If my landlord doesn't maintain the property can I leave my lease early? I have damp that he is not fixing.

Question

I have had damp for 2 months and I told my landlord straight away as I had a 2 month old baby. All of my clothes have gone mouldy along with many other things. He is dragging his feet and is not sorting it out. I am 6 weeks off the end of my 6 month contract. Will I still be liable for paying my rent even though he is not maintaining the property?

I have also researched on the net and found that damp can cause pneumonia, constant colds, asthma etc etc. I have a 4 month old baby living in this house, we are all ill and have been for the last 3 weeks. Surely this is grounds for us to move out on?

Answer 1

I would find somewhere else.
Your six months is up give him notice you are off at the end of the contracted period.
Dont pay him your last months rent let him keep your deposit instead.
This could go on for ever.
If you try taking him to court you will waste your money, that will drag it out.
Best thing to do is go, find a decent landlord.
It is all very well giving people rights, but when they have to go to court to enforce those rights it is a waste of time and money.
If you just stop paying your rent he can give you two months notice and the court will uphold that.
Dont pay for anything yourself. Just find somewhere else.



Further advice
You dont need any grounds to move on.
You just go at the end of your lease, which is in six weeks.
In practise, if you just go it will not be worth his while chasing you even if you had six months to go on your lease.
If you intend to take somebody to court you have to weigh up if the whole thing is worth while.
Is is usually NOT worthwhile taking somebody to court if they just go before the end of the lease.
You just go, I promise you ,you will never hear from him again, unless he is a real bully boy and then you call the police.

Answer 2

Telling someone you do business with verbally is like not telling them at all. ALWAYS make notification in writing and get a delivery receipt. If the landlord fails to remedy the problem within a reasonable time that you specify (two weeks is reasonable), you have the right to withhold rent and pay for the remedy yourself, deducting the cost from any rent owed. You must inform the landlord, in writing, that you intend to do this. The landlord should answer you in writing, if he does not, he won't have the same protection as you in court, should things get that far.

You can't get out of your lease unless the living situation poses an immediate danger to your safety. You would need some intervention by local authorities to back you up on this, such as having the property declared unsuitable for residence.

Answer 3

When I was a student we had the same problem, the damp was awful, we witheld rent but we knew no better. Luckily for us the landlord was as daft as a brush and just fixed it cos he wanted the money ...but if he had got his head screwed on he could have took us to claims court cos we didnt do it through the correct channels....maybe go to citizens advice but to be honest I would just pay up and leave at the end as its so close, if u dont pay he may chase u and then there is court costs etc and u will have that hanging over you. If u are really not happy go to citizens advice they are really helpful.

Answer 4

No I don't think so, but don't withhold rent until you've gone to your local citizens advice bureau and got them to give you some legal advice. You can phone them and get advice if you live far from one, find your nearest one by using this website: http://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/index/getadvice.htm

Answer 5

I dont think you can but you can stop paying your rent until he's fixed it. Or get 3 quotes for the repairs, get it done and take it out of the rent you pay.

Answer 6

go to CAB, citizen's advice, they shouls put you onto health and safety.