroom as the your room was empty till you move in? and forgot to unlock it, give you key?
Very strange, i've heard some dodgy landlords stories, but never not having a bathroom.

Sleipnir

I've heard of "can't find the bathroom" but this is ridiculous.
Perhaps it's not ensuite, may be a shared bathroom?
Well, either you get satisfaction or you tell the landlord that you're going to 'improvise' in his flat.

gurramok

It breaches living conditions assuming no shared bathroom, minimum standards set down by law. Assuming old rented property pre-Jan '09

http://www.citizensinformation.ie/categories/housing/renting-a-home/repairs-maintenance-and-minimum-physical-standards

A toilet and bath/shower for every two flats, unless four single people are living in four single bedsits in which case all four may share a toilet and bath/shower

As far as i can see, the landlord is in breach of contract already. Get onto the PRTB and Threshold.

D3PO

well first of all what the hell are you doing moving in somewhere without viewing properly ?

I see all these complaints on here because people dont have the common sense to view the place they are are going to live in.

anyway on topic there is probably a shared bathroom that you just dont know about because you havent viewed properly. ring the landlord and ask him where the bathroom is.

if there isnt one then tell him you wnat your money back if he refusesed. raise a complaint withthe PRTB, tel him you are calling the HSE to make an environmental health complaint, also tell him you want to see his BER cert ofr the property or you will be reporting his failure to follow his legal obligation to have one ofr a rented property

BC

Ring the landlord and ask. I'd be very surprised if there is no bathroom. Its probably a shared one somewhere else in the house.

shoegirl

Friend of mine did experience this once, but it was in Copenhagen in the 1980s, not here.

By law you must have a bathroom! Give him a ring and find out where it is!

PS always check out the bathroom and back yard before you rent - if the bathroom doesn't have a working hot shower and the back yard is the local dump its a sure sign the place is either not maintained or about to be condemned.

gaius c

D3PO wrote: »

well first of all what the hell are you doing moving in somewhere without viewing properly ?

Sorry if I seem unsympathetic but I agree with the above. Daft is flooded with available properties and it's a renter's market. Don't let yourself be rushed into decisions like this.
Get onto the landlord. There simply has to be a bathroom even if it's a shared one.

You'll be wiser next time okay?

Bob Z

gaius c wrote: »

Sorry if I seem unsympathetic but I agree with the above. Daft is flooded with available properties and it's a renter's market. Don't let yourself be rushed into decisions like this.
Get onto the landlord. There simply has to be a bathroom even if it's a shared one.

You'll be wiser next time okay?

Well you expect there to BE a bathroom. Maybe the landlord rushed him through the viewing on purpose

Thoushaltnot

Time to knock in to next door's to say "Hi, I'm your new neighbour. Where's the bathroom 'round here?"

RATM

Dirty protest on the corridor walls ftw :pac:

OP there has to be a jacks somewhere in the building, like how are you supposed to S.S.S? Look under the stairs, bedsit buildings usually have some sort of ratty shared bathroom under the stairs in my experience.

Otherwise Id be onto the HSE like a shot. The Evening Herald would also lve a good story like this too;)

newportlad

Hey people,

thanks a million for all your helpful replies, i really appreciate you taking the time to do so. sorry i couldn' get to post a reply sooner.

In response to one post it was a very rushed viewing, your man showing me the house was on his phone half the time and kept saying there was people outside waiting to see it, i was foolish not investigating more but i was just very keen to get the place, you know the way it is when looking for a room in a nice area is almost like a job interview!

I've knocked on my neighbours door yes but they say they don't know, that they have there own bathroom and tbh don't seem to care. I've only been there to move stuff in, so hard to speak to everyone but managed most of them. i've only been in the house a few times so far. i'm still in my original house in southside you see and intended to actually move in this wknd.

I've managed to talk to the landlord, on the one occasion when he answered his phone, yesterday and he said it was a room downstairs, but this doesn't seem to be the case, 3 rooms downstairs, one occupied the other two locked and with numbers on them. i've since left texts and rang him few times but nothing back yet.

I'm considering ringing prtb abd threshold in the morning and see if they can perhaps inspect the property .

BTW this is a sidepoint but i've also discovered there's no fridge in the kitchen...wtf was i thinking...

Kipperhell

I truly find it hard to believe there is no bathroom for you to use. Given you have looked inside I would suggest you look outside for the waste pipes to see if you figure it out that way. What kind of house is this is the other question because it nearly sounds like some kind of half way house.

A friend of mine did rent a porch in a house in Howth a few years back so I guess it could be one of the big houses converted. His rent was very low so what is the rent like for you?

If it is as described I would move out and call the PRTB in.

oceanclub

newportlad wrote: »

BTW this is a sidepoint but i've also discovered there's no fridge in the kitchen...wtf was i thinking...

Hardly a "sidepoint" - how on earth are you meant to store food?

I'm just curious as to how many minimum standards your flat breaks:

http://www.citizensinformation.ie/categories/housing/renting-a-home/repairs-maintenance-and-minimum-physical-standards

Provide facilities for installation of cooking equipment and facilities for the hygienic storage of food, for example, a 4 ring hob with oven and grill, fridge-freezer and microwave oven

P.

eth0_

You didn't notice there was no fridge or bathroom? And you've only made 2 posts on boards?

TROLL ALERT!

Malice

This is a very odd thread. Do people really not have a good look around a place before they decide to rent it?