Maintenance / Repairs Responsibility FAQ
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Maintenance / Repairs Responsibility FAQ
I just moved into a rental house and it has no telephone outlets in the entire house. Should the landlord bs responsible for paying for them?
ANSWER 1:
If the property was advertised to include phone line connection or was marketed to you with them present but were removed before you moved in then the landlord has an obligation to provide them. If there was no mention of phone lines, then no, they are not responsible. landlords are not legally obligated to provide phone lines.
How often does a property have to be decorated?
ANSWER 1:
There is no legal obligation for landlords to regularly decorate their property. However, it is in the landlords best interest to provide a well-presented property for two basic reasons. Firstly, a well-presented property will let out a lot quicker than a property that's poorly presented. Secondly, and most importantly, a poorly presented property will generally attract poor quality tenants that won't take care of the property.
Who is responsible for refreshing the rental property after 1 year (painting, decorating etc.)?
ANSWER 1:
It's the tenant(s) choice if they want to do it. The landlord is not legally obligated to "refresh" the property. If the tenant's accepted the condition of the property when they moved in, then it is their responsibility to keep it maintained. However, some times landlords are prepared to supply the paint/tools, if the tenant is prepared to do the labour. But again, landlords are not legally obliged to do that either.
Who is responsible for repairs when the damage is caused by the tenant?
ANSWER 1:
The Tenant! However, proving the damage and then getting the money from them may be a different matter. You can only claim an amount from them to repair the damage to the condition it was in when the damage occured.
As a Landlord you are not allowed "betterment" or the repairing of an item to a better condition than when the damage occured.
EG: The Tenant breaks a chair. If the chair was brand new and broken the day it was bought then the Tenant would have to buy a new chair. If however the chair was broken some time later - you could only charge the Tenant the cost to repair the chair. If you wanted them you buy a new one you would have to pay the difference. If you wanted to replace items with new you would have to be prepared to justify your reasons to a magistrate if the Tenant got hissy!
What is the landlord obligated to repair?
ANSWER 1:
The landlord is obligated to repair the structure of the property including the roof, walls, doors etc. Essentially, if you turned the house upside down, anything that did not fall off/out is down to the ll. The landlord must maintain the property so that is is safe and habitable at all times. The landlord must also maintain access to and from the property including driveways and paths ensuring that they are safe and clear from obstruction to avoid injury. If someone is injured and the maintenance, or lack of it, can be shown to be at fault it is likely the insurers will not pay out and you may be sued through the civil courts for damages. Failure to obey health and safety guidelines may lead to criminal prosecution for breeches of building code/regulations or for shoddy, sloppy or dangerous repairs and maintenance proceedures.
white goods are a, forgive the pun, a grey area. Under warranty it is down to the manufacturer outside of warranty it is down to the good nature and morals of the landlord.
My tenant has given me notice of disrepair. If he has not paid the rent do I still have to carry out the repair?
ANSWER 1:
Yes. If you do not carry out the repairs promptly the landlord is open to a counter claim for disrepair if the normal route tenant eviction procedure is started. Dealing with this counter claim will add legal costs and delay to your claim.
Can I claim the complete cost of replacing/repairing damage by tenants?
ANSWER 1:
There is a thing called betterment. Basically you can only claim the amount that would bring the property back to the condition it was in when the tenants took over. Any 'betterment' ie completely re-painting as opposed to doing just one or two walls will cause an issue since you will have to pay for anything other than the damaged walls.
My tenant has stopped paying rent, do I still need to keep the property in repair?
ANSWER 1:
The landlord is still legally responsible for keeping the property in repair even if the tenant fails to pay rent
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