Man moving out of Leeds after three 'hellish' years of 'serious safety problems' while renting in Armley
A man claims he has been plagued by “hellish” maintenance problems while renting in Leeds, despite raising concerns for more than three years.
Tristan McKenna, 45, moved to the rented property on Highthorne Street, Armley, from London on May 2022 along with his partner and their three pet parrots.
But he claims there have been “serious safety and maintenance issues” with the property that have not been addressed while living there, despite rent prices repeatedly going up.
The property is owned by a private landlord and the letting is managed by Linley & Simpson, which said its practice was to work “in collaboration with all parties to reach safe, swift and effective resolutions to all property maintenance matters as and when they arise”.
Issues include claims of a persistent “gas leak”, water leaking from the bathroom into the kitchen and hole in the cellar ceiling, directly below the kitchen.
Mr McKenna said that he wanted to go public about his “hellish” experience because he believes it reflects “the wider concerns around housing conditions in Leeds” and “raises questions about the rights of tenants and the responsibilities of landlords”.
The 44-year-old said that, in the three years he has lived at the property, there have been persistent issues, including the bathroom “deteriorating” and the boiler breaking.
“If you have a shower paint comes off,” he said.
“We’ve had to live with that for two years.
“It took nearly two years to replace a heavily leaking window, and many other issues have either been ignored or significantly delayed.”
He also claimed a gas safety check, recently carried out, had failed due to a “growing leak” that Mr McKenna said he reported multiple times over the past three years.
“As a result, we have now been without a working gas hob for over a week,” he said.
He said he has now contacted Leeds City Council’s housing team, urging them to intervene, after being left without a working gas hob for two weeks.
A Linley & Simpson spokesperson said: “Whilst we can’t discuss specific client cases, we can confirm that as managing agent for our landlords, our practice is to work in collaboration with all parties to reach safe, swift and effective resolutions to all property maintenance matters as and when they arise.”
Another comment was provided by the landlord, who said: “Linley and Simpson are appointed on a fully managed basis and are responsible for all day-to-day management of the property. Upon becoming aware of the maintenance issues, I have requested that the necessary works be carried out as a priority.”
Mr McKenna, who said he previously served in the military and worked as a prison officer, said he had also been left shocked by crime and anti-social behaviour he had witnessed in the area. He said burglaries, stabbings and fights had all occurred near the property he was renting while living there.
“We knew nothing of the area but thought the house seemed nice,” he said.
“Then, shortly after moving in, there was a riot with baseball bats outside. More recently there was an armed robbery just two minutes from my house.”
He added: “I have never seen violence like it.”
Mr McKenna said that he and his partner were now looking at moving back to the south of England, after becoming “disillusioned” during their time in Leeds.
“The plan was to live in Leeds for five years and save money for a house but we have accelerated that and want out sooner,” he said.