taking my landlord to court desperate for help please read

[wayneofhull]

ok where to start this is a long winded one and maybe boring but it's ruining my life litrally please any help or point in the right direction will help* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *ok here goes so on the 6th of August 2019 my boiler was deemed unsafe and had to be cut off from the gas i called my landlord (private) and told her what had happened and what needed to be done witch was a new boiler installation her reply was for me to go tact my local council and ask for a free bpiler under the eco3 scheme but she owns 4 propertys on my street and another 2+ I know off so they refused to help and advised me it's her responsibly so that been said I told her she sent me an email with there details with a online application form and said hopefully they will sort it by winter so they told her they can* it help and refaired it to the local environmental health private sector team there involvement started 12th augest 2019 issued orders and so on for fire alarms and boiler my landlord told me to contact fire brigade for smoke alarms I did they told me it was her responsibility so I passed that on again she said it was not and call them back because i mentioned I suffer mental health and explained about the bpiler the fire brigade agreed to do them environmental health then was going to default stage with the boiler my landlord then arranged for a "plumber" to attend to fix the boiler how ever the chap come and started been very abusive towards me then left and refused to do the work so environmental health sorted it out for it to be finely fixed on the 28th of September so boiler all done finely after me and my son have been bathing elsewhere for near 2 months (6th Aug to 28th sept) but around the w3th of Sept 2019 my cooker set on fire witch the enviromental health come and ordered an electrician come and asses the electrics and I was advised the electrics sorounding the cooker was not safe as it was plugged in to an extension cable and I was advised not to use the cooker so the enviromental health started all the informal stuff to get my land lord to fix the issues so I can not eat at my home with my son so we have to eat put friends takeaways restraunts so the enviromental health team issued a cat 1 hazard improvement notice that expired 12th of December and then a 7 day notice of default that expired 19th Dec but we are now on 31st January and no repairs my landlord works for the CAB so I can not go there and I am told its a conflict of intrest for them this situation has put me in 2000 pounds worth of debt my rent has been paid other then a 13 pound per week top up (diffrence between housing benefit and rent) i suffer imense mental health and I feel so lost trapped and don't see a way out I am lumbered with all this debt due to no fault of my own because she's not done her duty of a landlord my shopping was 50 per week for food after all bills where paid i had a disposable income of about 150 but since this I had no heating or hot water so my electric bill went up for electric heaters and boiling the kettle to wash pots with ate in yo my disposable income then the cooker set up I couldn't cook a meal so my food shopping habits had to adjust and increased to about 150 per week so there's my disposable income gone and now i have a black hole of about 250 so I took a loan out in oct then the loan repayments left me with a black hole of about 350 so i took another loan out in December so as you can imagine she ruined mine and my child xmas so my black hole increased to about 450 so I took out yet another loan and now my black hole is about 600 and 2000 worth of debt this has lead to my gp demanding i be revoked by the council witch they are doing but i have to move due to all this so have to re carpet re decorate with no money so will take me years to get this hole witch is not just or fair this is making me I'll and I have had to resort to getting crisis loans witch is frankly degrading i can not afford the loan repayments now and I seriously don't know what to do i am looking at taking this to a small claims court but i have no clue where to start and I can't go CAB because she works there I have looked at pro bono places and am told i need cab to refair me I have been to my mp she refaired me to CAB I explained this is not an option to i was advised to visit vetrans hub as i am legally a vetran they directed me to CAB explained the situation they directed me to a private firm that was going to charge 150 per hour but i dont have 1.50 let alone 150 so where do i go from here to recipe some of the costs she has forced me in to if i can even recoup some of the costs i am a 30 year old single dad with no money just my mental health and I don't know what to do please someone one help direct me where to go for help against a trained solicitor for the CAB that is a slum landlord sorry for the rant

[jaguarsuk]

You need to format this into paragraphs as I'm not attempting to read it like that and I doubt others will either.

[wayneofhull]

hi thanks for your reply sadly I am fairly illiterate so bear with me and I will try and get some one to help me put within paragraphs*

[wayneofhull]

how do i edit my original post to make it a bit of a cleaner read please

[mike22861]

It is a bit quiet at work so maybe I can summarise this for Wayne.

On 6th August 2019 his gas boiler was condemned and disconnected, the landlord (Private) advised apply for a new boiler under the ECO3 scheme, this application was rejected due to the Landlord owning other properties, Landlord did not repair so it was referred Local Environmental health on the 12th August. They issued an order for boiler repairs and fitment of smoke alarms. Landlord advised contact fire brigade for smoke alarms, fire brigade pointed out is was Landlord's responsibility.Wayne advised of his mental health status and the fire brigade agreed to fit smoke detectors.

The Landlord sent a plumber to the boiler but he became abusive and refused to do the work. The Environmental health sorted the boiler on 28th September.

Sometime in September the cooker caught fire, Environmental health came and advised the electrics were unsafe, the cooker was plugged into an extension cable.
The Environmental Health team issued a Cat 1 Hazard Improvement Notice which expired on the 12th December and a 7 day default notice that expired on the 19th December. It is now 31st Jan and no repairs have been done.

The Landlord works for the CAB so Wayne cannot go there for advice. Bathing , heating , eating out and boiling water has put OP in debt of around £2000. The rent is paid by housing benefit except £13 per week which has not been paid.

Wayne is looking at taking this to small claims but doesn't know how, He can't use CAB and looking at a Pro Bono solicitor,* due to being unable to fund costs,* Wayne was told he needed a CAB referral and his MP told him to go to CAB



I have left out the emotional details for clarity they can be read in the original post.

*

[mike22861]

Under a cat 1 Improvement notice the Environmental health can do the repairs if not done by the Landlord they should also be starting prosecution. I would say initially your course of action should be to contact the Environmental Health Team and explain the Notice has not been complied with.

Part 1 of the Housing Act 2004 states that if the inspection finds any Cat 1 Hazards they are obliged to take action against the Landlord by serving an Improvement order if the Landlord fails to comply this can be enforced by the Magistrates Court where the fines are unlimited.

Also worth noting is that following the service of an improvement notice the Landlord cannot use section 21 within 6 months of service ie cannot evict you because you complained.

[wayneofhull]

thank you for the adjustment to my rant mike as for the enviromental health are concerned she's is getting the works done but the date is constantly been pushed back and back and back the I have had to complain about my enviromental health as they seem to be more on the landlords side then the side of the law how can they find a cat 1 hazard and deal with it informally but they are dragging there heels knowing I can't seek help legally*

[pigeon lady]

Hello Wayne maybe you could find a law centre who offers free help in your area? I wish you the very best.

[wayneofhull]

tha k you for your reply i have just found out that there is one awaiting a call back to see if this is something they can help with

[sloane82]

Sounds like your landlord is a bit dodgy have you taken pictures of the, property go to the council and housing associations and look for other accomodation are you ex-forces you cant be bathing somewhere else this is just wrong.