Tenant rights landline Connection

theartfullodger

Can someone please start a thread about the human right / basic tenant requirement for there to be mobile 'phone coverage & mobile-BB at any rented property, please??

jbainbridge

theartfullodger wrote: »

Can someone please start a thread about the human right / basic tenant requirement for there to be mobile 'phone coverage & mobile-BB at any rented property, please??

I think you're being a little unfair! You'd expect there to be water, electricity, maybe gas or oil ... why not a phone line - especially as the property has phone sockets.

theartfullodger

expectation is one thing, a legal requirement is another.

Water is probably required, electric difficult to legally avoid in rented property to comply with HHSRS etc etdc but landline? Not afaik, and certainly landline is becoming less key for property.

I regularly use mobile BB when " camping" in my properties between tenancies (maybe several months..) and where I am now mobile BB is faster than landline - and the prices ain't that different these days...

My tenancies make it clear tenant may need to install a line: I usually end up saying "last tenant had it working, but you'd need to check...". I have one property where I provide fibre BB (bloody beardie's..) & TV but not a landline (there is a socket..). Since 2006 the landline question has never been raised & afaik no tenant taken a landline contract (students mind..)

Perhaps I should have put a smiley on my last post...

Cheers!

thehare

The aim was to get a phone line. Bt have now confirmed for the 3rd time no line is available (1 line 2 properties) an openreach surveyor and engineer have confirmed it. This proves the landlord failed to divulge information that would have a bearing on us taking the property. He has repeatedly lied and denied knowledge. The landlord lived in the property and would have known, hence why the neighbour saddled the connection. I assume in the 3 month owner moved out, neighbour signed up for broadband, so he now has the line. The point is the owner knew the issue and failed to disclose it to the letting agent. The breach of contract should be between landlord and agent. Not agent and tenant, my instinct is that as the are friends on a personal level, they think we will accept the issue. We want to terminate contact because landlord has knowingly withheld information.

buglawton

Well... at least the MiFi idea is dirt cheap to implement initially and becomes a useful work device if a landline ever does appear.
Check which mobile network has strong coverage, see if any hope of 4g soon on it, and buy 90-day pay as you go data SIMs off Ebay. It's a great excuse for your kids to not own an online Xbox (these can gobble Gigs of data per month).
The emergency calls thing is difficult to argue unless you can somehow register a mobile against a fixed address. A mobile phone might be more reliable for emergencies than a landline in a semi rural location ...think snow or floods... What do travelling people like circus folk do?

Ivana_Tinkle

Have a look at the Superfast Cornwall website as you might qualify for subsidised satellite broadband.

kinger101

thehare wrote: »

The aim was to get a phone line. Bt have now confirmed for the 3rd time no line is available (1 line 2 properties) an openreach surveyor and engineer have confirmed it. This proves the landlord failed to divulge information that would have a bearing on us taking the property. He has repeatedly lied and denied knowledge. The landlord lived in the property and would have known, hence why the neighbour saddled the connection. I assume in the 3 month owner moved out, neighbour signed up for broadband, so he now has the line. The point is the owner knew the issue and failed to disclose it to the letting agent. The breach of contract should be between landlord and agent. Not agent and tenant, my instinct is that as the are friends on a personal level, they think we will accept the issue. We want to terminate contact because landlord has knowingly withheld information.

I'm sure if you've got big pockets you can take this to court (and quite possibly lose). If not, just try one of the three alternatives suggested. Compromise is usually more effective than cutting off one's nose.....

The agency withholding information is something of a non-argument in my opinion. Given a landline isn't the only means to an internet or telephone connection, they might just as easily assume its so easily resolved that no reasonable tenant would view it as a deal-breaker.

System

How do you know that the owner or anybody was aware that there were no spare pairs to add a further telephone line. If the owner only lived there 3 months with the intention of renting it out then he would have been stupid if he signed up for a phone service as there is normally a 12 month contract.

You are clutching at straws there

buglawton

Satellite... Avonline example: If your connection is below 2MBPs you should qualify for the subsidy. You will need a "74cm dish outside on southerly facing wall (just like Sky)" .."installation normally takes just 1-2 hours".
Package is quoted about about £25/month for 5GB data. What happens if you need more is unclear.

jjlandlord

buglawton wrote: »

Package is quoted about about £25/month for 5GB data. What happens if you need more is unclear.

They nuke you from orbit.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aCbfMkh940Q