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Disrepair
When moving into a new home as a tenant, and throughout the life of your agreement, you have the right to expect that your home is maintained by your landlord. When certain things break in your home, it is your landlord's responsibility to ensure that these are returned to working order.
Any tenancy agreement you have will usually have a section explaining your landlord's responsibilities. These responsibilities include making sure the property is in good repair and safe to live in. Even if this is not actually written into the agreement the law says that it is "implied". The law says that "repair" involves the structure or exterior of a property. Examples of this are:
- The structure - walls, roof, windows, and gutters
- Installations in the property for the supply of water, electricity, gas, baths, toilets, sinks
- Installations for heating water - gas boilers, immersion heaters, storage heaters, radiators, gas fires,
- Meeting safety standards
- Following the correct procedure if he or she wants the tenant to leave
- Giving notice and arranging a suitable time with the tenant to carry out the repair
- In addition, the property should be free from damp, structurally stable and properly heated, and the kitchen and bathroom facilities should be adequate.
As a Tenants you are responsible for:
- Keeping up-to-date with the rent
- Paying the bills
- Reporting any problems with the property to the landlord and giving the landlord access, when necessary, to carry out repairs
Your tenancy agreement may say that the landlord has to repair more than just the structure or exterior, for example, fixtures and fittings and furniture. Therefore read your tenancy agreement carefully.
You cannot deduct any expenses from the rent, unless you can justify that you have spent the money to do work which the landlord had not carried out after you have given reasonable notice to the landlord .
You cannot deduct any other expenses from the rent which are not the actual cost of the repair works (e.g. money lost staying at home waiting for builders etc).
It is important to know that you do not have the right to simply stop paying rent. However, if you do and your landlord sues you for rent arrears, you can counter-sue for the cost of the repairs which need to be carried out and also for compensation for distress, anxiety and the inconvenience you have suffered.
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"As a tenant, you have the right to live in a well maintained home..."
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