Disrepair Claims: A Landlord’s Guide to Resolving Tenant Complaints Effectively
When landlords are faced with tenant complaints it is easy for the relationship between landlord and tenant to break down. Some landlords may think they don’t need to keep their tenants happy as they can easily find a replacement at the end of the tenancy agreement. However, advertising for a new tenant involves hassle and cost. Also, failing to resolve a tenant’s complaint puts a landlord at risk of a housing disrepair claim by Disrepair Claim Lawyers.
In this blog, our Landlord and Tenant Solicitors offer guidance on best practices for landlords to resolve tenant complaints before they escalate into legal action.
Online and London-based Landlord and Tenant Solicitors
For help resolving tenant disputes call the experts at OTS Solicitors on 0203 959 9123 or complete our online enquiry form.
How to avoid disrepair claims
Our Disrepair Claim Lawyers act on behalf of landlords and tenants and understand how landlords can reduce their risk of ending up with tenant legal action and a compensation claim. The key to landlords reducing costs and litigation risk is being proactive.
If you can't be a proactive landlord as you are holding down a busy job, live miles away from your rental properties or just don’t have the time or inclination, then appoint a professional letting agent to do the job for you.
If you are proactive and anticipate problems then you can ward off tenant complaints and claims. Even if you are proactive, you may just be unlucky with your property or choice of tenant and face loads of calls and complaints about property maintenance. Most Disrepair Claim Lawyers have come across tenants renting modest terraces who want five-star hotel standard accommodation with room service thrown in.
Whether your tenant is demanding or is right to be complaining about property disrepair you need to address their complaints and try to keep the dispute out of court. That’s because if you win is your tenant likely to have the means to pay your costs? If the tenant is in breach of their tenancy agreement are legal fees best spent on gaining possession? Are your actions likely to be seen by the tenant as harassment bringing a risk of police involvement or another civil claim by the tenant?
Best practice to avoid and resolve tenant complaints
Here are some suggestions on how to avoid or resolve tenant complaints about property disrepair:
- Check the property before you let it out – Our Landlord Solicitors understand the rush to rent so you have rent coming in to pay the mortgage. However, it can be a false economy to not check the property or to properly fix issues such as mould and dampness rather than just carry out a quick fix to get the property let out again. Once the property is checked take photos or a video. This is helpful if, for example, your tenant claims that within six months of the tenancy agreement, there is a very serious damp problem creating mould spores on the walls and making the tenant’s asthma worse. You may be able to stop a compensation claim for personal injury if you can prove that for the mould to be so serious the tenant’s actions must have contributed towards its growth
- Use trusted tradespersons – unless you have a buy-to-let property portfolio in one area it can be hard to find a trusted tradesperson who will come out to fix emergency repairs, do a good job and won't charge a fortune. This issue alone is one of the reasons landlords tell our Landlord and Tenant Solicitors that they are selling up. One way to reduce the hassle is to use a letting agent who manages the property for you during the tenancy agreement – though their tradespersons are never the cheapest option they do have the advantage of turning up to fix the disrepair
- Take out insurance – if you don’t want to risk delays in getting trades out to a property one way to reduce tenant complaints is to take out insurance so you have cover in place and an emergency helpline if the tenant has a problem with the sewer pipes on a bank holiday
- Take references on tenants and check them out – a tenant may have been unlucky with a previous landlord and rental property but equally some tenants have high expectations of what can be achieved on a Sunday evening or what amounts to urgent disrepair or the length of time it is reasonable to wait for an electrician or plumber to fix a minor problem
- Communicate with your tenant – our Disrepair Claims Lawyers find that many tenant complaints about property maintenance would not have escalated into tenant legal action if the landlord had told the tenant what they were trying to do to fix a disrepair problem. Unless the tenant has previously owned a home, they may be unaware that you can't just magic up a spare plumber or that to fix an electrical problem the electrician may need to order parts. Communication is also important when a problem is first notified. If a tenant’s texts are ignored it is likely to encourage a tenant to complain about property maintenance
- Encourage tenants to tell you if there is a problem – some tenants are so concerned about Section 21 notices that they won't tell their landlord about a property maintenance issue. What was a minor issue with mould or a small bathroom leak can then easily escalate into a major disrepair that could have been avoided if the tenant had felt able to tell you about the issue when it first cropped up
- Carry out your mid-tenancy agreement inspection visits – some landlords don’t like doing these visits and you sometimes question if a letting agent sent someone to the property with a blindfold in place so the employee did not flag up maintenance issues or highlight how the tenant’s actions were going to create a potential problem. For example, steaming windows, condensation and wet washing with no heating
- Understand your UK landlord obligations – when our Disrepair Claims Lawyers are resolving disrepair disputes, we find that if a landlord had understood the extent of their UK landlord obligations, then property maintenance would have been carried out at an earlier stage thus avoiding the tenant complaints
- Resolve disrepair disputes – if you think a tenant is a pain and a troublemaker then you may be right but ignoring their calls, texts and emails may result in tenant legal action and a letter before action. At that stage sometimes a landlord will be so incensed by a tenant’s unreasonable expectations that they will not contemplate compromise or be pragmatic. Going to court over a disrepair claim should be the last resort. That means you need a Disrepair Claim Lawyer who will talk you through the court process, explain the risks of the tenant winning and getting the disrepair sorted out and compensation and outline how they can resolve disrepair disputes out of court
- Focus on the figures – although our Landlord and Tenant Solicitors are lawyers, not accountants, we always focus on the money. How much will you as a landlord risk by a tenant complaint escalating into tenant legal action? What are your percentage chances of the judge agreeing with you completely? Is there a compromise to be struck? What is your end game? For example, do you intend to continue to rent the property out, turn it into a HMO or return to live in it?
Our Disrepair Claim Solicitors are always available to advise on your UK landlord obligations and to discuss how best to go about resolving disrepair disputes.
Online and London-based Landlord and Tenant Solicitors
For help resolving tenant disputes call the experts at OTS Solicitors on 0203 959 9123 or complete our online enquiry form.
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