UK Landlord Forum / Life

To keep it brief so as not to bore you...we rented a small house which we discovered had a faulty back door which was not fixed prior to us moving in.  After a few days it seized opening. Contractors visited and said the door was unable to be repaired and that a new door was required. We were told it would take 8 weeks to replace. The issue we had is that this was our only escape in the event of a downstairs fire. There were no windows to egress from, only three small fanlights. We decided that we would have to leave the property after a few weeks as we didn't feel safe and couldn't see the problem being resolved. We found alternative accommodation and moved out. We advised the agents of our actions and they re let the property immediately. We have asked for our deposit back as the property was unsafe and not fit for purpose but we've been told it's been handed over to the landlord as compensation as we broke the contract. Surely they broke the contract for letting a property that was unsafe? Any advice would be greatly appreciated in relation to potentially getting our deposit back and how to go about it. Thank you 😊 

Just to answer one question as to which party broke the contract - that was you. You know it was you. A Landlord is always given a reasonable time to effect repairs. Let's not pretend there's a grey area here as to who broke the contract - there isn't.

What was the timeline (from "we want to leave" to it being let out again), what was said, and what was agreed between the tenant and landlord/agent? Was there any discussion about temproary alternative accommodation while the work was pending/ongoing?

If you were that bothered you could have pursued other contractors,8 weeks seems a long time to get a door replaced.I am trying to get my head around the type of house that has no windows.Thank God house fires are very rare,the risk was small. Your landlord has the right to keep the deposit,he would have had further costs in reletting. I can't help but think you had other reasons for wanting to live elsewhere?

This sounds like a classic case of the landlord possibly being at fault for something but then the tenant goes about it all in completely the wrong way.

If you move out then discuss everything in writing and come to agreements before moving out.  Simply moving out like there are no financial repercussions is the wrong way to go about things.

Quote from: heavykarma on October 14, 2020, 08:00:21 AM
I am trying to get my head around the type of house that has no windows.

I think the OP may have meant that the fanlights were the only part that opened. That being the case, in the event of a hypothetical fire that was blocking my access to the front door, I'd take a hypothetical hammer and smash the glass out of the nearest convenient window. Most windows can be opened ... once.

If the deposit was protecte, your landlor has to prive that he actually suffered loses to the value of your deposit. If the property was let a few days after you moved out, then the losses were tor justifiable. If the property was on the market for 1-2 month, then we can prove that your breach of contract caused him that loss. You can file a complaint about unsecured deposit if your deposit was not protected.

Chezalex did not like those answers.

Quote from: Hippogriff on October 20, 2020, 08:30:41 AM
Chezalex did not like those answers.

Yes, they didn't like it so they just up and left.

To be fair we should have seen that coming.