Electric gone , can i send them the bill? Urgent help needed!

[onlyhereonce]

Hi,

Last week at 11pm the electric tripped. We narrowed it down to the garage electric that has our freezer in. We had no choice to put an extension lead and run it outside until the following day. We got the letting agent to get somebody out who could not find the fault as it appeared to work again.

Early this morning at 3am it tripped again. Narrowed it down to the garage and had to run the extension lead again as turning the garage electrics on just tripped the whole lot again. I went out earlier and came in, the kids wanted an ice lolly and the fridge was off. Thinking its the same trip and after looking the trip is fine. Trying various electrical items in the socket in the garage and none work , not even the light.

I called the letting agent today to be told we will have to wait until Monday for someone to come out.

Im not happy with this as i have 3 young children in the house and will have to leave both the garage door and the kitchen window open to use the extension lead. Ive told the letting agent im not happy and ive basically been told its monday at the earliest.

The contract says in the "looking after the property" section the following...

You do not have the authority to employ workmen on our behalf, if you do you will have to pay for them unless you were acting reasonably to deal with emergency repairs which we are responsible for"

Do i have the right to call an electrician out and send them the bill??

The owner is a waste of time and waits months and months to repair things (months to repair a bedroom window that wouldnt lock, and we are still waiting 2 months later to repair an overflow pipe that constantly drips by the back door)

Any help appreciated

Matt

[onlyhereonce]

To add , i need the garage electric due to having a freezer in there full of food, so to me it is an emergency.

[WestieMamma]

I would have thought 'emergency repairs' means things which affect the integrity of the building. Eg the roof blows off and rain is pouring in or a burst pipe which cannot be turned off which is flooding the house. I don't think lack of electricity in the garage requiring an extension lead to be used for the freezer would count.

[onlyhereonce]

Thanks for the reply. So what do i do then? Leave the extension lead there yet risk my stuff getting pinched from the garage as the door will be slightly ajar (who would reimburse me then??) Also , how can i sleep safely knowing that my kitchen window is open and big enough for somebody to climb into when i have 3 kids upstairs??

Matt

[BrianTheMole]

Well I would get back to them and say that unless they want to pay for your food then they need to get someone out today. Have you got correspondence with them in writing? It is fair enough that you wouldn't want to sleep with the windows open downstairs, esp with kids, or lose money on the food in the freezer. If i was the landlord I would get soneone out pronto.

[BrianTheMole]

In fact ring them, say that, then put it in writing and get someone to witness you putting it through their door with a witness statement. If they don't pay now I would claim it back off the bond at the end.

[McKenzie13]

The responsibility of the electrics lie with the landlord.

You still need to notify him about this. I would copy in the agency as well. Depending on his contract/package with the letting agency it may be that they have this covered anyway. I'm guessing not though!

One of the covenants binding the landlord on a lease is "quiet enjoyment" and "repair". In residential leases the tenant is usually liable to repair the interior of his premises and the landlord will be responsible for the exterior and the common parts.

Your remedies include:

a) damages:- for loss suffered, including inconvenience, injury to health, costs of redecoration or alternative accommodation.
b) set-off: notifying the landlord and after a reasonable time carrying out the words and deducting their cost from future rent (as in Lee-Parker v Izzet [1972])
c) specific performance: obtaining a court order requiring the landlord to carry out the workds

In your situation I would say you have the right to call the electrician. I'd notify the landlord and call the electrician if he doesn't respond. Id keep all records. When you pay him keep all receipts. When it comes to pay your rent knock it off your bill.

Happy to help.

[onlyhereonce]

The letting agent has said he is going to try and get someone out tomorrow morning. I dont know wether to stick to my guns and demand somebody today or wait till tomorrow. Fed up of renting , cant stand my landlord.

[WestieMamma]

I agree with Brian, I'd be back onto them creating a fuss. If that failed I think I'd probably look into getting a generator from somewhere. You'd be looking at around £20 to hire one for the weekend which is a lot less than replacing a freezer full of food. It's a rubbish situation to be in.

[WestieMamma]

x post

[McKenzie13]

Let the agency do their thang. In law they will be seen to have acted within a reasonable amount of time given the circumstances. I doubt you'd get hold of anyone now but if you can see if they can get an emergency electrician out, explaining your situation emphatically.

[onlyhereonce]

Im going to wait the night and if they arent out tomorrow then im going to call somebody out tomorrow morning. If my stuff gets pinched from my garage i will be beating down the door at the estate agents as i should not be out of pocket.

[McKenzie13]

Absolutely agree. Keep everything documents and get that camera out- take picture of everything before hand... just in case.

[SaggyOldClothCatPuss]

It could be that your freezer is faulty, it may be overheating due to the weather. It might not be the LLs problem. Get a circuit breaker and plug the freezer into it. Reset the trip switch and see what happens. If the CB trips off, the problem is your freezer/your problem. If the main circuit box fuse goes, the problem is somewhere else.

[onlyhereonce]

It cant be the freezer as both times its tripped ive plugged it into the extension lead and its been plugged into the kitchen socket. Both times no issues at all. It makes sense it is the garage as the garage wiring was replaced roughly 2 months ago as i keot having a belt off the electric when using the power washer and i was told the electric cable was rubbish. (she wanted us to contribute £100 towards it or she would take away the electric in the garage until i told her no way and the electric was there before i moved in)

[Lonecatwithkitten]

I would be very suspicious of the freezer too. The electrician I use at work always checks our fridges and freezers (we have a lot) when we have a tripping problem and 99% of the time he is right. The kitchen trip switch maybe less sensitive than the garage one hence why it is okay on the extension cord.
Also check your household insurance often you are covered for food in freezer in this situation.

[onlyhereonce]

Oh well , still no sign of the electrician and its only 35 mins off the 8-12 i was told. If he doesnt turn up i think the time was made up by the letting agent as to make me not call an emergency electrician out.

[onlyhereonce]

Just to update. Its fixed now , there was a little nick in the wire and the rain hitting it was tripping it.

Matt