# Uncontactable landlord and broken major appliance



## Boyd (16 Oct 2012)

Ive lived in my current rental accomodation for two years now without ever seeing or talking to landlord. I live with two guys and one has a standing order 
for the rent, and we pay him, he pays LL i.e. single point of rent to landlord. I dont mind not seeing/hearing from LL, I/we dont need anything really. 

However, a major applicance has now stopped working and we need it fixed. Ive tried texting (no response), calling (no answer), and leaving voicemail (no callback). Ive had a look at the lease and his address is listed on it.....but I dont know if he still lives there. 

What do people think I/we should do? Should I call over and demand he fix it? Should I write a letter to him demanding same? Should I stop paying rent until he does, and then deduct a large chunk from the rent to cover the inconvenience? If doing that should I leave a voicemaill indicating same? Any other ideas?

thanks


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## chrisboy (16 Oct 2012)

Get the appliance fixed, and then deduct it from the rent, sending him a registered letter explaining what you've done, with the receipt.


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## MrMan (16 Oct 2012)

Why do you have to demand anything, If he is in your vicinity then call over and inform him of the problem. You could get it fixed and deduct from the rent, but if it's a major appliance it might need to be replaced. Your one point of contact has failed, he may have lost his phone, or dropped it, or changed his number.


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## Bronte (16 Oct 2012)

If he is not within calling distance than you should send him a letter.  It's not good enough that he is uncontactable.  A landlord has an obligation to be prompt with repairs.  Put your phone number/ and email in the letter and tell him it's urgent and you need to know he will deal with it asap and if he doesn't ring you back within 2 days of the letter that you will organise the repair yourself and deduct it from the rent.  

Send your letter by recorded delivery and request a contact phone numbeer for the future.


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## shesells (16 Oct 2012)

username123 said:


> What do people think I/we should do? Should I call over and demand he fix it? Should I write a letter to him demanding same? Should I stop paying rent until he does, and then deduct a large chunk from the rent to cover the inconvenience? If doing that should I leave a voicemaill indicating same?



You should always formally request - never demand.

Similarly you should never withold rent as a way of getting a problem sorted, this is a case of two wrongs not making a right. Your lease commits you to paying a certain amount of rent and that gives you certain rights. Witholding rent diminishes your standing. Ditto your suggestion that you deduct a "large chunk to cover the inconvenience".

Without the "major appliance" being identified, it's hard to give your rights or an assessment as to what may be reasonable for repair or replacement. It could be something vital like a boiler...or something like a dishwasher that some people would consider major, and others would consider a luxury, why are you being vague OP?

You should contact the landlord at the address you have been given, informing them of the problem and setting a time frame for resolving the situation. It may also be worth contacting Threshold for advice.


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## Boyd (17 Oct 2012)

Its the cooker, fairly fundamental I would say. He texted back after I posted this today and is supposedly calling around in the morning to investigate, will see how it goes. Thanks for the advice!


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## Boyd (18 Oct 2012)

Yeah he didnt show up. Rang him last night, no answer, texted also no reply. I rechecked the lease, seems I went to the wrong address the first time (its one of those addresses with loads of estates like XYZ Lane, Mews, Park, Square, Way, Drive etc.). Anyway, on going to the *right* address, it doesnt exist! Its number 24 but the properties end at 23! I checked the parking spaces as they are numbered per apartment, no 24 to be found. 

He also owns this apartment block as I was talking to another rentor there while looking for number 24, who confirmed he is also their LL. She gave me a second number for him, no answer (I know both are correct as his voicemail says "You have reached....").

Im raging at this stage, and there is no way im fixing anything out of my pocket for this cowboy. Im absolutely not paying rent at end of this month if he doesnt fix this soon.

Should I just cut my losses and move out as its seriously stressing me out.


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## truthseeker (18 Oct 2012)

What about the other two guys you live with? They must be equally inconvenienced?


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## Boyd (18 Oct 2012)

They are but TBH they dont cook as much as I do and seem more blaise about the situation.


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## Bronte (18 Oct 2012)

The behaviour of this landlord is not on. He said he'd meet you on the 17th and didn't have the manners to text you when he didn't show up. I would inform him that you are going to do the repairs out of the rent money. You should not withhold the full rent. Just the amount of the repairs. 

A cooker is most certainly something one can not do without for a prolonged period.

Very strange about the address.  How many apartments in the block?


