Tenants getting handyman to do work. I'm just really peed off about it

[Porridgeaddiction]

I moved on with my now husband when we met into his house and I rented mine out.

I wanted to be a good landlord, so when the tenants moved in there were a few bits that they wanted doing so I asked my friend who's a handyman to do it.

There has been a couple of little things that have needed doing eg fix the guttering, and I've got my friend to do the job.

A couple of times he's messaged me to say that xyz needs fixing, is it ok for him to do the work.

Yesterday he messaged to say that he'd been to the house a few weeks ago to fix the leaking shower and a loose tile. Parts and labour £100. I didn't even realise that there was a problem with the shower and I'm p**sed off that the tenant went to the handyman and didn't tell me.

I just have a horrible gut feeling about all of this - either he's mugging me off or the tenants are getting work done which I'm not really required to do as a landlord. I know that they're very houseproud and like everything perfect, bit IMO as long as there's running water, central heating and no leaks, shouldn't that be enough?

@ClocksGoingBackwards yes soooo demanding 🙄 I once suffered through 3 months of no hot water and had to go through Shelter and my local MP to force the landlord to fix it (turned out our boiler was extremely dangerous and they hadn’t given us a certificate when moved in which they were supposed to say it was safe) had to sue another landlord as they forgot to give us notice when they sold to a developer and gave us one weeks notice to move, and as that was obviously illegal but they had messed up they just illegally entered my house and removed my things and put them in storage while I was abroad for work. I tracked down the new developer who bought the property who was furious at our landlord, apparently their sale contract had some big fines or something if the property wasn’t ready for handover on the date as they works starting which is why my landlord just decided to illegally evict us. I have had shit landlord after shit landlord in the U.K., that’s not even counting the smaller issues that went on without ever being fixed, leaking hot taps that pushed up our bills, rooms with no working power sockets, etc etc.

Actually I’m a fantastic tenant, I’m great at DIY and only raise issues which I don’t have the expertise to fix, keep properties well maintained and pay my rent on time.

landlords are dire in this country, I was shocked as in my home country tenants rights were fiercely protected, you pay your money, and shock horror a properly maintained property is provided in exchange for that money.

Your friend should not be accepting work that you're expected to pay for, without talking to you first.

The tenants need to be told to go through you, but ultimately the problem is not that they asked him, but that he didn't say no.

You need to tell both tenants and handyman friend that them arranging things to be repaired between themselves and then presenting you with the bill is completely unacceptable. Tell them if it happens again you won't be paying the bill, the tenants will need to pay.
So to avoid that the tenants should contact you when something needs to be repaired - and then you can ask to see a photo of the broken item or ask to go round and look at it. If it needs to be repaired then you contact the handyman - or an appropriate professional to deal with whatever it is which has broken.

Shower leaks absolutely do need to be repaired as does broken tiling. I had a cracked tile in a rental property once - hadn't even noticed it. Unfortunately the first I knew about it was when the water from my shower started dripping into the ceiling downstairs....Landlord sent someone to retile immediately.

You have been generous to the tenants actually - you don't have to replace lino just because the tenant doesn't like it - as long as it is functional and isn't grotty and unpleasant.
The last paragraph of your OP was unfortunate as it made you come across as a bit of a dick tbh. Your second post gives a better impression and shows that you have maintained the property above and beyond the minimum.

You need to put in writing and serve it on your tenant that they do not have permission to engage professional services for the house and must notify you if any work needs to be undertaken.

Then let your tradesman know he is not to take direction from the tenants. It’s quite possible he thinks you have ok’d and enabled this situation.

you should also be conducting regular inspections of the property and having the tenant sign off and dated on these for future records. You will be asked for these if making an insurance claim at any stage.

Ott. from a business owner in the building industry, we have had clients engage us for work and upon presentation of our invoice, they then advise they will give it to the property owner! I told one a couple of weeks ago as she engaged us, the invoice was her responsibility to pay….

IMO as long as there's running water, central heating and no leaks, shouldn't that be enough?

You lost me here, and I manage couple of rental properties for my family.

Landlord here.

Make tenant and handyman aware all work requests must be approved by you prior to commencing or you will not be liable for the bill as it’s not an approved cost.

You can do this in a friendly non confrontational manner.

Tenants - “Hey, just a reminder for future that any work that needs doing needs running by me first so I can approve it and pay for it. I’ll presume that any work not been done through me is being paid for by yourselves.”

similar to handyman. And a handyman can fix whatever the hell he wants. Doesn’t need to be a plumber. I’m myself am often the first point of call for boilers/toilets/drips and leaks. I’m not a tradie. Just handy.

