Who do i contact

collyb1

Hi all,

I am having an issue with work that has been done by someone the landlord sent in. Work is not done very well and also some work that they said was done has actually not been done at all. I have contacted citizens info, threshold, rtb and local authorities and i am just told its nobody's job. Can anybody tell me where i go about getting somebody to inscept the work that has been done please?

LoLth

moved to a more appropriate forum

Michael D Not Higgins

Have you spoken to the landlord about it?

Graham

collyb1 wrote: »

Hi all,

I am having an issue with work that has been done by someone the landlord sent in. Work is not done very well and also some work that they said was done has actually not been done at all. I have contacted citizens info, threshold, rtb and local authorities and i am just told its nobody's job. Can anybody tell me where i go about getting somebody to inscept the work that has been done please?

What did your landlord say when you told him the work either hasn't been completed or hasn't been completed to an appropriate standard?

collyb1

The landlord says this person has done work for them in the past and they have never had an issue, then sent me a letter stating what work had been done, i replied with a letter and photographs of what actually had been done but heard nothing since.

Graham

If the failure to complete the work has resulted in your accommodation not meeting the minimum standards for rented accommodation then you can talk to the local authority to lodge a complaint or you can talk to Threshold for further advice.

Michael D Not Higgins

collyb1 wrote: »

The landlord says this person has done work for them in the past and they have never had an issue, then sent me a letter stating what work had been done, i replied with a letter and photographs of what actually had been done but heard nothing since.

What is the nature of the work and what hasn't been done? Some items are required to be kept up by the rented housing standards. If the work is not up to standard you can make a complaint to the local authority.

On the other hand, if it's say, painting of the walls, then you have no come back.

collyb1

The tiles on two walls in the shower were loose and water was leaking into the sitting room, when the tiles were removed there was wooden boards covered in mould which were left for three days, i cleaned the mould myself and then the boards were removed, the plaster work was wet and some had come off leaving the brickwork exposed. The landlord says the walls were re plastered but they werent the new wooden boards went up on the walls the way the were and it was re tiled with the mould covered tiles that hadn't been cleaned. The local authorities say they can't inspect the work as it would be trespassing.

Graham

I'm not sure there's anyone you can complain to other than your landlord.

You MAY be able to complain to the local authority but I'm not sure how seriously they'd consider a couple of loose tiles and a damp spot.

From the updated minimum standards:

Article 5 - Structural Condition
All rental accommodation must be maintained in a proper state of structural repair. This means that the dwelling must be essentially 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

collyb1

Local authorities say they cannot inspect the work as its private rented accommodation it would be trespassing. Do I need to get a builder to access the work?

Graham

collyb1 wrote: »

Local authorities say they cannot inspect the work as its private rented accommodation it would be trespassing. Do I need to get a builder to access the work?

If the house complies with the minimum standards for rented accommodation you essentially have no course of action other than complain to your landlord.

If your home does not comply, the local authority are the organisation to approach. You will need to tell them your accommodation does not comply with the minimum standards.

Michael D Not Higgins

collyb1 wrote: »

Local authorities say they cannot inspect the work as its private rented accommodation it would be trespassing. Do I need to get a builder to access the work?

It is their remit but I haven't heard anything that would be high on their radar to chase the landlord to comply with.

Without actually seeing what was done, my guess would be that if the wall is sealed again and isn't leaking, there wouldn't be much to act on.

Graham

Michael D Not Higgins wrote: »

It is their remit but I haven't heard anything that would be high on their radar to chase the landlord to comply with.

From the original description used by collyb1, it would be easy to assume the complaint was about a builder not finishing the tiling properly. Understandably that's not something the local authority/Threshold would consider to be within their remit.

Michael D Not Higgins

Graham wrote: »

From the original description used by collyb1, it would be easy to assume the complaint was about a builder not finishing the tiling properly.

You may be right and without further clarification from the OP, we are speculating.

As I said in my last post, if the leak is sealed, it doesn't sound like there is anything to address.

Graham

Michael D Not Higgins wrote: »

As I said in my last post, if the leak is sealed, it doesn't sound like there is anything to address.

