Just going to decorate the house....which is falling down

[Andy Hamilton]

The house I live in is rented this means that anything that goes wrong the landlord has to sort out which is great as it saves cash. Well there was a patch on the kitchen floor next to the back door that when you trod on it it just moved. We told the letting agent.

3 months later they decide to sort it, but for some reason seem more intent on sorting out the outside wall which was tatty but not that bad. The letting agent stated that, "we could just step over the floor and it was not dangerous".

Anyway the floor came up and we discover that we had woodworm., This is why the floor was moving they had drilled in right through the joist and a good 2-3 foot of it just crumbled away, meaning the laminate floor was all that was keeping our feet from falling through the floor.

We then found a damp patch next to the washing machine. Why? Because the pipe taking the waste water away was only taking water to a soak away right under the side of the kitchen. Result.... wet floor which woodworm love and a wall that has been getting soaked for at least the last 4 years that we have been here. When I showed the letting agent the damp in that space a while back he had said... "It's a matter of lifestyle choice, some people have the door open some don't" [the result is damp]. Obviously trying to shift the blame onto us. We have had years of never being able to keep salt in the kitchen and other food spoiling rather quickly and perhaps even Emma's asthma being a bit worse.

Seems to be getting sorted at last, but to think what we have been living with!
Right glad to get that off my chest.

[Milims]

Doesn't it just drive you mad that landlords/letting agents don't take their responsibilities seriously! And if there was serious damage to the house as s result of their neglect guess who'd be blamed! Money grabbing rotters. I'm glad it's being sorted out for you

[Millymollymandy]

God I'm so glad I don't have to rent anymore!!! Glad it is getting sorted out Andy.

[old tree man]

Glad its getting sorted Andy, most agents just try to wear you down till you get fed up with asking,keep on until its totally finished.

[Thomzo]

Crikey, that's dreadful. how does your landlord get away with that? I certainly didn't when I was a landlord. When our tenants set fire to the house, we replaced the boiler and repainted all through! When our tenants broke the back window, we replaced it!

I've also done painting and decorating for other landlords and was really surprised how perfect the landlords expected the house to be before they re-let them. The slightest mark was cleaned or repainted.

Not all landlords are bad! Some are just normal people trying to make some money for their retirement. The cost of renting out a house in the UK at the moment exceeds the rental income. You are banking on the capital value of the house going up but, at the moment it's not happening. If some landlords try to save a few pennies, who can blame them? They don't have limitless funds.

On the other hand, in your case Andy, they shouldn't have put you in danger or risked your health.

The few always tarnish the image of the rest.

Zoe

[ina]

Glad to hear something is being done about it; as you know, Andy, I know all about living in a damp house! I do think that landlords often just let things go on as long as they can get away with it... And I know that there are exceptions to this rule. Wish I could ever get to the stage of not having to rent - don't think I'll achieve that in this life, though.

[snapdragon]

Sounds like your house was designed like mine Andy - it was only when I went to poke the drain to clear a blockage that I realised it was a soakaway going under the kitchen - since then we've moved all the household drainage into a new drain attached to the main sewer and the only thing emptying into the soakaway is rainwater that isn't collected by the water butts
luckily the kitchen here is a concrete base (unless of course it all falls in )
Good luck with the landlord/letting agent - if they're lax they need the occasional prod, and a reminder that real people are living in the house.

[ajs88]

im glad your getting it sorted

[Flo]

Cheer up Mr Hamilton, young man. Your house and my flat are twins. Except that yours sounds to be privately rented whilst mine is council property (well sold on the the housing association but the same thing like).

If we the tenants of the two flats in the house ever manage to get the housing association to cure the leaking gable end we shall have achieved miracles. The fact that when my toilet is flushed it has to flow uphill before leaving the building seems to be one that will never be changed. It's taken five years to get stable water pressure on the combi boiler and I recognise the woodworm problem exactly.

At least I pay little enough for the pleasure.

[Andy Hamilton]

Hmm yes ours is not that cheap really. Well it got worse, it transpires that the walls were so sodden that the metal bit on all the sockets were rusted to pieces. Now I am sure that water and electricity don't mix

[Flo]

Time to move house before you discover something really nasty?

[Wombat]

What a bugger, sorry to hear that mate!

Nev

[Sky]

Wonder if the person who owns the house knows how bad their letting agent actually is. My BIL has had loads of trouble with his agent but not a lot he could do as he was here in NZ and their house is in the UK.