Front door problems

[plumberman]

I went to see my sister at the weekend and was concerned at the state of her front door. She is a student living with 2 other girls in a flat above a shop in a not so great area. Basically the front door is really thin with a Yale lock and a mortice lock which doesnt work. The more concerning part is that there were three panes of glass in a half semi circle arrangement half way up the door but these have been smashed (this happned before my sister moved in). Instead of replacning them/the door the landlord has nailed a board of wood over the back of the door using small tack like nails. All it would take to open the door would be punch the wood away from the back of the door as the nails are so small reach in through the holes where the glass once was and open the door. The landlord is rubbish at best as only last month my sister had to get the environmental health round to fix a leaking toilet as he refused to deal with is. Are there any standards to which front doors/ locks need to adhere to?

Many Thanks,

[Ericthelobster]

If I was the tenant, and my landlord was failing to respond to my requests to resolve this, I think I might have a word with my local crime prevention officer, and get him to confirm 'officially' that the level of security was unsatisfactory and that I was being put at risk. Based on that, I would then give the landlord notice that, if he didn't sort it out within X days, I would have no choice but to engage a tradesman to do the work and deduct the cost from my next rent payment. And then do just that.

[Paul_f]

S.11 Landlord & Tenant Act 1985. landlord has statutory duty to keep property in good state of repair.

Give landlord 7 days written notice to effect good repair or you will have it done and deduct it from the rent. (It's quite legal to do this).

You might point out that you could hold the landlord potentially liable for any enforced entry where there is a loss to you or other tenants because of inadequate security.