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## Boyd (18 Oct 2012)

IMO thats what is the most annoying, he has no manners to text back or return calls. If he rang back to say he couldnt get someone for day or two that'd be fine but he's treating us like we have no rights.

In our block? About 20 i'd say. 

I dont want to pay anything for this, plus the hassle of getting someone in to do the work. Why should I have to do that? Thats just letting him get away with doing nothing!


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## Bronte (18 Oct 2012)

username123 said:


> plus the hassle of getting someone in to do the work. Why should I have to do that?


 
Oh to be an Irish tenant.  I once had a tenant ask me to change a lightbulb.  

If that landlord has 20 apartments he would surely have to be there weekly for something or other.  Amazing that you've never seen him in two years, I'm not disputing you.  But 20 apratments take a heck of a lot of minding unless they are the most perfectly build and supplied place ever.


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## truthseeker (18 Oct 2012)

username123 said:


> I dont want to pay anything for this, plus the hassle of getting someone in to do the work. *Why should I have to do that?* Thats just letting him get away with doing nothing!



eh, because you like to eat perhaps?

I dont get it, why not just sort it out, withhold the amount from the rent and be done with it. If my cooker breaks I have to sort it out, thats what you do when something breaks. Fair enough, its the landlords responsibility to pay for it, but I dont see why you cant organise it seeing as the landlord is not being helpful, its you who is affected after all - no offence, but the amount of time you have spent posting and complaining you would have sourced and phoned a repair man.


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## Hans (18 Oct 2012)

Lucky you Bronte - only once asked to change a light bulb you obviously don’t have students as tenants! This is an intolerable situation no wonder Landlords in this country get a bad name and also no wonder people want to own their own property for this reason alone I cant see Ireland moving the way of other European countries where they are happy to live in rented property when there is no proper regulations for both landlords and tenants. When I visit my sister and friends in Germany they live happily in their rented properties for years and intend to retire and die in them knowing they are protected and know what is expected of them. Even though I never had dealings with PRTB I have yet to read good things about them so I wonder do we need to review this sector and appoint a relevant body.


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## Boyd (18 Oct 2012)

But even if he was about i'd never recognise him! If taking our place as an example he's done literally nothing with it since I moved in.

About a month ago I was talking to a guy who said he was a property manager or something similar, he was inspecting the gas. I shouldve asked him for contact details


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## Boyd (18 Oct 2012)

truthseeker said:


> eh, because you like to eat perhaps?
> 
> I dont get it, why not just sort it out, withhold the amount from the rent and be done with it. If my cooker breaks I have to sort it out, thats what you do when something breaks. Fair enough, its the landlords responsibility to pay for it, but I dont see why you cant organise it seeing as the landlord is not being helpful, its you who is affected after all - no offence, but the amount of time you have spent posting and complaining you would have sourced and phoned a repair man.



I dont agree with that at all. Its stated in the lease the LL shall repair all appliances. Doing (major) repairs as tenant and is a no-no for me.

Its also the principle of the thing, if I let him away with this then we will never get anything from him again.


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## truthseeker (18 Oct 2012)

username123 said:


> I dont agree with that at all. Its stated in the lease the LL shall repair all appliances. Doing (major) repairs as tenant and is a no-no for me.
> 
> Its also the principle of the thing, if I let him away with this then we will never get anything from him again.



Fair enough, enjoy your take aways!


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## AlbacoreA (18 Oct 2012)

Theres no excuse for a LL not to be contactable. Its not the dark ages.


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## oldnick (18 Oct 2012)

OP is getting too agitated over this. He states that in two years he has had no complaint, has not had reason to contact the LL and the LL has not bothered him. Great!

So, the cooker is broken the last few days and the LL has been difficult to contact and slow to respond. Yes, annoying, but after two years of no complaint from either side, the LL is now a "cowboy" and OP is foaming at the mouth.

In the many years of letting several properties to all sorts of different people -by sex,age,nationality and social background - I've had a few cookers/ovens fail. 
The usual repair /replacement time was three days from learning about it -which is probably no different from someone living in their own property. 

I never had the reaction from these disparate cookerless-tenants that OP is displaying. Mind you, my properties also have microwaves. Evidently OP's does not, or else surely he would not be quite so annoyed about not using the cooker for a few days.

