Quote from bunder9999 :

so do traditional SPST switches though, it all gets crammed into the junction box.

Arent the wires for a SPST switch inside of the box covering the switch? Then these wires run around the whole house in parralel?

Quote from Jakg :

On this forum there are lots of people with an interest in cars, and some seem to know a fair bit about mechanics.

i think this is a bit different than putting your hand over a cold exhaust pipe or trying to capture an audio sample of the sound.

the OP was posting about his issue with his rented house and the "best" way to go about getting the problem sorted.
not once did he ask how he could fix it. and why would someone have to impress you with their knowledge on rental law? is there a prize for it? will he get to make a speech at the next royal variety show?
if so, clap your mincers on this: http://www.riky.co.uk/more_inf ... Ofs_rXj4J8CFZAA4wod5x6xHA

did you know that you average 315.7678571428571 posts per month. the last few have been complete rubbish.
add something to the thread or don't post. let's try and get that average down.

Prehistorical switches. I think you should really get a new living place as soon as possible,that is truely horrible.

Quote from master_lfs.5101 :

Arent the wires for a SPST switch inside of the box covering the switch? Then these wires run around the whole house in parralel?

more or less...

http://tinyurl.com/yjf3d7f

(can't say i've ever seen a plastic box before, they're usually made of galvanized steel. yeah, that sounds real safe. :shrug

Your first call should be to the council, its not your concern if the landlord is annoyed or not, you NEED to get the environmental health officer involved. The environmental officer will issue the landlord 28 days notice to rectify the issues that he identifies. Failure to do so will void any tenancy agreement as it will be declared unlawful, giving you automatic entitlement to your deposit back. If your living conditions are seen as unsafe by him or in violation of any basic rights, he can order the landlord to foot the bill for alternative accommodation for you until such a time the property is fit for the purpose again. This can vary from county to county as its a civil matter.

Not read the whole thread, but a couple of basic points,

Every rented accomodation must have a smoke alarm, which is both mains powered and has a battery backup

A gas safety inspection must be carried out every 12 months

There are strict standards all the wiring has to conform to, sounds like most of the house is in violation of these standard in one way or another

Most tenancy agreements will have a clause in, where if any emergency repairs are required, which are defined as the landlord's responsibility, you can get it done, pay for it, and invoice the landlord for it, which they are lawfully required to pay.

Doesn't show I've had a dodgy landlord before, no?

Quote from danthebangerboy :

Any wetroom, shower room, bathroom whatever, must NOT have a conventional on off light switch in it, it must either have a pull cord switch, or if not the switch must be outside the door.

Must be some weird European thing...


Every house i've lived in has had a normal flick switch in the bathroom

If the house is in that much of a state, I'd withold the rent until they sort it out (as well as contacting the council etc, as it sounds very, very illegal what they're doing).

if you withhold the rent, you forfeit a lot of your legal rights, its the worst thing you can do from that point of view.

Document everything, take photo's, make notes, keep a record of any contact with the landlord or agent, and take it to the council. They won't take long to put the boot in.

Quote from Klutch :

Must be some weird European thing...


Every house i've lived in has had a normal flick switch in the bathroom

yeah, heat rises, you're down under. do the math

Quote from dadge :

yeah, heat rises, you're down under. do the math

lol'd

After calling the EHO this morning we agreed they would contact the letting agent to sort out an appropriate plan of action. Due to the time that would be taken to register a complaint to the gas safety board we agreed with the EHO that it would be better to get the boiler fixed by the contracted engineer and have an inspection at a later date.

The engineer has just been round and guess what, he found nothing wrong with it! As well as also rubbishing the emergency gas report as 'what they always say' (maybe he is experienced with this kind of compliant!). Obviously there was a problem with the boiler, which was observed and recorded by the emergency engineer and contrary to what the landlords engineer said, we were classed as 'at risk' and the boiler 'unsafe', and not just 'cause for concern', which is what they stick on it if the emergency engineer doesn't observe the problem.

