Where do i stand with undone repairs?

[irishcax]

I have been living in my current address for 20 months, when we moved in we were told that the dodgy kitchen ceiling would be fixed, and that a new bathroom was being put in, in june'08 my bedroom ceiling started leaking when it rained, i informed the landlady straight away, nothing was done till january, and i told her i wanted reductions off rent, for this and the other general problems that she neglected.
The work on the roof did not fix the problem however, and when it snowed, i once again had a leak, informed the landlady, and she basically said that she wasn't going to do anything, then in the last month it has been worse than ever, and i still have spores there.
To top things off, just over 2 square feet of the kitchen ceiling fell in today, while i was cooking. She is selling the house and we have to move out on may 1st, can i withhold rent fairly??

[mind the gap]

I have been living in my current address for 20 months, when we moved in we were told that the dodgy kitchen ceiling would be fixed, and that a new bathroom was being put in, in june'08 my bedroom ceiling started leaking when it rained, i informed the landlady straight away, nothing was done till january, and i told her i wanted reductions off rent, for this and the other general problems that she neglected.
The work on the roof did not fix the problem however, and when it snowed, i once again had a leak, informed the landlady, and she basically said that she wasn't going to do anything, then in the last month it has been worse than ever, and i still have spores there.
To top things off, just over 2 square feet of the kitchen ceiling fell in today, while i was cooking. She is selling the house and we have to move out on may 1st, can i withhold rent fairly??

Two things you should do:

1. Inform the Environmental Health Officer at your council offices and request a visist asap

2. In the meantime, be getting three quotes from builders to rectify the ceiling and inform LL you will be instructing best quote and withholding from rent until she pays you back. Give her 7 days to repsond and if she does not organise repairs hersel,f get them done. Unless the EHO agrees that the disrepair is so serious it makes your home uninhabitable, you cannot withold rent completely. But he can require her to do repairs whether or not the tenancy is near its end.

Good luck.

[dave2010]

What if the T can not afford the cost of repair? the rent payment may be significantly less than the repair bill.