Lease question

Fudd_Man

Hey quick question me and the misses can't continue to stay in our current house as there are too many things wrong, however the lease is till June.

Firstly the house is too cold for our one year old son, he keeps catching colds and even ended up in our ladies hispital 3weeks ago

There is a black mould on the walls from the damp, the kitchen gets soaked from the bath upstairs.

There are no Certs to say the gas installations are safe and the electrics are questionable at best.

And finally the sewer drains in the back garden get blocked on a regular basis.

Now to me these reasons seem an adequate reason to leave

But we are concerned about our deposit I know we are breaking the contract however I feel the landlord has more questions to answer than us! So do you reckon we are entitled to our deposit back?

the_syco

Fudd_Man wrote: »

So do you reckon we are entitled to our deposit back?

Have you informed the landlord of all these problems, and given him/her a reasonable deadline (eg: a week) to get all the problems sorted? Were any of the problems visable when you moved in? Have you talked to the landlord about any of the problems?

Fudd_Man

the_syco wrote: »

Fudd_Man wrote: »

So do you reckon we are entitled to our deposit back?

Have you informed the landlord of all these problems, and given him/her a reasonable deadline (eg: a week) to get all the problems sorted? Were any of the problems visable when you moved in? Have you talked to the landlord about any of the problems?

We have takes about the sewers and leaks before but the mould and damp is only recent with the winter weather. I'll be ringing him today but I can't see him fixing the problems they would cost him a fortune!

ChellieIrish

This sounds very similar to the problem I am having with my landlord. Hope you get it sorted it soon

Ray Palmer

Fudd_Man wrote: »

We have takes about the sewers and leaks before but the mould and damp is only recent with the winter weather. I'll be ringing him today but I can't see him fixing the problems they would cost him a fortune!

If there were no signs of damp until recently it is most likely due to how you live in the house.

Drying clothes in the house and closing all the vents is the most likely cause.

odds_on

What to do if there is a problem with your accommodation
The Residential Tenancies Act 2004 states in Part 2, Section 16:
(d) notify the landlord or his or her authorised agent of any defect that arises in the dwelling that requires to be repaired so as to enable the landlord comply with his or her obligations, in relation to the dwelling or the tenancy, under any enactment,

This is very important and very few tenants actually do this correctly, as a result, repairs or problem issues are not remedied and the tenant is constantly phoning or texting the landlord. This goes on for weeks and weeks if not months. Never ever rely on verbal agreements for repairs etc. either before signing a lease or once you have taken up occupancy.
If the tenant has an issue with anything in the property (appliance failure, pest infestation, problems with windows, floors, leaks, heating, etc) that the landlord should maintain under his obligations, then the following steps should be taken:
1. Advise the landlord immediately either by phone or text.
2. Follow up immediately by writing to the landlord (keep a copy), date it and state the failure and give the landlord a reasonable time to remedy the failure. A reasonable time would normally be 7 – 14 days but may be less in serious cases. If the tenant does not give the landlord a time limit for the rectification of the failure, the problem will to drag on and on and on …….
3. Under normal circumstances, if the landlord does not rectify the failure within the time limit then he is in breach of his obligations. However, if he has to wait for new parts, then he would not be considered in breach as this is out of his control.

If you have done the above, and the landlord has not remedied the problem then you should be free to leave after a written Notice of Termination (usually 28 days notice but could be 7 days in cases where serious injury or damage to tenant or property are possible) and be entitled to the return of your deposit. Again, keep a copy. There is an Example of Notice of Termination of Tenancy (with notes on its completion) on the PRTB web site which can be used by either tenant or landlord.
By keeping a copy of the letter requesting repairs (make sure it is dated and specifies by when the repairs/replacement should be done) advising the landlord about the failure, you have evidence to back yourself up should there be a claim with the PRTB as regards the landlord’s breach of his obligations.

focus_mad

[

QUOTE=Fudd_Man;76276215]Hey quick question me and the misses can't continue to stay in our current house as there are too many things wrong, however the lease is till June.

Firstly the house is too cold for our one year old son, he keeps catching colds and even ended up in our ladies hispital 3weeks ago

There is a black mould on the walls from the damp, the kitchen gets soaked from the bath upstairs.

Did you get a copy of the BER Cert for the property at the beginning of the lease, you should enquire about this to your LL?

Regarding the mould, there may very well be a leak there contributing to the dampness /mould that is appearing. The LL is liable to repair this.

There are no Certs to say the gas installations are safe and the electrics are questionable at best.

As mentioned, certs etc cannot be used now as you did not raise that issue with the LL upon signing of the lease. How do you mean electrics questionable? Do sockets etc not work?

And finally the sewer drains in the back garden get blocked on a regular basis.

This may depend on what is in the lease, my past LL had claused it that i had to sort drain etc..Thankfully i had no problems.

Now to me these reasons seem an adequate reason to leave

But we are concerned about our deposit I know we are breaking the contract however I feel the landlord has more questions to answer than us! So do you reckon we are entitled to our deposit back?

I can see your frustration but i don't believe you will getdeposit back as you are breaking the lease. However it may be no harm to contact PRTB for a second opinion?

What is your relationship like with the LL? Could you sit down and talk to them regarding these issues? Also have another read of your lease and its clauses.

Ray Palmer wrote: »

If there were no signs of damp until recently it is most likely due to how you live in the house.

Drying clothes in the house and closing all the vents is the most likely cause.

Leaks within the house can also contibute towards this but occupant use can also be the cause.

odds_on

Firstly the house is too cold for our one year old son, he keeps catching colds and even ended up in our ladies hispital 3weeks ago

What is the heating system in use in the property?
How many hours per day do you have the heating on?
Is there a form of heating in every habitable room in the house?

wobbles-grogan

I would hazard a guess that your child is getting sick as a result of the damp.

Cold isnt the best thing for your health, but living in damp conditions is certainly bad for your health.

A lot of health problems can be attributed to living in damp conditions, asthma being one of them. ( http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/6396455.stm )

I guess the question here is this:

Is the house damp as a result of you living there (i.e. drying clothes inside, never opening windows for ventilation etc)
or is it caused by something like a leak or problem with the house in general (no ventilation provided, no insulation in walls/attic, badly built in the first place, a leak etc) ?

If its the former, dont expect to get your deposit back. If its the latter, i would say its unsafe to live in, and therefore you have a good chance of getting your deposit.
Im no lawer, so i could be wrong, but thats how i'd argue my point.

Short term, i'd recommend getting a dehumidifier into the house to sort out that damp problem soon. Also, get a plumber to make sure there aint no leak. Electrics being sketchy and house being damp kinda tells me theres a leak.