Sash window stuck, won't open. Who is responsible for the repair ?

[Enzo]

My wife and I are currently renting a ground floor flat in a period house.
We are expecting a baby and would like to use one of the rooms as a baby room.

The problem is that the only window in the room is stuck and won't open. It is a sash window which has been painted all around and has always been stuck since we moved in.

I wrote to my landlord asking to have it repaired as the room does not have any other mean of ventilation, and she replied the following :

"We do not consider the opening of the window in the bedroom to be a repair. It is shut for security reasons. However we do not mind if you arrange for it to be opened. It will need to meet security standards ie. 2 security locks, Chubb or equivalent, as follows
i) a sash window lock to keep the window closed and
ii) a sash window stop to enable the window to be locked when open."

I do not think I am being unreasonable asking for our windows to simply open and close properly, and I cannot see why we should pay for the repair ourselves.

Does anybody know who shall be responsible for such repair and how I shall convince my landlord to have this sorted ?

Thanks in advance

[mind the gap]

I do not think the landlord is legally liable unless it is an HMO and the window is a fire escape, which is probably not the case here. He will reason that you accepted the tenancy having viewed the flat and that you should have raised any concerns about disrepair on viewing, and negotiated about them at that point, not after you had moved in.

Having said that, it seems a reasonable enough request to me and if I were your LL I would pay for the window to be freed up and the locks fitted. You could even do it yourself with a modicum of DIY know-how. It's not very difficult.

[westminster]

"We do not consider the opening of the window in the bedroom to be a repair. It is shut for security reasons. However we do not mind if you arrange for it to be opened. It will need to meet security standards ie. 2 security locks, Chubb or equivalent, as follows
i) a sash window lock to keep the window closed and
ii) a sash window stop to enable the window to be locked when open."
I believe it is the LL's repairing obligation under s.11 Landlord & Tenant Act 1985, because a window is a structural component, and a sash window is clearly intended to open and close, just as the front door is intended to open and close. See this link (http://www.letlink.co.uk/letting-factsheets/factsheets/factsheet-11-landlords-repairing-obligations.html).

To argue that it is painted shut 'for security reasons' is ridiculous. Getting LL to agree is quite another matter. However, as MTG says, it's a fairly simple DIY job to fix.

See also this link (http://england.shelter.org.uk/get_advice/repairs_and_bad_conditions/repairs_in_private_lets) for general advice on how to deal with landlords refusing to do repairs, albeit I don't think it's worth pursuing this to the bitter end when it's such an easy thing to sort out. Save the big guns for major disrepair.

[Lawcruncher]

My father was a carpenter and joiner and, like all carpenters and joiners, regarded painters as his intellectual and social inferiors. A common complaint was that painters did not take the necessary precautions when painting windows to make sure that after being painted they could be opened. He was always having to go round to "ease" them. It is not too difficult to ease a window if you know what you are doing.

http://www.ultimatehandyman.co.uk/forum1/easing-windows-t9534.html

http://www.edinburgh.gov.uk/internet/Attachments/Internet/Housing/Private_tenants_and_home_owners/Homeworks/Homeworks%20leaflets/caring-for-your-sash-case%20(historic%20scotland).pdf

http://books.google.com/books?id=6huHRNMyNHIC&pg=PA54&lpg=PA54&dq=easing+windows+paint&source=bl&ots=rRCYu5tu6U&sig=XjVpNd2-ZjgZtIa09RqLPIdGDfA&hl=en&ei=gk0yTKfZHZ-HOOmY2PkB&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=9&ved=0CDMQ6AEwCA#v=onepage&q&f=false

http://www.openingdoorsllc.com/2009/11/17/eliminating-drafts-and-easing-sticky-windows/

[Mrs Dingle]

Is the bedroom next to a kitchen or other source of fire? To leave the room would you have to go through a fire hazard room i.e. kitchen . If so, it has to be a fire exit. Hope this helps

[mjbfire]

I guess I would do it, just as customer service, but it depends on how many other requests the T has made(Silly or Not). Is it the end of the world, NO, will it cost much, NO. Can you live a normal life in the flat without it being done. Yes. Also is it a repair if it was closed for a purpose, and you moved into the flat that way.
To keep a good relationship with you LL, I suggest you just do it yourself.

[Enzo]

Thank you all for taking time to post a reply.

I would have been happy to do the repair myself, but according to my tenancy contract I am supposed to get the consent of my landlord in writting beforehand.

Anyway, I offered to have a look at it myself, and she finally decided to send her handyman to do the job, so problem solved :)

[kachanski]

My wife and I are currently renting a ground floor flat in a period house.
We are expecting a baby and would like to use one of the rooms as a baby room.

The problem is that the only window in the room is stuck and won't open. It is a sash window which has been painted all around and has always been stuck since we moved in.

Of course if the window was made to open & shut it should. Glad you managed to sort the problem.

Is it just me though or did the Landlord have almost a point with the security issue. Sash window on the ground floor sounds like an invitation to unwanted animals or humans to me.

[mind the gap]

Of course if the window was made to open & shut it should. Glad you managed to sort the problem.

Is it just me though or did the Landlord have almost a point with the security issue. Sash window on the ground floor sounds like an invitation to unwanted animals or humans to me.

Yes, but he would have more of an issue if a fire broke out and the occupant of the bedroom could not get out of the window quickly and safely (not to mention a less serious, but valid issue, with mould and condensation if the bedroom could not be properly ventilated.

It is perfectly possible to fit window locks to sash windows which enable them to be left open for just a few cm at the top, or fully by turning the key from the inside. It would have to be an extremely emaciated animal to get in through a gap that small. The only risk with that is that if the window is the fire escape, it's not ideal to have to find the key in an emergency. We keep ours on a string out of sight behind the curtain, but attached to the window frame.