Every now and then the question arises as to what is the position if a rented house is destroyed or damaged by fire. The question will usually apply to damage by flooding or other disaster. An entry on our members ask a question part of the website has prompted us to finally get on with producing an article. Alternative Accommodation One of the first questions that gets asked is whether a landlord is under a duty to re-house a tenant after a...

We have some tenants who are in there 80′s on an old Agricultural Act tennancy. They are struggling to do basic things around the house such as turing taps on and off as they are screw taps rather than levers. Not being heartless but as Landlords do we have an obligation to replace all the taps for them ? On another property there is no heating and they have never asked for it , am I correct that a new ruling is due on providing proper...

My tenant is claiming that some programmes of a brand new washing machine are not working. I was there when it was installed last week and the electricity supply was working but I didn’t check the programmes. I began to go through the instruction manual with the tenant but he assured me this was not necessary and he would read it and get it working himself. When he failed to do so he rang the engineer who installed it and the engineer...

Well, it seems the forum saga continues, now with new accusations. As it seems to me, on the thread there are four suggestions as to the law: It is illegal for a landlord to hold a set of keys – This has been resolved as human error and our article here. Then, three new suggestions namely:- There is no automatic right for a landlord to hold keys, To be safe he should obtain the permission of the tenant but the tenant could rescind this...

I have had a little flurry of members contact me in regard to a forum post which said: “I just think too many landlords are lethargic about understanding the law and their obligations. Did you know for instance, that it is illegal for the Landlord to hold a set of keys to the property? You can hold a set of keys if you get the tenant to sign an agreement to that effect and attach it to the tenancy agreement. That is the only legal way to...

Question is: how long can I take to sort out non-funtioning washer/dryer in the following circs? Tenancy of luxury flat began 24 Aug ’11. Washer/dryer working fine. Foreign tenant arrives with protective daddy. They ask for inside of wardrobe to be painted, plus a few other requests. I comply immediately. Tenant and daddy staying in posh hotel for a week ‘because can’t get mobile phone, to stay in contact’. I get e....