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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

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Original poster

Is my satellite dish my landlords responsibility?

17 replies

Dundundun · 04/02/2019 09:04

I only moved in over the weekend, when I went to view the property he said there is a satellite dish out there so if you want sky or anything installing that's fine. My last house only had a satellite dish so I had to buy a Freesat box, this house has both. The satellite dish doesn't seem to be working.

It is not mentioned at all in the tenancy agreement so doesn't state whose responsibility it is. Because it came with the house is it his responsibility to fix or is it mine because it's not in the tenancy agreement?

There is a few issues with the house (such as I can't turn the water heater on without tripping all the downstairs lights and the washing machine is rusty so leaks and a few other small things) but I don't want him to think I'm a PITA tenant and go to him with a list of faults. For what it's worth I lived in my last house 18 months and never had my LL out.

OP posts:

JaesseJexaMaipru · 04/02/2019 09:16

I don't think it's the landlord's responsibility. If you sign up for satellite then the installation engineer may need to repair or replace the dish as part of the installation. Your landlord's verbal statement was only saying he wouldn't object.

Be cautious however - if you sign up for satellite you will probably have to sign a 2 year contract. If you only have a short hold tenancy you could be moving on in 6 months time but you will still be liable for the satellite subscription anyway.

LIZS · 04/02/2019 09:26

Probably just installed by previous tenants so no not ll responsibility. Do you have an aerial to access digital tv?

chillpizza · 04/02/2019 09:27

Pretty sure areials and dishes are not the landlords responsibility.

Houseonahill · 04/02/2019 09:29

Yes I have an aerial, tbh it's my mum that keeps saying I need to tell LL that satellite isn't working and I don't want to because like i said i don't want to be a PITA especially when there is other stuff that is more important so was kind of hoping people would say it's not LLs problem

JennyOnAPlate · 04/02/2019 09:31

How do you know the dish isn't working? Are you paying for sky?

Mulberry72 · 04/02/2019 09:32

No, it’s not the landlords responsibility.

It’s yours to sort out with whoever will be your provider.

Gardai · 04/02/2019 09:32

It never occurred to me it was a landlord issue !
I wouldn’t expect it, they don’t have to provide telly/dishes etc.

EmeraldShamrock · 04/02/2019 09:38

Afaik it is not a landlord issue. I have rented lots of places some with satellites some without, all installed by tenants.
You could see most renters from EE had them.
I think sky set up the one here for a previous tenant.

DobbyTheHouseElk · 04/02/2019 09:38

I’m landlord and tenants frequently install satellite dishes with and without permission. It’s such a hard one. I don’t take responsibility for it, because it’s not something I need to provide. However if the tennant wishes to use it, that’s fine.

I looked into taking them off properties, but it’s was a lot of hassle. Also the tenants seem to like them. I don’t have a satellite dish, so don’t understand the need, but I do understand that others require them.

Willow1992 · 04/02/2019 09:42

No, we had no working connection to the aerial in our last property but were told the it was not their responsibility.
However, after we were there for a year and the letting agent had been really unprofessional ignoring reasonable maintainance requests my DP went in really fed up to complain and that was all of a sudden one of the things they were able to fix!
I would write a list of problems that are the LLs responsibility though and send it to them. Maybe mention the satellite because they might fix it out of courtesy. All of those little problems could get worse over time and I'm sure the landlord would rather them sorted now rather than get a nasty surprise. It could affect how much deposit you get back as well, if you have knowingly left things to get worse and they are found when you leave.
I know what you mean though, we moved into an old house in October and had lots of things to report and it does make you feel like a pest! But you are paying 100% of your rent, why should you not get 100% of what you are paying for?

EmeraldShamrock · 04/02/2019 09:47

You need to get the heat switch sorted and any electrical issues, most landlords expect to do some repairs for a new tenant, I wouldn't mention the satellite.
Personally I think there crap I tried using it when we moved in it was loosing channels.
Basic virgin and Netflix do me.

DobbyTheHouseElk · 04/02/2019 09:47

As a landlord, I can tell you, it’s better to report as you go along or at the start than to save it up for the day you leave. It’s very frustrating hearing things have been broken for ages and the tennant hasn’t bothered to say.

GreenThing · 04/02/2019 09:47

In what way is it not working?

Don't SKY etc. normally send an engineer out when you want the dish set up? What did they say was wrong?

It's generally your problem to fix, unless the landlord is actually paying for the TV subscription, which I'd have thought to be vanishingly unlikely.

missbattenburg · 04/02/2019 09:50

Never lived anywhere that the sat dish was the LL's responsibility...

x2boys · 04/02/2019 09:56

Is it not Sky,s responsibility to ensure they are working? When we moved into our current house (Housing association) I think there was already a dish here but we had to get the engineer out to ensure it was working.

scaryteacher · 04/02/2019 11:50

There was no satellite dish on my house when I let it out, and some previous tenants put one up. If tenants thereafter wished to use it they could, but it is nothing to do with me.

PurpleCrazyHorse · 04/02/2019 12:23

I would expect this to mean that the LL doesn't mind you signing up for Sky (or potentially having the cabling/dish replaced as per Sky's installation engineers should you also sign up - Sky replaced our dish when we signed up after buying our house as the previous owners had a dish, they also replaced the cabling as we opted for Sky+). I don't think it means the LL is saying the dish should work, just that he's happy for you to use it or get it updated by Sky.

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