Dont know what to do feels like I got no power with housing safety

worried33

Hi everyone.

I am partially disabled, and have been living in a privately rented flat now for nearly 20 years, its in a poor location, not disabled friendly, and poor living conditions, but have stayed here mainly because the council said I wasnt eligible for housing and anything on the private rental market is much more expensive, way above LHA rates, even this property is above LHA rates.

However things have been steadily getting worse and in recent weeks its escalated.

Please let me explain the current problems.

Almost three weeks ago part of my kitchen ceiling collapse, the part above where I would be if washing the dishes, luckily I wasnt doing that at the time.  This was caused by a water leak in the flat upstairs.

The initial mess was lots of dirt and bits of ceiling around that part of the kitchen and some also went in the cupboard next to it.  Whilst unfortunate and potentially enough to severely injure me the damage was limited.

From this point onwards how it was handled by my landlord it has escalated, they arranged for someone to clean out the rubbish, and although the collapse was right next to the kitchen window, they decided to carry it through my property out of the door loose, not even in a bag, the result was the floor is absolutely dirty in the hallway and the entire kitchen now, cardboard had to be put down so I wasnt walking on it, they didnt put this down, I did.

They fixed the flood (or so they thought ) the next day in the flat above me, and then told me I had to wait a week for drying off process although the dripping stopped immediately.  During this week the hole was in the ceiling.  No out of bounds or anything was placed so I was still free to move around if I wanted.

At the end of the next week, they sent their handyman (the guy who seems to do everything for them, they never use professional contractors unless for safety checks), he removed a lot of the old plaster, it went all over the kitchen, replaced the panel that collapsed, and put new plaster up.  After he left, there was plaster all over the kitchen, my microwave was smeared in it as if he tried to wipe it clean.

I cleaned a lot of it up including the microwave with limescale remover, was in a lot of pain so had to keep stopping but eventually did the microwave and surfaces.  I dont know if the microwave works at this point as it hasnt been tried.

After this hassle, I tried to talk them out of repainting as I knew it would be a mess, but the painter got sent round anyway, and he did the entire kitchen, although he used coverings over the kitchen surfaces, there was still paint over the cupboards, sink, tiles etc. this unlike the plaster is much harder to clean so I have left it.

Last weekend on sunday, the leak started again and was dripping down the wall because the new panel forced the water that way, my timer for my gas boiler which is powered by electric is not sealed flush against the wall, the water went through the gap and I lost all mains power.

The ceiling was probably at risk of collapsing again, but luckily my neighbour upstairs reacted, he shut off his water supply to help me.  We had a long chat, we swapped phone numbers and he offered to get food for me from the shop.

Meanwhile we were both trying to ring the emergency maintenance number for my landlord, no answer, I also have my landlord's direct number, no answer.  After an hour and a half they answered, I was told a plumber and electrician would be sent out.  5 hours later I rang back, and was told sometime this evening.  When it was clearly getting dark I rang back again and they had nothing to offer me.

Then about 30 mins after the last call as I was about to leave to go to a hotel the handyman turned up, he told me he wasnt contacted until about 30 mins previous, and was unaware of an electrician been called, I even listened to him ring to check.  He said in his own words "I am the plumber and electrician".

Since the water leak was already stopped, he started examining the electric problem, I told him I wanted an electrician he wasnt qualified but he ignored me, at this time the mains trip switch was able to be turned back on although no power came back, I started recording on my phone discreetly and he proceeded to turn the shower trip off instead of the mains, insisting he knows what he is doing, he then dried the wires behind the socket he removed, and the power he came back on, he was clearly surprised as he thought he had turned the right trip off, the then turned the trip off, put the socket back on with masking tape, turned the power back on, said it was fixed and left.

Monday morning I rang the landlords office, told them I want a qualified electrician, the manager kept telling me its not necessary, I asked her what qualifications she has to decide that, she said the handyman is qualified to make the decision, I asked for his credentials and she said it is what it is.  About an hour later he turns up to say he is finishing the work on the socket, I refused to let him in but he forced his way past me, he tripped the power (right switch this time), sealed the socket (although not the gap where the timer was), and then left.

