Reply to: Renting woes

[Mehmeh]

Surely they have accepted that it isn't habitable, since they are paying for you to live somewhere else??? Otherwise they would have just got the builders in and told you to stop moaning.

I would take that stand for sure.

[SueEllen]

This is the issue, I have been to a lawyer and the same conclusions where reached RE habitablity and the next step is to get a definition of "habitable" from LLord and LAgent

.

Off course the landlord and letting agent are going to say the flat is habitable they want your money. Don't bother talking to them.

Contact Shelter for advice www.shelter.org.uk and you can, if you or your missus has time, see if your local council has a tenancy relations officer and talk to them.

When you talk to them tell them the missus has breathing difficulties due to the amount of dust in the place.

Personally I would take nice photographs on my digital camera of the state of the property and take a nice photo of the dog. Ensure the date and time stamp on the camera is correct and take some close ups of some of the mess.

Also start sending emails and/or letters to the letting agent and landlord asking them to sort the mess out, keeping copies. Don't just do it on the telephone as you may need the evidence later.

Then after ensuring the landlord lives in the place they actually say they do and owns that property, I would get the solicitor to write a letter to them informing them that if the rental property was not habitable within a month due to the number of people and animals in the property the contract would be terminated and they would have to pay back the rent plus deposit.

After the time limit the contract would be terminated and if the landlord refused to pay up, I would chase them in the courts for the money.

[EqualOpportunities]

Ceiling down, re-boarded and skimmed should not have taken more that 2 days. For decorating, you have to wait several days for the skimming to dry completely.
Get a better landlord or tell them to get faster plasterers.

weeks, as you'd have spent the intermediate 12 days in hospital having your head sewn back on.

[Clippy]

Try searching here or call your local CAB.

[DimPrawn]

It old lath and plaster ceiling and it is a G2 Listed building so it has to be done up to heritage standards

So it should only take a week, but the work has not started yet and I dont know when it will.

Stick the dog in boarding kennels and jet the family off on a long holiday somewhere exotic.

[sunnysan]

Ceiling

It old lath and plaster ceiling and it is a G2 Listed building so it has to be done up to heritage standards

So it should only take a week, but the work has not started yet and I dont know when it will.

[Diver]

Ceiling down, re-boarded and skimmed should not have taken more that 2 days. For decorating, you have to wait several days for the skimming to dry completely.
Get a better landlord or tell them to get faster plasterers.

[OwlHoot]

.. This is the issue, I have been to a lawyer and the same conclusions where reached RE habitablity and the next step is to get a definition of "habitable" from LLord and LAgent

If the contract or particulars included a sitting room in the list of rooms and that is no longer available in practice, at least in nowhere near the condition it was when you moved in, then I'd say the contract is now void.

Anyway, what with all this health 'n safety stuff, can't you claim the dust is a health hazard (and cruel to your dog)? Surely a decent lawyer could take the landlord to the cleaners.

I'd take lots of pics and take out an injunction immediately for the landlord to return your deposit and rent from the time the ceiling collapsed. Also, go to the doctor and say you're short of breath. Seriously, you could be in for a big wad of compensation.

[Incognito]

If I owned the place I amy stay there but I wouldnt expect my wife to.

But you are getting to the crux of the argument which is

By covering alternative accommodation are the insurance company implicity agreeing that the place is not habitable?

Did they eventually cede the point and accept it was uninhabitable or did they just do it as goodwill. You may find that they haven't admitted anything.

[sunnysan]

Owner

If I owned the place I amy stay there but I wouldnt expect my wife to.

But you are getting to the crux of the argument which is

By covering alternative accommodation are the insurance company implicity agreeing that the place is not habitable?

[expat]

...Initially the managment company, insisted that the accommodation was habitable and only after a week of fighting with them and the management company we managed to get the managment companies insurer to agree in writing to cover our accomodation costs before and during the repairs....
My question after my sad story is, since we are staying in alternative accomodation paid for by insurance, does this imply that the accommodation is not habitable until the repairs are made?

Be careful, I would think not. You would need to get at least someone to use the word "uninhabitable". But IANAL.

Otherwise, it could reasonably be argued that it is habitable: if you owned the place yourself, is it imaginable that you might stay in it? I do sympathise, but if the answer is that it is unpleasant but still habitable, you might have trouble with a lawyer.

[sunnysan]

Dp

For once DP. not far from the truth. I am getting the dodger from many people at the moment and adding lawyers to the list wont help much

This is the issue, I have been to a lawyer and the same conclusions where reached RE habitablity and the next step is to get a definition of "habitable" from LLord and LAgent

Since a lot of you here tend to be landlords, I was looking more for opinions than defacto advice.

If they fix the place I am happy to stay ther but insurance is still scr2wing around and I have no idea(Nor does naybody else) how long it could take.

I at least want the option to terminate legally as in my situation breaking contract is not a good option.

[DimPrawn]

Best advice I can give mate is sit down with a lawyer.

At £500/hr it's worth every penny.

[Incognito]

ZG - I am not a troll

BB- We have sought legal advice and the problem is if I walk I lose a wack as we paid 6 months upfront. We also have an 18 month contract.

All this would have been fine as we wanted stability for this time period and a nice palce to live.

So If I walk I am liable for an 18 month contract and I lose my deposit and 4 months rent IE Baaaad shufting.

I have sought legal advice and the whole case seems to hinge around the habitablity aspect.

Meanwhile we are stuffed into a small studio(Only place I could find which does short lets and takes dogs in the area).

We are getting badly shufted, but if the place is "uninhabitable" for a month we should have gorunds to terminate the contract legally, hence my question

Best advice I can give mate is sit down with a lawyer.

[oracleslave]

ZG - I am not a troll

I think he meant to quote that 'Likely' twunt.