Please advice, about landlord's obligations in terms of maintenance

Garden maintenance is often the responsibility of the tenant. See if your tenancy agreement addresses that.

Rental standards only require functioning kitchen appliances, not new or energy-efficient ones. Your landlord would be responsible for keeping them working or replacing them if they can't be repaired, but not just because they are old and you want a newer, more efficient model. If you arrange with the landlord to replace them yourself, that's a matter between you and the landlord, and what needs to be done with the old one is also something you should arrange with the landlord. If you get rid of the old appliance without the landlord's permission, you will have to make sure there is a working appliance of the same quality there when you leave, or the landlord can take the value of the missing one out of your deposit. That might mean having to leave your expensive new washer there when you go, or trying to find some old used one that still works.

Other furniture not provided for in the regulations is a bit more of a grey area. Technically the landlord is responsible for maintaining any furniture that came with the property, and should replace it if it wears out or breaks through no fault of yours. However, convincing them to do so might be difficult, and you'd have to consider whether trying to do so will lead to the landlord finding a reason to have you out if you push too hard. You could also ask if they could remove the existing furniture you want to replace so you can bring in your own, but if they don't have any place to store it, that might be a non-starter, unfortunately. All you can really do is try to work with the landlord on that matter and try to come to an amicable solution.

Plaster cracks and worn paint would normally be on the landlord to remedy. Again, though, some landlords just can't be bothered.

If you have tried repeatedly to get your landlord to repair or maintain something and they didn't do so in a reasonable time frame and so you had it done at your expense, you can ask the landlord to reimburse you for reasonable costs. If the landlord won't repair or replace broken furniture or maintain the property and refuses to reimburse you for having them repaired, you can try to bring a complaint to the RTB that your landlord failed to meet their obligations, but be aware that this will likely destroy your relationship with your landlord and it's likely they will find some excuse to end your tenancy sooner rather than later. This goes double if you are currently paying below market rent, especially if you are in an RPZ, as the landlord will be keen to get a tenant in who will be less troublesome and who doesn't know the old rent amount (and will be too afraid to ask) and so won't know the market rent they'll be paying amounts to an illegal increase.

Claw Hammer wrote: »

Ask your local council to inspect the property. They will give the landlord a list of things to do.

Full time LL here. I was going to suggest this too, if the property is registered.
Id also call to tell him directly that you’re struggling to get him to act on things that need addressing.
I’ve had tenants who were texting and calling me constantly with the most minor of things, but in reality they are within their rights and indeed the rent was high too, so I wouldn’t argue.

The LL sounds like someone with just this one house and is ignoring maintenance requests until you hound him, so he can pocket as much of the rent as possible. It’s not the right way to do it obviously.

As someone said above, his obligations are actually pretty low in terms of house requirements - he has to provide facilities for ‘the storage and cooking of food and washing clothes’. I’ve seen bedsits with a plug-in hot plate next to the bed and an old fridge, passing the inspection.

Regarding lawns, I put a lawnmower in each property and it’s in the lease that the tenant has to look after it and not have it growing into a meadow.