Here's the story

A guy I shared a flat with recently moved out into a 2 bed flat in an old highstreet town house. At some point over the last 20 years the house was coverted into 3 flats and 2 shops. Taken at face value these are large well presented flats however and this is where it gets interesting, a friend of mine recently looked at bying this flat and had an offer of £84,000 accepted (arm bitten off).

Dispite my advice to hold out for at least a year, he was keen to get on the ladder and ploughed ahead and got a full structural survey done, the best £400 pounds he will ever spend. This survey showe up a multitude of faults including the following:-

Unstable/unsupported chimney
Asbestos, in poor condition a likely to be a danger
Damp, caused by an unventilated wet room and leaking internal drains
All widows were rotten and painted closed
Access to the roof was not possible as the access was nailed closed but the roof looked like it needed work
Stairs to the 'loft conversion' were did not meet building regs
And, in the surveyors opinion, the conversion to flats did not meet regs.

The survey said in his opinion it was only worth about £70,000 and required around £40,000 of work. His final words were to stear clear as the place is a death trap. Thankfully he has but, and this is the real question, do you think my ex housemate has good enough grounds to cancel his tenancy agreement and move out? And more out of curiosity should the letting agent be aware of its condition before they let it.
I was going to put a link in to RM but not sure how I would stand legally.

If he desperately wants to get out of this then take the report along to his local council - or threaten the letting agency with this if they create a fuss about cancelling the tenancy.

More details here:

http://england.shelter.org.uk/advice/advice-6334.cfm

It sounds like it is not fit to rent out.

The Enviromental Health Office at your local council is resposible for determining if a house is unfit for habitation, report it to them and they will take action...

Also a Landlord has a legal duty of care towards their tenants

Those look to me like surveyor-covering-bottom points.

Really not isues in a short term rental. Probably items that a Landlord needs to consider over the next few years.

They probably did 20 years go when they were converted.


Why does your 'friend' think he is justified in breaking a contract by leaving?

Because a contract with a landlord is not worth the paper it is written on

If all the windows in a flat I was renting were painted shut then I would bloody well whack them all until they opened. It the rotten frames were damaged in the process I would expect the LL round asap to have them replaced. If he didn't he might find some bricks through his.

He is considering leaving because he is entitled to quiet enjoyment of the property he is renting. You tell me if you could sit comfortably, quietly enjoying your residence with the fear of the chimney coming through the roof, filling the room with asbestos, not being able to escape through the sealed windows.

As it is the LA had relocated him and is now refusing to let the property. Thanks to some of the informed advice and links given in the earlier posts.

Damo