I emailed my landlord's manager today, I asked for copies of safety certificates with contact details of professionals who did the work, proof of my deposit in a protection scheme, and if there was any offer of compensation. I itemised all expenses, replaced spoilt food, cleaning materials, replaced co2 detector, replaced broken pots, and that the proerty is not safe to live in for coming up to 3 weeks.

The reply I got was the property is habitable, the problems reported fixed, electrician was deemed not needed, and is policy to not offer compensation, my landlord is the biggest landlord in my city, he lets out to 100s of people, mostly students.  They also said they wont clean up their own mess, no cleaners, and no comment now on the floor.  (they previously said would do the floor).

The law seems to offer me nothing from what I have looked at, if I withhold rent I can be evicted regardless of reason, I have reported to the council who said will get back to me, I have also been told by the council if I voluntarily leave or withhold rent I am voluntary homeless and wont house me, the shelter website says I should be homeless before I am eligible to ring them, so what do I do.

I am washing my dishes in the bath sitting on my raised toilet seat killing in pain, I have to lift the drying pots out of the bath to have a bath, I am using a portable oven in my bedroom, my living room is full of kitchen stuff, the paint they used I think might be rotten with toxic fumes as well, even with window open, its very strong.  My perching stool is in living room as well not really able to use it now, and no washing machine to use as covered in plaster and paint.

Ross_Alumni

Hi @worried33

Thanks for posting, it seems as though you've been through quite a lot lately in your home, and haven't really had the level of support that you deserve.

Firstly, do you have any other friends or family members who could support you at this time? Perhaps by getting some food for you or providing a safe place for you to stay should you need it at short notice? Your home doesn't sound safe at all at the minute and it's a shame that the countless individuals who have attended don't seem to have made a positive difference.

You mentioned Shelter, and I'm sorry to hear they couldn't help you. I did find this on their website:
"
"A rented home is 'unfit for habitation' when conditions or safety issues are so bad that it's not reasonable for you to live there.

This could be because the poor conditions:

• affect your health seriously

• put you at risk of physical harm or injury

• mean you can't make full use of your home

Landlords must make sure your home is fit to live in throughout your tenancy."

Read more on this page.

It might be a good idea to seek some legal advice about where you stand here, if the issue continues to go unresolved you could have the option of court action, but before anything like that is considered you should seek professional advice. You can find information here from Citizens Advice about how you can search for free or affordable legal advice, and in addition to this CAB also have help pages about housing.

Lastly, here is a Gov.uk page about private renting, and the steps you can take to complain about the conduct of your landlord / housing association.

worried33

Thank you Ross, I didnt try to ring Shelter, as they say they need to prioritise the lines for those who are homeless.

I will of course check out all of the links you provided.  My family sadly are not very supporting, my younger sister in fact wont even let me ring her, and is even threatening me saying if I ring her or ask her she wont talk to me at all, its the family I have to deal with.  My elder sister is been a bit more supportive,

My landlord texted me today perhaps finding the message I left on Sunday, but given I have reported to the council now I didnt reply.  The response only was "call the office" though, not very supportive.

I think the quote you found from shelter is very helpful, as I seem to be covered by that, so thank you.

newborn

It is distressing for you to have these problems, and so much worse because you are not in good health to deal with it.   (The paint fumes would be unbearable for me, so I'm very sympathetic)   I'm sure you may be able to demand things from your landlord, and what you have asked him was within your reasonable entitlement as a tenant.   

On the other hand some of us who are private tenants don't ever dare contact a landlord over anything, being terrified of being branded a nuisance,   If  possible,  some of us just put up with things or try to get our own workmen to quietly get on with   putting things right    (Not in the extreme situation you had, of course..... you couldn't have sorted the upstairs neighbour's leak or replaced your ceiling !)   But for the obvious reasons you sensibly set out in your post, people like us consider very, very carefully indeed  what would happen if we finish up with 8 weeks' notice to get out on the street.   

