Having issues with our landlord

confused1991

I have been private renting on rent allowance for 2 and a half years. At the start our landlord was lovely, he would ring to see if anything was needed and if we enjoyed the house. We are paying for a fully furnished house, it was an extra 25pm. So far we are still waiting on wardrobes he promised us.
Since we moved in any issue we have we would ring and tell him. Our rent is always on time, we could pay weekly or monthly depending on what suited us. We have never been in arrears with the rent. Admittedly we wouldn't pay for 3wks sometimes but it would still be within the month, RA put aside of course.
Since the summer we have had issues with our ceiling in the kitchen, its got water damage from the shower because there is no shower door just a curtain. A small patch of the ceiling has fallen down. We told him about it and showed him it when it happened months ago. He told us he would get someone in to fix it. He replaced the handle on our toilet when we moved in leaving it cracked under the handle and now the crack has spread the toilet it leaking causing our ensuite bathroom to stink. Our oil burner hasn't been serviced since we moved in 2 and a half yrs ago. Anytime the washing machine acts up he tells us to fix it. We have a plug socket with constant power going to it in the kitchen. I stupidly forgot about and left the deep fat fryer plugged into but switched off the switch causing it to burn out the DFF. The radiator in the ensuite bathroom isn't working and now we have mould on the ceiling, even though we always use the extractor fan.
Alot of other problems too in which we told him about and still waiting on him to pull his finger out to fix.
In the last few months he has been putting pressure on us to pay the rent every wk saying the bank is getting onto him for payments. I understand he lost his job as a teacher before the summer and only works nights now but he is neglecting the house and putting pressure in us to pay our rent.
Myself and my partner have two young kids we need to keep happy and healthy and a roof over their heads. But this house is dragging us all down. We are on the housing list over 4yrs now so we are still waiting. We are now afraid that the landlord will lose the house to the bank and we will be made homeless (irrational fear maybe?) either way we don't know what to do, how do we get our landlord to do what he is supposed to do? Any advice welcome.

cerastes

confused1991 wrote: »

I have been private renting on rent allowance for 2 and a half years. At the start our landlord was lovely, he would ring to see if anything was needed and if we enjoyed the house. We are paying for a fully furnished house, it was an extra 25pm. So far we are still waiting on wardrobes he promised us.
Since we moved in any issue we have we would ring and tell him. Our rent is always on time, we could pay weekly or monthly depending on what suited us. We have never been in arrears with the rent. Admittedly we wouldn't pay for 3wks sometimes but it would still be within the month, RA put aside of course.
Since the summer we have had issues with our ceiling in the kitchen, its got water damage from the shower because there is no shower door just a curtain. A small patch of the ceiling has fallen down. We told him about it and showed him it when it happened months ago. He told us he would get someone in to fix it. He replaced the handle on our toilet when we moved in leaving it cracked under the handle and now the crack has spread the toilet it leaking causing our ensuite bathroom to stink. Our oil burner hasn't been serviced since we moved in 2 and a half yrs ago. Anytime the washing machine acts up he tells us to fix it. We have a plug socket with constant power going to it in the kitchen. I stupidly forgot about and left the deep fat fryer plugged into but switched off the switch causing it to burn out the DFF. The radiator in the ensuite bathroom isn't working and now we have mould on the ceiling, even though we always use the extractor fan.
Alot of other problems too in which we told him about and still waiting on him to pull his finger out to fix.
In the last few months he has been putting pressure on us to pay the rent every wk saying the bank is getting onto him for payments. I understand he lost his job as a teacher before the summer and only works nights now but he is neglecting the house and putting pressure in us to pay our rent.
Myself and my partner have two young kids we need to keep happy and healthy and a roof over their heads. But this house is dragging us all down. We are on the housing list over 4yrs now so we are still waiting. We are now afraid that the landlord will lose the house to the bank and we will be made homeless (irrational fear maybe?) either way we don't know what to do, how do we get our landlord to do what he is supposed to do? Any advice welcome.

Are you saying, you pay the rent 3 weeks late? if that was to me, that would be a problem and cause problems and penalty charges to me from the bank that I have in my lease to pass on for late rent payments.

