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Roger, re post 16, surely rats and maggots are due to the living conditions of the tenant. A flat/house would not be let out with an infestation, and these types of infestations invariably occur as a result of food being left about by the tenant. I fail to see how this could be an issue for the landlord, unless of course the problem was there at the inception of the contact. Surely, it is the problem of the tenant who needs to clean up her act?
It bothers me that a house can quickly become rundown because of bad tenants (and the law is in their favour, god help you if you want them out!) yet the landlord gets the blame. Landlords take all the financial risk, carry the burden of repairs and redecoration between tenancies, have to break up fights, rectify vandalism, yet are slated as being bad people. If the law made it easier to get rid of people as soon as they became a problem, the extent of 'dilapidation' would be much reduced.