Looking for advice on taking letting agency to court after heating and plumbing battle

Looking for advice on taking letting agency to court after heating and plumbing battle

13:26 PM, 5th February 2015, About 9 years ago 35

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I have decided to take my old letting agency to court and really needing peoples advice and opinions.

I moved into a property October 2012 at that point I was heavily pregnant. As soon as I moved into the property issues with the boiler began. Each time I phoned the agency they promised to get things sorted, but it was an ongoing battle for 7 months.

I would hardly be able to get heating it would constantly trip and hot water was basically a no go. My baby arrived December, so I sent a letter complaining and my response from the landlord was a section 21 notice!

Aafter me phoning the letting agency in tears they decided to change their mind, so I lived in fear for the next few months and coped with the boiler. I finally decided April enough was enough, complained again and finally had a helpful engineer out who condemned the boiler. Yhey eventually replaced it middle of may.

The letting agency would ignore my phone calls and only text me ( which had given me lot of evidence). Some are quite patronizing. I was also left with leaks under sink that ended up flooding the kitchen and leaving me with no water and no emergency contact numbers. A leak from the toilet which started running down the front room wall again causing no water in the property.

I asked to be compensated for all the issues I had been through and again the landlords response was a section 21 notice, so in September 2013 my daughter and I were made homeless for 5 months.

What I need help on is really who am I taking to court as I feel both are to blame, the letting agency for duty of care, and landlord for disrepair. I sent the letting agency saying I’m starting the court process, their response was its nothing to do with them they manage the property only.

Sadly at the time they were not registered with any governing body.

Any help will be gratefully received
Many thanks Mariaheat


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Comments

Dr Rosalind Beck

19:27 PM, 8th February 2015, About 9 years ago

Maria, I have had countless injustices perpetrated against me and lost tens of thousands through trusting people with no morality. It would have been impossible and detrimental to my sanity to try and chase every person who has perpetrated an injustice against me so I choose my battles wisely.
I have also as an adult lived for months without hot water and heating - admittedly, it was when I was building my own house. In fact, I lived also without electricity for months. I don't see this as some terrible calamity; just uncomfortable and a bit of a pain.
Also, come to think of it, as a child we only had one gas fire in the front room and the rest of the house was freezing. We only heated the hot water on a Sunday night to have our weekly bath. It didn't make me ill. I still had a roof over my head, a place to sleep and so on. I think others go through a lot worse.
Moreover, none of this gave me post traumatic stress disorder so that I was then unable to get on with my life.
Also, you exaggerate when you say that by decorating you can make a house ten times better. We once had a tenant paint a room and tell us she'd added thousands to the value of our property. If only it were that easy.
You then say you want money but that you are not doing it for money, but rather for other people, to somehow protect other people... I think you could find a better cause than that, if you see this court case as somehow being a force for good. It strikes me as a very negative thing you are attempting to do and I reckon only the solicitors will benefit.
But mostly I find the whole thing bemusing - that you should try and build a case over this and after such a long time has elapsed...

Mandy Thomson

11:51 AM, 9th February 2015, About 9 years ago

Reply to the comment left by "Rosalind ." at "08/02/2015 - 08:45":

Hi Rosalind,

As I said before, for a civil matter absolute proof beyond all reasonable doubt isn't needed, just reasonable evidence then the matter is decided by balance of probability.

Audrey Wright

13:27 PM, 10th February 2015, About 9 years ago

Maria,
Very, very unfortunate you had to fall under the roof of such a landlord. Unfortunately, there are quite a few (not pointing fingers) of them these days.

Anyway, about your problem...

Usually, there would be a lot you can do about it, if it's happening right now with your current tenancy.
However, having your tenancy ended more than an year ago, all legal actions might prove difficult.

First things first, you have no quarrel with the letting agent. They are essentially an employee of the landlord and act by their authority and under their name.
Your tenancy agreement is between you and the landlord and all responsibilities about the properties fall under their name. If you're going to courts it will be against the landlord for disrepair and maybe safety threats - no heating in the middle of the winter is certainly a health threat for a newborn baby.
Also, your landlord has threatened to evict you once and has done so the second time due your complaints of disrepair. While it's not illegal yet, it's a strong argument in your favour in the court.

If the letting agent has done something wrong out of their own accord e.g. not complying with the landlord's will or not even informing them about the state of the property, then it's up to the landlord to pursue them in courts.

As I'm no way a legal professional, I suggest you contact http://england.shelter.org.uk/, or http://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/.
Both can help you form your claim in the courts and generally assist any tenancy matter you have.

My personal advice, only proceed with this if you've calculated you'll really gain some compensation from the entire deal. If your chances or returns are small, is it really worth to bother ?

Hope this helps,
Best Regards,
Audrey Wright @ http://www.moveoutmates.co.uk/

Dr Rosalind Beck

17:00 PM, 10th February 2015, About 9 years ago

Yes, Shelter or CAB are definitely your best bet. Shelter in particular wage a war against all landlords, good and bad, so they will back you whatever the merits of your case.

Chris Spencer

0:34 AM, 22nd February 2015, About 9 years ago

Reply to the comment left by "Rosalind ." at "08/02/2015 - 19:27":

Rosalind you display a worrying lack of self awareness. When you "suffered" during your house renovation you did so presumably with some expectation of improved quality of life or financial gain at the end of it. Maria simply hoped for the comfort and service she was entitled to as a result of paying her rent, her suffering was not for gain, she was paying for the privilege! My tennents are my customers, they are paying me and I'm serious as to my obligations that come with their money ( and it doesn't make the slightest difference whether that is their entitlement via benefits or their hard earned wages).

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