Little Professor Posted June 20, 2007 Share Posted June 20, 2007 I've been renting my current place for around 18 months now, planning to upgrade to a better place soon. However my LL is a lawyer and quite greasy, and I suspect will try to hang on to my deposit, so I'm trying to gather ammunition to fire back. 1) Does a rented property have to have access to its own fusebox? My flat is above a shop and the shop has the fusebox in it. The connecting door between our flat and the shop is kept locked, and I have no key. So if a fuse blows out of hours, I need to wait till next morning to untrip it. It's only happened twice so far, so it's not really been a problem to me, but is it legal? 2) My LL has never arranged any inspections of the gas appliances in the flat the whole time I've been there. Is this an offence? 3) I signed no inventory. The flat is furnished, and some of the minor stuff (cutlery/plates etc) will be missing or broken (although I will be leaving a lot of my stuff behind which should more than cover it). Can he chase me for the cost of the replacements or stains in the carpet etc if he has no signed inventory? I don't want to give the wrong impression, I haven't trashed the place or anything, In fact I've made significant improvements to it out of my own pocket, but I've a feeling the greasy LL will try to screw me over. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mrx998 Posted June 20, 2007 Share Posted June 20, 2007 (edited) A gas safety inspection should be done at least once every 12 months. If none has been done then the landlord has committed a criminal offence. Threaten to contact the Health and Safety Executive if you need to. He can either be cautioned, fined up to £5000 or even imprisioned. No inventory means no deductions from the deposit! Edited June 20, 2007 by mrx998 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FirstPost Posted June 21, 2007 Share Posted June 21, 2007 If the fusebox is in the shop below where is the electric meter? Have you have made sure you are not paying the shop's electricity bill as well as your own. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Little Professor Posted June 22, 2007 Author Share Posted June 22, 2007 If the fusebox is in the shop below where is the electric meter? Have you have made sure you are not paying the shop's electricity bill as well as your own. Gas and electricity bills cover the whole premises, and we split it in half with the shop. That works out quite a good deal for me actually as I'm sure I use more power than the shop, so they are subsidising me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FirstPost Posted June 23, 2007 Share Posted June 23, 2007 Gas and electricity bills cover the whole premises, and we split it in half with the shop. That works out quite a good deal for me actually as I'm sure I use more power than the shop, so they are subsidising me. Good to hear - shows what a cheapskate your LL is though not sorting this out in the first place - and it may not be so satisfactory if the shop was to become a bar or sun tanning clinic with increased energy use. Also I'm not certain what the utilities would make of this - at one time wasn't it illegal to sell things such as water, electricity onto a third party which is effectively what is happening in this situation? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dragonfly Posted June 23, 2007 Share Posted June 23, 2007 My LL's are relatives who rent us their flat under a verbal agreement for as long as we need it for £430 per month in cash. Just prior to us moving in they had the flat valued at £150K [ we declined to purchase due to poor condition and gross over valuation ]. Now 4 years later they finally want to sell. An identical flat nearby in an identical condition and situation has just sold [asking price £145K]. We need the flat for another year, but LL's are putting us under pressure. Can we refuse to move out - anyone know ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
southsea13 Posted June 23, 2007 Share Posted June 23, 2007 My LL's are relatives who rent us their flat under a verbal agreement for as long as we need it for £430 per month in cash. Just prior to us moving in they had the flat valued at £150K [ we declined to purchase due to poor condition and gross over valuation ]. Now 4 years later they finally want to sell. An identical flat nearby in an identical condition and situation has just sold [asking price £145K]. We need the flat for another year, but LL's are putting us under pressure. Can we refuse to move out - anyone know ? Dig your heels in - there are loads of ways to do this. BY the time they figure out how much grief it`ll cause, the LL will probably let you stay. Just be ready for loads of solicitor`s letters etc etc etc Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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