Surely there is an easy way to sort the shower curtain, Ive one in my own home that extends into the shower tray for years, this seems to be a problem that never should have occurred? what kind of shower pole is it? if the curtain was replaced and is shorter and doesnt extend into the tray?
Id consider that a lack of consideration and attention to a minor detail that has caused a bigger and unnecessary problem, ie causing the ceiling falling down.

No doubt the rad needs sorting, I can see the benefit of having one in an ensuite, Ive none and no extractor fan and dont have mould in my ensuite, but I swing the window wide open after my shower and leave it on vent if Im leaving and never has a problem occurred. A shower door is a nice to have and probably better for tenants but not essential. Is there a window in the ensuite?

I suggest paying rent on time at least, weekly seems awkward possibly for the whole lot given RA, but it will depend on whats in the lease, with RA, I can see how that payment would be made monthly, maybe it would better help you budget to give your portion weekly?
Why put the RA aside at all? get it directed to his account or handed to him immediately.

Ive been told housing list, 12yrs, 14yrs and longer and the waiting time only seems to get longer each time I hear it, good communication, records and good relationship with your landlord will help a longterm stay.
It seems to me you have caused some of the problems, no doubt the landlord needs to rectify certain things too.

Is the DeepFatFryer yours? be careful with those things, lucky you didnt burn the place down, (Im not even referring to the lethal chip pan variety), I mean you had an electrical item, that was left plugged in and has a ready supply of fuel (heated oil) to start a fire that could destroy the property with you and your family in it. If its the landlords, replace it or tell them its broken and what do they want to do with it?, at the least if getting one, get a type that has some shut off controls. If its yours bin it and dont replace it, they arent healthy anyway.

Graces7

cerastes wrote: »

Are you saying, you pay the rent 3 weeks late? if that was to me, that would be a problem and cause problems and penalty charges to me from the bank that I have in my lease to pass on for late rent payments.

Surely there is an easy way to sort the shower curtain, Ive one in my own home that extends into the shower tray for years, this seems to be a problem that never should have occurred? what kind of shower pole is it? if the curtain was replaced and is shorter and doesnt extend into the tray?
Id consider that a lack of consideration and attention to a minor detail that has caused a bigger and unnecessary problem, ie causing the ceiling falling down.

No doubt the rad needs sorting, I can see the benefit of having one in an ensuite, Ive none and no extractor fan and dont have mould in my ensuite, but I swing the window wide open after my shower and leave it on vent if Im leaving and never has a problem occurred. A shower door is a nice to have and probably better for tenants but not essential. Is there a window in the ensuite?

I suggest paying rent on time at least, weekly seems awkward possibly for the whole lot given RA, but it will depend on whats in the lease, with RA, I can see how that payment would be made monthly, maybe it would better help you budget to give your portion weekly?
Why put the RA aside at all? get it directed to his account or handed to him immediately.

Ive been told housing list, 12yrs, 14yrs and longer and the waiting time only seems to get longer each time I hear it, good communication, records and good relationship with your landlord will help a longterm stay.
It seems to me you have caused some of the problems, no doubt the landlord needs to rectify certain things too.

Is the DeepFatFryer yours? be careful with those things, lucky you didnt burn the place down, (Im not even referring to the lethal chip pan variety), I mean you had an electrical item, that was left plugged in and has a ready supply of fuel (heated oil) to start a fire that could destroy the property with you and your family in it. If its the landlords, replace it or tell them its broken and what do they want to do with it?, at the least if getting one, get a type that has some shut off controls. If its yours bin it and dont replace it, they arent healthy anyway.

One small query; my Rent Allowance comes into my bank weekly not monthly. I thought this was the norm? OP there are a lot of problems indeed. Can you ring Threshold and speak with an adviser there? A leaking toilet is a serious health issue a are other faults.

confused1991

cerastes wrote: »

Are you saying, you pay the rent 3 weeks late? if that was to me, that would be a problem and cause problems and penalty charges to me from the bank that I have in my lease to pass on for late rent payments.

