Need advice on landlord responsibilities in regards to TV reception and aerial please

[Lilly-Pilly]

HI, just wondering if there is any legal requirement that a Land lord must provide an adequate aerial or TV recpetion for tennants?

[ss_storm]

Interesting question! Our tv aerial was broken when we moved in, I think it needs to be replaced. DF didn't force the issue as we have Austar so we still have tv, just not free to air. I think it would be nice to have the 'normal' tv stations though!

[LimeSlice]

They only need to maintain the property in the condition in which you leased it.

So if the TV aerial was working when you rented the place and now there is a physical issue with it, then they must fix it.
If you caused the problem (kicked the footy on the roof and knocked the aerial off) then it is your responsibility.
If it wasn't working when you moved in (ie you didnt tell them it wasn't functioning as per condition report as soon as you moved in) then it is your issue to deal with.

From personal experience, check all your connections and your tv cable, it can often be damaged and you may not know Replace the connections and the cable and see if it makes a difference.

[deletedit]

AFAIK there's no obligation to provide one but if there's tv points in the house already you can reasonably assume they work since you can't exactly test these things before you move in. And of course if it used to work and it stops, there's an obligation to fix it.

With digital coming up soon it gets messy. A house might have a perfectly working analogue setup but won't work for digital. Going to cost a bit for landlords and make some business for TV installation folks.

[Visitor7]

Like the others have said, nope. You do get some nice landlords who will pay for a new ariel or have it fixed, but many know their rights and won't do so.

[Jaycee]

Actually lime, that's false. Whatever is at the property at the time needs to be in working order unless it's been specifically excluded in the lease, at least that is the case in sa.

So if there is an antenna there already, it must be in working order. If there is no antenna then they r not required to provide one.

[LimeSlice]

Sorry, speaking from WA and Vic - if it is mentioned as 'not working' in a condition report you sign at the beginning of your lease, and have made no arrangements to have it fixed as a condition of accepting the lease, then they have no obligation to fix it (unless it is dangerous).
If it is stated as 'working order' on the condition report, but you move in and find it isnt - like TV points and power points - then they must fix them.

[Visitor7]

Sorry, speaking from WA and Vic - if it is mentioned as 'not working' in a condition report you sign at the beginning of your lease, and have made no arrangements to have it fixed as a condition of accepting the lease, then they have no obligation to fix it (unless it is dangerous).
If it is stated as 'working order' on the condition report, but you move in and find it isnt - like TV points and power points - then they must fix them.

and same in Qld.

[Jaycee]

Yep, Its the same here lime, if it's mentioned as not working ( therefore excluded from the lease) they have no obligation but if it's not mentioned it's considered to be in working order

[LimeSlice]

clear as mud then!

[~clover~]

I'm pretty sure here in NSW it must be working, & is the land lords responsibility, unless, obviously, you broke it.
Don't quote me on it though

[Lilly-Pilly]

When we moved in there was a booster for the aerial. We plugged everything in and couldn't get the tv to work. We tried many things, had friends look at it etc and couldn't get anything at all on the TV. The condition report noted the booster provided. We called the property mamanger and she didn't know, so she called the owner and then told us where and what to plug in. We did what she told us and it wouldnt work still.
Eventually they called a professional who showed us how to set it up. 6 months later they've sent us a bill for the guy who came out to set it up correctly.
I don't know what grounds i have to stand on to say we asked how to set it up, followed real estate instructions and no once could get it to work. We were never told we would be made to pay it until a billa rrived 6 moths later!

[LimeSlice]

That's BS!
Take it to the tribunal.

[deletedit]

My house I rent out has no aerial and I made it very clear. While we were living there we tried EVERYTHING to get tv reception, gave up in disgust and went to satellite. You can get snow on analogue but no digital without a 50-100 foot tower and lots of boosters, and analogue drops off in a few months anyway. The entire town is on Austar as a result - the house is just in a known TV blackspot.

So now the house has 2 channels only on satellite TV and the settop box I gave them fried in a storm a while ago. Really should buy a new one and set it up for them next inspection and maybe throw in a surgebuster power strip too.

Conversely, the house has a brand new phone connection and is rigged for wireless broadband with perfect reception and the tenants aren't using either of those ...

[Jaycee]

We had the exact same issue when we moved in to the place we're renting at the moment and we were not made to pay the bill. I'd definitely take this to tribunal, good luck!