Tenant rights regarding electricity outage

BrusselsSprout

Hi,

I rent an apartment in Dublin and found myself without electricity during the weekend. I tried to contact my landlord but he did not pick up my calls neither reply my SMS (which I understand, it is the weekend after all) and so I decided to be proactive and to call an electrician to fix the problem (who said the source cause was faulty hot water boiler). He had to go to the switch room of the building (to which i did not have access) to turn the main fuse on and also disconnect the faulty water boiler. For information, I contracted a RECI registered contractor.

This morning the landlord finally called me back saying that I should not have done that and that he will not pay the bill because he supposedly cannot trust an electrician who is not someone he knows...
While I understand that weekends are weekends, I don't understand why he thinks it is normal I live without electricity during the weekend, let alone let all the food in fridge and freezer go to waste.

I have read in the PRTB leaflet "Being a Good Tenant" that "accommodation must be in good condition : availability of hot/cold water, [...] electricity [...]" and that "tenants must be reimbursed by the landlord of any repairs that are carried out".
The same leaflet also specifies that "tenants are responsible to inform landlord when repairs are needed".

So while I believe I am in my right to claim for the contractor bill (after all I fixed a problem on his property), the information on the leaflet is a little confusing and I would like to know if anyone has some input on this or a reference to clear rule on this kind of case. Or am I in wrong because I did not wait until Monday that he calls me back?
The thing is that i find it ridiculous to let all my food go to waste, be left without electricity until the landlord arrange for an electrician to come for the same result anyway. Maybe the contractor bill is a little higher on weekend but I cannot imagine it would be a huge difference anyway. Total bill was 140 (90 for the visit, 20 + 15 for some parts and then VAT).

Thanks for advise

drumswan

Sigh. The property did not meet minimum standards during the outage, there was a safety issue along with the inconvenience and he was not contactable in an emergency. 140 quid is a fair price. Tell him calmly youll be happy to open a case at PRTB for arbitration if he has an issue with it. You might also ask him what provision he has made to ensure he is available for further emergency situations - you are after all paying him good money for a professional service

BrusselsSprout

Thanks for your input, I will do my best to keep calm but it is not the first time he has acted oddly.
For example the rent can only be paid in cash and so sometimes we have to stay at home waiting for him to come pick up the money as it is never a precise time but rather a 2-3 hours window at which he says he *can* come! It is like he is thinking we have nothing better to do. And he is a person in his 40s so it is not like if he did not know what is a bank or a standing order...

JohnBee

If he insists on you paying cash, I'm guessing the tenancy is unregistered and he may not be paying tax.

Best to negotiate these issues like a politician. No matter what anyone says here, you have to live there, and it's easier if you have a non-toxic relationship with your landlord

As stated above, gently notify him that you have checked your rights and given that he was not contactable, you did the sensible thing. Remind him you want this sorted amicably first but if refuses I agree, enquire about PRTB.

BrusselsSprout

Thanks for your input JohnBee. I will keep calm