Our home is our kingdom and it is where we feel most safe, secure and comfortable, and that applies to both inside and outside the home. While curb appeal has a major impact on a property’s value, if you are renting the property you want the exterior of your home to be well looked after for various other reasons: 

• Safety and security – Excessive external damage or deterioration can start to affect how safe and secure your home is. 
• Energy efficiency – Have you started to notice your energy bills going up? It might be because your doors or windows are letting cold air in, or there is roof damage you can’t see. 
• Emotional wellbeing – It is hard to quantify this, but we certainly take great value from feeling safe and secure in our homes, and if our general health and wellbeing is compromised by external damage creating uncomfortable living conditions we can feel vulnerable, and this leads to stress and anxiety, particularly overnight and during the winter months.  

Any external damage that occurs to a rented property should be reported to your landlord straight away. They have a duty to maintain the exterior of your home, just as they do the interior, but the onus is on you as the tenant to be aware of what can cause exterior damage and how it can impact on the general condition of the house. Some of these issues listed below are what we would call ‘slow burners’ and don’t necessarily cause damage overnight but over a period of time, so it is important you are aware of these and can report the issues to your landlord straight away. 

1. Trees and branches Most people welcome trees in a garden as a natural, decorative feature, but if they grow too big or are planted too close to the house they can cause major issues. Overhanging branches can cause too much shade and mean some areas of your exterior never see sunlight or much natural air at all. This can lead to exterior damp and mould which can start to deteriorate wood, stone or brickwork over time. Overgrown branches can also scratch and scrape paintwork and exterior walls, and in high winds can even break glass. Make sure trees are well trimmed and maintained, and not planted too close the house. 
2. Weather Even without an extreme weather event, the elements can slowly erode the integrity of a property. The weather carries airborne dirt which can affect paint and stone and cause mould, and even UV rays from sunshine can dry and crack materials and slowly erode paint and stone. Excessive rain will start to rot any exterior wood, such as fascia and soffits which can start to expose parts of the interior of the home. Of course, extreme weather such as rain, wind, hail, snow and ice can lead to leaking roofs, gutters being detached and large pooling of ground water which can seep into the foundations. You should make sure the landlord carries out an annual roofing inspection, which should include the gutters, fascias and soffits and downpipes.  
3. Vegetation  This is different to the issue of overgrown trees because here we are talking about ground level damage. This is where the roots of trees and plants start to cause cracks in the foundations of the garden, which can impact on the foundations of the house, particularly if vegetation is planted close to the house. Roots can spread very quickly and totally out of view, so keep greenery well maintained and avoid planting anything close to the house, or you may find instability issues with exterior walls and leaks in the basement. 
4. Poor installation The landlord may think they are doing a good job by having items replaced, such as doors and windows, gutters, fascias and soffits etc, but if they are poorly installed these can lead to exterior issues. Cracks, gaps and eroding materials can lead to cold air and moisture getting into the home and causing damage, and if this is in a loft space you might not even be aware of it. Make sure your landlord uses quality contractors and materials, and includes these kind of inspections in annual maintenance. 
5. Poor maintenance  Even if items have been properly installed, they still need looking after, otherwise exterior issues can occur from gutters being blocked by dirt or vegetation. Gutters and drains are designed to lead rainwater away from the house, but blockages mean it can be diverted down exterior walls causing damp, while ground level pooling can lead to foundation damage. Other maintenance issues can be cracks around doors and windows, cracks in the driveway or paths and broken fencing. This can all lead to exterior damage, as well as energy inefficiency and security issues.  

Although your landlord is responsible for maintaining the exterior of the home, you as the tenant have a duty to be aware of issues and to report them as soon as possible. These kind of exterior issues can impact on the cost of your bills, your safety and security and your emotional wellbeing, so keep an eye out and report these issues straight away. And if repairs are not carried out within a reasonable time period, contact Legal HD – the housing disrepair claim specialists – and start a housing disrepair claim today.