UK Landlord Forum / Life

Hey everyone,

I have been renting a room for about 6 months. The landlord is Japanese and doesn't speak english well, but fortunately I don't contact her very much, as the place I'm renting is in fairly good condition. But, there are a few things that I'm afraid of getting deductions from:

First, when I got here, the bathroom I use had (as still has) pretty bad tile damage around the bathtub. I alerted the landlord, she talked to her maintenance guy Joe, who then called someone else to come look at it. This "guy" (as Joe (who is also Japanese) refers to him as) came in, looked at the tiles for a few minutes, and left, never coming back again. Now, I'm not that concerned with the tiles because they aren't getting in my way or anything like that, but I don't want to be blamed for the damage when it was there to begin with.

Second, the water from the faucet in my bathroom sink smells for the first few seconds after it's been sitting a while. It only happens in that one faucet in the entire place. I figured it was the pipes leading to that faucet. So, I told Joe, who had his "guy" come out again to look at it. After I told him that the water only smelled from this one faucet, he immediately said he didn't know what was causing the problem, said he'd tell Joe, and promptly left again. I told Joe he came, and to make sure he came back to fix it, but I think Joe is having a hard time believing me, even though his "guy" witnessed it himself.

So, my question is, what are my rights if Joe doesn't solve these problems? I don't want to be brushing my teeth/rinsing my mouth out with this water any longer, and I for SURE don't want to be blamed/fined for the bathroom tiles being in the disrepair that they're in. Any answers? Thanks!

Parker B

Hello Parker B,

This is a British website, for British people.

There are a few clues about.  Lets have a look at the homepage: Do you have DSS in the States?  How's about a blog on Landlord and Tenant Act 1985.  Is that a very American law?  Or a page about a letting agent in Derbyshire.

No of course you did not because every nation on earth has to be America-centric.

Well, I don't know the answer.  I don't want to know the answer.  I hope you find the answer.  But I doubt you'll find it here.

Parker,

Landlord / tenant relations are generally strictly governed by the law. This principle is the same between the UK and most US states. People will generally be reluctant to give you advice for a.) they are typically not lawyers and shouldn't give you legal advice b.) they'd want to be certain that the recommendations they give you are bullet proof. On a website catering to UK landlord and tenants, your chances to find someone versed in the laws applicable to your home state are very slim. You're best off trying to find an MO rental website, alternatively hit your local library.

All the best,

-Armin