If loose bricks can fall into the street ,contact BUILDING CONTROL in the council they have to go out to dangerous structures. Ask to speak to a Building Inspector. If no joy try your local newspaper
Hmmm very similar but not as bad as the situation your in
Can I ask if your council runs the selective licensing scheme ?
If it does and your landlord does not possess one and should Then your landlord can be fined and ordered to pay back your rent
Many councils are now beginning to undertake selective licensing Itâs a way to regulate landlords although some landlords think itâs a tax on them , but if it weeds out dodgy landlords then so be it
Also council officers are under going training in this area as it becomes more mainstream
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It is 3 months notice at the moment for Section 21, also the court process is not long winded these days. The S21 is only valid for 6 months so the courts canât take ages. If you take the advice of not paying your rent a Section 8 can be issued which is a lot quicker. Iâve read 2 weeks sometimes, although all court proceedings are not reinstated until the end of August.
I donât have any advice unfortunately, the disrepair and damp is hazardous to your health, it should of been reported a long time ago. Have none of you for asthma or bad cough/chest infections ?
Such a shame for you, so sorry this is happening it is unfair.
Think in Some London boroughs, they advise the tenant to stay up to the day bailiffs are due to evict them on a section 21 , if they leave before they are classed as making themselves intentionally homeless , I think the poster is reluctant to go down that route, maybe push the council with shelter backing,
Tracy, you are right. Failing to pay the rent could leave one open to a Section 8, earlier in the thread I explained it had happened to a friend. Judge gave a possession for the day after. I have this weird obligation to myself to have some morals. Canât allow otherâs behaviour to change my beliefs.
There has been mold here for years, the EHD is not going to give an official notice to the landlord for anything. They just ask for SOME repairs to be done. Disrepair is not their concern, only hazards to health. They wonât agree there are any in writing.
In some London boroughs they might suggest tenants stay till the bailiffs turn up, in my case they would prefer me gone as soon as possible. I work and neither of us has ever claimed a penny in benefits, we are not their protected group. Plus, I am a pain in their proverbial.
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Itâs disgraceful, they give the decent landlords a bad name.
Honestly donât know what to suggest. If youâre asked to leave thereâs nothing that can be done.
Fixing the problems yourself then billing the landlord but itâs pointless if you have to leave anyway.
Youâve summed it up properly, not much to do but to look for somewhere else to stay.
Again, my advice to tenants going through a similar experience is move on or take the landlord to court. In my case, I am obviously considering both.
Donât expect local authorities to lighten your load and be of any help, some may do but I think it is rare. Take the advice given earlier in the thread and keep a record of everything.
And please, try keeping calm for the sake of sanity. Either way itâs going to be stressful.
I recently read a report about how many councils protect their private tenants from retaliatory eviction. Doesnât make for good reading, they rarely implement the very detailed requirements needed for protection under the act.
There is not much emphasis on security of tenure, people are expected to plan their lives around an AST contract. Whatâs needed is clear ways for landlords to get rid of bad tenants fast, and clear ways for bad landlords to be brought to task by tenants quickly and easily, should they have a just cause to do so.
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My god the advice from Novices here is down right DANGEROUS.
If you donât know Housing Law, donât offer your two pennarth worth
All property rented needs an E grade EPC ( unless they have an exemption from the Council , rate )
since April 1 st 2020
To be fair, quite a few people are interpreting that particular law in different ways.
I was convinced I needed an EPC, then Richard linked something Iâd read before but I was unsure after reading it again a few times.
This: "If the property you let has been marketed for sale or let, or modified, in the past 10 years then it will probably be legally required to have an EPC.
If you answered Yes to both these questions, and your property has an EPC rating of F or G, you must take appropriate steps to comply with the requirements of the MEES Regulations. We explain how to do this below.
If you answered No to one or both of these questions, your property is not covered by the Regulations, and you donât need to take action to improve the property rating. You may let it with an EPC rating of F or G".
