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Tenants wait average of 31 days for household problem fixes

vickyhartley
Written By:
vickyhartley
Posted:
Updated:
09/09/2014

Almost a third of renters said waiting for household appliances to be fixed remains the biggest rental problem, with people waiting over a month for landlords to attend to boilers, heating or electricity glitches.

A survey from the Association of Residential Letting Agents (ARLA) showed while 45% report no problems at all in the last five years, over half of all renters have experienced at least one problem.

Some 18% of tenants said landlords failing to replace old items such as kitchen cupboards and worn carpets was the next biggest issue, with one in seven tenants saying they felt their complaints fell on deaf ears.

ARLA said 64% of tenants fail to check whether the letting agent or landlord is licensed with the majority failing to check at all.

One in ten wrongly assumed that all letting agents and landlords were licensed.

Over one in five said they ‘were worried about their landlord or letting agent’ before they signed the agreement doubling to 43% in London.

Renters also complained about lack of clarity on fees, little or no knowledge about the property, agents being pushy and also not turning up to appointments.

David Cox, managing director, Association of Residential Letting Agents (ARLA), said: “Our home is our castle, and there is no reason for it to not be fit for a King. Just because you rent a property it should not impact your levels of enjoyment, especially as there is such a high price to pay for renting. For anyone looking to rent, there are basic boxes to tick to ensure you receive the best possible end result – and this starts with choosing your letting agent and landlord. Choosing an unlicensed letting agent could leave tenants with a long list of problems.”

He continued: “It will only be through qualification and ongoing professional development, backed up by appropriate regulation, that we will eliminate the rogue landlords and agents who blight our industry. ARLA would like to see a fully regulated industry to build a better, stronger private rented sector.”


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