Tenant Rights - Landlord Issues

[Deleted User]

wrighthannah said:

AdrianC said:

"Huge health and safety issue"? If you were that worried, you could have bought a standalone smoke alarm for a fiver and propped it on top of a shelf/cupboard. No, you have zero rights to free rent for that.


Yes, an EICR is a legal requirement... as of the start of last month. Electricians are quite busy as a result.

If they're that bad, move.

Wow, I'm actually astonished at this response.

Firstly, it's a mains with battery back up alarm so we couldn't replace ourselves as the base of the older unit would have to be removed and there's wiring involved and neither myself or my husband are electricians. So, it's not as simple as buying and replacing ourselves.

In terms of the EICR, it came into effect in July 2020 so that's a year next month which is ample time to get one sorted.

It came into effect 1st July 2020 for tenancies in England that started after 1st June 2020. Yours started before that’s your landlord had from 1st April 2021 to comply. 

If you haven’t received a copy of the EICR then write, that’s paper, ink and a stamp to the address for the serving of notices given in your tenancy agreement requesting a copy. 

GDB2222

Lover_of_Lycra said:

wrighthannah said:

AdrianC said:

"Huge health and safety issue"? If you were that worried, you could have bought a standalone smoke alarm for a fiver and propped it on top of a shelf/cupboard. No, you have zero rights to free rent for that.


Yes, an EICR is a legal requirement... as of the start of last month. Electricians are quite busy as a result.

If they're that bad, move.

Wow, I'm actually astonished at this response.

Firstly, it's a mains with battery back up alarm so we couldn't replace ourselves as the base of the older unit would have to be removed and there's wiring involved and neither myself or my husband are electricians. So, it's not as simple as buying and replacing ourselves.

In terms of the EICR, it came into effect in July 2020 so that's a year next month which is ample time to get one sorted.

It came into effect 1st July 2020 for tenancies in England that started after 1st June 2020. Yours started before that’s your landlord had from 1st April 2021 to comply. 

If you haven’t received a copy of the EICR then write, that’s paper, ink and a stamp to the address for the serving of notices given in your tenancy agreement requesting a copy. 

The regs say that tenant has to be given a copy, without asking, so the landlord has not complied. Besides that, I expect the tenant would know whether the EICR has been done, or not. Writing and asking for a copy of a report that you know does not exist is a bit confusing.  I'd just nag until it becomes easier to get the inspection done than to keep stalling. 

One practical thing you could do is find an electrician and get a quote for doing the report. 

[Deleted User]

GDB2222 said:

Lover_of_Lycra said:

wrighthannah said:

AdrianC said:

"Huge health and safety issue"? If you were that worried, you could have bought a standalone smoke alarm for a fiver and propped it on top of a shelf/cupboard. No, you have zero rights to free rent for that.


Yes, an EICR is a legal requirement... as of the start of last month. Electricians are quite busy as a result.

If they're that bad, move.

Wow, I'm actually astonished at this response.

Firstly, it's a mains with battery back up alarm so we couldn't replace ourselves as the base of the older unit would have to be removed and there's wiring involved and neither myself or my husband are electricians. So, it's not as simple as buying and replacing ourselves.

In terms of the EICR, it came into effect in July 2020 so that's a year next month which is ample time to get one sorted.

It came into effect 1st July 2020 for tenancies in England that started after 1st June 2020. Yours started before that’s your landlord had from 1st April 2021 to comply. 

If you haven’t received a copy of the EICR then write, that’s paper, ink and a stamp to the address for the serving of notices given in your tenancy agreement requesting a copy. 

The regs say that tenant has to be given a copy, without asking, so the landlord has not complied. Besides that, I expect the tenant would know whether the EICR has been done, or not. Writing and asking for a copy of a report that you know does not exist is a bit confusing.  I'd just nag until it becomes easier to get the inspection done than to keep stalling. 

One practical thing you could do is find an electrician and get a quote for doing the report. 

Shelter advise writing and asking for a copy of the most recent report if you haven’t yet received. The landlord then has 4 weeks to provide you with a copy. 

https://england.shelter.org.uk/housing_advice/repairs/electrical_safety_in_rented_homes

I don’t see the point in nagging when one letter requesting a copy of the report could put the wind up the landlord. Besides none of us know it hasn’t been done. The landlord could have been ahead of the curve and already have one or if the property is a new build less than 5 years old or an older property that has been rewired within the last 5 years then the EIC will suffice. 

HampshireH

wrighthannah said:

HampshireH said:

AdrianC said:

"Huge health and safety issue"? If you were that worried, you could have bought a standalone smoke alarm for a fiver and propped it on top of a shelf/cupboard. No, you have zero rights to free rent for that.


Yes, an EICR is a legal requirement... as of the start of last month. Electricians are quite busy as a result.

If they're that bad, move.

100% this.

No compensation is due you could have picked one up in b&q and fitted it quite easily to protect you and your family if it was that big a concern

As I've mentioned in response to AdrianC and written in my original post, it's a mains alarm with battery back up so needs an electrician to wire. If it was a battery only alarm, then yes, we would have replaced it ourselves.

The unit also had a fault (sounding every 15 minutes as in the real alarm to tell us to evacuate) and neither my husband or I are fire alarm technicians so couldn't fix it. 

Also, I wasn't asking for free rent, merely asking if we had any rights to compensation or if we can barter for lower rent due to the issues we've been facing. 

Telling me to "just move" is quite frankly ignorant. If this didn't happen to us, it'd be another tenant because the landlord refuses to fix big issues. The leak being one where the lights went out in the shop below us because water was literally dripping from their ceiling. Landlords need to take accountability and don't get me wrong, tenants do on the maintenance side of things too. 

I appreciate your mains alarm was faulty. But on removal you could have cheaply purchased a battery operated alternative to provide you with the safety element. This was the link Adrian provided.

No one suggested you should fix/replace the mains one