The Landlord

This section will outline what your landlord’s responsibilities are and how to deal with problem landlords.

Landlord’s Main Responsibilities

Repairs:

1. The house must be in good working order;
   1. All gas and electrical appliances must be checked and certificated.
   2. The equipmentand structure of the building is in good repair.
   3. Electricity, Water and Gas can be used by the tenants.
   4. Sanitation equipment, drains, sinks and toilets are in working order.
   5. There is no damp in the house.
   6. The house is capable of providing a controllable heating system.
   7. The roof, guttering, walls, windows and doors are in good repair.
2. Your landlord must have buildings insurance for the property.
3. Your landlord must allow you to have peaceful enjoyment of the property.

Problem Landlords:

Problem Landlords come in a variety of forms, below is a list of the most common behavior that would be deemed problematic;

• Removing/restricting services, such as gas, electricity or water.
• Visiting your home regularly without warning.
• Threatening you.
• Sending around workmen without notice.
• Entering your home without permission.
• Not fulfilling their contractual rights of repair.
• Stopping you from having guests.
• Forcing you to sign agreements removing your legal rights.
• Using unfair contract terms in the tenancy agreement.
• Not putting your deposit in a tenancy deposit scheme.
• Harassing you due to your race, gender, ethnicity, sexuality.

What to do when things go wrong?

• Talk to your landlord about their behavior and the issues that have arisen.
• Keep a log of all incidents that you deem to be inappropriate behavior and present it to your landlord, or retain it for later use, for example during a deposit dispute or for use in the small claims court.
• Ask your landlord to put all communication in dated letters.
• Threaten legal action, if the problems continue.
• Contact Student-Law.co.uk