Issues with doors and electric shower in a rental property

mistress_gi

Hi everyone. I just wanted a bit of feedback on a few issues.
I am renting a place and it is an old house it needs a bunch of things fixed but the landlord has pretty much told me if it isn't legally required he won't do anything about it.
So my main issue is that two of the doors the one in my bedrrom and one of the bathrooms are totally bent and leave a big gap between the frame and the door itself. They now close because they were "fixed" but the gap remains as they were forced for many years and the wood is bent. The lanlord now refuses to replace them.
Also the old electric shower has stopped working now we have 2 bathrooms and we have another way to shower but I would like it replaced has it is handy.
Now a bit of background:
We moved into the property a month ago we have a 1 year lease we have already fixed up of of the bedrooms to our own expense (removed wallpapper, fixed the rotten plaster painted and removed the 3 layers of carpet that was there)
We are also installing a water pump at our expense and a timer for the immersion.
All not required by law but we like our confort!
We are good tennants pay our rent and bills on time and we are also planning to do a couple of oyher things to improve this place. But I am getting frustrated with the landlords lack of help.
I offered to look for prices for all of the doors and even sent him a link to a triton shower so it can be replaced it is far cheaper on ebay than any store.
So any advice?
Thanks in advance

djimi

Im not really sure what else you can do tbh. If you have a working shower then he is not in breach of obligations and isnt obliged to fix it.

Did these issues exist when you moved in? Did you bring them up as issues at the time?

mistress_gi

The shower was working at the time we moved in but it is so old that it just stopped working one day. The doors I only realised when we moved in there were like 20 people viewing the place when we came to see it so it was not possible to checkvthe doors. As soon as we realised the issue we reported it and hoped it would be sorted. No such luck though

Tokyo

mistress_gi wrote: »

Hi everyone. I just wanted a bit of feedback on a few issues.
I am renting a place and it is an old house it needs a bunch of things fixed but the landlord has pretty much told me if it isn't legally required he won't do anything about it.

Well if the man gave you this information from the get-go, and you moved in knowing this, then there isn't much that you can do about it...

Sounds like you're doing a lot of work on a place that you've only signed up on for a year, TBH...

djimi

mike_ie wrote: »

Well if the man gave you this information from the get-go, and you moved in knowing this, then there isn't much that you can do about it...

Sounds like you're doing a lot of work on a place that you've only signed up on for a year, TBH...

Yeah I would be inclined to knock any further home improvements on the head if that is his attitude. Id want to be damn sure that Id be in a place for a long time before doing work like installing a new water pump/immersion; if nothing else that is a lot of money that you will not be getting back.

mistress_gi

I know that but for as long as I am there I will be confortable. The pump and timer are the least of my worries and I know how to shop around so at the end of the day my confort is well woth the money I am investing on these thingsi will have to throw out all the other plans though it is durstraing though. I have even offered to remove the dirty old tatty carpet polish the floors (I have a friend who does this for a living and would help for free) and varnish and the landlord won't even give me approval for that nor is he willing to help with the cost in any way! How do they expect to have good tennants if they are unwilling to invest time a a bit of money to make significant improvements to the place! And trust me I am good at making money go w long way even for quality stuff!

djimi

I suppose its a bit of a lesson to learn really. If the place is tatty when you view it (and by the sounds of it it was in a bad way) then the landlord clearly doesnt give a toss about the place, and most likely any efforts you make to improve the place will fall on deaf ears. I dont really buy that you couldnt have looked the place over properly before signing a lease; never put pen to paper unless you are absolutely sure what you are committing to.

As it stands now you are putting time, effort and money into improving the property for someone who clearly much care for it themselves, nor for you by the sounds of what you have said. Money that you will not be getting back and will only benefit you in the very short term. I find this a bit ridiculous to be honest.

Tokyo

mistress_gi wrote: »

How do they expect to have good tennants if they are unwilling to invest time a a bit of money to make significant improvements to the place! And trust me I am good at making money go w long way even for quality stuff!

The landlord/tenant thing is always a delicate balance in terms of want vs need, and unfortunately in your case you have a landlord that for whatever reasons, doesn't want to invest too much in the property. Maybe he has plans for a full renovation in the future, maybe he plans to knock it in a few years time, maybe he just couldn't be bothered.

Either way, if he told you that "if it isn't legally required he won't do anything about it" and you moved in anyways hoping he'd change his mind, then sorry, but it's your own fault. Issues such as warped doors and so forty should have been brought up when you were inspecting the property. If he's said no after the fact, then it's bad luck for you.

Either way I wouldn't be spending a whole lot on improvements that can't be taken with you afterwards, and honestly, if you're unhappy there after just a month and things show no signs of changing, I'd be chatting with the landlord looking for a way out.

Ray Palmer

You are way more than a good tenant given the work you have done. He does actually have to fix the shower as it was working when you moved in.

If he doesn't fix it you can deduct it from the rent to pay for it to be fixed. You should point that out to him.

I would advise making sure anything you have done you have written permission to do so. In the case of the pump I would have plumbed it so you can remove it when you leave with little hassle.

mistress_gi

Thanks for the replies guys.
I can't move out for the time being I have to hand in a PhD thesis in december so I will most definitly be putting up with it for the time being.
I informed him of the renovations we have done so far and he did not object. The room was a complete mess and the walls were rotting away behind 3 layers of of wallpaper not to mention the 2 layers of carpet were cut around furniture making it impossible to change the layout of the room. In fact in most rooms there is a minimmum of 2 layers of carpet! So sockets are nearly impossible to use (the kind that sitck out of the wall).
I am using said carpet to further insulate the shed. We will see what happens.
In relation to the shower probably I will buy a shower tap and replace that myself so that we can use it with the pump.

the_syco

mistress_gi wrote: »

I can't move out for the time being I have to hand in a PhD thesis in december so I will most definitly be putting up with it for the time being.

