A lot of people rent properties nowadays – and a lot of people end up with difficulties with landlords. Whilst I am sure there are many decent and upstanding landlords out there, my experience with many of them is that they will try and charge you for anything that goes wrong in the house – even if it’s not your fault!
But one of the really important things is the health and safety behind renting a property. Your landlord has an extremely important duty to ensure that your health and safety is not jeopardised whilst you are living in the property. Regular systems of inspection and maintenance should be carried out by your landlord in order to uphold this.
Anything that is associated with the agreement you have is covered by the laws. If you rent a fully furnished place, then it’s not just the building itself that has to be safe for you to live in – it’s the fixtures that came with the property as well! What is your responsibility and the landlords responsibility should be clearly identified in your tenancy agreement, so you know who is responsible for what.
When it comes to personal injury compensation claims, it all boils down to how the accident or injury was caused, and whether it’s a matter that your landlord could, and should, be held liable for. If you are injured because fixtures and fitting in the house are not properly maintained, or if something does become damaged that you report and nothing is done about it, causing you injury, you could be eligible for compensation.
If, for example, a drain is blocked and you report it to your landlord, but nothing is done about it and you or someone else slips due to excess surface water, you or the injured person could make a claim. If previous tenants leave the place in a tip, with rubbish everywhere and debris in the garden, you shouldn’t be expected to clear up after them – and if you are injured due to some tripping hazard that your landlord has failed to clear away, you could make a claim for compensation too.
In these scenarios, it’s always best to speak with an expert independent personal injury law firm to find out about what rights you have for making a claim for compensation. All landlords should legally have insurance in place to cover them for incidents that occur through negligence, so don’t worry about making a claim – you should be covered.
Give us a call on our free claims helpline on 0800 634 75 75 today for expert advice on whether you can make a claim for compensation or not.
