Bad Leak - Tenant/Landlord Responsibility?

clumsyklutz

Hi all

Just wondering if any knowledgable landlord (or tenant) would happen to be able to help me out a little.

We've been living in our apartment for just over two years, take excellent care of the place and always have rent paid on time, (in fact we had an inspection with the new letting agency that took over and they said it was one of the cleanest, nicest apartments they had seen). A couple of things have gone wrong, and the new letting agency that took over from our previous one, have been slower to sort issues out.

So slow in fact, that we have been waiting since October/November for this issue to be solved. It, in my opinion is a pretty serious issue, the floors in our hallway (which have lead off doors to bedrooms, bathroom etc) when you step on them, water squirts up in between the floor boards (laminate flooring), we called them about it straight away informing them of the leak and they told us they would have someone up straight away, long story short, they didn't come up and we have been pestering them every second day to come up. It has actually started to smell stagnant in the hall (and I scrub the floors twice a day - even though it's pointless!)

Only on Tuesday of this week did they come up to have a look, at this stage now the leak has spread under the floorboards of our bedroom, main hallway, spare room and sitting room/kitchen (I'd say bathrooms too but you can't feel it because it's been tiled!). When they came up they said that it was indeed a very bad leak that something could be blocking the pipes somewhere and corroding them, but because we live in an apartment block, it is very hard to say where the leak originates. They said they will be back tomorrow to assess further the full extent of the damage, but it looks likely the floors will have to be taken up in the whole apartment and that it will have to be dried out completely, re-fitted and try to source (if they can) the leak.

This would most likely not be done in one day and my questions are, do they have to provide an alternative accomodation for us while this is happening and will we be at all liable for this? These seem like the type of cowboys that would try to impart blame somehow. So we want to be fully prepared for what tomorrow brings!

Sorry for the long post!

seamus

Yes, your landlord is obliged to provide equivalent or better alternative accommodation for you, if your apartment is unsuitable for living in while the work is being carried out. This is at no cost to you; you continue paying the same rent. The landlord's insurance should cover this, so he's not really out of pocket either.

clumsyklutz

seamus wrote: »

Yes, your landlord is obliged to provide equivalent or better alternative accommodation for you, if your apartment is unsuitable for living in while the work is being carried out. This is at no cost to you; you continue paying the same rent. The landlord's insurance should cover this, so he's not really out of pocket either.

Thanks for the information :-). If they don't start work as promised tomorrow or try to tell us we are liable for repair costs what would our rights be (if any).

seamus

There's not really much you can do if they don't start tomorrow, all you can do is pester them. If it continues for a long time, you should contact the PRTB. If thet tell you you're liable, then refuse to pay. Because you're not.

the_syco

clumsyklutz wrote: »

So slow in fact, that we have been waiting since October/November for this issue to be solved.

Personally, I'd wait until Friday, and then raise with the PTRB, as I'm guessing they'll hope your lease runs out before they have to fix it.

clumsyklutz

the_syco wrote: »

Personally, I'd wait until Friday, and then raise with the PTRB, as I'm guessing they'll hope your lease runs out before they have to fix it.

Well our lease ran out December 2013 (we've been there since December 2011, but they changed estate agents), so we're on Part 4 tenancy now at this stage, so it'd be quite hard to kick us out! Even if we brought it up with the PRTB theres not much we could do for a long time, the cases there take ages to be heard, and we can't afford to move anywhere else unfortunately.

Ray Palmer

clumsyklutz wrote: »

Well our lease ran out December 2013 (we've been there since December 2011, but they changed estate agents), so we're on Part 4 tenancy now at this stage, so it'd be quite hard to kick us out! Even if we brought it up with the PRTB theres not much we could do for a long time, the cases there take ages to be heard, and we can't afford to move anywhere else unfortunately.

Not really hard to get you out at all. All they have to do is say there is major work needed and terminate your stay. Say they are selling it will work to.

Gasherbraun

Ray Palmer wrote: »

Not really hard to get you out at all. All they have to do is say there is major work needed and terminate your stay. Say they are selling it will work to.

Correct. Also under section 34, in these circumstance, the notice of termination must inform the tenant of their option to resume their tenancy when the work is complete, assuming the landlord wants to re-let it.

clumsyklutz

Gasherbraun wrote: »

Correct. Also under section 34, in these circumstance, the notice of termination must inform the tenant of their option to resume their tenancy when the work is complete, assuming the landlord wants to re-let it.

The landlords want to keep us in it, that's not the issue, the issue is where do we go while they carry out the work (probably 2 -3 days max). Also would we be entitled to our deposit back should that be the case? (it's not but curiousity and all that!)

Cuddlesworth

Did their guy say the floors would be dried and refitted? I would question his experiance/ability if that was the case.

clumsyklutz

Cuddlesworth wrote: »

Did their guy say the floors would be dried and refitted? I would question his experiance/ability if that was the case.

Well they had professionals up this morning, who in fact confirmed the source of the leak, by apparently 'shoving pipes down the different sinks and toilets in the apartment' (partners words not mine!) and confirmed it was coming from a pipe underneath the floorboards in the corner of the hall. They didn't actually do anything, now that they *officialy* know whats wrong they have to now go back to the actual landlords to get the money, which I suspect could be a problem, even if they are solicitors!

They said that all flooring will have to come up, the actual floors will have to be properly dried, the leak fixed and new floor put down. God only knows how much that's going to cost!

seamus

clumsyklutz wrote: »

God only knows how much that's going to cost!

Not your problem

That's what insurance is for.