Bad Landlords
No matter where you go there are going to be those annoying Landlords that just won't leave you alone.
Instead of allowing you to live your life freely, they're acting as if they just became your new parents.
Or then there's the Landlord who can never be found when you have a problem and who figure if they can stay hidden and forget about your problem long enough, you'll either just go away or you'll figure out how to fix the problem yourself - with your own cash.
Neither type of Landlord is desirable, so luckily for you there are rules in place to help protect you from both of these scenarios.
It is a limited degree of help, but anything that will help is a good thing.
When at all possible, it is usually best if you can use a letting agent when renting your property and even better if the agency manages the property on behalf of the landlord.
When an agency is the manager they generally oversee many properties and will have someone on staff that is there to take care of all the repairs and problems that will arise.
And because they're used to taking care of things on a regular basis they will have quite a list of trades that they know and trust who they can call on when needed.
Obviously this is not always possible and you might find yourself with a landlord who manages his own properties.
When this happens tenants often find themselves having to put up with incompetent tradesman or even a landlord who thinks he can do it himself to save money.
Luckily most rentals fall under the Assured Shorthold Tenancy Agreement which means that there are certain statutory obligations under the Landlord and Tenant Act 1985 that need be followed when it comes to repairs and maintenance which reads;
This does not cover fixtures such as light fixtures or any repairs that had been caused by the tenant.
If you accidentally break a window for example, you would be expected to repair that yourself.
Of course in order for the Landlord to be obliged to make the repair, he first must be made aware of the problem.
If you have a Landlord that responds to a telephone call then this will be sufficient, but if you've had some trouble in the past and you feel you need to have a record of the request - it's best to put it in writing.
Depending on the repair in question, the landlord should be given a reasonable amount of time to have the repair looked after.
Now comes your responsibility to give the landlord, and any of his tradesmen, reasonable access to your unit in order to inspect, assess and carry out the repair.
Your landlord should also be allowed to carry out periodic inspections of your unit so long as he gives you sufficient notice, which is normally 24 hours.
The landlord does not have the right to use his keys in order to gain access to your unit without proper notification unless it is a definite case of emergency.
If after giving your landlord sufficient time and notice about a repair, and he fails to have the repair successfully completed, you may be entitled to some sort of compensation.
This award may come in the form of re-decorating after repair, the cost of you doing the repair yourself, or possibly the cost of alternative living space and storage should a major repair force you out of you current situation.
Although some tenants will threaten to withhold rent until the repair is taken care of, there is no legal right for you to do this.
If the landlord is clearly in breach of the Act, you will need to go through the steps of informing your landlord what you intend on doing, and showing proof of any requests that have been made, as well as estimates on what the repairs are going to cost.
So there are ways to combat Bad Landlords, but make sure you have done your due diligence first and have everything documented.
It's never a good idea to do anything before checking out your legal rights and obligations.
Instead of allowing you to live your life freely, they're acting as if they just became your new parents.
Or then there's the Landlord who can never be found when you have a problem and who figure if they can stay hidden and forget about your problem long enough, you'll either just go away or you'll figure out how to fix the problem yourself - with your own cash.
Neither type of Landlord is desirable, so luckily for you there are rules in place to help protect you from both of these scenarios.
It is a limited degree of help, but anything that will help is a good thing.
When at all possible, it is usually best if you can use a letting agent when renting your property and even better if the agency manages the property on behalf of the landlord.
When an agency is the manager they generally oversee many properties and will have someone on staff that is there to take care of all the repairs and problems that will arise.
And because they're used to taking care of things on a regular basis they will have quite a list of trades that they know and trust who they can call on when needed.
Obviously this is not always possible and you might find yourself with a landlord who manages his own properties.
When this happens tenants often find themselves having to put up with incompetent tradesman or even a landlord who thinks he can do it himself to save money.
Luckily most rentals fall under the Assured Shorthold Tenancy Agreement which means that there are certain statutory obligations under the Landlord and Tenant Act 1985 that need be followed when it comes to repairs and maintenance which reads;
- to keep in repair the structure and exterior of the dwelling, including drains, gutters and external pipes,
- to keep in repair and proper working order the installations in the building for the supply of water, gas, electricity and for sanitation (including basins, sinks, baths and sanitary conveniences) but not other fixtures, fittings and appliances for making use of the supply of water, gas or electricity and,
- to keep in repair and proper working order the installation in the dwelling for space heating and heating water.
This does not cover fixtures such as light fixtures or any repairs that had been caused by the tenant.
If you accidentally break a window for example, you would be expected to repair that yourself.
Of course in order for the Landlord to be obliged to make the repair, he first must be made aware of the problem.
If you have a Landlord that responds to a telephone call then this will be sufficient, but if you've had some trouble in the past and you feel you need to have a record of the request - it's best to put it in writing.
Depending on the repair in question, the landlord should be given a reasonable amount of time to have the repair looked after.
Now comes your responsibility to give the landlord, and any of his tradesmen, reasonable access to your unit in order to inspect, assess and carry out the repair.
Your landlord should also be allowed to carry out periodic inspections of your unit so long as he gives you sufficient notice, which is normally 24 hours.
The landlord does not have the right to use his keys in order to gain access to your unit without proper notification unless it is a definite case of emergency.
If after giving your landlord sufficient time and notice about a repair, and he fails to have the repair successfully completed, you may be entitled to some sort of compensation.
This award may come in the form of re-decorating after repair, the cost of you doing the repair yourself, or possibly the cost of alternative living space and storage should a major repair force you out of you current situation.
Although some tenants will threaten to withhold rent until the repair is taken care of, there is no legal right for you to do this.
If the landlord is clearly in breach of the Act, you will need to go through the steps of informing your landlord what you intend on doing, and showing proof of any requests that have been made, as well as estimates on what the repairs are going to cost.
So there are ways to combat Bad Landlords, but make sure you have done your due diligence first and have everything documented.
It's never a good idea to do anything before checking out your legal rights and obligations.
