UK Landlord Forum / Life

My shower has not been working for 6 months.

I have been waiting for the letting agent and landlord to sort out the insurance but to seems that they both have taken they time with this and it now turns out that the repair isnt even covered under insurance.

I have now been waiting for 4 weeks for a quote from the letting agents plumbers company but it still doesnt seem to be a priority.

I signed my agreement last January for a bathroom with a shower and a bath but I haven't had a working shower for 6 months now.

The situation is rapidly deteriorating and the damp area has spread and there is now fungus growing, which is not only extremely unpleasant to live with but also a potential health hazard?

I am now due to pay my rent but the letting agent say they still cant tell me when the repairs will be carried out.

They have also asked for the rent to be increased by £80 a month and for me to sign a new contract.

Am I able to with hold on the rent until I get a date for the shower / bathroom to be fixed?

I feel I keep being fobbed off by the letting agency and this is the only way to get their attention.

ny advice would be greatly appreciated and many thanks in advance

Hello again Rosie,

Six months is a long time to wait.  The agent talking about waiting for insurance money is hypothecation and it's a scam.  The landlord marketed a property with a shower.  They are obligated to provide a replacement shower when the in-situ one breaks.  They need to replace promptly and talk to the insurer later.

Similar to my other answer.  Give them a reasonable, written, deadline by which the shower should be replaced and explain you'll do it at their expense if they don't.  Get three quotes and go with the most sensible one.  Deduct the amount from the rent money and send the agent the copy invoice.

If I were you I'd be more woried about why you've got mould and fungus growing, which can be a health hazard.  Assuming you've been using the bath instead of the shower: I don't see how this much changes the amount of condensation / dampness in the room and I wonder if you've got a more serious underlying problem here.

As for a rent increase: I'd check what contempory flats in your areas are going for.  If the new rent level is anywhere near to market normal rate, then I'd tell them to sling their hook and tell them you'll move out instead.  Ask them how quickly the landlord will rent out a flat with a broken shower and mould.  And if he'd enjoy the void period or if he fancies re-negotiating the rent AFTER he's sorted out the problems.  Maybe this will bring the landlord to his senses.

Hey again - I wrote and told them 1 month into the wait that I would get the job done myself and they could reimburse me when the insurance came through, but they said I was not allowed to do this and got pretty arsey about it.

There is still no date set for the plumbers to come in and the estate agent keeps saying they are waiting on the landlord and there is nothing they can do) - can I legally with hold my rent until the job is done?

Hello Rosie,

Sorry for the delay in my reply.  Have a read of:
http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1985/70
Section 11 and then Section 17.

The full legal route to this problem would be an appearance in your local High Court to state your facts.  The court would then rule that depriving someone of a shower for six months was patently unacceptable (esp. as it's only a few hundred quid to get and install a good quality shower).  The court could pass a judgement compelling the landlord to conduct specific performance of the contract.  You's ask for costs to be awarded in your favour which the court would accept as it's a clear case of the landlord neglicting their duties.

This route is time consuming and would hack the landlord off because the completion of the process would land him with a legal bill which would drawf the cost of a shower.

So a much more reasonable approach is to pay for the costs of the repairs he should be doing, incur those costs sensibly and pudently and deduct them from the next rent whilst providing full receipts.

Please remember that the agent is the landlord's agent, they will act in his best interests and theirs.  If the landlord's monthly flow of money gets interrupted then the agent has got some explaining to do.  So they try to put you off exercising your rights.  In this situation it looks like the agent is unwilling to stand up to the landlord and tell them he's being rubbish to you for fear of upsetting the landlord and possibly losing their cut of the rent.  And part of them being so weak, is that they're passing all the bad news in your direction.

Hope this helps you.