What I find particularly annoying is that in my lease, I’m actually not allowed to fix a lot of the things that I have to call the letting agents about. Many of them I am perfectly capable of fixing myself, but the lease expressly forbids me from doing it — I am required to report it to the agency, who will sort it out, and charge the landlord.

Shelter Scotland has some good pages on your legal rights as a tenant. The landlord is legally responsible for keeping things in good working order, and if there’s anything you can call a health and safety issue, do, because he has a health and safety responsibility to you and must sort it within a reasonable period of time. Quote legislation, and quote the lease at him — it always helps. If he’s really not sorting things, you might want to find out if he/the agency are registered with ARLA, and submit a complaint to them or to the council.

Anyway, I feel your pain.

–IP