Landlords

H

Herminator

Senior member
 Edinburgh
Currently I'm stood outside my flat waiting for a locksmith. Which Ill have to pay for and try and claim back because my landlord can't be bothered to get anything fixed. It was pointed out to him over a month ago that the front door handle was slowly disintegrating and over 6 months ago that the oven wasn't securely fixed in place, so it swings forward if you don't open the door carefully. Not once have we heard from them directly and there's been nothing about fixing anything.

My last landlord was very laid back too. We barely heard from them in the two years in the flat. But they did get the repair guy out pretty quickly when the washing machine broke, twice.

It just seems that too many people have bought rental properties as an investment but can't actualy be bothered to run them, especially as they probably haven't made the thousands they expected from property prices going up.

/rant
 
You should send him a letter/email again about the oven. That's ridiculous.
I'd put a veiled 'threat' as in, 'following my previous correspondence, i am getting very concerned about the oven as it is likely it will cause serious injury if it isn't secured as soon as possible'.
He'll hopefully realise he could be in court if he doesn't fix it and it does actually fall on and injure someone.
 
You can't withhold rent. Well, you can but it will end badly.

Check the tenancy agreement for actions you can take.
 
Offer to get it repaired on his cost. if no response - say you are going to get it repaired and send the bill. If no response, get it repaired and deduct the amount of the bill off the next months rent.
 
Sad state of affairs. I'm planning on becoming a landlord myself over the next few months and have resolved to treat any tenants I get with the utmost respect. Not only because it's the decent thing to do but because it's also sound business. People who are treated well tend to pay up on time and have long tenancies. Not sure if this person is a serious businessman/woman or just seeing what they can get away with.

I agree with the notion of checking your tenancy agreement.
 
as a landlord with a number of properties, i would say present him/ her with the invoice once you have got it repaired and if he doesnt re-imburse you for it, deduct it from your next months rent. like you say, you have told them a number of times of the issue

sometimes i cannot fix an issue as quickly as i need to so ask the tenants to get it sorted and invoice me for it, but 90% of the time it is sorted by me within a couple of days. i like to keep on good terms with my tenants so that i am paid on time and they remain at the property long term
 
your landlord is a tosser mr H :thumbsdown:
he shows a lack of responsibility both to you & his property & is obviously operating out of his depth
 
I'm a landlord. A good one I believe as I've never had a complaint.

Are they doing the important stuff like gas certificates, etc? :?

Just tell them you won't pay rent until they fix the issues.
 
I'll say it again... be careful if you heed any advice to withhold rent. The landlord could take you to court to recover the arrears, and that won't do your financial reputation any good at all.

My best advice is to persist, be a noisy buzzing bee in his ear, pester away until he gives in and sorts it out! Don't leave it weeks between communications, call every day if you want to. If you can find anything that he's legally obliged to repair under the law or your tenancy agreement you can proceed legally to have him sort these things, but that's more cost of course.
 
I'll say it again... be careful if you heed any advice to withhold rent. The landlord could take you to court to recover the arrears, and that won't do your financial reputation any good at all.

My best advice is to persist, be a noisy buzzing bee in his ear, pester away until he gives in and sorts it out! Don't leave it weeks between communications, call every day if you want to. If you can find anything that he's legally obliged to repair under the law or your tenancy agreement you can proceed legally to have him sort these things, but that's more cost of course.
 
I try to be as good a landlord as I can, and as a tenant, I expect that you will treat the property as if it were your own…………

I've been a landlord for around 5 years. of the 4 tenants I've had, 2 have been an absolute nightmare, non payment of rent, flat left in a disgusting state, broken appliances, neglect etc. However they all want their deposit back immediately, and expect good references……..


As for unrepaired items from the landlord - check your tenancy, write to him and state that unless it's fixed by X then you will arrange to have it fixed and have him reimburse you within Y days, if not then the amount will be deducted from the next (appropriate) rental period. Clear, concise, and gives an opportunity to get it fixed. But be sensible about the dates, he may be on holiday.

NOTE however that if you're dealing with a letting agent, they can be quite poor at communicating with the landlord, as they already have the property occupied and generally don't give a 'stuff' about either party after that. (as always there are exceptions though)

Good Luck - I hope it gets sorted quickly
 
Posted it twice? Pun? LOL

I'm assuming it's one person and not a company? I really doubt they'll take you to court.Especially if he's not done all the legal stuff. Gas Certificate, The deposit is under the Deposit Protection Scheme, etc. By the sounds of it they haven't. Much easier to get it fixed and move on.
 
Got the door usable, I'll be getting on to the letting agents tomorrow.
I don't mind a landlord that lets you get on with things, but when the letting agent send an inspector around six months into the contract to find problems, then we get a letter saying anything noted can only be fixed when the landlord says and obviously they haven't said... It's just a waste of time.

It's not a cheap rental either, it's about as expensive a two bed flat you can find in the area, but then it is in a nice place and it's a nice big modern flat. I'll not be staying on after the year is up though, unless I need just a few more months. I need to find somewhere with better parking for the Z :wink:
 
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