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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

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Original poster

To ask my landlord to knock a bit of money off the rent this month?

35 replies

OHforDUCKScake · 29/01/2014 14:18

My boiler has been breaking for 2 weeks. It finally died a death on Friday evening so no heating or hot water and Ive been heating my house with several and apparently verh expensive heaters.

The plumber is here now and telling me it might be longer because theres a part missing from the part he is fitting. Or something.

Im a bit worried about my fastt rising electric bill to foot all these heaters.

Would I be unreasonable to approach my landlord about this? Hes really nice, his mother is going into a hospice today and he leant me two of the heaters as well so I dont particularly want to get on his bad side.... (Plus, despite him being lovely his with is the most bitter, angry, twsited, insulting woman Ive ever been so unfortunate to come across and I dont want to feel her wrath. Again.)

OP posts:

mothergothel2 · 29/01/2014 14:20

You can ask, just be prepared he might say no.

thecatneuterer · 29/01/2014 14:23

I can see both sides to this really, but think that really as long as he is doing his best to get it sorted, then you should leave it at that, It can take a while to get parts for boilers, that's not his fault. If you owned the house yourself you wouldn't be able to get it sorted any sooner I presume, and you would just have to live with it.

So I think that if he generally treats you fairly, and he appears to be doing all he can to sort this out, then I would leave it.

Original poster

OHforDUCKScake · 29/01/2014 14:23

As well, the pissing plumber had the door wide open 'because he was hot' and lost the little heat I have accumulated.

Its bot bastard hot, my thermostat says its 18 degrees.

OP posts:

Original poster

OHforDUCKScake · 29/01/2014 14:25

I know you are right, Im just cold and skint and annoyed.

OP posts:

MrsSteptoe · 29/01/2014 14:26

I'm sure he's very nice, and hopefully he's nice enough to realise that it's his responsibility to ensure that the property he rents out is heated somehow, despite the boiler breaking down. In other words, yes, he lent you two heaters, but it's his responsibility to do so, so IMO you don't need to be more than politely grateful IYSWIM.
On the question of the rent, I've no idea where you stand legally (though legality wasn't your question, your question was reasonableness) - but I would think it reasonable to suggest that your landlord should bear at least some of the increased cost of heating the house via electric heaters. If it's only for a few days, though, it may not be the terrifying sum you fear. Did you by any chance read the meter at the outset?

Topaz25 · 29/01/2014 14:26

Personally, I wouldn't complicate things given that his mum is going into a hospice and his wife is very difficult and might make things difficult for you. A good relationship with your landlord is worth more than the rent discount. That said I would revaluate if it dragged on. It sounds like the plumber is taking the piss and it is perfectly reasonable to ask him not to leave the door open and let the heat out when the reason he is there is that the boiler is not working!

Wibblypiglikesbananas · 29/01/2014 14:26

I offered my tenant a discount when the boiler broke and needed replacing. Told by the agent Thursday, got quotes Friday, new boiler fitted Tuesday. Maybe I'm too nice!

Original poster

OHforDUCKScake · 29/01/2014 14:29

No I didnt read the meter. I wish I had!

OP posts:

BuzzardBird · 29/01/2014 14:33

I am a Landlord (although I am a woman so am I a LandLady?) and I would knock something off the rent if my tenant's boiler didn't work. I see that as part of the F&F's so it should work.

YoureBeingASillyBilly · 29/01/2014 14:38

I am in NI so maybe different and also dependant on your contract but in mine it says the LL has a responsibilty to keep the boiler in useable condition so as long as you told him when it first started to break down then he is responsible for the extra costs you are incurring to heat the place while it is being fixed. If you didnt tell him straight away then the delay is due to your own actions and i would say the costs are yours to bear.

WhereIsMyHat · 29/01/2014 14:50

We have knocked a bit of our tenant's rent this month as the roof started leaking (minimal) during the storms a few weeks ago. We asked what we could do to make things right, he suggested a rent reduction and we agreed.

Joysmum · 29/01/2014 14:54

I don't see an issue if he's done all he can to ensure adequate ongoing maintenance and to get things fixed ASAP. Things break down, that's life.

I'm only breaking even on my houses the 4th after buying them so it's not like us LL's make a lot of money each month from having them. Mind you, I might have made more if I'd increased the rent each year but I want to keep my tenants.

LessMissAbs · 29/01/2014 14:54

You could try but personally I wouldn't. You rent a property and things break or wear out, its part of living in a house. As long as its being repaired quickly. Where would it end? An appliance breaks down and you get an 0.05% discount for x number of days? I think you rent a property and unless the lease contract states you get a reduction to compensate you for increased costs on x happening, you pay the rent and get the problem fixed.

vj32 · 29/01/2014 15:07

If it broke on Friday having only worked intermittently before that why did it take until Wednesday for someone to look at it? Is it a proper qualified heating engineer rather than a plumber?

