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London couple's bathroom and kitchen… with no warning – Evening Standard
couple told today of their disbelief after they returned home from work to find their landlord had ripped out their entire bathroom.
Dominic Fryd and his wife Kinga, who is three months’ pregnant, were left with no shower, sink or toilet after the surprise removal job at the rented flat in Hoxton.
Mr Fryd, 29, said one week passed after their bathroom was gutted, but they heard no word from their landlord. “I’m lost for words. I didn’t know what we were going to do,” he added.
Then yesterday, they came home to find the kitchen had gone as well.
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The couple, who married last July, are renting a £700-a-month room in a converted warehouse in Hoxton Street. They said that at 10am on Monday, March 16, they received a text message from the landlord, saying it wanted to replace the bathroom.
An hour later Mrs Fryd, a 31-year-old waitress, opened the door to a maintenance worker, who stayed while she left to go to her job. When the couple arrived home that evening, the shower unit, lavatory and sink had been ripped from the tiled walls and dumped in one of the spare bedrooms, they said.
They called Garland Development, which manages the property, and were told a replacement bathroom would be fitted within 48 hours. But one week later the bathroom was still bare.
Mr Fryd, who works in IT at a City law firm, said: “We have gone to the council and Citizens Advice Bureau. Apparently while you can stop them if they are trying to rip out your bathroom, if they have already done it there is nothing you can do.
“There is some loophole that a landlord can just take out a bathroom.”
He managed to reattach the lavatory, but they had to wash at work and the gym, and in the kitchen sink. However, yesterday they returned from work to find the kitchen had also been ripped out. They have now been moved into another flat in the same building that has a bathroom and kitchen.
Mr Fryd said: “At least they have given us another flat. But we don’t know if it’s going to be temporary. We are trying to buy a place, so can’t get a contract with another flat. We are pretty much stuck here. My wife is distraught. Why didn’t they give us prior warning?”
A spokesman for Garland said: “The landlord is refurbishing and gave them another flat to use. The reason it is taking so long is that appliances are on order. These things do take time, it’s normal to have a two-week turnover. It’s a whole revamp, they are getting a new bathroom and kitchen. The landlord is doing them a favour.”
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