BigC Posted July 9, 2008 Share Posted July 9, 2008 Here's the situation..... Nice lady from the flat below comes up to say that we seem to have a leak in our flat. (This was just before 10.30pm). Brother and I go down to investigate and find water dripping from the ceiling below where our shower is. There is nothing at our end to suggest a leak but logic and gravity suggests there must be one. Nice lady from downstairs insists we call a plumber to stop her property being damaged further. We explain that as we are tennants we can't call a plumber, it should really go through the letting agency or the landlord. She asks us to please contact one or the other tonight. We check the letting agency website and can't find any sort of emergency number, so decide to call the landlord out of courtesy to keep him abreast of the situation. Instead of a nice friendly landlord, I received some of the following pearls of wisdom..... "I don't want to call a plumber" "Can it not wait until the morning" "Why don't they just stick a basin underneath it" "What would you have done if I hadn't answered the phone" (In response to me saying that the people below are worried about further damage to the property) "Well that's what I have insurance for". Finally followed by "I'm renting the flat out because I want it occupied, but if it's going to be this much trouble.... well.... you know what I'm saying" He also seems to think that 24hr plumbers aren't "real plumbers". He said that he wanted it fixed "without a mess" and then reiterated "That's why I employ a letting agency". I explained the people below had procured his number (because other people in the stair new it - this was actually true, I didn't need to give it to them), and that the next likely course of action was that they would want to speak to him directly. (Still awaiting the outcome of that conversation). So, apart from just writing to vent my frustrations, does anyone know the legal position? I would assume that if a leak from his flat is causing damage to other properties he has an obligation to fix it immediately? Would I even possibly be right in saying that if he knew about the problem and didn't take any action and the problem was 10 times worse as a result, then the insurance may even refuse to pay out? (How funny would that be). The fact that we are probably going to have to do without a shower for the next week and the people downstairs are also heavily inconvenienced didn't seem to register with him, as he seemed to be more concerned that he was missing out on the early night that he'd promised himself. (I've been up since 5am after only getting 4 hours sleep due to working a late shift followed by an early - yet it's him that's being crabbit). General thoughts as well as legal wisdom would be appreciated. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cosanostra Posted July 9, 2008 Share Posted July 9, 2008 "What would you have done if I hadn't answered the phone" That about sums the guy up. Sounds like a tosser. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tazio Posted July 9, 2008 Share Posted July 9, 2008 Get him pumped. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Doctor Posted July 9, 2008 Share Posted July 9, 2008 The guy's a choob. Can you switch off your water supply and ask if you can shower/fill up your kettle etc. at nice downstairs lady's gaff? I'd just take her side, sympathise with her, but explain that you are really powerless due to landlord's bad attitude. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doctor FinnBarr Posted July 9, 2008 Share Posted July 9, 2008 Get him pumped. Nice lady from downstairs wants pumped too! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Acey Posted July 9, 2008 Share Posted July 9, 2008 You're obliged to give a landlord a "reasonable amount of time" (starting from the point at which you let him know there's a problem, which you have) in which to fix problems like this; it's generally accepted that a fortnight is more or less the limit. If he doesn't act, then you're looking at fairly good grounds for court action, either in the form of a specific impliment ruling (i.e. forcing him to make the repairs) or damages payable to the woman downstairs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ArmiyaRomanova Posted July 9, 2008 Share Posted July 9, 2008 It's certainly a landlord's responsibility to do something about this swiftly. But his agreement with his letting agent may devolve that responsibility to them - and you should discover what the position is when you ring them tomorrow. If it is the letting agent that's responsible, get them to send an emergency plumber round as soon as possible. If they refuse, suggest that you'll arrange this yourself and deduct whatever the cost is from your next rent payment. That should be enough to get them moving. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Walter Payton Posted July 10, 2008 Share Posted July 10, 2008 Alternatively you could post his phone number on here, and we could all take turns calling up complaining about the leaking shower- after the 20th caller he might feel more inclined to get the work done quickly. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigC Posted July 10, 2008 Author Share Posted July 10, 2008 As for the situation, the letting agency sent round a plumber, who confirmed that the tiler that they sent a couple of months ago is a useless old git who leaves big gaps in the grouting, so thankfully it'll just be a couple of days without a shower while the new grouting dries, assuming thy get a tiler up today, (hopefully a different one). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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