Advice needed about tennants rights

lulupop123

I hope this is in the right section- I apologise if it isn't

We rent a property with a courtyard. At the moment there is scaffolding up to fix the roof but this has affected the sky signal & we can get no tv signal. We are subscribed to sky on the hd package & pay £33 per month- The scaffolding is looking to be up for nearly 3 months.

We were just wondering what our rights are & where we can claim the money we are paying for the sky subscription back from the landlord?

Thank you in advance.

G_M

Hard to believe the scaffolding is interrupting service but..... assuming it is, speak to the LL and /or scaffolders. Perhaps they can move the position of the scaffolding around the dish?

Clearly work on the roof is important (and to your benefit too!) so needs to be done. If nothing can be done to restore your service, yes, ask the LL but it's hardly his fault - he's presumably doing necessary repairs.

Is the Sky service provided by the LL or is your contract direct with Sky?

lulupop123

We have already asked the scaffolding comp & sky & they both say the signal is being blocked by the scaffolding. We live in the basement flat so are quite closed in.
We asked the scaff. comp to move it but they weren't happy to move it & sky will charge £60 to move the dish then another to move it back when the scaff. is down. I have already asked my LL if i can take this fee out of the rent & he said absolutely not & to leave it with him to liase with the builders. This is 5 weeks ago now & he isn't returning my calls.

I am not saying this is anyones fault as it is work that needs to be done but we are out of pocket & didn't even know the work was being done until we found scaffolders in out courtyard.

The contract is direct with sky, my LL just provides the dish.

ETA- we also can't use the courtyard as it is too dangerous

G_M

The LL could argue that the Sky service is nothing to do with him, however as a LL I would do my best to keep your service uninterrupted. He's said he'll try, but you've heard nothing. So put your concerns in writing to a) jog his memory and b) formalise it. Ask him when you can expect him to have arranged with the contractors to move the scaffolding.
How about asking the scaffolders to move the dish? Or is this forbidden by your Sky contract? (I'm unfamiliar with Sky)

mlz1413

WRITE to your landlord setting out the problem and advise solution (very much as your post has just done) and request a date from him that the signal will be restored.

Give him a date to answer you by and then WRITE again requesting an goodwill gesture of allowing you to knock off the £33 pm from your rent until the signal is restored.

How long have you lived in flat, how long is tenancy and how long has / will scaffolding be up?

lulupop123

Thanks for the advice

I'm going to go to the c.a.b tomorrow to see what rights i have with my contract.

G_M - I did ask the scaff & the builders to move it but they said if they moved it & it broke etc sky would charge me.

The scaffolding has been up for a month now & i was told today by the lady upstairs it will be at least another month

Mlz-
Very good idea to write as this will state what i expect from them & they will have to reply. Thanks for the advice.

I will write to them & as always send it recorded! My LL is very good at wriggling out of situations. Since we have been here (2 years) The fire alarm contantly beeped for 8 months, a leak came through the ceiling which still hasn't been fixed, the boiler broke (which is kind of fixed) The kitchen light switch gives us electric shocks- they haven't fixed this even though i wrote to them (recorded) Roof tiles & cast iron hoppers have fallen in the courtyard & broken our flower pots (& could have killed us! 5 storey building)

I would move but we have really good rent & i think thats why he doesn't fix things. He knows if we did have enough he can rent out the place no problem. :mad:

martindow

Is it possible to ask Sky to put the subscription on hold until the scaffolding is removed?

lulupop123

Thanks for the suggestion Martin, I did try that but we only took the subscription in October ready for Christmas. We have a year contract so no chance of holding It's so annoying when we got HD ready for the xmas season & now we can't even watch!


It's actually more the inconvience of the whole thing than the cost. I was in the middle of watching the walking dead on fx- I know it's not a massive problem but irritating for us. When i did phone sky they said " oh that is annoying you have to just watch terrestial tv until it comes down" No we don't! We don't even have a terrestrial aerial just sky, Our LL hasn't provided us with a normal aerial *grumble grumble*

G_M

Look there are only so many options:
1) Communication. Work with the LL, Scaffolders, Sky to get the dish and/or scaffolding moved and make the reception work. This is best done face-to-face or by phone.
2) Expenditure. Pay Sky to move the disk. This is best done by phone.
3) Financial. Request compensation from the LL for the lost reception. This has to be done in writing.
4) Legal. Sue the LL and/or Sky. This has to be done through official court documentation.
5) DIY: Get up there and move the dish yourself. This has to be done on a ladder.
6) Lateral. As in lateral thinking. Buy a £3 analogue aeriel and watch channels 1-5 till the work is finished. This has to be done at the shops.

clutton_2

""I am not saying this is anyones fault ""

so why blame your landlord ?

if you were a homeowner and this happened you would take it in your stride, or pay 'SKy or come to an agreement with the scaffolders...

silvercar

You don't even need to contact sky, you need a local aerial firm that will reposition the sky dish and then redo when the scaffolding goes. You want the sky dish facing exactly the same direction it is at the moment, but with uninterrupted signal, any local aerial firm will have a gadget to check the signal direction.

If the landlord has given you notification that he needs to do the work, there is little you can do. Landlords responsibility is to fix the roof.