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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

To expect my tenants to understand?

354 replies

Littleelffriend · 24/10/2017 18:45

I own a flat which I rent out. I wanted to sell it but no takers so I’m stuck . The rent doesn’t cover the mortgage but better than nothing. I got new tenants 5 months ago, lovely couple no issues.
Since they moved in there have been numerous problems. The roof started leaking, I got it fixed within 3 days. The cooker broke, I ordered them a new one straight away. They blocked the toilet with wipes, I paid for an emergency plumber the same day.
They called Friday and said they had no heating or hot water. I had an engineer out within 2 hours. He said he had to order a part which would be here today. It’s the wrong part, and it won’t be fixed until Friday now so a week of no heating or hot water. Totally shit, no argument from me. But my tenants are now being crap about it, going on about how frustrating it is. I know it’s frustrating, but these things happen and I’ve done my best. Aibu to wish they would be a bit more understanding?

OP posts:
BertyFlanter · 25/10/2017 18:48

I was the poster who said that tenants get shitty. I work full time myself and if I have to be in for any emergency then I have to make arrangements around the availability of the tradesmen. Annoying yes. Beyond my control, yes. Wouldn’t matter if I was tenant or homeowner, if I want it fixing I have to make it work. Tenants seem to think that things will work differently for them. It won’t. And no amount of screaming about rights will make the parts magically appear nor create extra hours in the day for the plumbers.

Also a couple of other things, sadly the LL was legally responsible to fix the toilet at the time as they are legally obliged to provide sanitation. Can ask the tenant to pay but if they refuse all you can do is claim it from the deposit at the end of the tenancy, but it HAD the be fixed. Surprised so many of you who know your rights so well don’t know that. They could do the same thing ten times and the LL would still have to fix it and claim back if they won’t pay. All the LL can do is serve notice if a tenant did that. I’ve known tenants rip out toilets, complain to the council, get it fixed and then repeat. All parties involved can see how unreasonable this is, but until the tenancy is legally ended either by agreement or court order, then it will keep on costing the LL.

Also the deposit must be registered with one of the schemes not necessarily lodged with them. The deposit can be kept in an isa, or bank account but a LL would be very foolish to use it as their own funds or arbitrarily make a deduction without the schemes approval.

And lastly someone mentioned up thread about the Epc rating in April next year. I am a qualified energy assessor and I’m afraid that the bar is set very low. I wouldn’t pin any hopes on homes suddenly becoming more efficient on the back of that.

JonSnowsWife · 25/10/2017 18:49

@Berty do you presume that tenants also don't work full time?

JonSnowsWife · 25/10/2017 18:50

Surprised so many of you who know your rights so well don’t know that.

Yes but that's coming from people who also think hot water in 2017 is a luxury! Grin

BertyFlanter · 25/10/2017 18:54

No! That’s my point!
I don’t care wether you are a tenant or a homeowner. When I’m prioritising jobs at work it goes off need as per my previous post (and unfortunately healthy adults in a child free house are not top priority)
Screaming no that you are a tenant will not (with my company anyway) make you more important than the man with lung cancer or the family with six kids. Nor will it make the part come any quicker.
It’s boiler season, crazy busy. Most tradesmen are doing their utmost and a week is not unreasonable.

My point is we all hate the inconvenience of waiting in for tradesmen, but we have to make ourselves available.

FeelingAggrieved · 25/10/2017 18:56

Don't understand why people are berating the landlord when they have fixed every issue same day where possible. And didn't charge them for their own carelessness when they blocked the toilet.

Jesus. Landlords often do my head in but give this one a break.

But of course it is frustrating and a rent rebate and a fan heater would probably be appreciated by them.

HelenaDove · 25/10/2017 18:59

So what should i have done back in 2000 when i had to be at a workfare placement Mon to Fri yet also had to be in for a gas safety check

a. they would only do it on a weekday.
b. they said the tenant HAD to be there.

Gas safety check............MANDATORY

workfare also MANDATORY.

Givemeallthechocolate · 25/10/2017 19:01

Little friend.
I didn't get too far into the thread, but it seems fairly obvious that you have been incredibly kind to your tenants- I see that you discounted their first months rent and paid for a repair they actually should have been liable for.

Now what's happened is, you seem to expect them to take that into account and be really fair with you, and they aren't.

This is a business transaction to you, you need to keep this in mind.
Ensure their rights are met, very little more. No discounts, no second chances and you will feel far less annoyed when they get shitty with you about hot water.

TBH I'd be annoyed if there was no hot water, I really wouldn't be too impressed, BUT my landlord is great and I trust if something is taking a week or two, that's the time it takes, he's not dragging his feet.

My landlord is amazing, and has done far more than he needed, he went out and bought curtain rails, has offered to pay half the cost of wooden floor for kitchen when I sniffed at the lino he had just put down (I feel so rude for that, I'm just a bit too blunt sometimes) he's also offered to pay for the turf in the garden, being a fairly decent human being I don't intend on taking the piss, and will meet the costs of my choices fully- as they should have when they flushed wipes down your toilet.

ConsiderIt · 25/10/2017 19:02

Expecting anything that you could not influence yourself if it were your own home, is obviously quite unreasonable.

None of us could do much about a mistakenly incorrectly ordered spare part. All of us would feel pissed off at someone else's mistake but we would just accept it's a couple more days wait.

