Transparent Curtains - Security in Rented Accommodation

charliefryer

Hi there,


I recently moved into a ground floor, one bedroom apartment with my partner in the south of the city. The bedroom contains a blackout blind and transparent netting over the window. The living room contains one large window and patio door. This is covered by transparent netting. The apartment is looking onto a large public area.


The netting allows passers by to view into the apartment and I am very concerned of the security risk. I have been informed that apartments in the area have been burgled.
My partner contacted our letting agent and asked them to install curtains to prevent the interior of our living room to be viewed from the outside. They told us that we had accepted the apartment as is and they would not install any curtains. They said that this was the standard to which the apartments were fitted out to. After another phone call, they agreed to allow us get blinds installed at our own expense.



Could anybody advise us of any legal argument to get the landlord to install curtains at their expense. Is there any right to privacy or a basic level of security that would oblige a landlord to do this?


Thanks very much.

TwoShedsJackson

Get curtains or blinds put in yourself, take them with you when you leave. Any other solution will involve way too much hassle.

athtrasna

charliefryer wrote: »

Could anybody advise us of any legal argument to get the landlord to install curtains at their expense. Is there any right to privacy or a basic level of security that would oblige a landlord to do this?


Thanks very much.

Seriously?? No there is no law that says a landlord must put up curtains!

charliefryer

Thanks for that TwoShedsJackson, I think that's what i'll do.

charliefryer

athtrasna wrote: »

No there is no law that says a landlord must put up curtains!

I wouldn't expect there to be a law that says a landlord must put up curtains. However as I am renting a fully furnished and fitted apartment, I was wondering what constitutes this. Should a would be thief be able to view my telle and laptop from outside? The apartment is not really fully fitted and not suitable to live in in my opinion as it does not provide an adequate level of security.

nibtrix

charliefryer wrote: »

I wouldn't expect there to be a law that says a landlord must put up curtains. However as I am renting a fully furnished and fitted apartment, I was wondering what constitutes this. Should a would be thief be able to view my telle and laptop from outside? The apartment is not really fully fitted and not suitable to live in in my opinion as it does not provide an adequate level of security.

Was there an inventory as part of your lease? Did you inspect the apartment before you signed the lease? "Fully furnished and fitted" is a term that is open to interpretation, one person may think fully furnished includes a tv, one person may think it doesn't.

If the thin curtains were all that were there before you moved in, and you moved in without asking for thicker curtains, then you don't have a leg to stand on. You could suggest to the landlord that you would like to put proper curtains up, and ask will he contribute towards the cost, but to say the apartment is not suitable to live in due only to the thin curtains is laughable.

charliefryer

I'll get curtains or blinds put in myself and take them with me when I leave as TwoShedsJackson suggested. The next tenants can then decide what to do.....

thehomeofDob

You'll need to make sure any screw holes from installing curtain rails are filled and covered up to the same standard as the wall was before drilling. That is when you are removing them.

charliefryer

Thanks thehomeofDob, i'll make sure to do that.

SteoL

charliefryer wrote: »

The apartment is not really fully fitted and not suitable to live in in my opinion as it does not provide an adequate level of security.

Why did you move in if this is the case? You must have inspected the property prior to signing a lease.

stevedublin

SteoL wrote: »

Why did you move in if this is the case? You must should have inspected the property prior to signing a lease.

FYP