Needing help with landlord problems
Q. I stay in private rented accommodation and I am having a lot of problems with my landlord making some urgent repairs in my flat. My boiler has not worked for several weeks and there is a leak coming in through my bathroom roof.
I have contacted the landlord via email and telephone and either been ignored or I have been told that someone will come out to fix these things and then no one turns up. How do I get the landlord to fix these problems? I am still paying rent.
A. Under common law and parliamentary statute a landlord must ensure that the house: is wind and watertight, meets the tolerable standard and for most tenancies, meets the repairing standard. In addition the landlord has a responsibility to repair: the exterior of the house including drains, gutters and pipes, water supplies and plumbing, gas supplies, electrical supplies, space and water heating, defects giving rise to dampness, and anything specified in the tenancy agreement.
If you have requested repairs and your private landlord has not done them, you have the following options:
•apply to the First-tier Tribunal
for Scotland (Housing and Property Chamber)
•check whether the local council can
enforce the repair
•do the repair yourself and charge the
landlord
•take action with other tenants who have
a similar problem
•Withhold rent.
We would advise clients to apply to the First Tier Tribunal for Scotland as this is a
free service but you must have sent your landlord a repair notice and given them a reasonable time to fix the issues. If this has been done then you can apply.
You would be best gathering evidence to support your case in the form of emails, text messages, dates and times of missed appointments or even videos showing the disrepair.
The application form itself is very straightforward and asks for your details as well as your landlord’s details and registration number – all private landlords should have one and they could be fined up to £50,000 if not.
The form asks for your representative’s details. This could be a housing specialist or a solicitor but generally you do not need one as you are presenting accurate and truthful information regarding your situation.
The form can be downloaded and printed via the housing and property chamber at www. housingandpropertychamber.scot/home.
The Tribunal can enforce the landlord to carry out the repairs and also in some circumstances award compensation or provide rent relief to you as the tenant.
Q. I have received a letter for an overpayment of my benefits. The Department of Work and Pensions have advised me that I owe thousands and the reason they are saying that I owe this money is because I have not declared income through employment. This is not true as I have not worked due to ill
A. It would be useful to contact the benefit department that the overpayment has come from and ask for Right of Access for any information that the Department of
Work and Pensions hold on you.
This is because the DWP are advising
that they have information on you that makes you ineligible for the benefit. Once you receive this information then you can appeal it. If you have any evidence which can back up your claims then this would be beneficial. You should have received a letter from
the DWP calculating the length of the
overpayment as well as your entitlement with the information they have found.
Q. My brother was on Income Support before reaching state retirement age. This stopped as soon as he received his state retirement pension. When he got income support he was entitled to free dentistry work on the NHS. I did not realise that the entitlement stopped with the income support.
My brother paid money to have work done and we received a letter from the NHS stating that he now had to pay for it. My brother paid the money; however, I am wondering if there are any schemes that entitle him to free treatment.
A. Because your brother is not on a qualifying benefit you will have to fill out a HC1 low income scheme form that can be obtained from the Jobcentre, possibly doctors surgery’s or NHS dentists.
The form will ask for your total income as you must have less than £16,000 income per year for a single person or £23,000 for a couple. The form is sent away and if you are successful then you are sent a ‘certificate’ that you have to show your dentist every time you receive treatment. The certificate will also entitle you to some travelling expenses for NHS treatment and some frames in opticians.
Q. I recently organised a funeral for my uncle. I was not happy with the service I received – what should I do?
A. If you are dissatisfied with any aspect of the service you received from a funeral director, you should first discuss this with the funeral director concerned. The person who arranged the funeral and the funeral director have made a binding arrangement.
The funeral director is therefore bound to carry out the arrangements as agreed.
You also have the following statutory rights under the agreement: the services provided must be carried out with reasonable care and skill, the services must be provided for a reasonable price; and the services must be finished within a reasonable time.
In addition to your contractual and statutory rights, your problem may be covered by a code of practice drawn up by a trade association, to which the funeral director may belong.
If the funeral director does not resolve your complaint, either immediately or after negotiation, you could consider: complaining to the trade association, which may have a conciliation service or taking action in the county court for breach of contract.