To be pissed off with my tenants changing plugs on my appliances

[ReallyTired]

They aren't electricians. Am I legally responsible for their stupidity if they electrocute themselves? (Gawd forbid!) They did not contact me about any maintained problem.

If there is a problem with an electrical appliance I would rather they told me so I can get someone with half a brain to fix. I have a condensing tumble dryer in the flat. They moved out the dryer and complained it has water in it. Duh! It's a condensing tumble dryer and you are expected to empty the bottle. There are instructions about all appliances. For some stupid reason they decided to change to plug and now they have tripped the electrics.

[HPsauciness]

I am a tenant, but in this instance, the OP, the landlord, is completely right. I have insurance on the contents of my rental property, but not over the electrical items supplied by the landlord for which they have their own insurance. They have to have them be safe- and if other people mess about with them, then they are breaking the terms of that insurance/may not be able to claim. Stripping the plug back off an integrally wired appliance which is 10 years old is a completely stupid thing to do and if it then burned the house down, it may be the insurance would be invalidated (or not, it's unclear, but that's why you shouldn't do it).

I don't know why the OP is getting a hard time here, the best thing about being a renter is that when the electrics blow, you tell the landlord and they have to fix it.

Increasingly landlords are providing fewer appliances for this reason, ours doesn't provide a washing machine now, and also rental insurance increasingly specifies that you need to have tested your appliances- we cannot use unPAT-tested heaters in our house, for example, without invalidating the insurance.

This is not a moral issue, or one about competence, it's about legal responsibility in the light of insurance!

[RudeElf]

This is very simple blanche.

OP says " If you do not inform a landlord about a maintaince issue to can't complain when the issue is not fixed"

I'm asking if her tenants did this.

Not sure why you are discussing something else with me.

[OurBlanche]

Nope. Not a spokesperson for OP, just as you aren't for the tenants (are you?).

But your posts don't take in any further info on the thread. So you are asking a question that misses the legal issue, the responsibilities of the tenant, in what seems like a determined effort to insist the OP is wrong.

It is a simple thing. Tenant has an issue with a fixture/fitting, they contact the LL. The LL then must deal with it.

That is how it should work. Plenty here moan that LLs do fuck all for their money but it seems, that if a tenant acts badly some here simply cannot conceive that they should take responsibility for it, it simply must be the LL in the wrong.

You are, in my opinion, hectoring the OP, and it makes you seem a tad obssessed!

[RudeElf]

Sorry blanche, it wasnt directed at you but seeing as how you are spokeserson for the OP and you must clear know, did OP's tenants complain the tumble drier wasnt fixed despite never having informed of a fault? your post is nothing to do with what i asked.

[OurBlanche]

All of which is why they should have told her in the first place.

You seem to be determined to assign blame to the OP and completely exonerate the tenants for something that is much of a nothing, in the grand scheme of things.

Even OP has calmed down and acknowledged she was annoyed when first posting. But it still stands that the tenants have no reason to cut off and replace a plug on any of the LLs appliances.

[RudeElf]

Did your tenants complain it wasnt fixed? I cant see anywhere in the thread that you say they have complained an issue you didnt know about wasnt fixed. Just sounds like they tried to fix it because it seems like a simple job not worth bothering you about, found out that the plug wasnt the issue and have now informed you that it needs fixed.

[ReallyTired]

If a machine is tripping the electrics then the landlord needs to know. Landlords are not mind readers. If you do not inform a landlord about a maintaince issue to can't complain when the issue is not fixed.

[maydancer]

I am guessing they changed the plug because the machine kept tripping the electrics. The electrics are still tripping because the problem is the machine not the plug.changung a plug is not an electrician's job!

[londonrach]

Just wanted to add we rented in london and other locations and never had a rent increase whilst we been in the property. We moving into our first house soon leaving the rented market behind. Our ll has been trying to let our property for over a month now. We only had one viewing to date which i really dont understand as its a lovely flat but i suspect the reason why is he he is asking alot more rent (we were surprised how much more) than we pay at present. He is a good ll but there are loads of other flats out there and i think he over priced himself. Noticed last night he reduced the rent considerably although still more than we pay. What im saying badly is be careful not to over charge your tenants.

[londonrach]

Surely everyone knows how to change a plug. Its not the hardest job in the world. Its certainly not an electricians job. You need to find out why the electrics are tripping and why they changed the plug. Theres more to this than you know. You do sound abit mean saying ill put the rent up to pay for the old dryer. I suspect the plug is a red herring and the dryer full stop is tripping the electric.

[kirinm]

I live in London and before that Bristol.

[ReallyTired]

"Where on earth are you all living where you get no rent rises in over a decade?"

I assume they must live near County Durham and their landlord never spends any money on the property or employs an accountant. A rent increase is often to cover increased business expenses.

[EBearhug]

I've been renting for about 25 years, and a £50 a month rent rise after 2 years seems entirely normal (in commuting distance of London.)

Where on earth are you all living where you get no rent rises in over a decade?

[Headofthehive55]

Most plugs on applicances are moulded and you can't get into them to change them these days as a safety measure.

