Letting agent says it isn’t their problem, what now?
Posted by browntape1234@reddit | AskUK | View on Reddit | 12 comments
I rent a top floor (3 levels) flat in London. The communal hallway light has been out of action for a few weeks now - and because it’s in the middle of the building it’s pitch black. The letting agent says it isn’t theirs or my landlords responsibility and instead it falls on the leaseholder to repair. There is a leasing agreement between my landlord and the leaseholder.
I have no way of contacting the leaseholder as all communications must pass through the letting agent.
It’s now a huge health and safety issue to navigate 20+ stairs in the dark, relying on a phone torch.
What are my options and avenues to get this resolved? Is there a council department to speak to? Citizens advice? All suggestions welcome.
PS - the letting agents are absolute morons
PublicOppositeRacoon@reddit
NAL: first thing is tell letting agent you need the landlord to report this to the freeholder. Is there a management company that runs the building? If so contacting them might help as it can be a h&s issue.
I think a nuclear option would be contacting the fire brigade, if the route is a fire escape and incorrectly illuminated then they can leverage the freeholder / management company to sort it out.
RoyalyMcBooty@reddit
Contacting the Fire Brigade would be "semi nuclear"
Setting fire to the building and then telling the Fire Brigade "whilst you're here...could you fix that light". Now that's nuclear!
PublicOppositeRacoon@reddit
I like the moxy, however arson isn't exactly legal and therefore would be bad advice!
blind_disparity@reddit
It's like Robin Hood. It's illegal, but for a good cause, so you're kinda a dark hero.
Think-Committee-4394@reddit
👆this OP- the fire brigade can start a fire under the building management
& will have ways of finding out who to push
abfgern_@reddit
Presumably not a literal fire, the fire brigade doesn't like those
browntape1234@reddit (OP)
Great idea. I’ll look into what constitutes a correctly operating fire escape route. My feeling is it will fail because even the green guiding lights aren’t working.
PublicOppositeRacoon@reddit
If the guiding lights aren't functional then I would certainly start by calling your local fire department.
MDK1980@reddit
If it's a managed property (i.e. you have to go through the agent for everything, and not the landlord), they HAVE to contact to the building management team.
As an aside, I have the same issue where I live where I have to contact my agent for everything, even though contacting the building management team would be quicker, even for the most basic things. Perfect example was requesting a key fob for the gate when we moved in. Reached out to them, wouldn't even answer my question because I wasn't the agent or landlord. Agent told me to just ask again and CC him in, so I did. Again refused. Only when he mailed them and CC'd me in did they give me an answer.
Grouchy-Nobody3398@reddit
You need the landlord to report it to the freeholder or their appointed management agent (your landlord is the leaseholder) .
In our old flat there was a notice board with the management agents details in amongst the insurance certificates and site rules. Failing that if any of the flats are owner occupied the owners will have their details.
browntape1234@reddit (OP)
Yes you’re right - corrected my wording to differentiate between my landlord and freeholder - thankyou :) It’s a classic situation of a letting agent, running a flat on behalf of a landlord who doesn’t live in the country - so transparency is nil :(
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