Don’t let shady landlords off the hook!

by John Fitzsimons on 01 November 2009  |  35 comments
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Tenants have plenty of rights, but not all landlords respect them as they should. Make sure you don’t let them get away with it!

My only experience of renting took place while I was at university, when a group of friends and I rented a pretty dismal flat for two years.

The door to the kitchen had a large hole which I can only guess had been kicked into it (it took about a year to get the landlord to replace it), and it wasn't in the best shape when we moved in. My poor parents worked their socks off in helping me getting my room inhabitable.

Those memories, of a landlord that perhaps wasn't as professional as he should have been, came flooding back when I saw a question on Q&A from lovemoney.com reader meropis last month, who has had all sorts of trouble with their landlord, from delays in carrying out maintenance on the property, to failing to follow the law in respect of meropis's deposit.

An unfortunate trend

Meropis is far from alone in encountering difficulties with landlords. The Property Ombudsman last week revealed he had received an average of four calls an hour complaining about letting issues over the past quarter.

To put this in context, the Ombudsman is now investigating 79% more lettings cases compared to the same period last year.

So today I'm going to outline what your rights as tenants (and your duties as landlords) are, and what you can do if your landlord is failing to deliver.

The Tenancy Deposit Protection Scheme

Two years ago, a law was introduced which prevents landlords and letting agents from unfairly withholding a deposit (typically over disagreements over the condition of the property when the tenancy comes to an end).

Basically, when you begin a new tenancy and hand over your deposit, the landlord or letting agent has 14 days to place the money into a protection scheme, and inform you of how the deposit is protected, as well as details of who is running the scheme and how to apply to get your money back.

If your landlord is not doing this - and reader meropis faces this exact situation - then they are breaking the law. You can appeal directly to your local county court for the money to be returned or placed in a suitable scheme, while the landlord can actually be ordered to repay three times the deposit to you if they are found to have failed to protect your deposit.

Property maintenance

Another problem meropis has faced, and one that's not uncommon for some tenants in the UK, is a failure to provide sufficient property maintenance.

If the property is in a real state of disrepair, then you can make a claim as a tenant. However, a brilliant piece of advice provided by fellow user time2go is well worth highlighting here - there are protocols you need to follow if you want to make such a claim.

Full details of the protocol can be found on the Ministry of Justice website, but below I have summarised the main points.   

• The first stage is to send a notification letter about your claim to the landlord (Early Notification Letter). This should detail the problems with the property, highlight any previous correspondence where the landlord was informed of the defect, and the proposed expert to corroborate the problems with the property.
• The tenant should then send the landlord a Letter of Claim, highlighting, among other things, the effects of the defect upon the tenant and details of any 'special damages'. If you do not send an Early Notification Letter, then it should also cover what that letter would include.
• The landlord should respond within 20 days to the first letter they receive. This letter should include all relevant documents (such as a copy of the tenancy agreement), a response to the tenant's claim for an expert, and whether the landlord accepts liability for the defect.

• Failure to respond within the 20 day time period will be viewed as a breach of the protocol.

Other landlord duties

The job of a landlord is not an easy one. A landlord is responsible for the following:

• Repairs to the structure and exterior of the property,
• Repairs to heating and hot water installations, basins, sinks, baths and other sanitary installations
• Ensuring gas and electrical appliances are safe
• Ensuring furniture and furnishings provided under the tenancy are fire safe
• Ensuring that the property is fit for habitation
• Repairing and keeping in working order the room and water heating equipment
• The common areas in multi-occupancy dwellings

They are also subject to all sorts of bureaucracy and red tape which doesn't make their lives any easier.

New rules implementing a national register of landlords are also due to come in, though the National Landlords Association has highlighted that as the four countries of the UK each plan to implement the rules in a different way, it's questionable whether it will succeed in its stated aim of getting rid of rogue landlords.

While there are undoubtedly some pretty dodgy landlords, most do a great job, and deserve praise and support for carrying out an invaluable service.

Your responsibilities as tenants

As a tenant, you have responsibilities too of course. You are obliged to pay the rent as agreed, take proper care of the property, handle gas and electricity bills (so long as this has been agreed with the landlord) as well as paying things like council tax and water charges.

It's very important that all sides in a rental agreement are fully aware of their responsibilities and rights. I would certainly recommend having a proper scout around the Directgov website, which has heaps of very useful information for both tenants and landlords.

The crucial thing is that if your landlord (or tenant) is not holding up their side of the bargain, there are avenues you should explore for that will force them to meet their responsibilities. Don't stand for a shady service!

Get help from lovemoney.com

If you are considering becoming a buy-to-let landlord, and want to get up to speed on what you should be doing, why not adopt this goal: Become a buy-to-let landlord.

And whether you are a tenant, prospective landlord or current landlord, why not check out the Q&A section for tips on what you need to know, or even to ask a question of your own!

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