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Is my landlord required to ensure my home is secure?

 

When people think of housing disrepair issues, they often think about things that are visibly dangerous, such as structural issues or things that are known to have a negative effect on health, such as mould or dampness. What they don’t realise is that poor housing security can pose a serious threat to their wellbeing.

The question that people should ask more often: “is my landlord responsible for my home’s poor security?”

The answer is rather complicated…but we’ll do our best to explain things. As there are no clear legal requirements for your landlord when it comes to security measures, we are going to break our answer into two sections: one which explains what your landlord is responsible for regarding your security and two, what your landlord isn’t responsible for regarding your security.

Yes, your landlord is responsible for aspects of your home’s security in certain situations:

  • If your landlord failed to inform you about any lax basic security measures, they are responsible for fixing those issues
  • If your house security has worn down or broken through no fault of your own, it is your landlord’s responsibility to fix those issues
  • Any agreements made with your landlord over security guarantees must be upheld by your landlord

In essence, if you, the tenant, were not responsible for any of the damages made, you may be entitled to repairs on your home. If your landlord fails to keep up his end of the bargain with regards to any agreed security, or any initially provided security they have failed to upkeep, they may be responsible to fix those.

Despite this, you must remember, your landlord isn’t required by law to turn your home into Fort Knox! There are times when your landlord has the responsibility to fix issues related to your security with their own money.

  • For damages done by tenants, e.g a broken window, the landlord may ask the tenant to cover the cost of damages
  • For changes or improvements to home security, the landlord has no obligation to pay with their own money, unless required by regulations

As this is a very complicated subject that isn’t best legally outlined, every case is different. IT is very useful to speak to us directly, so we can better gauge your unique situation- please feel free to give us a call on 0161 762 1281 and we can talk about your situation in more detail.

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