I will make this as brief as possible.
I have been in a property for 1 month. When i took it on, it was very very damaged due to the last tenant but i stated out in my ‘conditions for let’ that i would require the landlord to change the carpets which were filthy and smelled of wee and also paint the walls and do a deep clean. I moved into it within 2 weeks as i was desperate to get out of where i had been staying. It wasn’t a conducive environment for me and my daughter. As the landlord had not done anything in the ‘conditions for let’, the estate agents said that he would do the things when i moved in. I said ok.
When i moved in, it became apparent that this property had a lot more going wrong than i believed. The worst things are as stated below:
Kitchen sink leaking. Water backing up when washing machine is on. Major leakage and flooding when using washing machine.
Bathroom lights not working. String operated, they just jam. I once turned them on and they would not come off as all for 3 weeks. They were on 24/7.
Thermostat doesn’t work - no access to heating.
kitchen draws falling apart
woodlice infestation (im working through this, though, its getting better).
Upstairs toilet doesn’t flush.
I have used the agents medium for reporting for repairs and they have escalated it to the landlord. However for the past month they have been saying that they cant get access to him or he is not responding. (By the way, i do not know who the landlord is. They refused to tell me as they said the property is fully managed by them )
I’ve spoken to citizens advice. They have said something like i can write a letter to the agents giving them a time frame to fix these issues (i thought 6 weeks was fair as i have already been here for a month and i cannot continue to live with ineffective lighting and no heating. Not to mention plumbing issues.
If the agents or landlord do not respond, i obtain quotes from people who an fix these issues and ask the landlord or agent to basically pick one and pay for the repairs.
If they should ignore me once again, then i spend my own money with these repairs and deduct it from the rent.
Please let me know if this is okay or what else i can do in this situation. I have tried it all. I have about 500 pictures of the damages. I’ve already replaced the carpets out of my own dime due to not being able to subject my daughter and i to urine-smelling carpets any longer. Ive emailed them over and over and over again and whenever i call it, noone is ever able to speak to me.
I am at a loss.