Rent rebate while undergoing repairs to property

[BlackberryCrumble]

Following a bad damp problem in one bedroom of a flat that I rent out, it appears that a flat roof needs repairing. My tenants are being very reasonable about the problem but the room cannot be used until the roof is sorted out. Of course, it will take some time to get quotes and get the work done but in the meantime, I do not feel that I should be charging full rent and my tenants have asked for a rent rebate for the duration of the repairs until the room is usable again.

My question is, what amount of rebate is reasonable in these circumstances? They have suggested a 40% rebate.

I would be interested to hear suggestions from anyone who has been in a similar situation.

[LadyMuck]

Presumably it is a room that they would usually use? What is the impact in terms of sleeping arrangements to the best of your knowledge? How many rooms are there in total?

[BlackberryCrumble]

Yes, it's a bedroom in a 2 bed flat. The tenant is sleeping in the living room and has had to move her belongings out of her room so it also has an impact on the other tenant (flat share between friends, not a "couple").

[LadyMuck]

What is the length of their tenancy? Do you want to keep them as tenants?

To a certain extent you probably have most of the power in this situation, but if they are good tenants then you might want to keep them. I can't really give you a %age as I used to dealing with landlords who are refusing to budge over such issues - 40% doesn't seem unreasonable for the amount of disruption for them, but how long will the room be unusable for - Damp can take quite a while to get sorted (apart from the roof itself which could be relatively quick).

[BlackberryCrumble]

Thanks Ladymuck - they've been in the flat for just over a year and have been good tenants so I would like to keep them! You're right - the roof can get sorted relatively quickly but I think following that, the room will need to be stripped and have a de-humidifier in place for a couple of weeks to draw any damp out - then it can be repainted and will be usable again.

I can only guess that it's going to be at least a couple of months until then as I have to get quotes finished and talk about this with the other flat owners, then get the work done etc etc.

I'm obviously concerned about the loss of income but also I don't want to upset the tenants as they have been very reasonable (they are also trainee lawyers!) I just want to do the right thing!

I appreciate your help.

[wombleprincess]

what does your contract say and your insurance may actually cover the loss of rent.

[clam]

They have lost 50% of the bedroom space of the whole flat, but still have use of the other facilities. Factor in the inconvenience involved and 40% sounds about reasonable. But check out tenancy agreement and insurance, as others have said.