Listening transcript · Episode 81

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Your landlord calls you.

You see the name on the screen and your stomach tightens.

Something about the rent, or maybe a repair, or maybe you are not sure.

That uncertainty is the hardest part.

Not knowing what is coming, and not having the words when it arrives.

Today we are going to change that.

Welcome to your English toolbox.

I am Robert.

This is the Basic Survival Kit, a slow English series built for one specific person.

You live in an English-speaking country, or you are planning to.

Your English is not perfect, but your housing situation cannot wait for perfect.

Every episode gives you the exact words you need for one real situation.

No grammar, no pressure, just the sentences that work.

This episode is your survival kit for the landlord.

Want to take your learning even further?

Find your English toolbox on YouTube to watch every episode with subtitles.

It is the best way to support this project, and we truly appreciate it.

Today's situation.

Your landlord contacts you.

It could be about the rent, a repair, a complaint from a neighbor, or an inspection they want to arrange.

The problem with landlord English is the stakes.

This is your home, your security, your money.

Getting the words wrong can cost you.

Here are your five sentences for this situation.

Listen carefully, and then repeat each one out loud.

Sentence 1.

I would like to report a repair that needs attention, please.

This is your opening sentence for any maintenance issue.

Formal, clear, and impossible to ignore.

It signals immediately that you know your rights as a tenant.

Landlords respond faster to tenants who sound confident and organized.

This sentence makes you sound both.

Sentence 2.

Could I have that in writing, please?

This is one of the most powerful sentences in tenant English.

Verbal agreements disappear.

Written ones stay.

Whether it is a rent increase, a repair promise, or a new rule, always ask for it in writing.

This sentence protects you every single time.

Sentence 3.

I want to make sure I understand.

Could you explain that again?

Landlords sometimes use legal language or speak quickly.

This sentence gives you permission to stop the conversation and catch up.

It does not make you sound weak.

It makes you sound careful and professional.

Those are exactly the qualities a good landlord respects.

Sentence 4.

When can I expect this to be fixed?

After reporting a repair, always follow up with this question.

It creates an expectation, a timeline, a commitment.

Without this question, repairs can wait weeks.

With it, most landlords give you a date on the spot.

Sentence 5.

I would like to keep a record of this conversation.

Is that all right?

This sentence tells your landlord you are organized, that you document things, that you are not someone to take advantage of.

You do not need to record anything.

The sentence alone changes how they treat you.

Now the rescue sentence.

This is the single phrase that works when everything else disappears from your mind.

Write this one down.

Could I have that in writing, please?

Say it again, out loud, right now.

Could I have that in writing, please?

That sentence is your shield.

It works for rent increases.

It works for repair promises.

It works for any agreement made over the phone.

Written words cannot be denied later.

Spoken words can.

This sentence is the difference between those two things.

Let me tell you about Yusuf.

Yusuf moved from Ankara to Manchester two years ago.

His landlord called one evening and told him the rent was going up by 80 pounds a month, starting next month.

Yusuf said okay and hung up.

He did not know he could ask for notice in writing.

He did not know there were rules about how much warning a landlord must give.

He paid the increase for four months before a colleague told him his rights.

The second time his landlord called about a different issue, Yusuf said, could I have that in writing, please?

There was a pause on the other end of the line.

And then the landlord said, of course.

That pause was the sound of Yusuf being taken seriously for the first time.

Let's close with what you have today.

I would like to report a repair that needs attention, please.

Could I have that in writing, please?

I want to make sure I understand.

Could you explain that again?

When can I expect this to be fixed?

I would like to keep a record of this conversation.

Is that all right?

And your rescue sentence: Could I have that in writing, please?

You are not someone who just agrees and hangs up.

You are someone who knows what to say, who asks the right questions, and who protects their home.

That is a completely different person.

And that person is you, starting today.

If you made it this far, you are truly committed to your English.

Please head over to YouTube, search for your English toolbox, and subscribe.

Your support there means the world to us, and keeps this podcast growing.

I am Robert.

And I will see you in the next one.

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