Deep in the bowels of letting hell. What do we do?

We moved into our little home in February.  We did notice there was a little moisture on the walls between our en suite bathroom and bedroom, but we thought, "Heck, we'll have the landlord take care of it after we move in."

And so it began...

Firstly, there was the water that traveled down from our "moist" bathroom to our living room light switch.  Sizzle, sizzle, "Do I smell burning electrical wires?"  Hiss and lights kerplewy.  Landlord did a patch up job, but still the bathroom remained moist...and mildewy.

Secondly (and presently), we decided we could no longer sleep in a room where our bathroom continually smelled of mold.  And I was pregnant, so there was the baby's health to consider. 

The landlord brought in his trusty fix-it man, who removed our shower, took one look at the rotten wood behind (and underneath) the shower and said, "Nah-uh.  Too big for me to fix." 

The landlord then decided to have his insurance pay for the problem (though it was a pre-existing condition that could have been fixed years ago so not sure if this is legal). 

Anyhoo, that was back in June.  And we're still sans shower...and bathroom really.  The gaping holes in the wall and the fluffy insulation sticking through said gaping holes makes me think the whole bathroom may not be altogether healthy for a growing baby or just plain safe really.

So, phew, for those of you who are still with me, advice puh-lease...

1.  To kick our landlord in the proverbial butt, we withheld rent in August and offered to pay a lower rent to make up for the lack of a bathroom and the inconvenience.

2.  He has not accepted our offer (or rejected it) and hasn't given any alternate rental price.  We haven't been paying rent since August.  This bothers me...

3.  And is this legal?  I think we should be offered a lower rental price due to present conditions.  The letting agents and landlord seem content to leave things hanging, which angers me as a tenant.  What rights do we have?

And, yes, we are actively looking to get out of here, but I just came out of first trimester hell where moving really wasn't an option.

And if you're still reading this, you have the patience of Job    And if you have any really good advice for resolving this, I promise to send oodles of cyber hugs and my undying devotion.   

Signed, Weeping preggo at wits end

Legally, you should still pay the rent. But your landlord is in breach of his statutory obligations:

http://www.letlink.co.uk/letting-statutes/statutes/landlord-and-tenant-act-1985.html#S11%20ROSL

You should send him a letter reminding him of his obligations but also pay your rent at the same time. If he turns nasty and you are two months behind with the rent he can get an eviction order from the court without having to give you any notice.  In the letter tell him if he has not complied within 7 days you will take further action. Take photographs of the damage that needs repairing. If after 7 days he's done nothing, contact the environmental health dept at your local council and report him.

Hope that helps. I would also start looking for a new place, especially if you have a baby!

You should go to your local citizens advice bureau and seek some free advice. They are well versed with housing issues and can definitely help you. I would move, that guy obviously doesn't care about his property!

Thanks, guys...My husband is going to speak to the law office at RAF Alconbury.  If we get any juicy legal advice, I will pass it on.  (Nothing beats free legal advice.) 

Cool. I'll be interested to hear what they say.

Could you put the rent into some kind of escrow account - this way technically you are paying rent but the money won't be released to him until everything has been fixed.

Did you rent this place through a private rental (the landlord) or through a letting agent?  Either way if they are a member of the ARLA (Association of Residential Letting agents), you can contact this agency and they can try to help you out.  It's worth a try - good luck.

ARLA can only help you if it's a letting agent who is a member and sadly membership is not compulsory.

I did promise to keep you in the loop and let you know when things were resolved (especially for those of you who are also in the "bowels of letting hell"). 

Because my husband and I have been away so often, we didn't follow through with the law offices at the military base as we should have.  So, all this was resolved through our tenacity with the letting co.  We spoke to them regularly, and, as we lived down the street, they certainly were more than aware of us and our situation.

We did withold the rent for two months.  This is prob. not legal, as Britwife says, but it's the avenue we chose.  It may have helped that our landlord is an officer in the RAF, so, he may not have wanted to tarnish his reputation--you know, keep that goodwill between the US and UK military.     In any event.  The letting co. consulted two different legal sources, and, based on their advice, the landlord offered a reduction of 100 pounds per month since the shower was put out of service.  In June.  The letting co. recalculated the outstanding rent, and, well, problem resolved, especially since we have found a new place.  Now, the landlord can wrestle w/ his insurance co. and we can have a shower.  Phew.   

Thanks for the update (just noticed!). Glad you managed to sort things out and find a new place. I could not manage without a shower for all that time!