Are Blocked Drains Landlord's Responsibility?
The Housing Association and Executive' and tenant have varied responsibilities on who is to repair the property. The responsibility of blocked drains is a matter that can cause conflict between landlord and tenant. It is not always clear who is responsible for a blocked drain. Most tenancy agreements will outline clearly the roles and responsibilities of both tenant and landlord. There is usually a section that spells out what the landlord must do and what the tenant must do.
It will probably list the landlord's responsibilities as including the following:
Maintaining the structure and exterior of the property; including drains, gutters and external pipes, roof, outer walls, and foundations.
The landlord will also be responsible for maintaining the supply of gas, water, electricity and sanitation including sinks, baths, basins and sanitary ware.
If the tenant causes any damage, the landlord is within their rights to ask a tenant to contribute towards or pay in full, for any repairs carried out.
When dealing officially with your landlord, it's always a good idea to write and keep a copy of the letter for your records. It also makes sense to take a couple of photographs of the issue, if you can.
As a tenant, you are responsible for informing your landlord if there is a leak from your property that could be damaging a neighbours property.
Landlord and tenant responsibilities?
general rules for the responsibilities of a landlord and tenant.
Exterior
It is the responsibility of the tenant to take care and maintain the hedges and gardens and thoroughly clean the gully trap. The landlord has the responsibility of maintaining the garden paths, fences, walls, and gates. The landlord should replace the wheelie bins; ensure the maintenance of drier rotary clothes' and maintenance of areas of social amenity.
Unless the local council is responsible for repair work, it is the landlord that is responsible for: The structural repairs of the outer doors, roofs, windows, chimneys, gutters, valleys, downpipes, gutters, valleys, external paintwork, and the as external' paintwork.
Gas supply and appliances
The landlord must ensure the installation of Gas supply and appliances. They should provide repair on defective' fuel stoves', cookers and the annual surrounds of the heating appliances'. The landlord is responsible for ensuring the cleaning and maintenance of blocked sewers, the external waste pipes and drains. However, they will never be held liable for blocked waste pipes and road gullies, misuse of the tenant boilers, the hot water cylinders, radiators, valves, fittings, and the pipework.
The tenant will need to ensure replacement of the basins, sinks and baths toilet bowls, washbasins, toilet seats' replacement of the sinks, bathtubs, drainers windows, and the doors.
The Internal' Decoration
A tenant must always ensure the interior of their home looks appealing and reasonably' decorated.
Electrical repairs
The landlord is held responsible' for repairing of electrical appliances, electrical wiring, heaters, and fires that are fixed by the landlord. Other areas include lamp holders, ceiling roses, flexes, systems of the door entry, communal blocks, switches and socket outlet. On the other hand, the tenant has a duty' to repair the electrical appliances, heaters, and fires which were not fixed by the landlord. Others include plug tops, heating and cooking appliances, doorbells, trips resetting, and the replacement of the fuses except those at the main fuses.
Doors and windows
A landlord must ensure replacement of the sashes, window frames, and furniture; provide a repair of defective external and internal doors, doors frames, saddles, locks, hinges, trapper bars, external doors, and letterboxes.
It is the responsibility of the tenant to replace;
- Handles and locks.
- Kitchen doors, hinges, drawer catches.
- Windows, repairing any broken glass.
- Some other essential structural repairs.
Structural and other repairs
The landlord must ensure the tidiness of the structural' timbers, staircases, walls, chimney, roof, tiling of the floor, and the rainwater sound walls, timber sills, architraves, skirting boards, and some other' internal decorative' woodwork ventilators, airbricks, insulation of the roof space and the timber rot.
The tenant must sweep the chimneys to keep them clear and take charge of all the essential work. Failure to ensure the chimney is adequately taken care of would result in cracks of the internal plaster on the walls and ceilings.
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