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Very few rights when renting in the UK. Compensation is out of the question unless the landlord is willing to provide some goodwill gesture.
Moved into a 2 bathroom place - but only 1 toilet working - compensation?
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What does OP do when Landlord replies 'No'?
Soldato
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Then comes the tricky question of, If you can only use one of the toilets out of the 2, How much money does the occupant want ?
Then starts a slippery slope and the landlord could if he wanted to, Say "eff it I want you out this is too much hassle over 1 toilet not working".
If the landlord however has said he'll fix it and simply hasn't gotten around to it then there isn't anything that can be done and morally, Wanting money for "only" having 1 toilet is beyond greedy and venturing into the entitlement child area of today's ********* generation.
God if I hear "*********" one more time I'm gonna scream. Such nonsense
I'd venture the ones saying that are the over-privileged baby-boomers that bought their first house at 22 years old and have never experienced renting in today's market.The guy paid for a two-bathroom flat. That means at some point along the way him and his flatmate decided it was worth paying a little bit more every month so that they don't need to share a bathroom. Perhaps they do shifts etc, maybe one ****s uncontrollably up the wall whenever? Either way there's no getting round the fact they would be paying more for the privilege.
They turn up and one bathroom isn't working. Not-only that but there are other things not working. You know, little things like the flippin' oven
Landlord is either [a] a money-grabbing liar or running his business unprofessionally by letting a flat out without these things working.
To be clear, I don't think demanding compensation is the best way to approach this. Unfortunately the OP has no choice but to wait, thanks to our terrible tenant's rights in this country. However, if it drags on for more than a few weeks I would be bringing up the subject of compensation to get things moving. The reason I expect he will have to do this is above, either point [a] or point .
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Is the OP paying more rent than similar properties due to the benefit of having an en-suite?
If so, then surely a fair amount would be that difference in rent.
If you rent a car and pay for a large premium car and you turn up the rental office to be told they haven't got any till next week and you're given a Corsa, would it be "greedy" and venturing into the entitlement child area of today's ********* generation" to expect to only have to pay for a Corsa?
But he does have the benefit of an en-suite doesn't he. Just because a bog doesn't flush doesn't mean you cant use it.* (Just tip a bucket of water down it after each use)
Apart from some very minor inconvenience, all other benefits of having two bathrooms are still perfectly usable.
This is why some of us older ones think the whole thing is a bit of a non-issue
*Disclaimer, I am assuming that it is the flush mechanism that is non functional rather than the soil pipe.
Indeed, we "Baby Boomers" can remember living in rented accommodation that was like the house in fight club (Yes, THAT one! Late 70's Southampton) and thinking nothing of it. So, to us, yes, complaints like this (Particularly the compo issue,) are frankly bemusing.
To use the car analogy, it isnt so much like being given a Corsa instead of the Jag, It is more like getting the Jag and finding that the glove box light doesnt work.
You're all assuming his housemate is letting him use the other bathroom 
Point is OP is paying for a facility and it hasn't been provided, with no good reason why it can't be fixed within a month. I'd be looking for a reduction in rent for the period until fixed if it took longer than 2 weeks - rent is expensive!
Point is OP is paying for a facility and it hasn't been provided, with no good reason why it can't be fixed within a month. I'd be looking for a reduction in rent for the period until fixed if it took longer than 2 weeks - rent is expensive!
Yes and even though it's been over the Christmas period, the Landlord is getting it sorted, hopefully within the month time frame.
People are replying like LL's not interested or left it for weeks...?
He spoke to LL, who 2 days later went away for Xmas, so likely told him around 20th-23rd? His post is 13th. It's 3 weeks at most. We don't know when LL got back and when he went round and started making plans. We can only guess. He might not have got back until maybe the 5th and been round by the 8th... we don't know, but it doesn't seem bad to me.
I'm not saying it's the best. I'm sure if I was OP I would want it fixing ASAP (why not within a week?) but also it's not that urgent an issue and LL is doing something about it.
It could be much worse. LL has no interest, hasn't been round, hasn't even acknowledge OP's issue, but it's not.
I'm not saying it's the best. I'm sure if I was OP I would want it fixing ASAP (why not within a week?) but also it's not that urgent an issue and LL is doing something about it.
It could be much worse. LL has no interest, hasn't been round, hasn't even acknowledge OP's issue, but it's not.
Soldato
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If the landlord does not want to hand over some of each month's rent to a letting agent, so that the agents organise getting things fixed that are reported by a tenant, it is not unreasonable to expect the landlord to give someone (friend, relative) authority to organise these repairs while the landlord is on an Xmas vacation.
Alternatively, landlord offers to give the tenant a discount on the monthly rent until things are fixed, lets say 15%.
What is not reasonable is for a landlord to expect to receive full rent, despite being informed of a problem, before landlord goes on holiday. The fact something is broken, it's Xmas and the landlord has planned a vacation is not the tenant's problem.
Being a landlord has responsibilities, one of which is that things might need fixing at times when getting the qualified repairers might well charge an extra premium, such as at Xmas.
Maybe this landlord needs a wakeup call, by the tenants moving out and cancelling the tenancy, as clearly some services advertised as being part of the rent are clearly not being met, several weeks after pointing out the faults.
Alternatively, landlord offers to give the tenant a discount on the monthly rent until things are fixed, lets say 15%.
What is not reasonable is for a landlord to expect to receive full rent, despite being informed of a problem, before landlord goes on holiday. The fact something is broken, it's Xmas and the landlord has planned a vacation is not the tenant's problem.
Being a landlord has responsibilities, one of which is that things might need fixing at times when getting the qualified repairers might well charge an extra premium, such as at Xmas.
Maybe this landlord needs a wakeup call, by the tenants moving out and cancelling the tenancy, as clearly some services advertised as being part of the rent are clearly not being met, several weeks after pointing out the faults.
No, it's more like getting the jag and finding out the gear stick doesn't work. You can drive it, but not really. It's like paying £20 for a main course in a restaurant and them not giving you the mash. Sure, it's a main course, but it's not what you paid for. We can do this for days.
Well said UTmaniac. Too many hobbyist landlords out there that forgetting they are being paid hundreds/thousands of pounds every month for a service. Our landlords pay for British Gas homecare which means we can pretty much handle issues like this ourselves; it is all covered. Granted, we only have one toilet in our house.. if that stopped working I'd be expecting a plumber out within 48hrs, probably sooner. Why doesn't the landlord just call any of the plumbers in London that provide 24hrs service? E.g. http://www.pimlicoplumbers.com/services/plumbing
Not really. Maybe, maybe like 4th gear doesn't work. You can work around it and get on fine, but it's not good. Luckily the garage has already agreed to sort it within a reasonable time frame.
Its not even that bad, Not having a gear might actually cause problems under certain circumstances.
An inoperative cistern is entirely get_around_able with only very minor inconvenience.
(A bit like having to use a torch to look in your glove box.)
It really is not a case of the second bathroom being unusable, really it isnt.
Crikey! I am in the wrong business!
PS, I bet you work for the Government! It is easy getting stuff done yesterday and screw the cost when you are spending somebody else's money!
No I don't. This is the issue with hobbyist landlords though, that everything comes down to how much they want to impact their profit every month. Unfortunately for most that comes above the priority of doing things right, and/or quickly.PS, I bet you work for the Government! It is easy getting stuff done yesterday and screw the cost when you are spending somebody else's money!