UK Landlord Forum / Life

We have never been landlords before and our tennants have requested some things which we are not sure about.  Can anyone help us out please? 

1.  They have asked us to provide a new aerial or a sky dish because their TV picture keeps freezing/breaking up.  They have a digital set top box.  The area is not due to go digital until 2011.  I have been on to the digital UK website and downloaded instructions for how to check whether a new aerial is required in order to receive digital TV and will arrange with the tennants to go and run the test.  However the advice on the website is that if the test shows that we need a new aerial we should wait until after switchover to see if the residence will actually be affected to avoid having unnecessary work done.  I think I read somewhere that the digital signal currently being transmitted pre-switchover is fairly week and many homes experience break up/freezing.  What's the best way to deal with this?

2. In the tenancy agreement it states that it is their responsibility to sweep the chimney every 6 months.  There is a gas fire in situ and we had the chimney swept before the tenancy commenced.  They have been tennants for 9 months and have not had the chimney swept.  There is no cowel/cover on the chimney so when it rains heavily soot particles fall down the chimney onto the hearth.  Is it our responsibility to rectify this?

3. There was an ant infestation in the conservatory (flying ants nest).  The tenancy agreements states that it is their responsibility to ensure the house is kept clear of vermin and fleas but doesn't mention any other kind of infestation.  They are complaining about the ant nest and are also saying that there are worms, snails and woodlice getting into the conservatory - we don't know how they are getting in there and assume there must be cracks in the brickwork.  Is this our responsibility or theirs?

Hope someone can help us out