Renters - what do you call the landlord/letting agents for?

[Tomorrowisalatterday]

I have been a landlord for a while and I have found some tenants ask things that I just find really surprising. Some examples:

The washing machine door is locked and won't open - this was fixed by turning off and on at the wall

Not knowing how to set the oven clock - googling the instructions and reading them out on the phone worked

Hot water not working - switch had tripped and needed turning back

Wanting to be talked through how to set the boiler for specific times - we left the manual but even if we hadn't, it's 2022 and every manual is online

Our current set of tenants are young city professionals earning over 80k each, they clearly can't be stupid but it feels like they can't do anything for themselves. Is this just normal now?

Mmmm … I wouldn’t have bothered my landlord with any of those things, and he only lives next door 😁

I only call them if something major (e.g. boiler) is actually broken! I'd would never call them in any of the instances you describe. I'm in my 40s though and like to think I have a bit of common sense (debatable some days!). When I needed to know how to work the heating controls in my current flat, I googled it and watched you tube videos to figure it out.

We've finally had our oven fixed after 2 months . The landlord was reluctant to pay money to fix it but it does come under their remit. Anything non electrical / plumber I wouldn't call the landlord.

Out of your list I'd have called you for the boiler one. Only because our boiler is covered in stickers saying TENANTS MUST NOT TOUCH THE BOILER even though there's also a book of words for it. And thanks to my dad bellowing at me when I was a kid I don't like messing about with gas boilers.

I call ours if something breaks, or if we want to put a picture/mirror up by drilling into the wall. Ours are OK. They were good at replacing a washing machine within a day last year.

Boilers are tricky and they may have been worried about messing it up. I think if young people have never been in charge of a house some of this is a learning curve.

I only contact my landlady if it's absolutely necessary, broken boiler, leaky roof etc, I'd never contact her about anything trivial, especially when I could probably sort it out myself.

We’re luckily with our tenants and never seem to have silly requests. We were once asked to changed a light shade as it wasn’t to their taste and they weren’t sure how to do it 😂

I don’t call unless the world has ended because my landlord is an absolute pain and I don’t want them coming over! You need to be less pleasant i guess

I wouldn’t call my landlord for any of those things but then I wouldn’t call my landlord for a lot tbh, we were told by the last workman who attended that she complained there was always drama with this house. He was here to replace the shower that had blown because of a faulty fuse box.

Your questions don’t really surprise me, I know a lot of people who have moved out of home/uni and never had any involvement in any of those things. I’m glad my mum was pretty good at showing us how to do a lot of things for ourselves when we were younger so that we had a bit of sense as to how to maintain a house. Agree with pp that you need to be less pleasant, it’s not on to bother you with this stuff.

Calling our landlord is a massive pain so we avoid it as far as possible. I actually dread it and feel sick if something happens where there's no other choice but to call them. It's their loss because the house is falling to bits, gutters leak, windows full of water inside the glass, boiler rarely works so the house is damp, but they make it so difficult to call them and rely on a letting agent to do inspections which they've not done for over a year, that we don't want to risk our tenancy by disturbing them. You should be pleased your tenants feel comfortable calling you, it means you'll get the heads up early when something can be repaired, probably costing you less in the long run.

I wouldn't of bothered my landlord for any of those things.

Only thing I've ever raised with them is the handle on the front door keeps coming off (still waiting to be fixed 5 years later!), roof tiles moved and were dangerously leaning off the roof, overflowing gutters, broken shower and a leak under the kitchen sink.

Even then they've gumbled about the repairs! I wouldn't dare ring them over stuff like that they'd tell me to sod off. 😂

I have called because the boiler wouldn't fire up, I called when the loo didn't flush waste away properly (and as DH had a cancer that affected his bowels it was essential we had a flushing loo) and more recently I called because one of the trees in the garden as a hole right through at ground level. I try to solve things myself first.

I think it probably is the demographic that we're renting to - usually our tenants are in their mid to late 20s. I guess I had assumed that since they weren't new grads, they would be a little more competent. I know I was at that age but it feels like 20 somethings these days are a lot less mature?

I do want to be a good landlord and I don't want them not to contact us if it's important but maybe I should also get a bit more "have you tried googling the manual?" About things

Were all the instruction booklets stored together in an easy to locate place when they moved in? Having a dedicated binder or box file might help.

I’ve called our agency for a dodgy wiring, a broken boiler and a leaking ceiling and dishwasher. I’ve fixed the ancient washing machine myself a few times, and learned how to repressurise the boiler and bleed the radiators. I find that contacting them reminds them that we’re due an inspection, so I try to avoid it! (Yes, I understand why inspections are necessary and no, we haven’t trashed the place, but I still find them annoying and intrusive).

Yes, they were. Though you can get any manual online so I doubt that is the main issue

I suppose the hot water one could have been an issue I'd not have automatically assumed a tripped switch.