Now, OP's LL was really stupid and negligent in not providing back-up details and providing a policy for such events in case he is not contactable. This was quite wrong of OP and it will and should cost him for tiem and trouble incurred by OP.  I give everyone three different phone numbers for my own tradesmen who know to go round asap. And I tell tenants if there is no immediate response from me or those guys then they can use their own contacts or use Golden Pgses and buy/pay for anything that needs replacing and deduct it from the rent, with no arguments from me.

So, I do agree that OP's LL is silly , inefficient  and annoying. But OP's reaction is a bit OTT . OP should follow the advice inTruthseekers post 13 . And calm down like his more blase fellow-tenants.


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## Black Sheep (18 Oct 2012)

Are you a registered tenant at this address.? You say you give your rent to your flat mate who makes a single payment to LL. Just wondered if this may be a reason for not communicating with you, or is it the flat-mate who should be dealing with this


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## Boyd (18 Oct 2012)

@oldnick 
You seem to be missing the point of the total lack of manners in not even acknowledging calls/texts for any update on the situation.



oldnick said:


> Mind you, my properties also have microwaves. Evidently OP's does not, or else surely he would not be quite so annoyed about not using the cooker for a few days.


We do have a microwave, which I purchased from my own pocket.



oldnick said:


> Yes, annoying, but after two years of no complaint from either side, the LL is now a "cowboy" and OP is foaming at the mouth.


and


oldnick said:


> OP is getting too agitated over this. He states that in two years he has had no complaint, has not had reason to contact the LL and the LL has not bothered him. Great!


In two years we have had no complaint as we have not required any input or repairs from him. "Cowboy" referred to putting a fake address on the lease, I dont know what other term would be appropriate here?


oldnick said:


> I give everyone three different phone numbers for my own tradesmen who know to go round asap. And I tell tenants if there is no immediate response from me or those guys then they can use their own contacts or use Golden Pgses and buy/pay for anything that needs replacing and deduct it from the rent, with no arguments from me.


Thats great, and yuo sound like an excellent LL, but you cant seriously suggest that paying money to buy/fix a major item like this is a good idea based on the circumstances (wrong address, wont answer phone etc).


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## Boyd (18 Oct 2012)

Black Sheep said:


> Are you a registered tenant at this address.? You say you give your rent to your flat mate who makes a single payment to LL. Just wondered if this may be a reason for not communicating with you, or is it the flat-mate who should be dealing with this



I cant remember if I updated my rent relief form to this address or not.

Possibly re: other flatmate, thats a good point, though as I said they are more blaise about it, and dont seem to think its a major problem e.g. "Its only been a few days"......which will only lead into it being a few weeks IMO.


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## truthseeker (18 Oct 2012)

username123 said:


> You seem to be missing the point of the total lack of manners in not even acknowledging calls/texts for any update on the situation.



I dont think anyone is disagreeing that its bad form of the landlord, but your main issue is that you have a broken cooker, the landlord being difficult/rude etc is a side issue to this that has come to light as a result of the broken cooker.



username123 said:


> "Cowboy" referred to putting a fake address on the lease, I dont know what other term would be appropriate here?



Perhaps, mistake? Perhaps he meant to write 21. Who knows, but it seems like a strong conclusion to jump to that he is a cowboy.



username123 said:


> Thats great, and yuo sound like an excellent LL, but you cant seriously suggest that paying money to buy/fix a major item like this is a good idea based on the circumstances (wrong address, wont answer phone etc).



I think its a fantastic idea based on the circumstances. Your alternative is to live with no cooker and be at the mercy of the landlords timing. Whereas if you sort out the repair/replace and withold it from rent you (a) have your cooker issue sorted, (b) have the landlords attention - Ill bet he will be quick to provide better contact details if he thinks too much money has been spent on repair and he could have had it done cheaper.

Im just not too clear on what you hope to achieve by just complaining about it and hoping the landlord contacts you. How is that going to solve your problem - dont get me wrong, you have plenty of grounds to be complaining about him, but its not going to resolve your issue.


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## Seagull (18 Oct 2012)

Send a text stating that if it hasn't been repaired within the week, you will organise the repairs yourself and deduct the costs from the rent.


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## Boyd (18 Oct 2012)

Looks like that is the best solution proposed here alright, which we'll probably end up doing.

Just seems like we're paying him enough much rent to have to sort this ourselves is what mainly bugging me.


