Rights and responsibilities

Both landlords and tenants have legal rights and responsibilities which they must conform to, otherwise they will be breaching law and may be accountable for their actions (or lack of) in front of a police or a judge depending on the severity of the incident.

A landlord’s rights include:

• To have access to the property having given 24 - 48 hours notice
• To be paid the rent as stipulated as agreed at the beginning of the tenancy agreement

A landlord’s responsibilities include:

• To carry out all repairs to the property within a suitable period of time after being informed by the tenant
• Make sure that the property is safe and habitable
• Comply with the new tenancy deposit scheme and consequently return a tenants deposit in full within the time period given by the government
• Give tenants the set notice prior to evicting them

A tenant’s rights include:

• To live in their home without being pestered by their landlord.
• To live in a well maintained and safe property.
• To get their deposits back in full at the end of the tenancy agreement, unless damage or cleaning has to be covered.

A tenant’s responsibilities include:

• To pay the rent on time (and bills if they are not included).
• Keep the property clean and tidy.
• Repair any damages that are caused.

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