So what is the point of your comment?
Yes, there are rules about temperature in the workplace, and as someone who has worked on many projects across uk and europe i fully aware of what design guidelines, material and plant selection are for.
But there are also guidelines and government acts on what expectation there is on a landlord to provide. If you look at the government issued “how to rent” guide for tenants, there is nothing that suggests a tenant should check planning and building control status on a dwelling.
There is also the “homes(fitness for human habitation) act 2018” which gives me, a tenant, a glimmer of protection when a LL doesnt fulfil his obligations.
Rightfully so, I would have reacted the same. That was a misleading add coming from a cheeky advertiser, I see.
That is the whole point of my post.
I am incredibly upset and highly angered by what the LL has done, and the pipe being unblocked was the straw that broke the camels back with the LL attitude towards us.
I can live with small things, like we did in our previous home, but to have to pay a premium to increase the living area which we desperately needed, and to be misled because we needed it in the location which our children need to remain in their school, i feel like i have been conned.
We have been put at risk for monetary purposes. In my eyes this is not just a case of someone trying to cover the increase in their mortgage, it is someone endangering lives for greed.
I have lost track of how many loft conversions i have done and how many staircases i have made The regs state the angle of stairs. the rise and the going must fall within a formula , how many treads before a landing and how narrow a kite tread can be. ,head ht above the stairs, size of landing at the top and the bottom. There must be a fire door at the top to partition the third floor room off and all doors to that staircase must be of a certain standard Usually inter linked smokies on all 3 levels There is an allowance for stairs to be open tread and “paddle” stairs at a steeper angle if it is a tight area .There must also be a fire blanket between the first and second floor. Escape windows were done away with in favour of a good staicase fire escape (at least so in my area)
There is zero regard for these things colin. No fire stopping at all. Staircase is helical/spiral, and at the distances offset from edge as stipulated by the building regs, there should be a going of minimum 145mm nosing to nosing. Because of the carpet i cannot gauge the physical edge. However, i took it from the riser to nosing at CL and it was 115mm.
Completely falling short.
The point of my comment was my surprise that someone wants such a high temp. I am a registered, trained and accredited landlord with 40 years experience, well acquainted with the regulations as they apply to landlords. It’s clear to see that you have studied building regulations in more detail than most people do, so well done. I hope you find suitable accommodation to rent.
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Is 21 that high? In all honesty.
And to reach that temperature the thermostat needs to be at 30, continuously. And to achieve 18 it is being set at 25, continuously.
I bear no grudges at all towards landlords. My last one was a gem. What i take exception to is being lied to.
I wish you well
spirals are the worst sorts of staircases unless of a large diameter. I would never live in a house with such a staircase. Some can look the part but practical ? Get a matress or wardrobe up one?
The landlord in his advertisement claimed you could get a double bed up there but i struggled with a single matress due to the dimensions.
This is what i mean Colin, fraudulent advertisement for financial gain.
I have reached out to a solicitor followed the report i received from district building control this afternoon.
Thank you for having an impartial and practical view on this rather than making assumption and judgements on me like others.
What do you actually feel would be a fair and acceptable outcome?
Clearly you are now set on moving?
Hi Mark,
due to the nature of the fraud committed, I will be seeking legal clarification from a solicitor.
My family and I are now searching for homes which will be suitable, but as there is a distinct shortage in my area, the choice choices are very limited and not suitable for us. We have to calculate the cost for us to move, the costs involved in potentially cancelling contracts, whether my children can remain at heir schools if we have to relocate to outside of the area, and how it will impact our children’s studies.
I too have to evaluate the impact of a relocation for medical reasons and whether it will compromise the my access to Hospital & GP continual care for a chronic illness which I have.
My wife too has to measure the impact on her relocation with regards to her ill father.
At this moment in time we are trying to converse with C.A.B. to where we stand, but all they do is provide links to pages on their website or to resources on Shelter website.