Agreed

collyb1

I'm sorry I haven't explained the situation very well. The landlord was made aware of the loose tiles and leak in the en suite shower early may. The workman came at end of June to access the problem, 5th July he came and removed grout around some of the tiles leaving us unable to use the shower since then. 9th July he removed all the tiles but left the wet mouldy boards in the shower, he said new boards would be delivered on 11th July and he would be back on the 12th to install them and re-tile. I had to move the bed downstairs and open the windows due to the smell. I popped out 11th July leaving my son home, the workman came whilst I was out and told my son he would be back 14th July to do the job, I rang the landlord and asked what was going on, why had the mould been left and when was the job actually going to be done the landlord contacted the workman and arranged for him to come back 13th July to remove boards, install new ones and re-tile. He came 12th July and removed old boards then 13th July he installed new boards without re-plastering the exposed brickwork and re-tiled the bottom three rows on both boards, he returned 14th July and re-tiled the rest of the shower and said he would be back 15th July to grout. He had put mouldy tiles back up without cleaning them, some tiles were broken and in the corner some tiles are around an inch away from the corner. I rang the landlord and explained everything and said i I wouldn't allow him back into the house to do anything else. The landlord then sent me a letter stating the work which had been done, i replied with a letter and photographs of the actual work but haven't heard anything back. I went to citizens info and they said the work wasn't up to standard and it should have been completed within 3-5days, they put me intouch with threshold who sent me to rtb and rtb said it was a matter for the local authorities. I am been told the work isn't right but its not anybodies job to inspect it.

Graham

collyb1 wrote: »

I am been told the work isn't right but its not anybodies job to inspect it.

There is no national tiling inspectorate for you to complain to, nor are there any minimum standards for tiling.

Is the area leaking?
Is the area damp?

If you can answer yes to either of those questions you could complain to the local authority that your accommodation does not meet the minimum standards. Even if you do complain I would expect your complaint to be put at the bottom of a very long list.

You did yourself no favours by refusing to allow the workman back to complete the work. You were not paying him and really it wasn't for you to decide if the work was satisfactory.

yqtwqxqm

collyb1 wrote: »

I'm sorry I haven't explained the situation very well. The landlord was made aware of the loose tiles and leak in the en suite shower early may. The workman came at end of June to access the problem, 5th July he came and removed grout around some of the tiles leaving us unable to use the shower since then. 9th July he removed all the tiles but left the wet mouldy boards in the shower, he said new boards would be delivered on 11th July and he would be back on the 12th to install them and re-tile. I had to move the bed downstairs and open the windows due to the smell. I popped out 11th July leaving my son home, the workman came whilst I was out and told my son he would be back 14th July to do the job, I rang the landlord and asked what was going on, why had the mould been left and when was the job actually going to be done the landlord contacted the workman and arranged for him to come back 13th July to remove boards, install new ones and re-tile. He came 12th July and removed old boards then 13th July he installed new boards without re-plastering the exposed brickwork and re-tiled the bottom three rows on both boards, he returned 14th July and re-tiled the rest of the shower and said he would be back 15th July to grout. He had put mouldy tiles back up without cleaning them, some tiles were broken and in the corner some tiles are around an inch away from the corner. I rang the landlord and explained everything and said i I wouldn't allow him back into the house to do anything else. The landlord then sent me a letter stating the work which had been done, i replied with a letter and photographs of the actual work but haven't heard anything back. I went to citizens info and they said the work wasn't up to standard and it should have been completed within 3-5days, they put me intouch with threshold who sent me to rtb and rtb said it was a matter for the local authorities. I am been told the work isn't right but its not anybodies job to inspect it.

Im pretty sure you dont clean tiles until they are nice and solidly fixed back to the wall, so I dont know what your problem is there.
Also, are you en expert on this type of job?
So it was yourself who didnt allow the landlords contractor to finish his work and report back to the landlord for the landlords approval?
In think you should wait for the job to be finished properly at least before you start getting annoyed. If I was your landlord I would be pretty annoyed myself.

collyb1

The mould is on the back of the tiles which should have been cleaned off first as it cant be cleaned once its fixed and I dont need to be an expert to know that.

collyb1

Graham wrote: »

There is no national tiling inspectorate for you to complain to, nor are there any minimum standards for tiling.

Is the area leaking?
Is the area damp?

If you can answer yes to either of those questions you could complain to the local authority that your accommodation does not meet the minimum standards. Even if you do complain I would expect your complaint to be put at the bottom of a very long list.


I dont know if the area will leak until the shower can be used but yes the brickwork is damp as it wasnt allowed any time to dry out before the new boards went up.

yqtwqxqm

collyb1 wrote: »

The mould is on the back of the tiles which should have been cleaned off first as it cant be cleaned once its fixed and I dont need to be an expert to know that.

Dip them in bleach. Bobs your uncle.
Have you ever tiled or renovated?
Anyway, you refused to let someone the landlord had paid to do a job to finish the job. Thats all I need to know.

Graham

collyb1 wrote: »

I dont know if the area will leak until the shower can be used but yes the brickwork is damp as it wasnt allowed any time to dry out before the new boards went up.

under the minimum standards, you've nothing you can really complain about yet then.

The landlord could easily turn around and say the brickwork is still drying out so the damp issue has been addressed. You have no sign of a leak yet either so that's another non-runner.