Irrelevant - the tenant's responsibility is to notify the landlord, the landlord's responsibility is investigate and if necessary have any issues fixed. A tenant can not take away the landlord's right to choose how to resolve issues by arranging it themselves and then sending the bill to the landlord - the only scenario where they might be successful in doing that is where they have notified the landlord numerous times, nothing has been done and they need to act to protect people / possessions / etc.

Other than that, if the tenant contracts a supplier, they are legally responsible for payment...

Sorry but loose tiles and a dripping shower are things that need to be dealt asap . Tenants should expect a home in good condition , not just the bare minimum . The thing that was wrong was not requesting you to do it and organising it yourself . They should have asked you then allow you a few days to deal with it .
But do not think you can get away with doing the bare minimum unless you want to be one of those bad landlords who ends up being taken to court .

I’m a landlord and would get this stuff fixed, one of the benefits of renting is that these things get fixed and you don’t have to worry about them. I think you may be correct “legally” with what you say you have to do - but I think rent is ridiculously high as it is, we need to be doing a better job at being landlords.
your other point though- I wouldn’t go off the rails this time at £100, but I’d politely say next time you need to sign off work before it gets done.
sound like decent tenants - you are lucky!

Plumbers around here won't get out of bed for less than £100 and if the water is on a meter you would want to have it fixed. I think this kind of goes with the territory. If you don't want to deal with all this perhaps you could sell up?

Tell both parties all requests must go tenant > landlord > handyman.

Grr formatting fail! Tenant to landlord to handyman.

Not tenant --> handyman

Handyman- Jack of all trades master of none.

Send them an email stating the procedure for maintenance requests and that they need to contact you / letting agent and you will sort it. Then anything they do of their own back will be at their own expense. You are a Landlord, just step up and put the boundaries in. Also I would let them know (in writing) that any change they make to the property would affect their deposits as they seem like the sort who would drill holes in walls / put up their own shelves etc.

What the problem is what they fixed and who did it is all irrelevant
they need to come to you first

I can’t believe it! You think that anything above lighting , heating and running water is taking the p**s?????? What kind of landlord are you? Are they taking advantage of you by cooking gruel for dinner and washing their clothes in the sink as opposed to the nearby river??

So many idiots posting on this thread...

In short, I think the problem lies with your friend the handyman who when contacted should have run the potential job by you.

You have a letting agent so THEY should be the contact point for the tenant, the EA then contacting you.

Otherwise you're paying for a dog and barking yourselves.

The handyman is the issue.

The tenants have had the same guy turn up for multiple different repairs so in many ways it's natural for them to assume he's your repairs guy.

Just speak to the tenants and tell them that repairs have to come through you, and tell him that if he takes up any work that without your go ahead then you'll not be paying him.

Presumably you have spoken to your mate and told him he is not to go round again before going through you? Your tenants should not be organising work without asking you first. I’d be thoroughly pissed off with both of them.

OP you can't offset changing the lino etc because they didn't like it with things that are your responsibility as a Landlord. It is your job upgrade leaking guttering, fixing loose tiles and a problem with a shower. Insulating the loft is common sense and should have been done anyway. Of course they want to use the loft for storage - that's what they're for. As a matter of safety and to protect your property then of course it should be floored! You seem confused people are picking up on these things rather than the handyman issue. It may be either simple clarification of how things works but I hope I've given it to you now because if you don't know (and you don't seem to) how the heck are your tenants meant to know? I suggest you sell up before you get a problem tenant! Oh and I'm a landlord not a tenant.

Does nobody understand? There may not have been a leaking shower. She has no actual proof. Just word of mouth.
Don't let any more repairs be done until you know for sure they need doing.
Is there nowhere for you to find out exactly as landlady what you are required to do?

They should certainly go through you. It is, after all, your house. Tell your handyman that in the future, you will not pay for work not ordered by or ok's by you.

THAT SAID...loose tiles (bathroom or kitchen) are not a matter of cosmetics. They protect the wall behind them from water damage and black mold growth, so keeping that repaired is essential.

To me it just sounds like you don’t want to pay any money…

For one, if he’s your friend then he won’t be mugging you off.

Secondly all the landlord’s I’ve had have actually provided me with the number of a handy man who I could call directly to fix things rather than bothering them, so it’s quite normal for them to have called him.

Personally I think you should be glad they did otherwise you could have have them ringing you at annoying hours of the day to fix things.

Yes they should have asked first but by leaking shower do you mean the tap or leaking on the floor? Either way needs to be fixed due to wasted water or potential water damage.