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## Dermot (18 Oct 2012)

Can you get the tenant whose name is on the lease to text him as Seagull states. Store the text and previous calls and texts.  Call the repair man having the name and model of the cooker and what you think is wrong. Get a receipt. Text Landlord the amount you are deducting from the rent as per receipt. End of story. Keep a record/photocopy of your receipt in case he tries to stop it out of your Deposit. End of story. I am a landlord but I cannot abide bad landlords or bad tenants. You look after decent people and it is a two way street. Best of Luck


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## elcato (19 Oct 2012)

> Just seems like we're paying him enough much rent to have to sort this ourselves is what mainly bugging me.


Have you tried removing the chip from the offending shoulder ?


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## Ceist Beag (19 Oct 2012)

elcato said:


> Have you tried removing the chip from the offending shoulder ?



Another helpful post elcato. Between abusive bus drivers and uncontactable landlords you seem to have a fairly lax attitude to what constitutes acceptable behaviour.


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## elcato (19 Oct 2012)

I have a penchant for drama queens and and every story has two sides.


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## Boyd (19 Oct 2012)

elcato said:


> I have a penchant for drama queens and and every story has two sides.



I dont have a penchant for idiotic forum trolls who waste people's time with their nonsense replies.


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## MrMan (19 Oct 2012)

If the landlord was to arrange a repair guy, then they would have to be  put in contact with you anyway because they will need access to the  property to carry out the repair, and I presume that you would like to  be present while a stranger is in your apt? So, organise a repair guy to  come and fix your cooker. You are an adult, so do the adult thing and  organise it now yourself. The beauty of renting is that the repairs  won't actually cost you anything (as you will deduct from rent), but it  doesn't mean that you have everything done for you.


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## oldnick (20 Oct 2012)

I feel guilty having cooked meals until i know what happened in the faulty cooker saga.
What news?


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## Bronte (22 Oct 2012)

username123 said:


> In two years we have had no complaint as we have not required any input or repairs from him. "Cowboy" referred to putting a fake address on the lease, I dont know what other term would be appropriate here?


 
Imagine two years of no bother and suddenly one incident and you are now calling the landlord a cowboy?


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## oldnick (22 Oct 2012)

I think Elcato summed it up quite well -a bit of a hissy fit over something that the OP could have sorted out himself relatively easily. Still no excuse for LLs' delay.


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## facetious (22 Oct 2012)

username123 said:


> Ive lived in my current rental accomodation for two years now without ever seeing or talking to landlord. I live with two guys and one has a standing order
> for the rent, and we pay him, he pays LL i.e. single point of rent to landlord. I dont mind not seeing/hearing from LL, I/we dont need anything really.
> 
> However, a major applicance has now stopped working and we need it fixed. Ive tried texting (no response), calling (no answer), and leaving voicemail (no callback). Ive had a look at the lease and his address is listed on it.....but I dont know if he still lives there.
> ...


Under  section  12(1)(f) of the RTA 2004, a landlord is obliged to provide particulars of the means by which the tenant could  at all reasonable  times  contact  him.

A landlord is under an obligation to repair or replace any faulty appliance within a reasonable time (normally considered to be 14 days). This is especially so where it is an appliance which is required by law to be included in rented property under the Housing standards for rented property.

If a tenant withholds payment of rent where a landlord is in breach of his obligations, the tenant also breaches his obligations. If the tenant or landlord  then makes a claim with the PRTB, this will be held against the tenant and the tenant is liable to lose all or a substantial part of any damages awarded.

If a landlord is not remedying a fault for which he is responsible, the tenant should advise the landlord in writing that he will have repairs effected, having received at least two (preferably three) estimates for the repair and selected the lowest. Only under these circumstances may the tenant withhold rent equivalent to the invoice value of the repair.

All and any contact with a landlord by phone /  text should be followed up immediately by a dated written notice (keep a copy in case of a claim with the PRTB) of the issue discussed.

There have been numerous claims against landlords for failure to maintain properties as required, not only structure but also equipment supplied, in which tenants have received damages for the landlord's breach of obligations.


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## oldnick (22 Oct 2012)

Facetious..
I'm interested in your source about the tenant having to get three quotes-  and only after getting three and choosing the cheapest is the tenant allowed to deduct expenses from the rent. 
Furthermore the tenant can only do this after the LL has done nothing within fourteen days.


