Posts with tag: rental property repairs

Tenants Damage Properties to Avoid Eviction

Published On: December 23, 2015 at 12:25 pm

Tags: rental property repairs,repair issues,section 21 notices,tenants

Tenants Damage Properties to Avoid Eviction

Tenants may be purposefully damaging their rental properties to avoid being evicted, according to an online letting agent.

Under new laws, landlords that do not respond to legitimate repair requests cannot use section 21 notices to regain possession of their properties. The legislation was enforced on 1^st October.

However, research from PropertyLetByUs found that 10% of tenants have admitted to causing over £500 worth of damage to their homes.

The Managing Director of the agent, Jane Morris, states: “While in principle the legislation is a good move, ensuring that landlords don’t evict tenants because of a genuine disrepair issue, it is open to dishonest tenants bending the law to avoid eviction.

“Landlords need to ensure that they make regular checks on their properties and handle tenants’ complaints about damage quickly and efficiently. If landlords are suspicious that the damage is intentional to avoid eviction, they should seek legal advice.”¹

Have you had an experience similar to this since the new laws were introduced?

¹https://www.landlordtoday.co.uk/breaking-news/2015/12/tenants-will-damage-properties-to-avoid-eviction-claims-online-lettings-agent

New Bill Would Allow Tenants to Sue Landlords Over Poor Housing

Published On: October 16, 2015 at 10:18 am

Author: Em Morley

Categories: Landlord News

Tags: Landlord and Tenant Act,private rental housing,rental property repairs

New Bill Would Allow Tenants to Sue Landlords Over Poor Housing

A new bill will give tenants the right to sue their landlords if their rental homes are in a substandard condition if it is passed in Parliament.

MP Karen Buck has pushed the Homes (Fitness for Human Habitation) Bill into its second reading today.

She hopes to recover a law originally passed in 1885 and last amended in 1957.

It gives tenants the right to a home fit for human habitation if the rent was under £52 per year, or £80 in London.

Past governments have come under pressure to abolish the outdated rent limits, but have not acted, meaning that the law is not used.

Buck’s new bill would require private rental homes to be provided and maintained to a state fit for human habitation. It would allow tenants to bypass councils if they need their properties repaired.

The bill would also protect landlords if tenants or natural forces cause any damage.

The bill would amend the Landlord and Tenant Act 1985 and would only apply in England.

Read more about the bill here: http://researchbriefings.parliament.uk/ResearchBriefing/Summary/CBP-7328

Letting Agents Must Get Better at Repairs

Published On: August 13, 2015 at 10:52 am

Author: Em Morley

Categories: Landlord News

Tags: landlord repairs,letting agent repairs,rental property repairs

Letting agents are generally getting better at dealing with repairs in rental properties, but some could be at risk of losing clients.

Some landlords could leave their letting agent for a competitor firm if the agent has poor repair management processes.

Letting Agents Must Get Better at Repairs

Repair reporting software company, Fixflo, has compiled a report with the support of the Association of Residential Letting Agents (ARLA). The firm surveyed 250 letting agents, who manage 750 branches between them.

The report also includes data from over 70,000 repairs that Fixflo has dealt with.

The results are both positive and negative regarding agents:

85% of repairs are completed within a week.
46% of property managers are aware of a landlord that has changed agency due to a repair related issue.
On average, each property requires three repairs per year.
Each repair takes an average of 90 minutes of staff time to resolve.
One third of repairs are reported out of hours.
The amount of repair requests in Polish outnumbers those from the next four languages combined.

Managing Director of Fixflo, Rajeev Nayyar, warns of forthcoming changes to the law, which will make it compulsory for landlords and agents to respond quickly to tenants who complain about repair issues, or risk losing the right to reclaim the property.

He explains: “With fundamental changes to the repairs process taking effect for new tenancies in England from October 1^st, time is running out for agencies and landlords to get robust repairs processes in place.

“Agencies that fail to comply with the requirements could face both financial and reputational damage.”¹

¹http://www.propertyindustryeye.com/letting-agents-urged-to-get-to-grips-with-repairs-before-october-deadline/

Couple Charged £22 to Change Light Bulbs

Published On: August 7, 2015 at 4:51 pm

Author: Em Morley

Categories: Landlord News

Tags: rental property repair costs,rental property repairs,tenant repair costs

Couple Charged £22 to Change Light Bulbs

A couple were left shocked after they found out their letting agent had charged them £22 to change two light bulbs.

Julia Irvine, 32, and John Watson, 29, said the situation was “laughable”.¹

Upon looking at the breakdown of costs, they realised they had been charged £17.50 in labour.

The job was among repairs conducted when they left the flat in Bristol earlier this year.

The agent, CJ Hole of Clifton, said: “Damage costs and contractor fees can and do vary according to need.”¹

¹Stichbury, T. (2015) ‘Fury over £22 bill to fit 2 light bulbs’, Metro, 7 August, p.25

Landlords Slammed for Failing on Repairs

Published On: April 26, 2015 at 10:24 am

Author: Em Morley

Categories: Landlord News

Tags: landlord repairs,rental property repairs

A leading trade body has claimed that an alarmingly high number of 250,000 tenants are withholding rent from their landlords, in retaliation for them not making urgent and necessary repairs to their property.

The Association of Independent Inventory Clerks state that their research indicates 34% of private rental tenants have had a home emergency during the past year. Of those, just a third were resolved on the same day, with a quarter taking over a week.

Landlords Slammed for Failing on Repairs

Hours, not days

Chair of the Association of Independent Inventory Clerks, Pat Barber, feels that landlords should be responding quicker to emergency situations. Barber said: “Landlords have a duty of care with tenants and should be responding in hours, not days. We had a case where a boiler stopped working for seven weeks during the coldest part of the winter, so no heating or hot water was available.”[1]

Founder of the tenant repair reporting specialists FixFlo, Rajeev Nayyer, worryingly stated that this initial report could just be the beginning of more problems coming to light. Nayyer said: “The speed and quality of assessing and responding to tenants’ repairs will take centre stage in the next few months. We’re in an age of the Tenants’ Charter and mandatory redress schemes, so repairs have to be taken seriously by landlords and letting agents.”[1]

Advice

The Association of Independent Inventory Clerks has offered advice to landlords regarding the length of time taken to resolve problems. According to the organisation, landlords should:

Attend to any electric, gas or water leak within 24 hours.
Solve any cooker problems within 48 hours.
Repair any other white goods, washing machine, tumble dryers, dish washers etc., in 72 hours.

[1] http://old.lettingagenttoday.co.uk/news_features/Landlords-Slammed-For-Failing-On-Repairs