Some landlords won't leave you in peace to live in their property. Other landlords have the notion of dealing with problems is to ignore them and hope that they will go away by themselves. Either kind will make your life as a tenant miserable. Fortunately there are laws that provide protection in both cases.
It is often advised to rent a property through a professional letting agency. Provided that the agency also manages it on behalf of the Landlord that can be a very good preventative measure. An agency that manages a significant amount of properties is likely to have a person dedicated to dealing with landlord complaints from tenants and will also have reliable trades people that they can call when needed.
This is not always so when your landlord is managing the rental property. Inexperienced and unreliable tradesmen employed by the Landlord on the cheap or incompetence are issues that tenants regularly have to put up with.
Your landlord has obligations to keep your unit in good repair. If your tenancy is an Assured Shorthold Tenancy Agreement (AST) your Landlord will have certain statutory obligations under The Landlord and Tenant Act 1985 regarding maintenance and repair:
- to keep in repair the structure and exterior of the dwelling, including drains, gutters and external pipes,
- to keep in repair and proper working order the installations in the dwelling for the supply of water, gas, electricity and for sanitation (including basins, sinks, baths and sanitary conveniences) but not other fixtures, fittings and appliances for making use of the supply of water, gas or electricity
- to keep in repair and proper working order the installation in the dwelling for space heating and heating water.