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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

Tenant requesting reduction in rent

259 replies

TattyCat · 15/02/2018 11:42

Just need to check whether IABU.

Our tenant has rented for around 15 months. A few months ago, she complained of a damp patch in the kitchen, so we've had investigations and this has included knocking plaster off the wall, removing the radiator and applying damp proofing. We are awaiting the plaster drying before the radiator can go back on. Just as a note, the house is REALLY warm and this radiator is one I generally had switched off, or on low when I lived there as the kitchen gets hot.

Anyway, tenant has a dog and a few months ago requested permission for a cat, both of which are fine with us and we've always wanted to be flexible. Tenant is now pushing quite hard for a £50 reduction in rent because of the inconvenience of the work being done (albeit it makes the place better!). This work is costing the equivalent of 2 months rent but clearly, we also want to maintain the property so I don't suppose this is relevant.

IABU in saying 'no'?

OP posts:
Gwenhwyfar · 17/02/2018 00:12

"who told me I didn’t need to compensate. The tenants had heat and hot water at all times - the immersion heater for hot water and several fan heaters. "

Fan heaters are very expensive so I hope you compensated them for the increase in their electricity bills. I always look for a rented flat with gas central heating so I would not be happy if I then had to pay for electric fan heaters!

alittlehelp · 17/02/2018 05:08

I don't think your tenant is being that unreasonable. We had similar work done in our house and it was dirty and inconvenient.

ivykaty44 · 17/02/2018 05:20

If you went to a holiday cottage and took your dog(as they allow dogs) and there was working taking place in the kitchen if the holiday home, would you think

I’m grateful there doing the work

I’m not happy about the disruption in the holiday home, but I need to be grateful there sorting this out

I’m not happy about the work taking place, they may have back to back letting so have to do it at some point but I’ll ask for a reduction in the amount I’m paying to rent the home

Mummyoflittledragon · 17/02/2018 05:43

Gwen
Good point. That genuinely hadn’t occurred to me. I spoke to the agent and I took their advice that I didn’t need to compensate. This was a few years ago and the tenants have since left. They were long term tenants and I kept the rent well below market rates as I do with long term tenants.

They were only without a boiler for about 5 days in all. For at least the last year of the end of the tenancy, I could have asked another £75 pcm for a property, which hadn’t been decorated for the 5ish years they were there. So they did benefit in other ways. That said, I will compensate for the increase in bills if it happens again.

americanlife · 17/02/2018 05:53

We reduced rent by 100 quid a month for 3 months whilst works were done on our place-it did mean there was a lot less light coming in due to a scaffold- we felt it was a reasonable request for impaired quality of living for 3 months. Damp is horrible and it is your responsibility to sort it-oneday you will reap all the benefits of having this tenant pay off your mortgage for you- give her the discount till work is completed is my view.

Original poster
TattyCat · 17/02/2018 09:58

The rent is £595pm. We've agreed a one-off payment of £50 for the inconvenience and we're still undecided about selling, but probably won't. We actually feel a little bad for even considering it, given that she only moved in 15 months ago and moving is costly, which is why we'll likely hang on until she moves of her own accord.

For all those suggesting that we're looking for a pat on the back for doing the work, we're absolutely not! Obviously I needed to state why the tenant asked for compensation, that is all. And again, the 'damp' wasn't a 'wet' damp, but a dry flaking of the paint from the wall, indicating that damp was somewhere, but it wasn't obvious.

OP posts:
Gabilan · 17/02/2018 10:30

Why should she pay full rent if she's without heating in one room? I would be furious if I had to go months without a radiator in a room that's supposed to have a radiator

The OP said that there are two radiators in the room. I agree the tenant should be compensated for inconvenience and because for some months the property was not as stated in the contract and inventory, but the kitchen was heated.

Original poster
TattyCat · 17/02/2018 10:40

Yep, there's another radiator. And the house is boiling hot - I mean, proper roasting hot! I generally had to turn one radiator off/down, even in the coldest weather because the kitchen/diner was stifling. So, I'm really not concerned that she's been cold and indeed, she hasn't mentioned that - only the inconvenience of the works.

OP posts:
Original poster
TattyCat · 17/02/2018 10:42

Anyway, it's fairly irrelevant now because we have compensated her and given what she's asked for. I was just updating to conclude, really.

OP posts:
Gwenhwyfar · 17/02/2018 10:43

" And the house is boiling hot - I mean, proper roasting hot!"

This is subjective isn't it? I work with people who say our workplace is too hot, while for me it's too cold. If there are supposed to be two radiators, then both should be working.

Gwenhwyfar · 17/02/2018 10:45

"We actually feel a little bad for even considering it, given that she only moved in 15 months ago and moving is costly, which is why we'll likely hang on until she moves of her own accord."

You could just give her money for the move. I might not mind moving in those circumstances. Where I am now, having to move would be really bad because the rent hasn't increased much so renting anywhere else would be much more expensive, but if it was just the cost of hiring a van and agency fees somewhere else, it wouldn't bother me so much.