I have doubts you will find anywhere to your satisfaction. I think you could fight with your own shadow. And any landlords reading this in your area will be sure to give you a very wide berth. I would rather have an empty property than rent to you.
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Why not get the landlord to fit up a partition at the top of the stairs as you know it is difficult to move . the LA will want him to bring the property in line. anyway , for you or someone else… i see that as your best solution. Re the parking … a judge may say " did you not see the non dropped kerb? A nd you have parked there.
I doubt it is a “fraud” and you should be careful what you say here because the LL can use it against you. The provision of misleading information is covered by the Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations, if you have sincere intent you can read up on it. However, it depends on whether you went through an agent or the LL directly, if you went through an agent you claim against them as they were representing the LL and had a duty to do due diligence on the LLs represenations about e.g. bedroom and parking space. If it is a claim against the agent then they are probably a member of a redress scheme and you could start there.
You have no chance on the utilities, as long as the temperature can hit 21C in a room and 18 in a bedroom then the landlord have fulfilled their responsibilities, regardless of what the thermostat may say. Everyone’s bills have skyrocketed. You would have seen the EPC when you chose the property as it is a legal requirement to include it in the advertising, I guess it is an E.
You may be luckier with building and fire regulations, you can report the landlord but all that will happen is that they will get the repairs done. Of course, they should do this.
On the kerb dropping, where I live it costs around £1,000 to drop the kerb, which isn’t too bad as it adds a lot of value to the property (in some circumstances, anyway, obvioulsy not if the street has loads of parking available).
Anyway the legal position depends on whether you let through an agent or directly with landlord, but it would be potential breach of the Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations and you would be arguing you had been provided with misleading info, but the question is who gave you this info. If an agent then you have to claim against them as they have a responsibility to check info provided by landlord, e.g. the agent should have checked if there are 4 bedrooms or not.
Why are you so bitter Lynn? Do you put your tenants at risk by not having a building that conforms to basic safety regulations?
Graham,
it was direct with the landlord. It was advertised by him and stated the number of bedrooms. The description of the room even said that a double bed can be fitted within it. The floorplan also indicated that it was a bedroom.
In addition to this, the previous tenant has confirmed in writing that after they had signed the Tenancy agreement, a month later he visited and told them they could not use it as a bedroom, forcing one of the tenants to use the lounge as bedroom! This was after he had advertised it as a 4 bed.
To advertise knowingly that the statement is incorrect is fraud.
Finally, I have today received confirmation and the report by Local Planning and Building Control Authority that the room is not fit for advertised purpose.
We are currently awaiting calls from Solicitors regarding our situation, but my sister, who is currently doing her Law Graduate programme at a magic circle firm in London (way out of my price range) has given it the once over and has been been very positive in her summary about it.
thank you for this document, it is very informative on the use of marketing and has definitely confirmed a lot of misrepresentation that has been executed. It is also very enlightening to read about “aggressive practices” and “misleading action” in terms of negotiation and forcing through a quick Tenancy agreement. My wife was dealing with that side of things as I’m quite obtuse in my negotiating, but she has full email records of the LL coercing and acting aggressively in trying to close the deal with us.
Finally on the contentious kerb, when we visited the property on 2 occasions prior to moving in, escorted by the LL, he made sure that his, or his tradesmen were parked across it, limiting the view to clearly see what was there.
With regards to the the utility bills, I no longer give a monkey,s about them. They will get sorted eventually.
At the end of the day, the LL’s that are joining this topic really seem to have it in for me. They don’t seem to comprehend what this person has done with all the misleading and I’m actually saddened by the fact they don’t seem to care that this LL has compromised our safety.
just struck me that an older property cannot be made to conform to Part H as it was consructed so long ago
Is this regarding the soil pipe?
If so, by moving the soil pipe from above the floor and exposed, to new position below the floor joists, with more than enough room to accomodate the gradient in the pipe, conforming to part H is not an issue.
The relocation of the pipe from above to below the floor is evident externally by a terrible patch up job on the external rendering.