My stairs are ... ???

[HalfYeti]

Hello to the community, hope this is the right place to post this. Can any of you out there give advice regarding my stairs. It's a rented property but want a second unbiased opinion ... The second stair down is way too flexible, dropping an inch or so if you stand on it, and a crack has appeared in the side, which is worrying me. Hopefully the pictures will illustrate what I mean hopefully? Any help would be greatly appreciated!

Regards HalfYeti aka Andy

 

[Tigercubrider]

Looks like a joint has opened up

 

[HalfYeti]

Is it likely to cause a problem? I want to be able to point it out to my landlord when he comes round, better to be armed with a little bit of knowledge.

 

[John D v2.0]

Yes your stairs are in the early stages of falling apart. Sounds dramatic, and that fault alone probably isn't dangerous, but it'll be putting more stress on all the other joints which are presumably a similar age.
If you're handy with nails and wood you could find a way to supported it (is it visible from below or boarded in?) Or you could just leave it to the land Lord.

 

[HalfYeti]

I'll leave it to the landlord to fix the obvious problem, but am going to keep an eye on it myself and make sure it's not going to be catastrophic in the long run. Thanks for the replies all!!

 

[freddiemercurystwin]

You should contact the landlord now, even if he dismisses it at this stage, your tenancy agreement will say you have a responsibility to mention things when they occur not point it out on their next visit.