You have been unusually lucky to have a landlord who has not made you move out for twenty years!   And because he is a professional, he won't be likely to change his plans and evict to sell.  It is lucky as well that because he is a large scale landlord he does have tradesment to jump to it and do a lot of work and very fast.  The workers were not the finest  in the land, by the sound of it (!)  But at least they came, at least they arrived fast, and at least they did their best to sort the problems you and your neighbour have.  (And at least you and your neighbour have a good relationship, and contact details)   

I'm guessing you might not get far taking your landlord to court and complaining you had to clean up after an accidental flood, and after the workmen, because as a large scale full time landlord he will be sure to have the correct paperwork and workmen's reports, so he can prove at least on paper he has complied with all regulations and obligations.   To contest that, you might need to be able to employ other workmen, qualified to your satisfaction, and get them to produce a report and be willing to go to court for you to prove the work is substandard or is still unsafe.   Could you afford it?   Would they be willing?   Would it make you safe in keeping your tenancy for another 20 years?   

Or, you might hope the council would either force the landlord to do as you wish, or give you a council tenancy. The difficulty might be they depend on him to house people,  and they have far far far worse slum landlords to investigate and chase through court as a priority.   (Someone cramming 40 people into a 3 bed suburban house, with more in the garden shed, and bare wires and rats and cockroaches everywhere, for instance)

Councils probably have little or no places to offer you. As far as I know, the housing shortage is so extreme and the demand for private rentals so high, that most councils just tell people to look on the open market for somewhere.  By what you say, your existing landlord is one of the main ones locally. Would he, or any others, take you on?   Would you be jumping from frying pan to fire, because other landlords could easily be far worse, and so could other neighbours.    (With upstairs neighbours, you are very lucky indeed to have a pleasant one not making your life hell with noise!)

worried33

You are right newborn, this is something I have considered year after year, I have had people tell me why do you live in that dump, my answer has always been better to live here than out on the street or moving every year because landlord is selling up.

I have ignored problems, or fixed myself.  I will say I am not sure if I have done the right thing here, I think if I go all the way on the council I will probably not be living here next year and the question then is, will l have somewhere to call home, there is a chance I will back out.

At the very least I think something needs to be done about the paint and the floor.  Those make it barely habitable, I can barely go in the kitchen right now, never mind use it for cooking and washing, that's the main issue here, its one of the most important rooms in a home.

poppy123456

I think your landlord is being very fair here. It sounds like you had someone come to do the work fairly quickly, which is really good. Having had your kitchen decorated after the leak is also amazing, if your landlord covered the cost of that.  I realise the workman wasn't the tidiest but speaking from plently of experience over the years, they don't always tidy up, especially the way in which i would call "clean."

It's very unfortunate that the leak happened again after all the work was completed but no one could have possibly predicted that. A lot of landlords use "handymen" for the majority of work. I rent privately and my landlord also uses the same handyman and he covers many different jobs that need doing ranging from windows, outside, plumbing, bathroom and kitchen fitting and some electrical work, although not all electrical work.

I wouldn't advise you to go down the route of not paying your rent because that could end up with you being evicted. Housing association properties are very few and far between these days and waiting lists can be as much as several years long. If your single with no dependant children it will be even harder to get housed, even with disabilities.

worried33

I wont be withholding my rent or going to court, the intention for the most part really is to get the floor sorted out, the mess cleaned up and the smell dealt with.  I asked for the compensation but in the grand scheme of things I know thats not important.  However it was asked for with the expectation I might be paying for my own remedies.

On the decoration I would rather have a grey ceiling than the current situation,  Poppy please understand this work is by no means complete, the property is in a very bad state right now.  I understand there may be even worse landlords out there, but I dont have use of my kitchen right now.