Also - if the tenant withholds rent when the LL has breached his obligations then the tenant is also breaching his obligation.  What? A tenant is obliged to continue paying rent even if the apartment is uninhabitable due to LL's breach of obligations?

So,  next time something goes wrong with an appliance I can tell the tenants it may take two weeks to replace or repair -and only after that they can get three quotes before deducting rent. 
Sounds great if I was a wicked LL.


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## Dermot (22 Oct 2012)

Facetious I am in no way defending the behaviour of the Landlord in this case I think that there was a practical solution to all of this as I stated before. I was talking recently to a couple of tenants of Longford Co Co and if you were to apply the same rules that you have quoted to Longford Co Co there would need to be a separate Quango as big as PRTB to deal with all the tenant problems in relation to repairs/renewals in that county alone.


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## facetious (25 Oct 2012)

oldnick said:


> Facetious..
> I'm interested in your source about the tenant having to get three quotes-  and only after getting three and choosing the cheapest is the tenant allowed to deduct expenses from the rent.
> Furthermore the tenant can only do this after the LL has done nothing within fourteen days.


Where the landlord has been notified  in writing of a breach of his obligations and has failed to remedy that breach within *a reasonable time*, a tenant is entitled to vacate the property (whether fixed term lease or a Part 4) and a notice of termination giving 28 days to vacate the property, may be given by the tenant.

Alternatively, a tenant wishing to remain in the property, may organise repairs himself. However, the landlord is only liable for the "reasonable costs". *It is not a legal requirement*, but, *for the avoidance of any doubt*, it is best for a tenant to get at least two (preferably three) quotes for the work/repairs to be carried out, and to select the lowest/cheapest and advise the landlord beforehand, that the cost will be deducted from the rent.

You can read PRTB determinations where the tenant has not been allowed the full cost of repairs/replacement where the landlord has had evidence that the cost was unreasonable.

Furthermore, a tenant could get a "mate" to do some repairs for which the landlord is liable and "up" the price and just issue a receipt/invoice for an inflated value.



> Also - if the tenant withholds rent when the LL has breached his  obligations then the tenant is also breaching his obligation.  What? A  tenant is obliged to continue paying rent even if the apartment is  uninhabitable due to LL's breach of obligations?


Where a tenant has withheld the payment of rent (i.e. not paying the rent "as it falls due") the tenant is in breach of the tenants obligations. There are many PRTB determinations where a tenant, in trying to get a landlord to effect a landlord's breach of obligations, has withheld rent. However, had the tenant not withheld the rent, he would have been awarded damages in respect of the landlord's breach. Two wrongs don't make a right.

As regards your scenario that if the "apartment is uninhabitable", surely a tenant would issue a Notice of Termination and vacate the property. In the case where a property "suddenly" becomes uninhabitable, it would not be reasonable to expect a tenant to pay rent and no PRTB determination would award damages against the tenant in such a case. A bit of locic must be applied.



> So,  next time something goes wrong with an appliance I can tell the  tenants it may take two weeks to replace or repair -and only after that  they can get three quotes before deducting rent.
> Sounds great if I was a wicked LL.


A landlord is under an obligation to have repairs effected "within a reasonable time". A good landlord would not wait for the reasonable time to pass before remedying a problem. Different problems can take different amounts of time to rectify. Some problems are obviously more urgent than others. Hence, the law states "a reasonable time" and not a number of days. Would you leave the repair of a burst/leaking pipe for 14 days before commencing repairs? Other cases may require obtaining special parts which may not be immediately available. 

Where a cooker is not broken, as is the case with the OP, a landlord should at least respond within 48 hours to a verbal complaint by the tenant - who should always follow up any verbal communication with a formal written complaint. This not only safeguards the tenant in his obligations to notify the landlord of an issue within the property, but can also act as evidence as to when the issue first occurred. This evidence may be vital should a claim be made by the tenant for the landlord's breach of obligations.

You, yourself, may not be a wicked landlord - but there are quite a few out there who do not know their obligations or hope that the tenant does not know the law.


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## facetious (25 Oct 2012)

Dermot said:


> Facetious I am in no way defending the behaviour of the Landlord in this case I think that there was a practical solution to all of this as I stated before. I was talking recently to a couple of tenants of Longford Co Co and if you were to apply the same rules that you have quoted to Longford Co Co there would need to be a separate Quango as big as PRTB to deal with all the tenant problems in relation to repairs/renewals in that county alone.