My tenancy began before 2015, rules around those periodic tenancies are also causing confusion.
There is no â probably â in the legislation.
All rented property needs an EPC of E grade since 1/4/20 unless you have an exemption.
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Chris, the âprobablyâ part was taken from here:
Ironically, that excerpt is what my landlord quoted when I asked for an EPC. The local authority just told me if my flat wasnât on the EPC register, then it doesnât have one. They arenât bothered in the least.
Iâm not arguing your point, itâs exactly how I interpreted it. Itâs confusing as even legal advisers arenât sure whenever I have asked for clarification.
Thank you for your input, Chris.
Frank, you are not reading the legislation correctly ( with respect ) and you must have spoken with someone in the Council who wasnât from the Housing department ( or so junior there they didnât know what they were talking about )
I do this for a living, trust me.
Thank you Chris, I am the first to admit that the legislation confused me. This is why I started the thread, to seek clarification on things I donât understand.
No offence taken at all, in fact, I am grateful you sought to correct me.
Re speaking to a junior officer at the local Council. I am conversing with senior officers, all clueless about options and rights for tenants. Or so it would appear as little advice is put forward and what little there is inaccurate.
The EHD officer was unconcerned, among other things, about the lack of an EPC for the property.
The only correspondence with the Housing Department cast doubts on my right to protection from retaliatory eviction due to my tenancy beginning before 2015.
A senior EHD officer actually put in writing that they had protected me, even though no notice had been served upon the landlord.
This is the reason for my confusion, the authority here is either incompetent or there are ulterior motives behind all the mis-information they regularly give out.
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There WAS limited protection for tenancies before 1/10/15, but that only lasted until 1/10/18
I am a Private sector Housing Consultant employed, mostly by landlords.
Why donât you ask Citizens Advice.
If they donât know and want to engage me to provide specialist advice, then they can contact me via Enquiries@PossessionFriend.uk
Chris, thank you for clearing that point up. Hopefully it will be of use to anyone else looking for advice regarding the pre-2015 issue.
I shall try Citizenâs advice again, they have been of help but the service is so busy one needs to book a phone appointment in advance, last time 2 weeks in advance.
I might contact you personally at the address you provided, thank you.
Just a quick update. The EHD want to visit the premises again, apparently they are strongly considering serving my landlord a notice.
They say there are issues here which MAY be detrimental to our health. The problem, as it has been from the start, is that they are behaving like a secret society.
They are refusing to specify what issues they have found, and if so how they are being categorized. Canât guarantee the visit they are now pushing for will result in a notice served. Canât explain what will cause them to choose to serve a notice or merely give an informal advice about resolving the issues again.
All very strange, canât get a straight answer no matter how many times I ask the same question. Feels like they are trying to make us appear as crazy people that wonât stop bothering them about trivial matters.
All the work we are doing might not benefit us directly, but by the time we are out of here I will ensure this situation doesnât get repeated and the next person contacting the EHD will get an appropriate response.
As soon as that Section 21 hits my doormat I will personally apply to a court for the disrepair to get dealt with properly. At least the next tenants here wonât be fighting mold all winter.
When this is over I will also give details of what has been exactly happening and which Borough I live in. This should give anyone thinking of moving to this part of London a fair idea of what to expect should things go wrong with a tenancy.
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I like to consider everything that happens as signs that the universe sends to us.
You have received so many signs, that it might be just about time for you to head North. To live in a detached house twice as big for a half the price.
Andy, I have have been of the same opinion for years. This place has been stressing us out for years, but we have lived in this area for over three decades, accumulated a house of stuff along the way and a move of any sorts will cost more than we have at the moment.
I am not from down South to begin with, but I made my life here.
Believe me, I do see your point and agree completely. Thereâs been plenty signs here. At some point the squirrel will probably attack me as well, one thing after the other.
To be honest, if I had the means Iâd go now, but seeing as I donât it will have to be a battle instead. Either way, I will always pay the rent
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