[ReallyTired]

Whether I am a generous landlord/ landlady is irrelevant. I provide a service. My tenants are customers rather than friends. Most tenants don't want to be friends with their landlord. They want someone who is fair and takes their legal responsiblities seriously. (Ie. proper safety checks, complying with all legistation, having the deposit in a proper scheme.)

Most tenants are happy with a landlord who is honest. They don't want to be friends with their landlord.

"We've recently given some young tenants with a baby a chance to rent their own place"

I avoid tenants with children like the plague! Seriously my properties are not suitable for a family.

I not had potential tenants with families showing an interest in my properties. I had tenants who have started a family, but they chose to leave because the flat was too cramped and there was no garden. I lived in my own flat with a baby and it was very cramped and not ideal.

I like young tenants in well paid jobs.

[kirinm]

Rudeelf - I've never had an increase either (and I've been renting for 19 years). I've also chosen to stay away from by to let landlords and have generally lived in places once the home of the landlord. Maybe that's why I've been (mostly) fortunate.

[kirinm]

What's a high flying tenant? I think I might be depending on your definition. My landlord hasn't put the rent up. When the management company (for the building) changed the locks without telling us, he tried to reduce our rent and give us wine.

I'm not sure you're as generous a landlord as you think you are.

[RudeElf]

And i'd like to add that in 10 years of renting i've never had a rent increase. Sensible LLs understand the value of retaining good tenants.

[RudeElf]

It isnt clear but in my previous post the two highlighted comments are bu differeng posters.

[RudeElf]

Yes OP hissyed and said she was upping rent to cover the cost of new dryer. Despite it being her cost to bear.

It would be cheaper to replace than get an electrician out. I won't charge them directly, but I plan to put the rent up in August by £50 to cover the cost. (They don't know this yet and they haven't had an increase for two years.) It's simpler than trying to get it out of their deposit.



We've recently given some young tenants with a baby a chance to rent their own place



No, you've rented your property to make money. You make it sound like you've pulled them out of the gutter and given them a life they could never dream of.

[Marynary]

No I am upping the rent because there has been no increase for two years and the market value has soared. The costs of accountancy, service charges, maintaince costs have also increased. Passing on the increased business to costs to the tenant is standard business practice. Ecomonics means that landlords can only charge what the market can stand.

Earlier in the thread you said that you were going to increase their rent because they had broken the tumble dryer.If you were going to increase the rent anyway then what was the whole point of the thread?*

[cleaty]

bobble - It is not difficult. We were taught how to do it in school and it was a practical lesson. Checking for the right fuse is basic. You are making it sound far more difficult than it is. It is far easier than using a drill for example.

[Saramel]

It all comes down to liability if something goes wrong, like a fire, and the Landlord is culpable as the appliance is deemed to have caused the damage. There are strict laws for Landlords, some of them very sensible, many are typically Nanny state. I have reduced what I offer in the way of appliances because I don't want to be at the wrong end of a law suit if it came down to it. We've recently given some young tenants with a baby a chance to rent their own place and they phone up about every little thing. However, I would sooner they did that than did things themselves and bodged it. The only problem I get is that in this age of instant texting, messaging etc, they ring me at suppertime and expect me to have things fixed by bedtime.

[ReallyTired]

"So you're upping their rent by £600 a year just to replace an old appliance which would still remain yours anyway? How greedy and cheeky! Landlords like you really piss me off, and it's clear you have the mistaken belief that you're superior to your tenants because you rent out to them."

Ha! Ha! My tenants have a higher household income than I do. They choose to rent. They enjoy a very lavish lifestyle and are not ready in their lives to settle down. They are high flying people with amazing qualificiations in well paid jobs. They lack common sense, but they are very capable people in many ways.

No I am upping the rent because there has been no increase for two years and the market value has soared. The costs of accountancy, service charges, maintaince costs have also increased. Passing on the increased business to costs to the tenant is standard business practice. Ecomonics means that landlords can only charge what the market can stand.

"I bet if she couldn't up the rent she would make the effort to find out what is wrong with the machine. It could be something quite simple and inexpensive to fix."

No I would still replace the machine even if it was not possible to increase the rent. The legal liablity of keeping a really old tumble dryer is just not worth it. The costs of getting someone out to fix the fault and then PAT test the tenant's plug change is not economic. Its simpler to replace the tumble dryer. I also think that my tenants will be happier with a new tumble dryer than spending lots of money to keep an old machine going.

I choose to maintain my properties to a high standard and that requires income. Its not some kind of student bedsit. I cater for the high end professional market. It is a totally different world to the housing benefit claiments who are forced to live in slums. I spend quite a lot on my properties each year and that money has to be found from somewhere. My tenants pay for a service.

If you owned your own home you would find that costs of living increase and you have to find that money from somewhere.

[Marynary]

Oh please. In her view, she has a greater duty of care to her tenants than any risks she may be willing to take on her own behalf.

It's a positive that she doesn't think her tenants should have less than 100% safe stuff.

Not really if she is going to charge them for it. I bet if she couldn't up the rent she would make the effort to find out what is wrong with the machine. It could be something quite simple and inexpensive to fix.