Skip to main content

Renters Rights - To live in a property that’s safe and in a good state of repair

Renters Rights - The right to live in a property that’s safe and in a good state of repair 



As a tenant renting a property (or a room in a shared property), you have the legal right to live in a property that is safe and in a good state of repair.

All private rented properties in England and Wales, must meet the minimum legal health and safety standards, as well as complying with gas, fire and electrical safety regulations.

The property you live in must be safe and free from health and safety hazards, such as:
  • damp, condensation or mould 
  • inadequate water supply, including no hot water
  • broken windows 
  • blocked or leaking gutters, drainpipes and sewers or a leaking roof. 
  • Pests or vermina
  • faulty electrics 
  • non-serviced gas appliances or appliances that have not been serviced or maintained in a while. 
 Your landlord has the responsibility to: ·
  • Make sure that all gas appliances provided in the property are safe to use. The landlord should arrange for all gas appliances to be checked every year by a registered engineer who is qualified to work legally on gas appliances and must give you a copy of a gas safety record before you move in to the property and within 28 days of each annual inspection; 
  • Make sure that any electric appliances provided in the property and any wiring, are safe to use when you move in and throughout your tenancy; 
  • Comply with fire safety requirements, which includes providing smoke detectors, and in some properties, carbon monoxide alarms. Landlords of houses in multiple occupation (HMO) have to comply with extra fire safety laws; and 
  •  Make sure that any furniture and appliances supplied by the landlord are safe and fit to use.
 As the tenant, you have the responsibility to:
  • Report any safety or repair concerns you have with your landlord as soon as possible
  •  Keep the property in adequate condition to avoid making a condition worse or creating hazards or health and safety problems yourself
  •  Continue paying your rent while waiting for repairs to be done and even when repairs are not been carried out. Withholding rent puts you at risk of legal proceedings being made against you and the risk of you being evicted by your landlord for non-payment of rent.
Once you have reported a problem or concern, your landlord has the responsibility to carry out most repairs within a reasonable amount of time.

If your landlord refuses to deal with any problems or concerns that put or can potentially put, your health and safety at risk, you can complain to your local council's environmental health team.

The environmental health team can then do an assessment on your home to check for any hazards. If hazards or health and safety concerns are identified by the council, it can take enforcement action against your landlord. In some cases, the council can arrange for the repair work to be done and then recover the cost from your landlord.

Unfortunately, there are landlords who, instead of carrying out repairs, prefer to evict tenants who ask for repairs or complain about poor conditions. This is known as a 'revenge eviction'.

If you ever find yourself in this situation and you are an assured shorthold tenant, then you may be protected under law against such an eviction, depending on what action the council decides to take.

You can contact your local law centre, Citizen's Advice or Shelter for free advice on housing law matters.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Digital Content - Returns and Refunds

In the last post, a brief overview was provided explaining the protections and entitlements that the Consumer Rights Act 2015 affords consumers in relation to obtaining refunds without a receipt. It is important to know that consumer protection rights regarding refund / return entitlements for faulty or unwanted products, are not just for those who purchase tangible goods from retailers (either in store or online), but it also extends to consumers who purchase intangible items. What are tangible items? Tangible products, often referred to as "goods", mean any tangible moveable items such as a phone, computer, clothing items, household items and including water, gas and electricity if and only if they are put up for supply in a limited volume or set quantity. Intangible items Intangible items include digital content. Digital content is data produced and supplied in digital form such as, software, apps, games, eBooks, online journals, ringtones and digital media such...
Post a Comment
Read more

Worker's Rights - Back Pay For Underpaid Sleep-In Care Workers

A new compliance scheme was launched back in November 2017 for social care providers that may have incorrectly paid workers below the minimum hourly rate for full shifts. This relates to sleep-in or night shift care workers who were paid a fixed rate rather than the hourly National Minimum Wage.  How did it come about?  For years, the UK Government and the HMRC allowed employers to pay sleep-in or night shift carers a flat rate, which for some workers was as little as £30.00 per shift. Following two Employment Appeal Tribunal cases in 2016, in which support workers took their employers to employment tribunal to challenge how they were being paid for sleep-in shifts, this all changed. The tribunal ruled that support workers should be paid the hourly National Minimum Wage for sleep-in shifts, with up to 6 years back dated payments. The Social Care Compliance Scheme To help assist social care providers who may have underpaid workers, the Government introduced the So...
Post a Comment
Read more

No Receipt - Can You Still Get A Refund?

Have you ever faced a situation where an item you purchased was faulty but you couldn't find the receipt for the item and panicked thinking you couldn't take it back to the retailer? I've been there and many others have too. But did you know that you don't actually need to present a receipt to return a faulty item? The law requires you to provide proof of purchase, but this is not limited to just a receipt. Proof of purchase could be a printed bank or credit card statement showing the transaction, someone vouching for you (a witness), a cheque stub or any other evidence that proves you bought the product. In this day and age with the use of technology, you could even simply upload your bank or credit card statement using your smart phone to show them proof of the transaction.  In the UK, under The Consumer Rights Act 2015, you have up to 30 days after purchase to claim a full refund for a faulty good. If the retailer offers you a credit note o...
Post a Comment
Read more