I am a landlord of a property that I let on an assured shorthold tenancy. Am I required to repair or upgrade the TV aerial or is this down to the individual agreement?
In the first instance, it should depend on whether the property concerned is a flat or a house and what the tenancy agreement says in relation to fixtures and fittings such as aerials. Most houses will have their own aerial and we know that most will continue to work satisfactorily after switchover, if they work well now with analogue services – see teletext page 284.
Flats are different matter, as most households will depend on a communal TV aerial system to get services and these will need to be checked and possibly upgraded for switchover.
A landlord in this situation is likely to have two roles – one as a landlord but the other as a lessee with potentially different rights and responsibilities. In both instances reference needs to made to the lease/ tenancy agreement/ title deeds to establish the respective position.
The freeholder, property manager or residents association, may have a view or a plan to undertake the works to the infrastructure for switchover, that will involve recharging / recovering the costs. They will need to involve lessees in the decision making process. As a result of the work being undertaken the tenant will be able to benefit.