And I am in the same situation - cold house because boiler died on Thursday - so I feel your pain. In our case though we chose not to have it properly fixed as its being replaced next week.

I would want to know when they are coming back to fix it, and ask very nicely for a rent reduction for the month given that some of the delays seem to have been unnecessary.

BettySwollocksandaCrustyRack · 29/01/2014 15:11

In all fairness the LL is trying to get it sorted - plumbers can be a nightmare to get hold of and more often than not with boilers parts do need to be ordered.

Things break - if my boiler at home breaks the bank don't give me a mortgage reduction.

I am a LL - a good one - and always tend to things really quick if they break. Plumbing/boiler repairs can be expensive so I would be a bit shocked if my tenant expected a rent reduction because the boiler was broken.

YoureBeingASillyBilly · 29/01/2014 15:16

Betty thats because the mortgage company havent signed a contract to keep your boiler in serviceable condition so that isnt a comparison.

It really depends when OP informed LL of the fault- if at the very start of it breaking then he had 2 weeks to arrange an engineer and get parts ordered so it could be fixed before it died conpletely. If he waited til it properly broke to het an engineer then he has caused the problem of OP having no heat and so should reimburse her for her extra costs in having to heat the place whilst it is being fixed.

But if OP only told him about it when it finally broke then its her own doing that she is without heat.

frumpet · 29/01/2014 15:16

But betty it isnt their boiler , it belongs to you as part of the service they are paying you for , so why on earth should a tenant care how much it is going to cost you to repair it ? If the property is advertised as having central heating and it doesnt for a period of time then thats not really fair to the tenant surely ?
However i wouldnt approach anyone asking for a discount when their parent was about to go into a hospice because i am bit soft like that .

BettySwollocksandaCrustyRack · 29/01/2014 15:23

Yes but if the boiler breaks it is impossible to mend it straight away. As long as the LL gets on it and books the plumber etc as quick as he can then he has done his bit, its not really his fault if parts need to be ordered.

I agree as well, with his mum going into a hospice, it would be slightly insensitive.

YoureBeingASillyBilly · 29/01/2014 15:29

And also- when you pay your mortgage- you arent paying for access to your house and it's utilities- you are repaying a loan that you used to buy the house. The house being the security against the loan. It's like using a credit card to buy some shoes. The credit company have no responsibilty towards making sure the shoes are fit for your use- you owe them the money regardless.

MrsSteptoe · 29/01/2014 15:30

I can see all sides of this argument, though I must say that I think the "that's life, things break" principle is the landlord's problem to bear, not the tenant's - that's part of what you take on board as a landlord, and one of the privileges of being a tenant rather than property owner, IMO. But when all's said and done, the tenant's concerned about a bit of a hike in her electricity bill for a few days, and it really may not be all that much money - for my money, the principle's sound enough, but in practice it might not be worth getting twisted knickers over...

DelGirl · 29/01/2014 15:37

As a landlord I would have compensated a little, depends on the time without the boiler. The boiler broke down just before xmas in my rented flat but
Luckily it could be fixed the next day. Take a reading now and work out the daily rate against your usual gas bill.

DelGirl · 29/01/2014 15:39

Like mrs steptoe though, if its just a few quid and with all the other thing's you've mentioned I perhaps wouldn't pursue it.

YoureBeingASillyBilly · 29/01/2014 15:41

I agree mrs assuming LL acted as soon as possible it really depends how much out of pocket op is as a result whether it is worth asking for a rent reduction. Boiler broke on fri, its now wednesday, could there really be that much extra cost that would justify a rent reduction?

ProfPlumSpeaking · 29/01/2014 15:51

If you owned the house, the boiler would have still broken but you might have had to buy heaters. I would not ask for a refund if I were you. If I were the LL, I might give you the refund if you asked but I would pencil you in to the "difficult tenant" category and be unlikely to keep you on the next year, and also be more likely to be down the line about breakages/ dirt etc whereas if you were a normal person doing your best, like me, then I would not.. As long as your LL is on the case as fast as if she were living there, and has in fact ensured you can stay warm, I am not clear what else you think she should have done. My advice is don;t ask for money from a LL with whom you currently have good relations and whose mother is just going into a hospice today but still found time to take heaters round to you.

Original poster

OHforDUCKScake · 29/01/2014 15:53

The landlord acted as soon as possible yes.

The plumber didnt.

The plumber is shit.

He came round three times, looked at it, shrugged and eventually, when ai really pushed him, he said he didnt know what was wrong and to wait until it broke completely.

It could have been fixed ages ago.

Hes definitely a plumber and not a heating engineer.

OP posts:

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