Your landlord is required under law to maintain the exterior and interior of a property and to carry out any necessary repairs in a timely fashion ensuring the property meets certain basic minimum standards.
Where an issue arises, the landlord or their agent should be contacted in writing as soon as possible to report the problem. It is important to have a written record of all issues that arise. If a landlord fails to act on the request for which they are responsible there are different options available to you. You can request an inspection from your Local Authority, who in turn can issue the landlord with an enforcement order if works are outstanding. There is also the option to use the rent in lieu of repairs if the repair is urgent and/or seriously affects your quality of life. As stated above a written record is crucial if one chooses to take this step. You can also open an RTB dispute if repairs are not attended to.
Reporting your issue
You should keep copies of all correspondence in relation to reporting the problem, take photos if helpful and receipt of any costs incurred.
If you are in a fixed term lease you may also serve 28 days’ notice for breach of obligations if your landlord refuses to do the repairs. You must notify him he is in breach and give him an opportunity to rectify this breach before the notice is served.
How we can help
Threshold is on hand to write to your landlord or agent in order to bring a speedy resolution to the matter. We are vastly experienced in this area and will be able to explain how each of the options above work in practice.