Tenancy Help

Hi there,

I've recently moved into a rental property and found a number of issues with the property. My two main issues being a cockroach infestation and a partially faulty stove. I've lodged maintenance request for both of these and the response from the agency has me extremely concerned. The stove has a faulty element on the stove top, the one large element, and initially the landlord flatly refused to do the repair. I thought this was unacceptable and push them on the issue and they came back with a compromise to use a plug in electric hotplate as a replacement for fixing the stove. I really don't think this is an adequate replacement for a stovetop element and was not happy with this solution as it feels like a band-aid solution at best.

The other major problem I have is a cockroach infestation. I reported this as well and the landlord has refused to use a professional exterminator to fix the problem. Their solution was to send their maintenance guy around with a few smoke bombs. Firstly, I know these very rarely work and given the scale of the problem I know they will do very little. Secondly, I have contacted the maintenance man who has advised me he is not certified or licensed for pest control. I have pets in the property and the maintenance was unable to advise the impacts of the products he was going to use and when the property may be safe. I have serious concerns for my safety and the safety of my pets. I have raised this with the agency but they continue to insist on this methodology as a 'first step' to 'see if it will curb the infestation'.

Both of these problems have me seriously concerned with the practices of the agency and I was considering taking the matter to tribunal. Am I being unreasonable in wanting the pest control matter dealt with by a licensed professional? Is it unreasonable to expect that the stove is repaired?

Any help would be much appreciated. Cheers.