My daughter and some friends rent a dump of a flat in That London, paying an arm and a leg for some minimally habitable place. Whe they moved in there were a number of issues that the landlord, via an agency, agreed to fix – non-closing windows, falling plaster, mould etc. These have not been fixed, and more problems have surfaced regarding the heating boiler (broken for a long time) etc.

She has periodically withheld her rent, which results in threats of eviction and legal action. I am wondering what, in reality, she can do to extract herself from this horrid situation. As an elderly miserable git it would be my reaction to challenge them to do their worst, but she is a sensitive soul and feels intimidated.

What does the panel think she can do?

move – as its clearly not going to get any better.

Move +1. House hunting is a pain but there are loads of houses in London

Luckily a new law was enshrined a few days ago to prevent so called revenge evictions. I think it is a stupid law, but it will be dead handy for your daughter in this situation. Write tot he landlord outlining all the issues, CC the letter to the local council environmental health dept (get a name of an EHO with responsibility for housing)

Essentially he cannot evict if the repairs are deemed necessary.
The letter needs to give him reasonable notice to carry out the essential work. After which in theory she can get the work done and take the money out of the rent, but I am not sure of the mechanics of this.
The best advice is to get a lawyer to help..

Thanks for the comments. She’d like to move but has a 12 month lease which is not up for a few months yet.

Personally I would withold rent , squat and look for another place.
IMHO a landlord who treat tenants like this deserves to reap what they sow.

YMMV.

Personally I’d put a list of the issues in writing along with photos illustrating.

Withhold rent until they’re retified, if work isn’t completed in 3 months, leave.

She’ll likely lose her bond, but 3 months rent free should be more than that – she may even get it back from the Agency that holds it if her paperwork adds up.

It’s shit, but lots of people go into buy to let in the 00’s when everyone thought it was easy money and don’t run it like a business and don’t have the money to actually maintain thier places. They only understand one thing – money.

Can sympathise – after flat hunting with my daughter earlier this year and seeing the state of some places on offer – and agree with most of the comments above the exception of withholding the rent. Seems like a good idea on the surface but it will come back to haunt her, she’ll have a record of not paying rent and that will impact any future attempts at renting.

Check the rental agreement, there may be clauses for early exit with regards to the landlord not meeting their responsibilities or if she’s near the end buy your way out and put it down to experience.

She needs to get the council invloved pronto.
questions:
What kind of repair defects are they?
IS the deposit protected?
Has he served the proscribed info about the deposit?
Does it have current gas safety cert and EPC?

PS My advice at the top and here is based on legal remedies-just withholding rent willy nilly without going through due process is stupid and potentially damaging only to her. She may be able to withhold rent, but only if she observes correct procedure. Get some lawyer advice, or at least start with the council.

In my experience, this is standard landlord behaviour.

She should move at the end of the lease, but be prepared for the next landlord to be a similar shade of the same and to live like this for the next 10 years.

Any faults, if not fixed before you move into a flat, in my experience generally will not be resolved.

Apparently all landlords are not the same, yet I never either experienced one, nor, did any of my friends through Uni…

It doesn’t sound like the landlord is the type to employ reputable tradesmen either.
Even if he does get the boys in to fix stuff, expect shoddy workmanship, dust everywhere and a rummaged knicker drawer.

Move out when she can I would say is the only solution.

In my experience this is standard landlord behaviour

It does happen, but I think you may be within your rights to get certain things fixed and withhold the cost from the rent. Check your legal rights and good luck!

I wouldn’t dream of treating our tenants in the way the op describes – they pay us good money and deserve to have a decent place to live. If stuff needs fixing it gets done – the tenants stay happy and it protects our investment. Landlords who don’t look after their properties are simply storing up a load of hassle and expense for later and I don’t understand why they do this.

I work in both tennanted properties and for landlords, if a flat is grotty and scruffy when you move in, dont expect anything to be done after you move in, they havent spent and are not going to now, also its always the heating and windows that get bust first, then the rent is refused to be paid. This drags on the landlord fixes heating , plumber usually says heating has been tampered with, windows forced etc.

Then there are the good landlords and tennants, place is kept clean and tidy, landlord responds fast to all repairs, tradesmen like me are booked an appointment, work is done and we get paid, landlord checks work and we get more work at more properties.

There are lots of properties out there you just need to hunt and ensure that what you see is what you can afford and live in, that the properties is in a good standard of repair etc, becauser like i said above if its been a void proerty why hasnt the landlord done it up before you moveing, not after, when youll need time off work to suspervise us tradesmen and to make us a cup of tea.

if a flat is grotty and scruffy when you move in, dont expect anything to be done after you move in,

This, pretty much sums it up. Don’t rent a cheap shit hole expecting it to be fixed up for you by the landlord.

Scruff, all my landlords have been OK