An email to explain an accommodation problem

An email to explain an accommodation problem

Learn how to write an email to explain a problem with your accommodation.

Do the preparation task first. Then read the text and tips and do the exercises.

Preparation

Reading text

From: Eloisa Marr
To: Sam Matthews [landlord]
Subject: 32 Acacia Avenue electricity problem

Dear Sam,

I'm writing on behalf of myself and my flatmates about Number 32 Acacia Avenue as we've been having problems with the electricity.

We noticed that if we use more than one appliance at night when the lights are on, the power cuts out. This means that we can't use the dishwasher at the same time as the oven, for example. For a while we have been careful but recently we have found that even in the daytime, more than one machine running can cause a power cut. Occasionally, the power cuts out for no obvious reason.

We know the electrician who came before couldn't find anything wrong, but please can someone come again as the problem is getting worse? If it would be easier, we can arrange an electrician ourselves and send you the bill.

Kind regards,

Eloisa

Tips

  1. To email someone who's not a friend, use a neutral style and polite tone.
  2. Start the email with Dear … , not Hi. End it with Kind regards or just Regards.
  3. Organise your email in three paragraphs:
    • why you're writing
    • the problem
    • what you want the solution to be
  4. Keep it short and simple. Only include the important information.
  5. Put specific information in the subject line. Don't just put Problem.

Task 1

Task 2

Task 3

Discussion

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Average: 4.3 (9 votes)

Submitted by seito kaito on Tue, 07/07/2020 - 17:16

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Hallo everyone! I have never lived in a rental apartment. But I have had a bad experience parent’s house. I would like to talk about that. When I was a junior high school student, I tried to turn on the air conditioner because it was very hot outside. However, no matter how the temperature was lowered, or the air volume was increased, it never became cool. So, I asked the repairman to fix the air conditioner, and I got it fixed immediately. It is hot to die in midsummer, so I thought it would be hard if I could not use the air conditioner. But the hardest thing I have ever done was break the refrigerator. One day, when I tried to remove the ice from the refrigerator, the ice melted unusually. When I checked everything in the refrigerator, I realized that the refrigerator was broken because it was not cold at all. It was hard because I could not buy the refrigerator immediately. If I become a member of society and live in a rental apartment, I want to be careful about trouble home appliances.

Submitted by Ayano on Tue, 07/07/2020 - 10:48

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I have experienced problem in rented accommodation. That was in Korea from August 4 to 24. In this time, I went to Hanyang University to study Korean, but I stayed a dormitory. Specifically, I think it doesn’t in rented accommodation but. Here was so comfortable and beautiful. There was about seven-tatami room in two people, but there was air conditioner, quite big desks and I could concentrate on study. However, I noticed the problem. It was that being leaked water from bathroom. Bathroom had the door and the curtain, but water was leaking. Other friends also said it happened. The water was flowing to my bed and I had to wipe floor by towel again and again every day. I didn’t find solution so I could only to be careful when I took a bath. By doing this, the water didn’t leak, but by taking bath, I couldn’t relax myself. Therefore, I told the owner about this problem. After all, it didn’t solve until I go back to Japan. I wanted owner to fix the door. I think the number of people who be in trouble due to leaking water will increase. So, I hope owner to have already fixed it.  

Submitted by Nanako Suzuki on Thu, 02/07/2020 - 06:40

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Hello, everyone. I had not problems in many times, but I had some bad experiences when I had lived in rented accommodation. When I entered the university, I had lived in rented accommodation which was near to my university. The rented accommodation was totally good because the rented accommodation was almost furnished, and the living-room was large for one person, so it was very convenient for me to spend the time. However, the rental apartment didn't have an elevator, and my room was the third floor. After I bought a lot of food and drink like two liter mineral water, I had to carry them to my room at third floor. This work was so hard for me to bring heavy things without using a elevator. I was always sweating when I went up the stairs. In addition, there was no wall in the passage in front of my room, so many bugs and insects were there such as cockroaches, spiders and moths. When I was back home at night, many bags and insects gathered at light in the passage. It was very gross to see them. I think it would have been easier if there were walls in the aisle.