Some more background on my very fair landlord for you which I have lived with, 18 months in a row with no heating, as he said choice of bolting up window in kitchen or turning boiler off as he wouldnt pay for repairs, only remedied by gas safety engineer threatening him on my behalf, 2 months flooded bathroom, because he wouldnt pay for a plumber, this one only got remedied when a surveyor turned up and someone forgot that they didnt fix my bathroom before he came.  A month of no window pane in my bedroom as when contractor came to fix it, he told the contractor I was paying for it, I had to put cardboard there.

Also I have no boiler in normal situations maybe 3-4 months a year as it breaks down every few weeks, and usually every few days in winter (using radiators makes it worse, rather than just water).

worried33

Ok guys a little update.

I think what Ross said is very valuable, and also newborn reminded me of what the consequences will be if I dont think about what I am doing.

So today I decided I was prepared to drop the case with the council and to come to as good as a resolution as possible with the landlord.

I gave them another call, they have confirmed they still are doing the floor, but the manager would not commit to getting it done next week or any time at all, and its things like this that make me think that if I let off they will just take advantage and this can just go on for weeks and weeks, its like a building site, so because of the response I have not yet made the call to the council.

Ross_Alumni

Thanks for the update @worried33, it does seem as though you are in a very tough situation, and I'm sorry to read that your family haven't been too helpful. Even though they haven't committed to a time, I do hope they are able to sort the floor soon for you.

worried33

Ok I have another update.

I had a conversation with a nice lady at the CLA, her advice was unofficial as I didnt qualify for help officially due to the problem not been serious enough.

She was highly sympathetic, she recognised in regards to charities I was in no mans land, not serious enough to get legal assistance, but unacceptable living situation.

I sent her various photos of the flat and documents from the landlord.

She has seen this situation before, in her opinion I am been stringed along with the vague "as soon as possible" on the floor, I asked her if it might be revenge for my previous actions, she said it could be, or it might not be but regardless she thinks there is a high chance I will be living like this for months until the end of my tenancy, they may even be trying to get me to not pay my rent which would allow for quicker eviction.

She said if the council get involved a revenge eviction is extremely likely and for that reason she normally wouldnt suggest it, but also said I appear to already be on a losing path so its the only thing I can cling on to, she said its important to have the council on side just in case I need to be rehoused and for my application at my neighbouring council which is already in place.  Her opinion is the council probably will not do a enforcement order, but will probably try to negotiate with the landlord, if the council fails to negotiate, they detect hostility or lack of cooperation they will be sympathetic if I get evicted or I dont renew the tenancy out of choice with the floor not fixed.

She said the deposit scheme documentation is invalid as well which might help me later on if they try to evict, she advised me to start looking right now for somewhere new to live and to try and get medical evidence of the situation affecting my health as well.

I asked her what happens if the floor gets done, in that case she advised to cancel the complaint and hope time heals providing they do it quickly not "just in time" for end of tenancy, she thinks in that case they would be doing it to get a new tenant in as quick as possible..

I still have made no decision, the council complaint is still open.  I will no doubt close it if they do the floor soon.

worried33

Thank you teddy, I am really scared right now, I cant sleep and am just praying it gets done and all this is forgotten about.

Tori_Scope

Hi @worried33 I just wanted to check in with you to see how you've been doing? Do you have any updates?

worried33

Hi, yes I have good news.

I ended up speaking to another person, and they arranged for someone to come and do the work, there is now only minor bits left to do, I can do things normally again, and they just need to pick up the rubbish and spare materials now.

What happens come tenancy renewal time I am still worried about but at least my immediate problems are largely resolved.  Thanks to everyone who offered advise and concern.

Tori_Scope

Ah that's good @worried33 Thanks for letting us know! At least you can hopefully sleep more easily for the time being.

worried33

Yes things have been much better, I had to push for it as was unliveable, I just hope those who think I was been unrealistic understand that.  I have 7 months until my tenancy expires so wont know for a while if they decide to kick me out or not.