Letting agent issue! (too late - look at the pictures)

It looks like they've plastered directly on top of the old original crap stuff that always crumbles instead of doing it properly by over boarding.
 
To be honest I'm off to Ibiza tomorrow, I haven't got the time or the patience to deal with the letting agent regarding the cleaning bill etc.

None of my belongings are damaged, just a good amount of dust on them.

I spent all night cleaning the living room up. 6 vaccums later and there is still some dust. But that will be fixed with a few more cleans once the dust has settled.

I just want the living room back to a good state. I don't see the point in needless legal battles to claim for money when realistically it hasn't caused me any actual damage/costs other than being at work today with only 1.5 hrs sleep last night.

I have of course emailed the letting agent advising I want ALL issues fixing while I'm on holiday next week and I want all dust/mess to be gone for when I get back. (my wife is going to follow this up with a phone call to them today) but I wanted to email them to show them the images.

As long as that happens I am happy.


P.S. I hate the mentality of lets try to "sue" for losses, when realistically I have not have any losses.

Good job that it happened in the night when nobody was in the room though.
 
Ace you do realise that looking at that picture that to do a proper repair job the whole ceiling should come down and the old slats removed and new plasterboard put up? We did this in our house and it's one of the messiest things you can do. Decades of black dust comes down and it took forever to clean up even though we taped up the doors so it couldn;t go into another room.

It was so bad the walls needed redecorating as well. I can see your loung being out of action for some time. Obviously all you possessions will need to come out and the carpets taken up as well.

I would not settle for a purely cosmetic plaster over the hole job as that is not proper repair job and it will more than likely occur again in the room.

Just my 2ps worth.
 
Well i'm glad it's sorted to your satisfaction :)

But...
Ace Modder said:
P.S. I hate the mentality of lets try to "sue" for losses, when realistically I have not have any losses.
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Well you lost a whole night's sleep clearing up the mess. You've had the stress of your ceiling falling down the day before you go on holiday. If it happened out of the blue then fair enough, it's a pain but you can cope, no probs. The point, and the reason i would be seeking compensation, is that it was entirely avoidable, and entirely their fault that it wasn't avoided.

Still, if you're happy with the outcome of the whole situation then no need to take it any further...

Anyway, enjoy your holiday!!!! :D :D
 
I know the whole ceiling needs ripping down, the contractors are giving quotes for this today.

So am I being far too relaxed over the issue then?
 
Greebo said:
Ace you do realise that looking at that picture that to do a proper repair job the whole ceiling should come down and the old slats removed and new plasterboard put up? We did this in our house and it's one of the messiest things you can do. Decades of black dust comes down and it took forever to clean up even though we taped up the doors so it couldn;t go into another room.

It was so bad the walls needed redecorating as well. I can see your loung being out of action for some time. Obviously all you possessions will need to come out and the carpets taken up as well.

I would not settle for a purely cosmetic plaster over the hole job as that is not proper repair job and it will more than likely occur again in the room.

Just my 2ps worth.
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This is true. We are renovating our house, and pulled down the downstairs ceilings which were plaster and lathe, and as Greebo says, the mess is unbelievable. honestly, until you do it you cannot comprehend how much dust it creates. Your entire house will need cleaning from top to bottom. Every single surface, EVERYTHING. And the room they are doing will need to be entirely emptied, carpet and everything. The mess from that patch coming down is zilch compared to the whole lot, trust me.

But then, i doubt they will do it that way. Most likely will be that they remove the (gloss) coving, plasterboard over the entire ceiling, skim it, then replace the coving (hopefully with non-gloss ;) ). As a tenant i doubt you can stipulate what kind of repair is carried out, but even so, given the mess that pulling it down would create, you don't want that anyway. Boarding it will be fine - the plasterboard will hold up the old plaster and lathe - i have done that in my bathroom and landing. :)
 
I wouldn't be happy tbh. I wouldn't sue but like you said earlier, one of your children could have been in the room when it fell and they could have been hurt and that would never have happpened if the agent had done their job properly.

Also, I know you say that it's only been an hour and a half of your time in the night cleaning up but why should you?

I would be fuming. I wouldn;t sue but I would make damn sure the agent knew what I thought of them.
 
Ace Modder said:
I know the whole ceiling needs ripping down, the contractors are giving quotes for this today.

So am I being far too relaxed over the issue then?
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I totally understand where you're coming from in terms of not wanting compensation. However, if it isn't fixed by the time you return a big portion of the property you're paying rent for will be useless and it will certainly take time to fix, during which again it will be unusable.

That right there is grounds for compensation in my mind, at least a portion of your rent for the duration that the room isn't up to scratch.

Of course if they fix it completely while you're away then i too wouldn't be bothered, but i would be insisting on a full fix, not a patch job.
 
Ace Modder said:
So am I being far too relaxed over the issue then?
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In my opinion? YES.

But everyone's different, you'll probably live to be 130 years old if you don't get stressed by stuff :) My family and friends used to joke that if i were any more laid back, i'd be horizontal. Maybe i've changed since then, but i wouldn't sit back while they allow this to happen by their inaction, with no comeback.

edit: Get them to pay for your holiday - since you need to move out while the repairs are carried out ;) j/k
 
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2x2m patch of plaster no longer attached to ceiling.
2x2m patch of plaster scattered around living room.

^^
 
I cant tell from the picture but has the old lath split along a joist line or is it simply a gap where two lats abut each other. If they have split, perhaps due to a joist failing along that line then that would be indicative of an additional structural problem.

The More likely issue though is that the old plaster has simply de-bonded from the lath. It’s a pretty common occurrence to be honest.
 
Careful. I received a notice from my landlord yesterday evicting us in two months. No reason stated, but to us it's obvious why, we made a few complaints about the mould in our flat and asked him to fix it. So guess he decided to kick us out and find tenants who didn't complain. There's cracks growing everywhere too.

Not the coolest letter to receive the day after your wedding.
 
newcase.jpg


LOL
 
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