The time to get all precious about it is when the landlord doesn't bother. This one clearly did. Anything else outside of that is unreasonable expectation.

BertyFlanter · 25/10/2017 19:04

Helena, I sympathise I really do. We try our best with anyone to make it feasible. We will call 1/2 hour before arrival or make arrangements with neighbours or family. We are not monsters! But then we wouldn’t insist that a tenant must be present for a gas safety, we can leave a copy for the tenant and send a copy to the landlord.
I can only assume this is a HA with computer says no mentality.
If someone in your predicament was dealing with us, we would likely go the extra mile and work a late evening or weekend, however that would very much depend on the attitude of the customer!

JonSnowsWife · 25/10/2017 19:10

Givemeallthechocolate I read that as you sniffing all the lino then and thought you had a rather strange habit! Grin

KevinSpacey · 25/10/2017 19:11

We once went six months without heating or hot water, over Christmas too. I remember being irked but we were young and we were just pleased to have a place of our own. Grin The flat was cheap as chips so expectations were low! (I'm older now and used to being warm and having hot showers so there's no way I'd do if again though!)

Anyway, it sounds to me like the OP has been a decent landlord in getting issues fixed promptly and keeping the tenants informed. I would probably go for a discount in rent and a heater as well, as a gesture of goodwill.

HelenaDove · 25/10/2017 19:14

It is bloody daft flushing wipes though. I have a bathroom bin for things like that.

JonSnowsWife · 25/10/2017 19:16

We once went six months without heating or hot water, over Christmas too

But you were a homeowner yes? Not a tenant.

She already offered heaters. They were turned down.

People are thinking of oil filled heaters I think but from my experience they are portable little ones given that wouldn't keep a church mouse warm. The "no thankyou" from the tenants was probably more out of frustration than it was because they thought they could manage.

Kursk · 25/10/2017 19:17

OP you seem to have acted promptly and reasonably,

Being without hot water isn’t a big issue as I am sure they can heat water on the cooker for a few days.

JonSnowsWife · 25/10/2017 19:18

@HelenaDove well obviously you're meant to understand how busy they are, and you'd just have to tell your jobcentre advisor you couldn't do the course. I'm sure it'd have gone down swimmingly when you got sanctioned, housing benefit stopped and then unable to pay the rent anyway.

flyingpigsinclover · 25/10/2017 19:29

But my tenants are now being crap about it, going on about how frustrating it is. I know it’s frustrating, but these things happen and I’ve done my best. Aibu to wish they would be a bit more understanding?

How would you feel if you had no hot water for a week? I'd be very frustrated. You need to take out a maintenance plan to cover emergencies if you haven't already.

Givemeallthechocolate · 25/10/2017 19:35

Jonswife- haha, I don't think he would have let me live here if I started sniffing the lino lol, I do need to read back to myself before posting!

HelenaDove · 25/10/2017 19:35

Jon they did see the light 17 years ago when i explained it the same way you have.

Willow2017 · 25/10/2017 19:41

Good grief.
Shit happens.
Op isnt Harry bloody Potter. If she had to wait for a part nothing she can do about it. She had engineer there in 2 hours ffs! I had to wait 2 days for one last time.

We managed with pans of water and kettles for a week when my boiler went phutt! Its perfectly possible to wash in less than a bathtub full of water.

I doubt if tennants have any major health problems or she would know about it by now and putting on the kettle or pans of water on the cooker is not really a hardship.

BertyFlanter · 25/10/2017 19:44

The maintenance plans are great but they do come with terms and conditions. Check out any of the National ones and you will find they are covered on all angles and a week would absolutely not breach any terms. Assuming the part genuinely was wrong (which if discovered whilst on site to install is pretty likely) then its one of those things.
Unless Hogwarts have started providing a magical maintenance plan it would not have changed the current circumstances.

Want2bSupermum · 25/10/2017 19:59

Hmmm maintenance plans would also have you waiting a week if backed up with other customers. Nothing would change the end result.

Lillyringlet · 25/10/2017 20:54

We were going to be left with no heating&hot water or electricity for days with a 6-8 month old... I don't trust anyone any more.

I'm going to keep on until it has been fixed because I have been left with a broken shower for over a year before or no heating for two weeks over Christmas...

justoneday · 25/10/2017 21:21

Wipes down the toilet. I’d charge them for that one.

mustbemad17 · 25/10/2017 21:26

I'd have billed them for the blocked toilet. That's taking the p*ss literally.

However as a council tenant who has been without any heating or hot water since Thursday I have to say I can understand their frustration. I have been on the phone again today because it is getting frustrating having to boil kettles to have a wash. My boiler has been condemned so realistically is out of my landlord's hand - now in the hands of the contractor to get in touch etc. But it is immensely frustrating to know you are paying rent to live in a place that does not even have the basic ammenity of hot water!!

scaryteacher · 25/10/2017 23:18

Flyingpigs I rent abroad, and as the tenant am liable if the boiler goes wrong. It did, and I was without a hot shower for three days because the firm that serviced the boiler were booked up. I was just glad that it didn't happen when they closed for a month in the summer! I know my NDN but one very well, an old friend from UK, who was happy to let us shower there, but had she not been there, we would have coped.

A maintenance plan makes no difference and won't magic up a plumber/ heating engineer any faster.