Tenants Rights

Some of your rights as a tenant may be dependant on your tenancy agreement, however there are some fundamental rights which do not change regardless of what your tenancy says.

As a tenant you have a right to :

Live in your home in peace.

This means you have a right to prevent people entering the property, it also means that the landlord has to give you notice before he can enter the property (normally 24-48 hours). As well as the landlord not being able to enter your property without proper notice, the landlord can not :

Change the locks without giving you notice and a copy of the keys
Cut of any of your utilities
Open your mail
Go through your possessions
Threaten you for any reason (verbally or physicaly), if you are threatened then contact the police.
Enter the property while you are out, unless emergency repairs need doing e.g. gas leak.

Live in a well maintained and safe property

A landlord has a responsibility to keep the property maintained and safe.

A landlord should ensure that:

the property is clean and safe when a tenant first moves in.
the property is safe and secure with all locks and alarms installed in full working order.
the building is safe and sound, this also includes utilities such as gas and water
any fabrics or furnishings in the house meet any regulations e.g that they are fire resistant.
Any furniture included in the lease is kept in good repair and replaced if its no longer suitable.

Deposit back in full

Assuming you have not caused your financial loss to the landlord or damage to the property then you should get your deposit back in full. To learn more about tenancy deposits click here