McTufty · 17/02/2018 10:47

A landlord giving money to a tenant to pay for their move? Shock

ralfeesmum · 17/02/2018 10:48

This comes into the category Give-The-Tenant-An-Inch-And-They-Try-To-Take-A-Mile.

You sound like a landlord/lady who takes their responsibilities sincerely and seriously. Don't give way.

Some landlords - without scruples - would have disconnected the electricity, the water, dumped rubbish on the doorstep, sent a couple of 'heavies' round to "sort out" the tenants complaints.......need I say more?

Mummyoflittledragon · 17/02/2018 10:50

ralfeesmum
And then there are respectable landlords, who treat their tenants like human beings. And we aren’t going to stop because others act irresponsibly, illegally and aggressively or because you have no concept of the level of disruption this building work will have caused to the tenant.

choseausername1 · 17/02/2018 10:54

YANBU at all!

I’ve been renting since I was 18 and have had my fair share of crappy landlords- you sound like a breath of fresh air!

Is she asking for a one off reduction or a continuing reduction? Neither really matter in my opinion. She rented a property that was structurally sound and safe, then a problem developed that was immediately fixed to the original standard.

That’s reasonable and the minor inconvenience was inevitable to ensure her staying safe and healthy in her home. Asking for a reduction is just a piss take. I don’t live in the uk anymore (ROI) but you have been informed of a problem and fixed it. If you hadn’t she’d be complaining of an ongoing issue with damp.

What did she expect? To complain and you not fix it? To complain and keep giving out bc you didn’t fix it? Ridiculous.

Check the tenancy contract you have down to the last letter then tell her to get on her bike.

If she’d fixed it (with mutual consent) and paid for it herself she would be entitled to ask for reimbursement, but as I read it she hasn’t got a leg to stand on.

Original poster
TattyCat · 17/02/2018 11:29

You could just give her money for the move. I might not mind moving in those circumstances.

I'm sure you wouldn't!!

OP posts:
Original poster
TattyCat · 17/02/2018 11:33

I work with people who say our workplace is too hot, while for me it's too cold. If there are supposed to be two radiators, then both should be working.

I get that, but believe me when I say that it's bloody roasting! Even for someone who feels the cold, it's too much. Reason being, we had a new boiler just prior to renting it out and as a result, the heating is exceptionally efficient and the two radiators are actually excessive. It really does render one redundant (said radiator is not a large one anyway). But regardless, it will be back in operation next week and the tenant has been compensated as requested, so all good.

OP posts:
Original poster
TattyCat · 17/02/2018 11:44

Oh, and I should add:

It's thanks to the posters on here that we've been enlightened to the disruption this will have caused, so I'm glad I posted. It's also been very helpful in other ways too, speaking as a LL.

OP posts:
MadamMinacious · 17/02/2018 11:45

As someone who previously rented a lot and tends to be on the side of tenant's rights this is one occasion when I am very firmly on your side; the side of the landlord. You have been very accommodating with reference to the dog and cat (it is hard to get somewhere which allows a dog especially) and have fixed an issue. I have NEVER had a reduction in rent for inconvenience of work in a house/flat where that work is to improve the property for the tenant. I don't think you should be offering a reduction at all. I think you sound like a very good landlord for the record.

Mummyoflittledragon · 17/02/2018 11:47

**. Yup that was my reaction too. I think you’re right to wait until the tenant moves out of her own accord before selling. Unless you absolutely have to sell, it seems terribly unfair to turf someone out.

Original poster
TattyCat · 17/02/2018 11:53

MadamMinacious Thank you.

Mummyoflittledragon That's the conclusion I came to when we discussed selling. It feels somehow wrong to 'turf someone out' so quickly, as she's only been there since Nov 16 and it doesn't sit well with me. So... we'll hang on to it until we absolutely need to sell OR the tenant moves on of her own accord. She sold a property to go into rental, so presume that she will want to buy again at some point. Hope she decided to buy ours!!

OP posts:
Original poster
TattyCat · 17/02/2018 11:53

*decides

OP posts:
SandAndSea · 17/02/2018 11:56

Well done, OP. You sound like a lovely LL.

daisypond · 17/02/2018 12:01

This thread has been a real eye-opener for me. I am not a tenant or a landlord, but I'm been really surprised at the number of people saying no reduction when it seemed quite clear cut to me that the tenant should have a reduction, if not legally, then morally. (Leaving aside the issues of the pets, which is a separate issue altogether and shouldn't be conflated with this one). The property is not "being improved for the tenant", a problem with the property (belonging to the landlord) is being fixed. The landlord gets the main benefit of the improved property (no damp damaging the property). The tenant had to live with it being fixed - a process that was noisy, dirty, inconvenient, time-consuming and ugly.

Gwenhwyfar · 18/02/2018 12:01

There's a strain in MN that doesn't believe in the rights of tenants daisypond. You get the same with workers' rights.