An ongoing series of issues.

AVALANCHE

We moved into a rented property in Northern Ireland this year and are having more than a few issues with the Landlord/Letting Agent.

The issues with the house have always been reported promptly by myself and they haven't done anything about the larger issues.

They are as follows:
There is a leak in the roof of the conservatory.

There is (I suspect as a result of the above) no power in the conservatory.

The build in fridge and freeezer have packed up and the replacement fridge (no freezer) they have provided was obviously second-hand and keeps freezing all the food even on the warmest setting.

The dishwasher is unsafe, the heating element at the bottom stays on after the machine has run the cycle.

I had to look up their number today as my mobile was out of juice and went to their website. The house I rent is up for sale on the front page of the website.

I've been on the phone to them every other day for the last month and still nothing has been done to rectify any of the issues.

There is nothing in the records about a tenancy deposit scheme and who are deposit is held with, does this apply in Northern Ireland?

None of the electrical/gas items have safety certificates and are all rather old and/or poor quality.


Does anyone have any advice on how to get them to up their game a little?

Thanks in advance.

nick_

I'm assuming the law in NI is the same as the UK - may seem such a simple question but i'm not a solicitor!

Visit the Shelter website, they have some great resources for this type of thing.

BitterAndTwisted

Have you put all of your complaints in writing? If not, do it today. No voice-mails, no text-messages, no emails. A letter. Keep a copy.

As far as I know, no safety certs are required for electrical items, nor PAT tests, but you should have a safety cert for the gas supply and appliances. Write and ask for sight of a copy from the landlord even if writing to the agent.

The fact of the property being up for sale is a non-issue for you at the moment, and it depends on how long the AST is that you have signed. Unless the law is completely different in NI from England & Wales, your landlord cannot bring your tenancy to an end before the last day of your AST without your agreement. Although if it does get sold you could be on the move quite soon after that.

sandsni

Try http://www.housingadviceni.org/

It should help you find the relevant info on renting privately in NI. They are getting tougher on private landlords in NI, but unfortunately no deposit protection scheme yet. It was made law in 2011 that all private LLs will have to be registered and it's supposedly being rolled out this year, so hopefully that will encourage a few LLs to get their fingers out and start looking after their properties a bit better.

Also, have you contacted the LL direct? I've had recent experience where the LA wasn't passing information between us and the tenants, or when they did it was totally wrong! Write to the LL and copy it to the LA stating all the issues. I hope you get sorted.