Bats in the belfry, windows are jammed - London flat renting, deposits & landlords

Please post up your replies!

@skinny
Euros?

I dunno where you live man but can they just do that re deposit?
Obvs the extra 550 is a chancer taking their chance.

It'll be a poçite fuck off.

I don't see them taking me to court

I live in a converted flat with a bizarre heating arrangement. In a cupboard I have access to is the gas and electric meter, and in a cupboard my upstairs neighbour has access to (converted 2 up 2 down) is the gas boiler for a combined heating and hot water system that serves both flats.

Over the past week or so we have had recurring issues with the boiler - firstly a leak that required a plumber to visit and say it had to be shut off until it could be repaired and subsequent visits from the said plumber (and 2 other tradespeople) to 'fix the issue'. Finally, after a week without hot water or heating, the issue seems to be resolved. Obviously, given the nighttime temps at the moment and the fact that we have single glazing, the flats have been pretty bloody cold, let alone the lack of hot water.

I have written an email via the managing agents telling the landlord that I would expect "a gesture to be made" to make up for the inconvenience... "Perhaps a rent reduction commensurate to the period of time for which the property was uninhabitable due to disrepair".

My question is, if my landlord doesn't say yes to this or provide a suitable counter-offer, what recourse do I have to get some kind of compensation for this ...if any?

Our sweet, sweet deal of renting a lovely house from a family member for relatively little money is sadly coming to an end. Any general tips for finding somewhere to rent? Any sites to check out other than Zoopla and Rightmove? Any estate agents to seek out/ avoid? We've been in the same place since we moved to London from Leeds so have no experience at all!

In my experience OpenRent is good. Often you end up renting direct from the landlord with no agencies involved so it's more personal, which results in fewer issues. For us (not the above post btw) this has meant that the landlords don't own other properties and aren't doing it 'as a business', so are more inclined to look at things in a more reasonable manner than someone who only cares about the bottom line and is paying a terrible managing agent to deal with issues on their behalf.

Check your contract. There should be terms within there regarding what the landlord is expected to maintain and fix. There’s also legislation regarding what is mandatory to have working, which I believe is heating and hot water etc.

You “should” get some compensation for the lack of facilities. There’s no real support or protection for renter, we’re essentially all on our own. Shelter might have some template letters available, otherwise it’s going down the no-win-no-fee route if the landlord is stubborn. https://www.housingdisrepairclaim.co.uk/housing-disrepair-claims/

Thanks for that. Legally they do have to provide heat and hot water, and as bills are included in my contract (explicitly) I'm in a good spot should they decide to argue. I have just had a response from the managing agents that they've passed my message on to the landlord 'for review'. It's not a huge sum of money to ask for (a week's rent) but it's the principle of paying for something substandard that irks me.

Any general tips for finding somewhere to rent?

The London rental market is fucked at the moment. We needed to get somewhere quickly, and it was an awful experience of viewings, followed by sealed bids! The expectation of what people want to receive in monthly rent for their shambles of a property is staggering. We were told people were putting in bids of hundreds (an month) over the asking price, which I really can’t understand, as the property was marketed as £2,000 a month. During a month of looking nobody ever got back to use from OpenRent. Also, factor in the energy efficiency as lots of properties still have single glazing, which will get really expensive to heat.

We ended up getting somewhere from one of the “built to rent” companies which has turned out great and far exceeded expectations.

Could be wrong but given the LL had folks in quickly to ‘fix’ it they’ve met their responsibilities in this case. That it took some time to sort out could be it moving as fast as practically possible.

Doesn’t stop them from making you an offer of good will but it might prevent you from forcing the issue.

I don't think you're wrong. This is the kind of thing I was hoping for advice on. If the LL doesn't cough up - which from his POV is reasonable given he's just had an expensive week of repeated emergency plumbers visits (from what I gather he 'doesn't believe in insurance') - then I guess I'll just have to suck it up.

Seems like absolute BS that I can be paying through the nose on a flat where heating and hot water are included and I have no recourse to a 'refund' if those items aren't provided. Any other comparable scenario where a paid-for service is not rendered would be a cut-and-dry case in my favour.

With a quick google it looks like heating and hot water is considered an emergency:

“Under Section 11 of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1985, you have the right to expect your landlord to carry out repairs in a 'reasonable time'. If it's an emergency repair as you've got no heating or hot water, your landlord should fix this in 24 hours.”

I guess that’s why there’s so many landlord insurance schemes for issues like boilers etc.

I reckon you and Howard are both right. You’ve paid for something you haven’t received but it’s not the landlord’s fault the heating broke and they look to have acted fairly quickly.

I award 3.5 days rent refund.