Whether you are new to renting out a home, or you simply haven’t dealt with a landlord like your current one, it’s important to know whether or not everything is being handled above board. Landlords do have some level of power over tenants and some of them do not wield it fairly or with responsibility. Of course, they may be breaching your rights and breaking the law by doing so, so it’s important to know that.
Not providing the information that you are entitled to
You should make sure that you have the information necessary to get in touch with the landlord and, if necessary, to keep them accountable. They should provide a how to rent guide that makes sure you know how to manage your responsibilities as a tenant. Furthermore, they should provide their name, address, energy performance certificate and gas safety certificate. Not providing these could be a way of navigating around the rules in order to provide sub-par housing.
They are not taking care of necessary repairs
Your contract should outline which repairs the landlord is responsible for. However, by law, the majority of them are responsible for any repairs that affect the safety of health of the home, including plumbing, electronics, heating, winters, and so on. As such, if they are not making moves to get them done in a reasonable amount of time or are trying to get you to do repairs they should be responsible for, making a housing disrepair claim against them could get them to fulfil their responsibility. Bad landlords have been known to hold back on repairs simply to try and force tenants out.
Not offering notice before coming around
Your landlord can come around to make inspections or to have professionals make inspections as well as repairs on their behalf. However, they need to provide notice at least 24 hours in advance. They also cannot come around to the home for any reason, it has to specifically for the purposes of viewing the condition and state or repair, or of making repairs themselves. Otherwise, landlords could be breaching your right and need for privacy and you can legally tell them to leave your property.
You are more protected from eviction than you think
You have rights that guarantee where you live, to some extend. Make sure you do your research on reasons your landlord can use to evict you. If your lease term is not up, then there are only a few circumstances under which they are allowed to have you leave the home. This can include leaving the home vacant for extended periods throughout the year, breaking the rules of the tenancy agreement, as well as bad behaviour such as disrepair, damage, anti-social behaviour or providing false information to the landlord. If you haven’t done anything wrong and you’re still within the terms of your contract, your landlord cannot make you leave.
If your landlord is taking advantage of you, then you need to stand and fight it. Get the legal ball rolling and seek some advice to see which path may work best for you.
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