You can request the legal services of housing disrepair solicitors in Manchester when you are the tenant of a property who has experienced low standards of housing maintenance. The service is available for any type of tenancy agreement, signed with a private landlord or with a housing association.
If you can offer evidence on the fact that your landlord has not provided the necessary services and he or she has not offered a positive answer to your valid requests, you can easily request legal representation from our housing disrepair solicitors in Manchester. If you are not sure what the obligations of the landlord are, you can read more about this subject in this article.
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What are the obligations of a landlord in Manchester?
When you rent a property, be it a house or an apartment, your landlord has certain obligations towards you. As a tenant, you have the obligation to pay the rent when the due date is established between you and the landlord, the obligation to maintain the furniture and other appliances and so on.
The landlord has specific obligations, one of the main obligations being to rent a property where a person can actually live in good living conditions. When signing a rental agreement, the document will usually contain provisions with regards to certain obligations the landlord has, but even in the case in which such provisions are not specified, you must know that other areas of law obligate the property’s owner to ensure a good quality level of the property.
As a general rule, when you report a problem that has appeared on the property to your landlord, then he or she will have the obligation to resolve it, as long as you do not have any fault on the respective issue. You can address to our Manchester solicitors if you need guidance on this subject.
Some of the main obligations of the landlord are: being in charge with the house repairs, replace broken appliances or faulty appliances, if the house has a boiler, the landlord is responsible for fixing it, as well as for any gas issue (gas leaks, gas pipes) or when you discover that the house has mold or dampness areas. Additional to these, your landlord must take care of the following issues as well:
- electricity issues, electricity faults and exposed electric wires;
- infestation of the house with any kind of vermin, such as mice or cockroaches;
- resolving any issue of the bathroom – bathtub, shower, toiler or sink, especially in the case when they do not function at all;
- fixing broken doors, windows, walls or floors and other structural areas of the house;
- taking care of any house issue with a cost above GBP 1,000.
Housing disrepair issues in social homes in the UK
Social homes are one category of homes that can be rented to persons living in the UK. Given that they are special category of homes, with a minimum standard of quality, it is expected that they can have numerous flaws. Although the UK has a national Decent Homes Standard, a part of the social houses available here do not meet the standard, as follows:
- 1 out of 7 social houses in the UK do not meet the Decent Homes Standard – this accounts for 525,000 homes;
- out of these 525,000 which do not meet the minimum standards, 244,000 are considered a 1st category risk, which is the highest;
- 388,000 homes rented by young persons under the age of 35 were considered very hazardous and most likely to cause the tenants various health issues;
- out of these homes, 205,000 reported to have dampness in one or more rooms;
- in a study, 48% of the persons living in social houses and who have reported various house disrepair issues said that they haven’t received an answer on their problem.
Obtaining compensations for housing disrepair issues in Manchester
The legislation in the UK has very clear rules regarding the moments and the reasons for which a person cam make a claim that pertains to the housing disrepair law. If you are not sure about these reasons, our housing disrepair solicitors in Manchester can present you the main provisions of the law, but you should know that in a wide range of situations, you, as a tenant, are entitled to obtain compensation.
Please mind that in the case you and your landlord will enter any type of disagreement with regards to the party that has to resolve various issues regarding the safety of the property, our Manchester solicitors can help you and can act on behalf of our client.
Our lawyer can represent you in this process, by presenting evidence and the legal obligations that the landlord is supposed to take care of, and will use all the legal methods available that will make the landlord to complete his or her obligations. More importantly, you can also be represented by our team in the process of making a claim and obtaining a financial compensation in accordance with the situation that you were exposed to.
Our housing disrepair solicitors in Manchester can help you make a claim in the case in which you were injured in the property where you live due to unresolved problems of the house that should have been managed by the landlord. You can also make a claim in the situation in which your health has been affected by various issues of the house – such as mold, which can result in different health issues.
In these particular situations, our lawyers can help you make a claim for the payment of medical services associated with the injury or the health issue that you have as a direct consequence of housing disrepair issues, but also obtain financial compensation for after care or for the medication that you will require for a limited amount of time or for an ongoing period of time.
The claim that you can make can vary in terms of money, and here, the factors are numerous. As a general rule, in the legal practice of our housing disrepair solicitors in Manchester, the claim will vary between 20% to 50% of the annual rent that you pay to your landlord. Still, exemptions from this basic practice can appear and the claim can increase as the injury or the health issue you have due to housing disrepair issues is more serious.
With regards to the payment of the legal services provided by our Manchester law firms, you shouldn’t worry too much. This particular area of legal expertise allows a person to apply for legal aid, which means that the fees you are typically required to pay will be funded or at least, partially funded, so that your financial burden will not be a problem during a period of time which is not the easiest.
Tenancy agreement in Manchester
If you will rent a property in Manchester, regardless of who is the entity that rents you the property, it is generally advised to sign a tenancy agreement. However, in practice, numerous home owners will rent the property without a legally binding contract and this is not the ideal case for the tenant.
The tenancy agreement is a legally binding document that is registered with the local authorities and which has tax implications for the landlord. Not having this document signed will leave the tenant in a very sensible situation, especially in the case in which housing disrepair issues will appear, as the tenant can become vulnerable to the requirements of the landlord.
This document must contain information regarding the repairs obligations of the landlord and the repairs obligations of the tenant – the latter is supposed to take care of minor issues or issues that were created by the said tenant. If there isn’t an agreement, please mind that our housing disrepair solicitors in Manchester will have a more difficult approach than in the case of clients who have a written document, that is signed by both parties.
You must also know that even if you have a written document where the landlord has mentioned that the tenant will take care of various repairs that should fall under the supervision of the landlord, the agreement should not be respected by the tenant, as the law clearly stipulates which obligations belong to which party, which means that the agreement is void.
Provided that you did not know this and you took care of a housing disrepair issue that was not your legal obligation (such as plumbing issues, let’s say), you are entitled to address to our Manchester law firms for legal representation and for making a claim against your landlord. When contacting our lawyers, please provide us with a copy of the agreement and we will tell you which is the next legal step that should be taken.
How to address a housing disrepair issue in Manchester
If you find yourself in any of the above situations, you are invited to address to our housing disrepair solicitors in Manchester, who can represent your interests and can present to you the procedure you must follow in order to receive a positive answer from your landlord.
First, you must address to your landlord in writing (sending an e-mail is the simplest way to do this), in which you will present the current issue. This procedure is the most favorable, as it will stand out as evidence on the fact that you reported the issue.
Then, from a legal point of view, the landlord can provide an answer in 21 days. If the landlord does not respond, then you can address to housing disrepair solicitors in Manchester for advice and make claims, in accordance with the Housing Disrepair Protocol.
For more information, please contact our lawyer in Manchester. Our team can represent you and can help you make claims in accordance with the particularities of your situations. Please address to our Manchester law firms for more details on how to resolve a housing disrepair problem and feel free to ask about your rights.
Persons who want plan to relocate to this country for a short-term basis or a long-term basis can contact our immigration solicitors in Manchester if they want to know how to rent/purchase a property.
Our lawyers will also present the rights foreigners will have when they will rent a property and what are the rights of the owner of the respective property located in Manchester.
Manchester is currently known as the 2nd most important financial center in the UK, so the property market is on a constant development trend. The job market has the same characteristics, so you can always arrive here for a job opportunity.
If so, you can find out more on the provisions of the law and the conditions you must comply with from our employment solicitors in Manchester.