Surely there is an easy way to sort the shower curtain, Ive one in my own home that extends into the shower tray for years, this seems to be a problem that never should have occurred? what kind of shower pole is it? if the curtain was replaced and is shorter and doesnt extend into the tray?
Id consider that a lack of consideration and attention to a minor detail that has caused a bigger and unnecessary problem, ie causing the ceiling falling down.

No doubt the rad needs sorting, I can see the benefit of having one in an ensuite, Ive none and no extractor fan and dont have mould in my ensuite, but I swing the window wide open after my shower and leave it on vent if Im leaving and never has a problem occurred. A shower door is a nice to have and probably better for tenants but not essential. Is there a window in the ensuite?

I suggest paying rent on time at least, weekly seems awkward possibly for the whole lot given RA, but it will depend on whats in the lease, with RA, I can see how that payment would be made monthly, maybe it would better help you budget to give your portion weekly?
Why put the RA aside at all? get it directed to his account or handed to him immediately.

Ive been told housing list, 12yrs, 14yrs and longer and the waiting time only seems to get longer each time I hear it, good communication, records and good relationship with your landlord will help a longterm stay.
It seems to me you have caused some of the problems, no doubt the landlord needs to rectify certain things too.

Is the DeepFatFryer yours? be careful with those things, lucky you didnt burn the place down, (Im not even referring to the lethal chip pan variety), I mean you had an electrical item, that was left plugged in and has a ready supply of fuel (heated oil) to start a fire that could destroy the property with you and your family in it. If its the landlords, replace it or tell them its broken and what do they want to do with it?, at the least if getting one, get a type that has some shut off controls. If its yours bin it and dont replace it, they arent healthy anyway.

No what I'm saying is we have the option to pay weekly or monthly, sometimes we would pay the first wk of the month and then the last week of the month. So he gets his rent every single month.
As for the shower curtain, I fixed the problem when the ceiling fell down, there are no more leaks, my problem is we are still waiting for the ceiling to be fixed, the landlords response was 'oh that's happened before, I'll get someone in to fix it'. As I am the tenant I have to make sure I keep the house in the condition I got it in, so far iv done that. Except for the mould, but I cleaned that. The window also gets opened daily in the ensuite since iv noticed the mould. I should maybe explain things a little more clearly. The mould, my fault. The radiator isn't, along with the leak from the toilet.
Deep fat fryer also my fault, I never leave it plugged in except for the one night I plugged it into the socket with constant power. My point there is the socket, the landlord was asked to fix it and it wasn't.
As I said, any fault with the house we have reported back to him. Stupid little things like the mould, something I can fix myself I will do.

I guess what I'm trying to get advice on is how do we get him to keep to his terms of the lease, since we keep to ours.

cerastes

Graces7 wrote: »

One small query; my Rent Allowance comes into my bank weekly not monthly. I thought this was the norm? OP there are a lot of problems indeed. Can you ring Threshold and speak with an adviser there? A leaking toilet is a serious health issue a are other faults.

Its a leaking cistern going by the OP, needs to be fixed but not a health issue. I dont see how a crack at the handle could spread to the toilet as its a seperate component usually, unless there was other damage?

confused1991 wrote: »

No what I'm saying is we have the option to pay weekly or monthly, sometimes we would pay the first wk of the month and then the last week of the month. So he gets his rent every single month.
As for the shower curtain, I fixed the problem when the ceiling fell down, there are no more leaks, my problem is we are still waiting for the ceiling to be fixed, the landlords response was 'oh that's happened before, I'll get someone in to fix it'. As I am the tenant I have to make sure I keep the house in the condition I got it in, so far iv done that. Except for the mould, but I cleaned that. The window also gets opened daily in the ensuite since iv noticed the mould. I should maybe explain things a little more clearly. The mould, my fault. The radiator isn't, along with the leak from the toilet.
Deep fat fryer also my fault, I never leave it plugged in except for the one night I plugged it into the socket with constant power. My point there is the socket, the landlord was asked to fix it and it wasn't.
As I said, any fault with the house we have reported back to him. Stupid little things like the mould, something I can fix myself I will do.