Submitted by Belen jimbo on Mon, 29/06/2020 - 09:14

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Problems with electricity cables is very annoying. This is a problem that must be resolved quickly. Being worried that your electricity is going to be cut is very stressful. These power outages can damage some appliances. For electricity to work properly you must hire a good electrician.

Submitted by senes19 on Sat, 27/06/2020 - 10:57

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Hello, I have lived in a rented apartment when I started a university. There were some accommodation problems with house. It wasn't too bad the problem. Our fountain didn't flow water. We have asked to landlady why it isn't not working? She has replied us we should find a plumber and she will pay for this. We have thanked her for answering. We have looked for a well known plumber and some of my friend has offered a man who is good qualification. He came but he didnt solve our problems. Finally we had to change our house. The landlady has apologized for the bad experience. And then we have moved another place where belongs to same person. It lasted one week and it was a very bad situation for us.

Submitted by gdeamond on Mon, 11/05/2020 - 21:17

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I never lived in a rented apartment. So, I'd never have to ask for rented accommodation. Yet, I had to ask for pipelines accommodations to the upstairs neighbor. His shower pipes were leaking, causing a musty smell in my closet. I tried to be nice, calm and polite. Nevertheless, my neighbor was pretty rude when I asked him. He said that he won't make any accommodation. He told me that it wasn’t his problem and if I had that musty smell I couldn’t prove that was caused by his leak, because there was no leak. Then I asked the President of the Condominium Board to intercede. He talked to him, I’m not absolutely sure what they talked, but after that he accepted to ask for a plumber to check out his shower. The plumber said that indeed his shower had has a leak. Then he accepted to make the accommodation.

Submitted by gladysbejaranoa on Mon, 11/05/2020 - 19:01

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Hello everyone! A few years ago, when I just started university and stoped living with my parents I rent a room on my flat in order to gaing a little money and to have some company. But my first flatmate wasnt the best, even thougt we had about the same age, were form the same town and studied on the same university, our personalities and manners where so differents that we never got agree on anything. Maybe beause she was very demading and didnt tried to get along. Eventually I wrote her an mail like this: Dear Lucía. I'm writing you to let you now that the room i am renting to you is not going to be avalible next January, my cousing Andrea is looking a flat and I can't afford rejecting her. I am coffindent you are going to find a good place soon, two moths is i think is time enough to find it. Kind Regards, Gladys.

Submitted by nelsonmm on Mon, 11/05/2020 - 18:09

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I'm trying to remember, but I think I have never had a bad experience in a rented accommodation. In my case was the opposite, a long time ago I went to a hotel beach with my girlfriend and we said to the man in the reception that we were in our honeymoon, and as a hotel compliment he upgraded our room for free, he gave us a suite with a big balcony and a bottle of champagne for free. Every morning when we had breakfast the waiter gave us a lot of advice about married like and told stories about himself. It was the same story by the pool or the beach, apparently, the entire hotel believed we were just married. Because of that, we have to be committed to our little lie and play along when we talked to them. Now, some people call it divine justice, but one day we took a trip to a beautiful little island to snorkel, and when we just jump into the water a bug sting my girlfriend pretty bad and we had to come out and lay on the sand while the pain went away.
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Submitted by JuanManuelLopezGil on Tue, 21/04/2020 - 00:40

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Of course. Right now I share lodging with a Nepalese couple that cooks food with a hard smell that dirty my clothes and room. Is important to respect other cultures but keep a good compartment with roommates because might are from different-cultures. For this reason, all people must keep the common areas of their accommodation clean and organized; respecting the spaces of others. This couple is bad with me because do not clean the kitchen and I can't stand its smell... S.O.S