A dwelling let by or to a public body is exempt from the RTA 2004. I am sure that the Longford Co Co consider themselves a public body. 

And talking of Longford, I lived there until several weeks ago and I am very glad to have left Longford for another county!!


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## Dermot (25 Oct 2012)

facetious said:


> A dwelling let by or to a public body is exempt from the RTA 2004. I am sure that the Longford Co Co consider themselves a public body.
> 
> That is the very point that I am making that the same rules and standards should apply across the board for private and public bodies.


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## facetious (25 Oct 2012)

Dermot said:


> facetious said:
> 
> 
> > A dwelling let by or to a public body is exempt from the RTA 2004. I am sure that the Longford Co Co consider themselves a public body.
> ...


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## Boyd (29 Oct 2012)

oldnick said:


> I feel guilty having cooked meals until i know what happened in the faulty cooker saga.
> What news?



Glad you asked........ive been sunning myself in the Balearics for the last week, leaving the situation in the capable hands of the other two tenants and the landlord. Nothing has been done in the interim.

You want something done, yada yada yada yourself it seems.


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## Boyd (31 Oct 2012)

Im sure those of you on tender hooks about this will be happy to hear that I got electrician out and its now sorted. Loose live wire behind the switch on the wall. 

I paid it and will be deducting it from the rent, plus a handling fee for the hassle involved and time taken.

Thanks for all the constructive advice, not the rest, you know who you are.


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## dereko1969 (31 Oct 2012)

username123 said:


> Im sure those of you on tender hooks about this will be happy to hear that I got electrician out and its now sorted. Loose live wire behind the switch on the wall.
> 
> I paid it and will be deducting it from the rent, plus a handling fee for the hassle involved and time taken.
> 
> Thanks for all the constructive advice, not the rest, you know who you are.


 
Handling Fee is rather dodgy in my mind. But you seem only to want to hear what you want to hear, so probably pointless in posting this.


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## truthseeker (31 Oct 2012)

Would you not share the cost with the other tenants (ie, you all deduct some from your rent?).

I dont really know why youre charging a handling fee, how much hassle was involved in phoning an electrician? Plus it only went on so long because you refused to resolve it sooner!

I have to say, I wouldnt be staying in this place if I were you, the other tenants dont seem to care about a basic standard of living and the landlord is willing to leave you without a way to cook so why stay?


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## FergusCurley (31 Oct 2012)

chrisboy said:


> Get the appliance fixed, and then deduct it from the rent, sending him a registered letter explaining what you've done, with the receipt.



I am with Chrisboy on this. You are there two years so must be fairly happy, some landlords tend to operate on a who shouts loudest basis. He should have no issue if you are reasonable as suggested above.


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## Boyd (31 Oct 2012)

truthseeker said:


> Would you not share the cost with the other tenants (ie, you all deduct some from your rent?).



We have shared the cost obviously. 



truthseeker said:


> I have to say, I wouldnt be staying in this place if I were you, the other tenants dont seem to care about a basic standard of living and the landlord is willing to leave you without a way to cook so why stay?



Point taken, I am looking at other places at the moment.



truthseeker said:


> I dont really know why youre charging a handling fee, how much hassle was involved in phoning an electrician? Plus it only went on so long because you refused to resolve it sooner!





dereko1969 said:


> Handling Fee is rather dodgy in my mind. But you seem only to want to hear what you want to hear, so probably pointless in posting this.



I dont think its entirely fair to say that im only hearing what I want to hear, I took advice on here and got it fixed myself. Re: handling fee, I just dont think its fair that he gets away scot free ignoring us and washing his hands of any responsibility on the house.


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## Boyd (31 Oct 2012)

FergusCurley said:


> I am with Chrisboy on this. You are there two years so must be fairly happy, some landlords tend to operate on a who shouts loudest basis. He should have no issue if you are reasonable as suggested above.



See previous post about LL giving (by accident/or purpose) incorrect and non-existant address on lease


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## truthseeker (31 Oct 2012)

username123 said:


> Re: handling fee, I just dont think its fair that he gets away scot free ignoring us and washing his hands of any responsibility on the house.



How does he get away scot free if you move as a result of this? He will be down a tenant and that will hit him in the pocket.


