Can I hold back rent due to issues?

[Import Expert]

My wife rents a room in a small village where she is a Chiropodist. The landlord also owns the flat upstairs. Just to give a bit of context these are very old buildings probably dating back to the 1800's. A new tenant moved in upstairs last year, and it seems he doesn't clean or throw out any rubbish. He just leaves it in there with him. You can see from the windows upstairs that the rooms are full of flies and maggots quite often fall through small gaps in her ceiling near old beams, etc. It also stinks and she has to spend time before opening spraying the place. As he work involves good hygiene practices it is very far from ideal and is having an effect on her business.

The landlord had issues the tenant with an eviction notice some time ago, but appears nothing has happened. We called in the environmental agency who inspected the property upstairs and they were absolutely disgusted. They are going to arrange a team of cleaners to go in at some point. When they do, her shop will need to shut for the duration. They spoke to the landlord to see what he was doing about the problem but he told them he didn't know what to do next and hadn't started any legal process, which as we know can take time.

My question is 1) whether she can withhold some of the rent payments due until this is sorted to put some kind of pressure on the landlord to sort the problem. 2) when they will have to close for cleaning upstairs, can she withhold rent for that period and get any compensation from the landlord for loss of earnings?

Many thanks in advance for any advise you can give.

 

[Chris Ashdown]

I dont think you can just stop paying the rent, but what you need to do id TALK to the landlord and ask them what they are going to do to make your business be able to work, be it stop paying rent or maybe a rent free period or anything else
If you just stop paying the rent you lay yourself open to taken to court so please discuss with landlord and if that fails a solicitor

 

[Frank the Insurance guy]

Have a look at the terms of the lease/rental agreement. Some will have a provision in there whereby rent can be waived if the premises are "uninhabitable" (or some similar phrasing) - if it includes this type of clause, your wife would need to get some formal documentation that the premises is a Health & Safety risk etc and can therefore not be used!

Note - if she follows this route, she cannot work from the premises and will have to find an alternative location until it has been resolved!

 

[Paul Kelly ICHYB]

On a personal rental, you cannot. Regardless of the reason (except very extreme ones), you should pay the rent and fight for improvements; otherwise, you are defaulting on the lease/rental agreement.

There is no reason why this isn't the same case for business properties.

Bottom line is what the lease agreement says.

Talking is the most painful way of resolving it.

 

[eteb3]

In a lease the obligations on each side are covenants (assuming it was made by deed, which almost invariably they are). That means your obligations operate independently of the landlord’s : even if the roof is leaking, you can’t stop paying the rent, because you covenanted to pay the rent.

What you need to do in that case is pay the rent, and independently sue the landlord for damages for letting the roof leak. So almost certainly the same principle applies to your wife’s lease.

The bigger problem in this case is that on the face of it, it is the tenant upstairs who you would have to sue, not your landlord. Even if the landlord has a right to evict the upstairs tenant, there is generally nothing you can do in English law to force someone to exercise their own rights.

There may be some case law somewhere to help you a bit, depending on the precise wording of the lease. Keep paying the rent, and talk to a commercial property solicitor.

 

[MikeJ]

Before going down a legal route, I'd approach the landlord. Try to keep this polite and friendly, and explain the situation.

 

[Michael Loveridge]

As the landlord seems to be unwilling / unable to evict the tenant I would have thought the best solution might be for your wife to move to different premises. Even if the landlord does finally act, the eviction process is so so slow that it could easily be several months before the tenant actually left.

Although the legal case against the landlord is actually quite weak - a landlord isn't generally responsible for their tenant's nuisance - the landlord may not know this, and if your wife is willing to relocate it may be worth her talking to the landlord to see if they would accept a surrender of her lease.

A more aggressive approach would be to say that the landlord's conduct in failing to evict the tenant is a breach of their covenant for quite enjoyment; that your wife is therefore treating the lease as having been terminated; and that she will also be claiming damages in respect of the disruption to her business and the cost of relocation.

 

[Import Expert]

Thanks for all the replies. She has now spoken at length with the landlord, who has subsequently spoken to the tenant upstairs. The tenant has verbally promised he will move into a new premises within 2 months. The landlord has started the legal eviction process just in case and is paying for a deep clean of the property as well as a pest control company to come in (There are now rats in the rooftops running across a number of adjoining properties).

 

[Michael Loveridge]

The tenant has verbally promised he will move into a new premises within 2 months.

Never trust a tenant! Unfortunately, decades of experience in dealing with bad tenants has taught me that they will say anything that they think will help their situation.

Although the landlord is sensible to start the eviction process it can easily take six months, often far more, if the tenant fails to co-operate, so your wife should bear this in mind when considering the option of relocating.

 

[Lucan Unlordly]

The landlord had issues the tenant with an eviction notice some time ago, but appears nothing has happened.

Above from the opening post..........

Never trust a tenant! Unfortunately, decades of experience in dealing with bad tenants has taught me that they will say anything that they think will help their situation.

Although the landlord is sensible to start the eviction process it can easily take six months, often far more, if the tenant fails to co-operate, so your wife should bear this in mind when considering the option of relocating.

Couldn't have put it better myself!

 

[Gecko001]

She certainly has a good case for not getting charged for the rent for the period of the shutdown.

If possible, I would try to come to an agreement with the landlord for a reduction of the rent before the work is carried out.

 

[fisicx]

The tenant has verbally promised he will move into a new premises within 2 months.

Won’t happen. The two months will come and go and all you will get are excuses as to why they can’t leave.

 

[eteb3]

Won’t happen. The two months will come and go and all you will get are excuses as to why they can’t leave.

Quite. Tenant sounds like a hoarder, and as sad as that affliction is, a major feature is an unwillingness to deal with things.

Eviction for breach of tenancy is discretionary: if the rent is being paid on time (say by DWP), the court may consider the mental health issues make it unreasonable to order repossession.