I guess what I'm trying to get advice on is how do we get him to keep to his terms of the lease, since we keep to ours.

But you caused the leak through your use of the shower, Id say they be in their rights to deduct that cost from deposit or you? how can someone shower and allow the water to fall onto the floor? then not notice aleak starting and still do nothing??

Communication, you need to get onto your landlord and discuss and arrange a definite plan who is to deal with issues and who will pay for them, toilet rad, fixed by them, ceiling, maybe they or you organise it but if it was me, Id be looking for how this started and at what stage it was reported and allocate cost in the appropriate proportion.

confused1991

Graces7 wrote: »

One small query; my Rent Allowance comes into my bank weekly not monthly. I thought this was the norm? OP there are a lot of problems indeed. Can you ring Threshold and speak with an adviser there? A leaking toilet is a serious health issue a are other faults.

Rent allowance is paid weekly as far as I know by check, post office or bank. The reason why the rent is paid like that is because sometimes we get bills in on the same wk so we end up trying to budget everything so we don't end up in debt. We get our rent allowance by check every Thursday. So our rent is paid on the Friday. I'll give you an example of how my rent ends up paid some months.

Lets say back in November, the first Fri was the 7th. So we were up to date with the rent that day after paying every wk to that point. The following week we got our check the Thurs and put the check aside and didn't pay the Friday. The following week we did the same thing. So that was two weeks in November the rent wasn't paid. Then the 3rd week we owed the two wks and then that wk so the rent would be payed the Friday. 3wks would be put into the bank.
Do you get what I'm saying. All rent owed was payed before the end of the month so it was technically on time.

athtrasna

confused1991 wrote: »

Rent allowance is paid weekly as far as I know by check, post office or bank. The reason why the rent is paid like that is because sometimes we get bills in on the same wk so we end up trying to budget everything so we don't end up in debt. We get our rent allowance by check every Thursday. So our rent is paid on the Friday. I'll give you an example of how my rent ends up paid some months.

Lets say back in November, the first Fri was the 7th. So we were up to date with the rent that day after paying every wk to that point. The following week we got our check the Thurs and put the check aside and didn't pay the Friday. The following week we did the same thing. So that was two weeks in November the rent wasn't paid. Then the 3rd week we owed the two wks and then that wk so the rent would be payed the Friday. 3wks would be put into the bank.
Do you get what I'm saying. All rent owed was payed before the end of the month so it was technically on time.

Rent is paid in advance not in arrears, November 's rent is due at the start of November not at the end. So not technically on time?

confused1991

athtrasna wrote: »

Rent is paid in advance not in arrears, November 's rent is due at the start of November not at the end. So not technically on time?

What exactly do you mean? My rent is a certain amount every month, if I have it all up to date before a certain date then its on time.

Graces7

athtrasna wrote: »

Rent is paid in advance not in arrears, November 's rent is due at the start of November not at the end. So not technically on time?

:rolleyes:

confused1991

Thanks for replies. I got what I needed.

cerastes

confused1991 wrote: »

What exactly do you mean? My rent is a certain amount every month, if I have it all up to date before a certain date then its on time.

They mean, the commonly understood arrangement to pay rent is, for any time period, it is usually all in advance of that time.

If what you describe is your arrangement, fine, sounds messy to me.

So, for monthly payments, it would be all in advance at or prior to the start of the month, weekly, all in advance prior to the start of that week and so on.
Anything else is messy as far as Im concerned. Its a pretty much standard and accepted practice.
If you pay in advance weekly, and thats your arrangement, fine.
But paying it off piecemeal bit by bit over the course of the month isnt usually or normal accepted practice.

Being up to date by the end of the rent period isnt up to date as far as my view goes. Mortgages on property and the like have to be paid, mine is at the start of the month, cant be waiting for rent to be allocated over a period of time.

davo10

confused1991 wrote: »

Thanks for replies. I got what I needed.

One last thing OP, if LL has to spend money on house, assuming your rent has not increased in the last 2.5 years, he may be inclined to increase it in line with the market rate in order to cover costs of renovations.