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## Boyd (31 Oct 2012)

That may not be immediately. Until im gone (may be few months) he will get away scot free, and it will be up to people left (I assume) to rent the room as they leased the whole house.


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## truthseeker (31 Oct 2012)

username123 said:


> That may not be immediately. Until im gone (may be few months) he will get away scot free, and it will be up to people left (I assume) to rent the room as they leased the whole house.



If they sublet to you, is this why the landlord did not jump to repair the cooker? Presumably the landlord wont deal with a non leaseholder? Does the landlord know about the sublet? 

You seem to have a strong desire to punish the landlord for not being a good landlord. I dont really understand this, if I dont like how my landlord does business, I move. Life is too short to be trying to punish someone who didnt get your cooker fixed quick enough.


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## Boyd (1 Nov 2012)

Yeah he knows one guy moved out two years ago and I moved in. We got a new lease and there is only one name of the three on the it. I wouldnt really call it subletting, unless my understanding of the term is wrong. 

We all pay the same rent, who he deals with (IMO) shouldnt matter. Me simply moving (again IMO) seems a cop-out that allows his poor behaviour to permeate to anyone else who moves in. Also, the apartment is handy and nice so immediately moving out wasnt wouldnt be my first choice.


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## MrMan (1 Nov 2012)

username123 said:


> Yeah he knows one guy moved out two years ago and I moved in. We got a new lease and there is only one name of the three on the it. I wouldnt really call it subletting, unless my understanding of the term is wrong.
> 
> We all pay the same rent, who he deals with (IMO) shouldnt matter. Me simply moving (again IMO) seems a cop-out that allows his poor behaviour to permeate to anyone else who moves in. Also, the apartment is handy and nice so immediately moving out wasnt wouldnt be my first choice.




He isn't getting away scot free, he is paying for the repair of the appliance in the nice handy apartment that you are renting. I would be deducting your handling charge from your deposit if I was your landlord.


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## truthseeker (1 Nov 2012)

username123 said:


> Me simply moving (again IMO) seems a cop-out that allows his poor behaviour to permeate to anyone else who moves in.



While I understand this I disagree with it, because you are trying to make him be a better landlord, and IMO, you cant control another persons behaviour. If I dont like how someone does business, I take my business elsewhere, I really wouldnt be bothered trying to make the first person behave to my standards.

Each to their own, but you are just making a rod for your own back by trying to punish him with the handling fee - IMO.


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## Boyd (1 Nov 2012)

MrMan said:


> He isn't getting away scot free, he is paying for the repair of the appliance in the nice handy apartment that you are renting. I would be deducting your handling charge from your deposit if I was your landlord.



I wouldve thought a handling fee vs doing any maintenance/upgrade/repair work in four years would be a bargain for him to be honest.

This raises another point, how am I supposed to retrieve a deposit from him? No postal address, at his mercy whether he decides to answer calls/texts or not. 

Using last months rent would be my preferred approach.


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## MrMan (1 Nov 2012)

Was this not the first time that something needed to be repaired? if so then you can hardly penalise him for something that never happened. 
If he doesn't contact you after all of this, then then only option would be to withhold your final months rent. It's in his own interest to make contact with you at this point.


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## Boyd (1 Nov 2012)

Yeah this was the first time anything actaully broke but I meant some ongoing maintenance which would usually be done over the years.


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## facetious (1 Nov 2012)

truthseeker said:


> If they sublet to you, is this why the landlord did not jump to repair the cooker? Presumably the landlord wont deal with a non leaseholder? Does the landlord know about the sublet?
> 
> You seem to have a strong desire to punish the landlord for not being a good landlord. I dont really understand this, if I dont like how my landlord does business, I move. Life is too short to be trying to punish someone who didnt get your cooker fixed quick enough.



If the Op is not n the lease and is in the house at "the invitation" of the other tenants, the OP is a licensee/lodger and has virtually no rights. However, the lack of rights also apply to the Op, who, as a licensee to whom the RTA 2004 does not apply, can easily leave if he has not signed any lease.

Sub-letting only exists when the tenant/s move out and they in turn rent the property and become landlords themselves. Thus, the tenants remain legally responsible to the landlord/owner of the property while the tenants become the landlords of the new tenants who are responsible to them and not to the property owner.


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## Bronte (5 Nov 2012)

How much are you charging as a handling fee?


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## Boyd (5 Nov 2012)

Less than 100 euro. The exact cost of the repair itself.


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