I contacted my LL several times after I just moved in over issues that I think were just never flagged by the previous tenants so they didn't know about it.

One was for a leak under the sink. Every time I used the sink the cupboard was flooded and all my supplies were soaked. Her dad came to check and a rubber ring was worn and needed replacing, that isn't something I could have known or done myself.

Other thing was the shower door (half glass hinged door over the bath), every time I used the shower water gushed out of the door and everything I tried myself (new seal under the glass etc) hadn't worked. In the end we compromised with a shower rail being put in and I bought a curtain.

Last thing I remember messaging for was I couldn't find the electric meter. Went to the cupboard outside where all the other ones were and all were numbered but there was nothing where my flat number was so I thought it had been stolen 😂 turns out she'd had it moved to a storage cupboard in the flat that I didn't know about.

I called once when the boiler wouldn’t turn on, he talked me through how to repressurise it over the phone. If I were still in rented I’d probably still call for something like that, I don’t like messing around with boilers!

I’d suggest you start directing them to the manual/Google when it’s setting a clock/changing a lightbulb territory.

My son's tenants had a lot of things a year ago but thaqt was because the previous owners of the house had left the problems eg leak under sink, then the oven broke (had to be completely replaced) and then the the dishwasher (no wonder the last owner's had left my son these "free" (but on the way out) appliances - we replaced it). Then the shower leaked to downstairs - another legitimate request for it to be sorted out. Then washing machine socket gave the male tenant a very small electric shock! We had to get an electrician out to fix the socket.

Then the lights fused - not tenants fault and my son got a man out to fix that.
All the fixing solved things for the longer term too.

I thought when they saw one mouse that was probably not a landlord issue but sent them details of the trap we have used (humane trap) here at home (they had one mouse by the way - it is a very clean very nice little house which does not have a major rodent infestation)...

Then the conservatory roof had a leak too. That had been installed in the 1970s and are architect designed but needed a man to come to fix the leak which again we did.

Then they put some things in the loft and the loft hatch would not stay closed so we got a man in to put on new hinges.

All that was within the first 12 months. It cost just under £3000.

Apart from the mouse I think all of it rightly was the landlord's responsibility.

Nothing has gone wrong at all (as far as we know) in the last 6 months so I suspect

I've called mine for:
A leaky boiler
Intercom not working
No hot water
No electricity (called national grid who looked at my fuse box and they told me to contact landlord)

Problems that are recurring or signs of things not working properly.

An my intercom doesn't work but never bothered to tell them as I'm ground floor and closest to the front door so it's not an issue. But I'd flag it on leaving. It's yet another thing that I assume the previous tenants didn't inform them of.

I'd probably have called about the hot water . It's not really up to the tenant to try various switches, especially when they don't know what they're doing. I'd feel it's best leaving it to the gas fitter to repair.

The other stuff... they could have sorted it themselves but they're not responsible for any maintenance so they're not doing anything wrong by reporting it . I think that's the new normal now , just not taking any personal responsibility.

I can sympathise, we had a combo boiler that lost pressure once every 3 months , couldn't ever find the cause of it losing pressure , but repressurizing is a simple fix . But our occupant refused to repressurize it , because they were scared of the boiler, even though you can see on YouTube it's a simple job to repressurise. The occupant felt it wasn't their problem . I couldn't really argue. So to keep them happy , I kept sending a heating repair person to pop up pressure once every few months. Needless to say I was an accidental landlord and sold up within a couple of years because it wasn't for me .

I was mortified when it turned out I'd called the lettings agents (fully managed property) for a bulb replacement!

I'd changed the bulb twice, not working at all when everything else in the house was so reasoned it was a proper electrical thing to be sorted by the property owner rather than letting my husband have a go. Electrician turned up...it was the sodding light bulb. I was just unlucky to buy a dud pack. I did offer to pay the call out charge for the electrician but luckily my landlord saw the funny side of it (probably because I was utterly mortified!)

Generally though I only call for an absolute problem that isn't mine to repair. Broken cooker, broken boiler etc. Especially after the light bulb incident I really make sure it's not user error before involving the landlord.

@MishaBukvic oh not switches on the boiler, a tripped switch on the circuit board as happens when the circuits are overloaded. Happens quite a lot - literally requires looking at the fuse box and turning the switch that has tripped. I am not a DIY person and hate doing stuff like topping up pressure but a tripped switch even I will do 😁

I guess I don't think of setting the oven clock as "maintenance"

Things we have called the landlord (well, letting agency) for:
Water coming through living room ceiling - or water anywhere it shouldn't be
Tree down in garden
Cooker triggering the CO detector (the latter not provided by the landlord....)
Light fitting shorting out - particularly fun as we had fuse wire, which took a while to blow. DH says the lightening storm as it shorted was quite exciting. It also left us without lights anywhere in the house

All of those required calling in professionals, so I think it was reasonable.