Compensation from Landlord for a burst water tank?

[Frankieola]

I moved into a house 6 months ago that is rented through a letting agent. Last month the water tank in the loft burst which meant the ceilings in 2 of the 3 bedrooms collapsed. We found out that there had been a problem with the water tank when it was put in and it had been slowly leaking from day one.
We were told it would be fixed in a couple of days and went to stay with friends however we were out of the house for a total of 3 and a half weeks before it was fit to be lived in again.
Our landlord is offering us 1 and a half months rent as compensation but I do not feel this is adequate for the upheaval we have suffered and extra expense we have incurred. Am I being unreasonable? Who can I get involved to try and resolve this and what sort of rights do I have?
Any help is appreciated. Thanks.

[ummmm]

How much is 1 1/2 months rent?

[gen2]

Three and a half weeks is nearly a month so as you weren't living there at the time, I would expect that month's rent to be waived automatically.

In effect you are being offered just half a month's rent in compensation for the disruption and inconvenience. I would have thought a little more would be more appropriate but that is up to you to agree with the landlord.

[Frankieola]

ummmm - one and a half months rent is £1125.
Redhelen & Gen2 - Effectively the compensation is half a months rent of £375 as we were not living there for a month and therefore should not be charged. The £375 seems low as it does not take into account the time I took off work to move all the furniture, The clothes that got soaked and need to be cleaned, The council tax, utility bills we paid when we werent there, Or even the money we gave to our friends who fed us and let us sleep in their spare room!!
I'm not trying to fleece the landlord but do feel the offer at the moment does not cover what we have lost personally.

[ChuckFickens]

the cost of clothes being cleaned and the money you had to pay your friend should be covered by your insurance.

[ChuckFickens]

In fact, the insurance should cover all extra expenses you have incurred. it's not the landlords responsibility to pay out for such items, that's why you have insurance.

[cassa333]

I think that 1.5 months rent is reasonable.

What do you want him to do? give you 3 months? 4 months?

Did you pay rent for the three weeks you were away? If no then you are getting a good deal.

If yes then it could still be a reasonable deal.

What you should do is get all your receipts for your EXTRA expences together that you incured for those three weeks and present them to him. If you had to pay the equivilant of 4wks rent to stay else where then it would seem reasonable that the landlord pays the extra (assuming you hadn't payed the rent for the three weeks anyway). You would have had to eat wether at home or not so a % of eating out would be reasonable expences. Laundry bills or maybe even extra travel costs would also be reasonable.

But remember not to be GREADY in what you expect. Your landlord has seemed to be reasonable about this and has on the face f it made an adequate offer. Don't be an arse and demand too much and think you should reap a fortune just because you were put out for a while.

Life happens.

[cassa333]

Sorry I was writing as the others were posted.

£375 is adequate compensation. Your insurance company should replace your belongings etc. The 1 months rent (plus the half month) back should cover living elsewhere for that time.

[bednobs]

have to say i agree that this seems a reasonable offer How much did is actually cost you? if you work that out then you should have your answer

How much in wages did you lose, not being at work?
How much rent did you pay your friend?
don't you clean your clothes anyway, or did you have to spend much extra on cleaning bills?
Surely you weren't using electricity/gas when you weren't there? but if the electricity and gas were used when you weren't there, how much did it actually cost? 3 weeks actually cost?
how much did your friends charge you?
How much was your insurance excess paid?
Anyway if you write all that down (with receipts if appropriate0 and it comes to less than £1125, then you are getting a good deal (in my opinion)
If you had your own house and it happened, no-one would be giving you compensation for the inconvenience - so i don't really see why your landlord should. He should cover your out of pocket expenses though

[Twenty20]

Legally, the landlord would be expected to find alternative suitable accommodation for you, at his expense, if the property you rent is uninhabitable. If you have found accommodation by staying with friends and the landlord is offering you a refund then it is all he needs do.

What the landlord has offered seems reasonable to me. Claim on your insurance for anything else - although, given that you want to claim everything you can off the landlord, I'd hazard a guess that you're not insured.

You say you don't want to 'fleece' the landlord, but then you mention claiming your council tax payment off him, along with everything else? How on earth do you think he'd be liable for your council tax?

[Frankieola]

Thanks for all your suggestions, The fact of the matter is that we are being offered 1 and a half months rent but are still expected to pay for when we were not living in the house, So effectively we are getting £375.
I take on board what you all say but to me this doesnt seem right! Just seems to me that if the landlord offered me that money up front to go through what we have I'd tell him to shove it! I dont want a lot more, but as an example if I'd known he was going to take so long to sort it I would have got him to put us up somewhere else, We stayed at a friends because we were told it would be a couple of days and the extra fuel cost on my journey to work was £15 a day, it soon adds up!
I think he should offer us a months rent as compensation, so that would be 2 months to him. He's getting his rent paid by his insurance so I dont see that I'm being unreasonable.

[bednobs]

well then all you can do is haggle with him. Things do take time, and again i assert that if it was your own house, no-one would be giving you compensation for the awkwardness of it all.
Out of interest, how far away did you friends live? £15 extra per day for petrol seems loads (for example in my smart car that would be about 200 miles PER DAY!) However, as i also said before, you need to add up all these extra expenses you had and work out how much they are and expect that amount. Make sure you are accurate. For example, if you really did spend £15 extra a day on petrol, provide reciepts. As for extra for the hassle, a certain amount of inconvenience comes with life i'm afraid :)
Regards to council tax, you pay it wherever you live, so unless your friends charged you for part of the council tax while you were there and you can prove it by having a reciept from them, i don't think you can ask the landlord to pay

[cassa333]

Wow £15 a day extra for petrol. Are you over egging your case?

As said by numerious posters, true out of pocket expences would be reasonable to ask for. TBH I think he has offered this already.

Mind you as an aside.. if you paid your friend to put you up then pay them out of the months rent he is giving back.

You want 2 Months rent as compensation!! you are fast loosing my sympathy.

[Frankieola]

I dont want 2 months rent as compensation! in total it is 2 months but he is expecting me to pay for the month i wasnt living there, so that works out as one month's compensation, He is offering 1 and a half (half a months compensation), i want 2 (one months!) i've stated this a couple of times now but you all just think I want 2 months in total, I dont think its unreasonable! As for the fuel, yeah its 45 minutes each way on the M11 and I drive a big (company supplied and no choice about it) car, but what am i supposed to do, drive a Smart car or ride a bike so that it doesnt cost that much?!!

[bednobs]

smart cars are great :)

Anyway, you still haven't said if your out of pocket expenses have come to more than he is offering you?

[cassa333]

Proove your out of pocket expences to him and see what he says.

[boxtops]

Your first step (if you haven't done it already - and you should have done it immediately) is to contact your contents insurance company - you may have cover not only for your damaged items but for other aspects of this claim. I do think your landlord's offer is reasonable though - it's not his fault that you have had to move to stay with a friend so far away. Suppose you had no such friend/ The landlord would have had to put you up in B&B or make some other arrangements (surely). You'd be paying the council tax if you were not there (same as if you were on holiday) so I think that's a unfair gripe.
Look at your tenancy agreement - does it say that the rent is suspended if the premises are uninhabitable?
If you are dissatisfied go to the CAB or a solicitor - but you risk spoiling your relationship with what, to me, seems a pretty fair landlord if you keep fighting for more. IMO.