Tenancy rights

[Factfinder]

My daughter and 2 friends have just moved into a student let and the landlord has not repaired a broken window amongst other things he said he would do before they moved in. To top it off the house is rat infested. The landlord has sent his own pest controller round who has caught one rat using a sticky board. They are living in fear;daren't use the bathroom and toilet not to mention the kitchen. The landlord must have known about the problem because the pest controller said he had caught 3 rats in the premises downstairs in the days before they moved in. The landlord/studlets are not taken their plight seriously and they have been told as tenants they have few rights. What can we do?

[bednobs]

if they are too frightened to use the loo, what do they do when they need a wee? Does the broken window posr a security risk? They should write to the landlord asking him to do the work

[jackthehat]

Have they contacted the Student Officer at the College?

They take an extremely dim view of the squalid conditions some students find themselves in and may be able to offer a great deal of support and advice.

[ubasses]

Tell the landlord if he does not clear the problems they will telephone environmental health.

[Mamyalynne]

http://england.shelter.org.uk/

They are very good at outlining your rights .

[Factfinder]

They have been told they may be coming in through the bathroom which is at the end of the kitchen and have been told to keep an eye on the skirting boards because they may gnaw through them - very reassuring. The boarded window I don't suppose is a security problem but is very cold which is the main point and the weather has not turned yet. They spoke to an accommodation officer who said they have few rights and they have given a full list about a week ago of what needs doing. The odd-job man said he put a quote in for the window about 2 months ago. They are going to write a formal letter and have taken photos. This should not be a necessity-is it because they are 'only students'?

[Factfinder]

Thanks mamyalynne; that gave useful advice and says if the property is furnished and the problem was there before you moved in you may be able to be released from the tenancy and move out. It then gave an address to where they can go for advice on that so that has cheered them up a bit tonight. Thanks again

[bednobs]

probably not - some landlords are just rubbish. When i was renting from a crap one, i got some quotes to repair our broken window, gave them to the LL and told her that if she liked i could just get it done and take it out of the rent. That soon shifted her arse to get it done (not that i would recommend actually witholding the rent in lieu of repairs - i just gave her the option)

[Messalina]

If they have signed a tenancy agreement, they have rights. One of them is to write to the landlord asking him to fix the window within a month or they will have to pay someone else to fix it & deduct the cost from the rent. Worked for me when the heating broke down.

[Factfinder]

Thanks Messalina, the LL is still stalling today