The flat we’re renting had the door smashed in but the landlord still hasn’t fixed it: Can we withhold rent?

A few weeks before I moved into my new apartment, the tenant told me that there had been a fire in the store below and that the front door had been broken down by the fire brigade.

We were told by the real estate agent that it would be settled by the time we moved. Lo and behold, when we moved during the day, we had a piece of plywood covering the hole and two padlocks.

The landlord says he is waiting to hear from the block management team on what to do or what to pay for insurance.

It is still unclear at the moment, but in the meantime we have had to live with a huge drought. It voids all our home insurance and makes me feel incredibly unsafe.

The agent and landlord are dragging their feet and I'm tired of it.

I've been living in the new flat for less than a month and I really like the space and have no plans to move. What rights do I have? Can I withhold rent?

Ed Magnus from This is Money answers: This is simply unacceptable behavior that not only puts your property at risk, but also your own safety.

Anyone who has any responsibility to fix the door seems to do the exact opposite.

The landlord takes no responsibility in the hope that the block management will solve the problem.

The rental agent takes no responsibility by not forcing the landlord to take immediate action.

Ultimately, the bill lies with the landlord. Their first concern should be to get the door repaired. They may worry about the insurance claim later.

We spoke for expert advice about this Nollienne Alparaquehead of the landlord and tenant department at OTS lawyers, Dan Wilson Crawdeputy chief executive of the campaign group Generation Rent and Al McClenahan founder of the Justice for Tenants support and advice service.

What rights do they have?

Al Mcclenahan replies: What a terrible and stressful situation. The good news is that there is an option available to have the door repaired.

To do this, you will need to contact your local authority's private housing team. You can find their details on the website of your municipality.

Failure to secure your front door, allowing intruders to enter the property, is likely to be a hazard for which the council could take enforcement action, forcing your landlord to rectify this.

If the municipality does take enforcement action, they will set deadlines for the landlord to resolve the problem.

If the local authority does not help, there is a procedure by which you can pay for the repairs and deduct the costs from future rent, but it is a rather complicated series of steps to follow and if these are not followed properly you would have to ultimately be able to pay for the costs of repairs and any remedial work if the landlord does not agree with the way the repairs have been carried out.

For this reason I would try your local council first, and only if that doesn't work, contact Shelter or Citizens Advice to support you with what is known as 'deductions' from the rent due to disrepair.

Nollienne Alparaque answers: More information may be needed to determine your options and position for the future, such as: did you view the property before signing the lease?

If the agents and landlord knew there had been a fire before you moved in and the agents confirmed that the fire would have been resolved by the time you moved in, this could be considered misleading and the basis on which they were convinced would need to be proven that it would be resolved before your move.

More importantly, you may need to review your lease.

There are often clauses that read along the lines of 'the rental must be stopped in any event that the property is uninhabitable or damaged by fire, etc.'.

The Fitness for Human Habitation Act 2018 is also relevant in assessing whether there is a prescribed hazard on the premises.

There are 29 things that can make the property uninhabitable. The topic of intruder entry (such as not having a lock on your front door) is on the list.

Therefore, this is clearly a problem and a hazard that needs to be addressed.

You can also contact the environmental health department of your municipality.

They can view the property and assess the problem as they have the authority to take action, such as getting the landlord to fix the problem.

Can they withhold their rent?

Al Mcclenahan replies: While I fully appreciate the desire to withhold rent, and while it may seem justified after all you have been through, I would advise you to continue paying rent.

Stopping paying rent usually puts you at risk of eviction and could worsen the situation, potentially leading to a County Court ruling.

Dan Wilson Craw adds: You are not allowed to withhold rent as this could result in an eviction notice.

But it is worth knowing that an improvement notice issued by the landlord gives you the opportunity to recover the rent through a rent payment order if the landlord does not comply.

Nollienne Alparaque answers: As lawyers we cannot advise you to withhold your rent as this is still your contractual obligation and late payment could affect your situation.

However, there are some tenants who decide to withhold their rent or part of their rent until the matter is resolved or as an equivalent of 'compensation' when renting a property that does not fully comply with the relevant laws and safety.

Can they terminate the agreement if necessary?

Nollienne Alparaque answers: You may be able to explore a mutual surrender with the landlord, that is, a separate agreement with the landlord in which you can terminate your agreement and vacate, so that you are no longer responsible for a property that you cannot enjoy and where you cannot relax can live in.

However, I understand that you wish to remain in the property.

Therefore, attention from the environmental health department or sending a letter to your landlord under the housing claims may be an option to get the landlord to resolve the problem as quickly as possible.

What if the landlord tries to evict them for complaining?

Dan Wilson Craw replies: Because you have only just moved, you are protected from a no-fault Section 21 eviction until your fixed term expires. This can be a source of concern for some tenants when filing complaints.

If you are concerned about this, you should let the municipality know. If the council agrees that the property is dangerous, they must serve the landlord with a formal enforcement notice, which protects the tenant from a no-fault Article 21 eviction for six months.

Any final words of wisdom?

Dan Wilson Craw replies: It's always worth having a paper trail of communication with your landlord in situations like this, so if you've only had phone conversations with him, it's worth sending him an email too, telling him explains what you need, and also looks at whether you can do it. Please contact the block management team directly before raising this with the council.