Housing Disrepair – tenant’s responsibilities
Tenants also have responsibilities towards the home they occupy and any repairs and conditions in that home.
These are :
- Maintaining the home in a reasonably clean manner
- Carrying out safety checks on any appliances they own
- Looking after gardens/outside areas in a reasonable manner
- Take care of any minor maintenance such as changing light bulbs or smoke alarm batteries
In order to be able to make a claim should need be, the tenant must ensure they report any disrepairs to the landlord as soon as possible using more than one form of communication and also keeping records of every notice to the landlord.
If no response is given from the landlord within a reasonable time, the tenant can consider chasing up the landlord, complaining to the council (if applicable), or looking to take legal action to get compensation for any damages.
My social landlord ignores my complaints, what can I do?
Before anything, it is worth having a formal discussion with the landlord about why they are ignoring the complaints. The tenant should ensure they take notes of everything being discussed. If that has no success, there are ways in which a tenant can get the landlord’s attention :
– Making a formal complaint by way of writing a letter to the landlord; include any issues there are, any action expected from the landlord and all the proof of communication between tenant and landlord
– Complain to the council by writing them a letter outlining the issues at hand and any attempts to contact the landlord in relation to these issues.
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If you live in a rented property where there are cracks, damp, mould or leaks which have caused you to suffer or has exacerbated any health issues or have caused damage on the property, then you could be entitled to compensation. At NNE Law our personal injury solicitor will guide you through what is needed to file a claim and advise you on what would be included when it comes to out of pocket expenses.
This could include:
- General damages
- Travel Expenses
- Medical expenses
- Loss of earnings
- Loss of anticipated earnings
- Care claim