Hrm, I'm taking it in this case that you are on a tight budget, and thus ignored some of your misgivings about the house?

mistress_gi

I'm in not in a tight budget I just refuse to pay the amount of ridiculous money some places are asking for and therefore we compromised a bit. The house was described as in good condition I was not so bothered about the cosmetic issues but it turns out that issues are much more than than cosmetic. I was nayve in thinking that the agency that let and manages the property would know better.
Also we have a dog so that makesnit even harder to find a nice place

handlemaster

What part of the country are you in ? Can you not move ?

handlemaster

What part of the country are you in ? Can you not move ?

mistress_gi

In Dublin, no because I really need to settle until I hand in my PhD thesis, This is not the time to be moving

handlemaster

mistress_gi wrote: »

In Dublin, no because I really need to settle until I hand in my PhD thesis, This is not the time to be moving

I was going to say it would be best to move but I think Dublin its looking like renting is getting difficult doesn't seem to be many properties for rent in lots of areas.

mistress_gi

renting in dublin is a bit of a nightmare alright. got an answer from the landlord saying that he won't replace the door but needs approval to fix the shower. i think i'll just do it myself, the doors i meannot the shower.

Tokyo

At least you're getting the shower fixed. I'm wondering though, if he's the landlord, who exactly does he need "approval" from??

mistress_gi

well, I call him landlord but in fact he is the estate management that manages the property.

Tokyo

mistress_gi wrote: »

well, I call him landlord but in fact he is the estate management that manages the property.

Big difference!!! It's not in the housing agency's interest to replace doors, etc etc. Can you get in touch with the actual homeowner? He might be far more willing to have his home done up by his tenants....

mistress_gi

oH! ok i thought that the agency was supposed to do things like this! Man, I hate most agents what a bunch of greedy useless ba***ds

foggy_lad

Minimum standards for rentad housing, Article 5 sub article 2
http://www.environ.ie/en/Legislation/DevelopmentandHousing/Housing/FileDownLoad,19142,en.pdf
Amendments to article 5
http://www.environ.ie/en/Legislation/DevelopmentandHousing/Housing/FileDownLoad,21710,en.pdf

For the purposes of sub-article (1) ‘a proper state of structural
repair’ means sound, internally and externally, with roof, roofing tiles
and slates, windows, floors, ceilings, walls, stairs, doors, skirting boards,
fascia, tiles on any floor, ceiling and wall, gutters, down pipes, fittings,
furnishings, gardens and common areas maintained in good condition
and repair and not defective due to dampness or otherwise.”,

Sounds like the LL is obliged to sort out the doors so that they do as they are supposed to do.

mistress_gi

this is true but according to the agent by signing the lease i was agreeing that the doors were in an acceptable condition. I do believe this is not as they are saying but to be honest I do not have the time or the patience to be putting up a massive fight about this. I will make this my mission as soon as I am done with the PhD though!

StickyIcky

I agree with everything Mike_Ie above said. In my experience in the past if you're not happy living in a place because of your landlord then just move out. Find a place that you are happy living in and you get along well with. At the end of the day you're paying their mortgage so in my opinion the least they can do is try and make your stay their comfortable. But the problem is that in my experience 50% of my landlords in the past have either ended up turning into complete ***** or they've been totally sound and if there have been any issues they sort them out quickly and with minimal hassle. I'm the type of tenant though that rarely bothers the landlord and I've left places in better states than I walked into them (giving walls a fresh coat of paint etc).

Junglewoman

Re the doors:They now close because they were "fixed" but the gap remains as they were forced for many years and the wood is bent.

Is this not a breach of fire regulations?

mistress_gi

StickyIcky wrote: »

I agree with everything Mike_Ie above said. In my experience in the past if you're not happy living in a place because of your landlord then just move out. Find a place that you are happy living in and you get along well with. At the end of the day you're paying their mortgage so in my opinion the least they can do is try and make your stay their comfortable. But the problem is that in my experience 50% of my landlords in the past have either ended up turning into complete ***** or they've been totally sound and if there have been any issues they sort them out quickly and with minimal hassle. I'm the type of tenant though that rarely bothers the landlord and I've left places in better states than I walked into them (giving walls a fresh coat of paint etc).

we are the same even in this place as it stands they have a renovated bedroom and we're installing the water pump. Last place we lived we painted living room and one bedroom and even replaced a mattress because it was so tatty and when we moved in the landlord provided us with a brand new mattress

Junglewoman wrote: »

Re the doors:They now close because they were "fixed" but the gap remains as they were forced for many years and the wood is bent.

Is this not a breach of fire regulations?

I'm not sure, I will have to look into it

mistress_gi

Now I'm getting myself confused. Are warpped doors considered to be defective?
Found something on a door sales website saying that they are considered defective only if the deflection exceed 1/4' by every 3' by 7' of wood. Is this correct?

odds_on

mistress_gi wrote: »

I'm in not in a tight budget I just refuse to pay the amount of ridiculous money some places are asking for and therefore we compromised a bit. The house was described as in good condition I was not so bothered about the cosmetic issues but it turns out that issues are much more than than cosmetic. I was nayve in thinking that the agency that let and manages the property would know better.
Also we have a dog so that makesnit even harder to find a nice place

The old saying comes to mind, you gets what you pays for (or something similar with the same sentiment).

It is always a bad idea to rent a property that has so many "defects" and a place that you decide, after having seen the condition of, needs "doing up" to your own specifications.