Legal advice needed re a horrible landlord / managing agent PLEASE xx?

Im really hoping someone can give us some advice. We rented my old childhood home last year, taking out a year long tenancy and paying 6months up front ( over 拢10K with managing agents fees.) From day 8 the roof leaked on the ground floor extension, leaving 2 ground floor rooms pretty much unuesable. I even fellover on the wet laminate floor and hurt my arm badly at one point. Despite requests for help, we were told the landlord 'had no money' or 'we cant help as you paid six months up front' Eventually 6 weeks later a builder turned up ( who had attempted repairs before we moved in so the landlord knew there was a leak!) He said hed give the landlord a quote but' he wont get it done because he wont pay. Fast forward 6 months ( we also had no bath as the taps were seized and no ensuite shower as it leaked through to downstairs) and we threw our toys out of the pram, got quotes to have ALL the work done ( which we passed on) and witheld further rent to pay for this. We were threatened verbally by the managing agent, who eventually backed down and assured us if we paid up , hed guarantee to get the work done. So we did. That was January. By March we stopped paying the rent again, to get the work done ourselves which we were refused permission from the landlord. They even told us at one point theyd booked a firm of scaffolders ( which was rubbish as they hadnt even had any quotes) Then by June we'd had enough, constant threats etc etc so we moved out after 14 months. Now weve got a county court judgement ( I dont understand why )and have been summonsed to appear before the court to answer questions on Sept 12th. Im terrified, we answered the court summons and dont know why our clear mitigating circumstances were ignored- what will happen - who will be there? I cant afford a solicitor and will be happy to pay whatever a court sees as fair as an offset against the hassle and distress we went through. Our kids had to put up with our arguments caused by stress during this period - how is that fair? By the way, when I handed the keys back to the managing agent he offered us 拢1000 'compensation' if we settled up the rent without going to court. Please help, Im so upset xx Sorry its a long one xxxLegal advice needed re a horrible landlord / managing agent PLEASE xx?
Oh that was helpful Bostonia...........Ignore the comments, I'm sure with hindsight you would have got help earlier, but these things drag on. You must go to the CAB for advice immediately, ring them and make an appointment, also ring the local council and ask for Housing Dept, and see if there is a housing officer.





You have got a strong case against the agent and landlord. You need to sit down and write a full detailed account right from the first day or before, making sure you get any evidence, ie rental payments, letters, name of workmen. Set it out in a clear and concise way, try and keep your emotions out of this, I know it must be hard. It also sounds as if the agent was far from honest. Is the agent affiliated to Arla or Neae? If so complain to them, you can find the address of head office on the net. Take a look at this site, they offer free help.


http://www.123debtsolutions.co.uk/eligib鈥?/a>


Good luck.


Legal advice needed re a horrible landlord / managing agent PLEASE xx?
Stick to your guns on this one. Go to court in person and explain all this. The court will def rule in your favour. What your landlord did was illegal!!
And the reason that you didn't consult with a solicitor on month #2 is??





Your landlord is a wanker, but you've been a right plonk in putting up with this and not consulting a solicitor. Or at least the local CAB!!
As previously said advice earlier on would have been better as some of your actions won't have helped, however when you are under extreme stress and being hassled or threatened we do not always think straight and this is something you will need to make a big point of when you go to court.





When in a similar situation (except we ended up being evicted) we found Shelter more helpful than CAB. This is probably because this is Shelters' specialised area.





Have a look at the website and maybe try to get an appointment. They won't judge you and will try to help all they can. They can even help with legal costs etc.





The link below will take you to a search result on their site for articles relating to repairs and going to court.



First of all -withholding rent to force them to fix it is illegal.





Second of all - you do not need landlord permission to get it fixed if he has not done it.





the PROPER procedure is to send a certified letter stating what needs to be done. He then has 30 days to fix it. THEN you can get it fixed by a licensed contractor (with or without landlord cooperation) and take only that amount of of the rent with receipts.





It sounds like he is suing for un-paid rent which he has very right to do.





I'm very sorry for your bad situation but this is what can happen if you do not follow the proper procedures.





All I can tell you is to go to the hearing, site his neglect and hope for the best.