So we're holding our breath (literally) to find out whether he has fixed it and is trying to cover up or if he genuinely hasn't found the problem. Time for a nice hot shower and then we'll have to see if we need to call 0800111999 again and return to the dark ages

Quote from dadge :

i think this is a bit different than putting your hand over a cold exhaust pipe or trying to capture an audio sample of the sound.

the OP was posting about his issue with his rented house and the "best" way to go about getting the problem sorted.
not once did he ask how he could fix it. and why would someone have to impress you with their knowledge on rental law? is there a prize for it? will he get to make a speech at the next royal variety show?
if so, clap your mincers on this: http://www.riky.co.uk/more_inf ... Ofs_rXj4J8CFZAA4wod5x6xHA

did you know that you average 315.7678571428571 posts per month. the last few have been complete rubbish.
add something to the thread or don't post. let's try and get that average down.

Seriously, about time someone told him to stop spewing hypocritical nonsense.

As for bad landlords, oh boy don't even get me started.... Toronto is full of them. (Thankfully they are supposed to be implementing licenses which landlords will be required to earn before being able to rent any property). It's been said before, but find your local tenants' tribunal/board and lodge a formal complaint against BOTH the letting agent and the owner of the house. I'm sure a call to the city offices would also help to show that you aren't fooling around and are to be taken seriously.

I had a similar situation, albeit, it was with excessive mould buildup in the bathroom walls and living room (Basement apt). Mould is toxic and I had called the landlord for 2 months straight telling him to come remove the mould as it is a BIOHAZARD. After getting sick of listening to him saying "I'll be there in a couple of days/weeks" then not showing up, I called the city and informed them of the terrible living conditions and health hazard that is present in this house. They actually sent a city inspector out within a day, who came into my apt and documented everything. I also filed a complaint with the tenant's board in addition to the city. Well, let's just say that once the city threatened the landlord with boarding up the house and taking it from him, he repaired everything.

You basically have to make sure you back your letting agent/landlord into a corner where their only choice of escape is to fix the problems. Considering the state of the electrical issues and boiler in your house, i'd say that your house is a serious health hazard as well! So if you can, maybe try giving the City a call as a first step to show you aren't f***ing around

Quote from Rtsbasic :

if you withhold the rent, you forfeit a lot of your legal rights, its the worst thing you can do from that point of view.

Document everything, take photo's, make notes, keep a record of any contact with the landlord or agent, and take it to the council. They won't take long to put the boot in.

u can actually cut off the rent by quite a bit if the house has serious problems.
not paying it wont help, as already said.

It seems calling Environmental Health has done the trick. As we arranged it on Monday they were going to agree with the letting agent what was going to be done to fix our boiler and request copies of the gas safety and electrical safety certificate within 7 days.

Calling the EHO does seem to kick them into gear, and get the manager wound up. The latest thing I've had was a missed call from the managers personal number. I phoned back 10 minutes later and he completely denied calling me, though that story sort of fell apart when I pointed out this wasn't the normal office line, so how would I have his number? I would love to know what he was obviously going to say but has now decided against.

We got a copy of the latest gas safety certificate (issued 3 hours before it was declared unsafe), and no wonder they tried to hide it from us. It lists:

Flue guard STILL not fitted
Needs a service
Corrosion in the bottom of the bolier

We had a phonecall yesterday arranging for an electrical safety check next Friday, I think that is a fairly sure sign all the paperwork is not in date and in order. Will have to dig a bit harder and back them into a corner over it.

good on you bud. keep us updated. i'd like to know if this one ends well.

Quote from dadge :

good on you bud. keep us updated. i'd like to know if this one ends well.

++

don't stop fighting with them because they make it hard, some of these scumbags tend to work that way.

Don't be afraid to really antagonise them, because thats probrably the only way forward.