Livable conditions in rented accommodation

frag420

HI,

I recently moved into a new place. I am renting a room here and there are other people renting here too. Now when I viewed it was late evening, there were plenty of people coming and going viewing the house so I missed a few things that I think need fixing.

Firstly there are several exposed wires hanging from the cieling in one room. they are exposed as the landlord had tried to fix the problem(whatever it was) previously and never put the cieling back in its original condition. The area is surounded by damp too. The heating switch is exposed too. There is a wall light in my room that is hangin of by the wires. This was obvioulsy stuck back to the wall for the purpose of viewing as it was not like that when I viewed.

In the kitchen there is no extractor fan above the cooker. What is there is a tub/hose similar to what comes out the back of a clothes dryer sticking out of the cieling. There are no mechanisms to extract any smokes/steam etc from cooking. Its the same in the bathroom for extracting steam from shower.

I have also noticed some damp and drafts around the house too. Now as mentioned these were things I did not notice when I viewed as I presumed (stoopid me) that with tenants already in the house for several months that there would be no such issues.

From what I gather he is not the most proactive in fixing things in a timely manner. He will eventually get them done but that could take 2-3 months. I spoke with a friend of mine(landlord) and he mentioned that the house could technically be non livable esp considering the wiring situation, damp and drafts and if i were to report it to the council or whomever that more than likely he would have to fix it up asap or we would have to find alternative accom.

The area is nice, its close to work so I really dont want to move and it took several weeks to find this room too!! Also I am not in a position to move financially for a few months.

So I intend to mention these things to the landlord to get fixed but should he not bother in a timely fashion who could I report the property too? I know he is reg with PRTB so I would presume it would be them? Can it be done anon as I would imagine it would be obvious it was me as only in the place a few weeks and I doubt he has heard complaints from the others as they dont seem too bothered.

Any and all advice appreciated,

cheers

frAg

odds_on

I recently moved into a new place. I am renting a room here and there are other people renting here too. Now when I viewed it was late evening, there were plenty of people coming and going viewing the house so I missed a few things that I think need fixing.

Now you know why the other viewers didn't take up the offer.

What type of lease do you have? Has your name been added to the original lease and your are a joint tenant with the other tenants or do you have your own lease for your room and share facilities with the other tenants. The difference is important.

In the kitchen there is no extractor fan above the cooker. What is there is a tub/hose similar to what comes out the back of a clothes dryer sticking out of the cieling. There are no mechanisms to extract any smokes/steam etc from cooking. Its the same in the bathroom for extracting steam from shower.

HOUSING (STANDARDS FOR RENTED HOUSES) REGULATIONS 2008 and the Housing (Standards for Rented Houses)(Amendment) Regulations 2009 state:

9. Ventilation
9. (1) Every room used, or intended for use, by the tenant of the house as a habitable room shall have adequate ventilation.
(2) All means of ventilation shall be maintained in good repair and working order.
(3) Adequate ventilation shall be provided for the removal of water vapour from kitchens and bathrooms.

If the kitchen and bathroom do not comply with these minimum standards, take it up with the landlord. (see below).

I have also noticed some damp and drafts around the house too. Now as mentioned these were things I did not notice when I viewed as I presumed (stoopid me) that with tenants already in the house for several months that there would be no such issues.

See this thread, posts #18 and #19:
http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2056351823

And finally;
What to do if there is a problem your accommodation
The Residential Tenancies Act 2004 states in Part 2, Section 16:
(d) notify the landlord or his or her authorised agent of any defect that arises in the dwelling that requires to be repaired so as to enable the landlord comply with his or her obligations, in relation to the dwelling or the tenancy, under any enactment,

This is very important. Very few tenants actually do this correctly, as a result, repairs or problem issues are not remedied and the tenant is constantly phoning or texting the landlord. This goes on for weeks and weeks if not months. Never ever rely on verbal agreements for repairs etc. either before signing a lease or once you have taken up occupancy.
If the tenant has an issue with anything in the property (appliance failure, pest infestation, problems with windows, floors, leaks, heating, etc) that the landlord should maintain under his obligations, then the following steps should be taken:
1. Advise the landlord immediately either by phone or text.
2. Follow up immediately by writing to the landlord (keep a copy), date it and state the failure and give the landlord a reasonable time to remedy the failure. A reasonable time would normally be 7 – 14 days but may be less in serious cases. If the tenant does not give the landlord a time limit for the rectification of the failure, the problem will to drag on and on and on …….
3. Under normal circumstances, if the landlord does not rectify the failure within the time limit then he is in breach of his obligations. However, if he has to wait for new parts, then he would not be considered in breach as this is out of his control.

If you have done the above, and the landlord has not remedied the problem then you should be free to leave after a written Notice of Termination (usually 28 days notice but could be 7 days in cases where serious injury or damage to tenant or property are possible) and be entitled to the return of your deposit. Again, keep a copy. There is an Example of Notice of Termination of Tenancy (with notes on its completion) on the PRTB web site which can be used by either tenant or landlord.
By keeping a copy of the letter requesting repairs (make sure it is dated and specifies by when the repairs/replacement should be done) advising the landlord about the failure, you have evidence to back yourself up should there be a claim with the PRTB as regards the landlord’s breach of his obligations.

frag420

Thanks for the reply. I will be talking to him this week and will ask him to sort out the issues I have. If he is not making an effort by next week or two i shall put it in writing for him or maybe via text as it is easier to keep a record.

He does not provide a lease. From what I gather it is all rather casual with him and the tenants and I dont want to rock the boat either as I am the newest person there and everyone else is comfortable with this arrangment. I should mention that he is in the building trade and repairs done to date were done by himself.

As for nobody taking the room it was offered to me first. there were several people interested in it so it was not a case of others not taking or wanting the room.

Thanks

frAg

odds_on

frag420 wrote: »

Thanks for the reply. I will be talking to him this week and will ask him to sort out the issues I have. If he is not making an effort by next week or two i shall put it in writing for him or maybe via text as it is easier to keep a record.

He does not provide a lease. From what I gather it is all rather casual with him and the tenants and I dont want to rock the boat either as I am the newest person there and everyone else is comfortable with this arrangment. I should mention that he is in the building trade and repairs done to date were done by himself.

As for nobody taking the room it was offered to me first. there were several people interested in it so it was not a case of others not taking or wanting the room.

Thanks

frAg

If your verbal agreement was for the room and shared facilities with the other tenants, then you do not have the right to make a claim with the PRTB.
If, on the other hand you would be named on a (verbal) lease as a joint tenant for the whole house you can make a claim with the PRTB.

I either case, you will probably have a Part 4 tenancy (if verbally there was no limit to the length of your staying in the house i.e. a fixed term) and all the laws, terms and conditions of the Residential Tenancy Act 2004 apply.