Many landlords may get petrified when receiving the tenant’s complaint regarding the prolonged repair or non-compliance with landlord’s obligation to repair & maintenance.
The first element is to determine if the landlord get notified of a necessary repair in the rental premise by the tenant prior to the filing of a T6 application, pursuant to section 30(2) of the Residential Tenancies Act, 2006 (RTA), especially when a landlord is not residing in the same rental premise with the tenant. Failure to do so may contribute to no remedy or less relief can be awarded, unless it can be proven that the landlord already knew about the problem or should have known.
The second element is to assess if the damage resulted from normal wear and tear, given that the tenant did notify the landlord of such necessary repair. Landlord is only obligated to rectify the maintenance deficiencies resulted from normal wear and tear, which refers to the expected deterioration of items due to regular use over time. Section 20 of RTA stipulates that the responsibility of a landlord is to provide and maintain the premises in a good state of repair and fit for habitation in compliance with health, safety, housing and maintenance standards. The tenant cannot insist upon a standard of perfection regarding repairs, rather the landlord is only required to demonstrate such repair has been properly done.
On the contrary, when the damage was caused by the willful or negligent conduct of the tenant which was also verified by a certified professional or through obvious observation, it shall be the responsibility of a tenant for such repair in accordance with section 34 of the RTA. It is highly recommended to obtain a report from a certified professional if the damage was caused willfully or negligently by the tenant, because he or she may dispute about the cause of such damage not beyond normal wear and tear. Meanwhile, the landlord can serve N5 notice to get the tenant to pay for the cost incurred for such repairs if proven to be an undue damage.
The third element is to ensure the problem(s) to be rectified within a reasonable time. It may be hard but crucial to define a reasonable time for a necessary repair in your own circumstance, when usually within 1 – 2 weeks for minor repair, but contingent upon factors such as the nature of repair and its extent, the scheduling of contractor/technician for such repair, the availability of parts (sometimes supplies are not available locally but needed to be shipped from overseas) etc. The tenant cannot unreasonably prevent the landlord from entering into the unit to make the repairs when a 24-hour entry notice is provided. Such conduct may result in no compensation for any prolonged repair or non-repair from the landlord because of the tenant’s uncooperative behaviour. Furthermore, the tenant should not undertake the repairs without the landlord’s consent when it is stipulated in the lease, because it may be remedied with less relief or no compensation at all, when the landlord may dispute about the cause of such maintenance deficiencies is beyond normal wear and tear.
The landlord can take preventative measures on potential allegations for non-repair or prolonged repair through a proper written communication with the tenant for a necessary repair already reported.
The proper communication for a necessary repair with the tenant should include (i) when a certified professional will come over for an inspection, (ii) when a certified professional will make repairs and its estimated timeline; (iii) keep the tenant updated of a new date and it reason(s), if rescheduling is necessary by a certified professional or waiting for the arrival of parts; and (iv) the problems which have been rectified and the date of completion for all repairs, or any relevant communication to protect the landlord in the situation.
As a result, the landlord can avoid any ambiguity of the date of completion for all necessary repairs but within a reasonable time by documenting the timeline for such repairs, just in case any unexpected T6 tenant application may arise.
Disclaimer: This information is not intended to be construed as a legal advice, but strictly for your information only. Please contact Trustworthy Legal Services for an independent legal advice in your particular situation. The first consultation is required prior to the retainer of your case.
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