WTF is my Tenant for real?

[Rollercoasteride]

Just for background, I am an accidental Landlord. I rent my old flat out, I could charge more, but as long as my mortgage is covered I don't care. Getting the right tenant is more important to me.

Anyway my recent tenant has been living there for 18 months, no problems so far always pays on time.

Yesterday the gas safety certificate was due. I messaged the tenant late afternoon to check if the gas man had been. He replied saying the gas man just arrived.

Then shortly later he messaged me to say the boiler has been condemned because of a leak. So I replied what leak etc..I got no reply.

I was furious with the gas man for not calling me, worried the tenant had no hot water etc. I tried to call the gas company, but they had closed as its after 5pm.

Tried ringing the tenant, goes straight to voice mail. Try messenger, no answer. Left messages no answer.

Checked my emails about 6pm....I only get an email from the gas man with a copy of the safety certificate! No leaks mentioned, just an advisory about a wire.

Nothing about the boiler being condemned.

To date I have heard nothing more from the tenant!

Why would the tenant do this?!

@lockdownalli. Unfortunately, it is possible for some properties to still be worth less than they were bought for around the peak in 2007.

I have such a house, bought it for a high price in the peak and it's value quickly fell by 20%. The area it is in has deteriorated. The value has increased slightly since the huge drop 13 years ago but it is still worth 10% less than it was purchased for. I'm letting it out for the foreseeable future.

Fucking hell. "Landlord" is as red rag on MN as "private club joining" lol.

Op, I agree with others taht it's most pikely they misunderstood the gas man. They may have gotten it later and are now proper embarrassed so are avoiding conversation.

As mentioned, if the boiler had been condemned then the engineer has to leave it safe, which could either be to effect a proper repair or to isolate the boiler so that it cannot be used. A car MOT can fail due to a lamp being out so you get a fail certificate, then they replace the lamp and issue a pass certificate.

If you've had no issues with the tenant then it sounds like a simple misunderstanding and not something to get worked up over. Simply send them them a message to confirm that you have the report and all is good.

In terms of not answering messages, sounds like several people I know! They send me a message, I reply straight away then its like several hours before they respond again. I'm like - but I responded to your message straight away so why did you then leave your phone!

@MotionActivatedDog

Yes- accidental landlord is a term that is widely used and accepted. But it is an inaccurate term. Shout all you like. I don’t care who is annoyed by the people pointing it out. I’m not going to stop doing it.

Shall we start on stay at home mum / housewife now or is it just landlords that we’re critically examining?

If your property is in negative equity why are you only charging enough to pay the mortgage??
You need to be getting market rent for it and getting yourself out of the negative equity situation IMO x

And you need sufficient income from the rent in order to create a 'slush' fund to cover repairs/replacements such as this.

I was expecting you to say the tenant had arranged for a new boiler fitted!

@MotionActivatedDog

Yes- accidental landlord is a term that is widely used and accepted. But it is an inaccurate term. Shout all you like. I don’t care who is annoyed by the people pointing it out. I’m not going to stop doing it.

Then you are a nasty piece of work. The op has explained why she rents the property out. A valid and good reason. And she has stated she has severe anxiety. Yet you keep chipping away. Are you this unpleasant in real life too?

Well, that went off on a tangent...

OP, you are under NO obligation on here to explain anything to anybody,.
There are lots of people who have chips on their shoulders about landlords, by the sounds of it.

@MotionActivatedDog

Yes- accidental landlord is a term that is widely used and accepted. But it is an inaccurate term. Shout all you like. I don’t care who is annoyed by the people pointing it out. I’m not going to stop doing it.

How childish!

Are you going to stamp your wee feet too?

We've got the message!

There are serious literacy issues on this site.

Which part of "accidental landlord" is so confusing?

A very common description IMO.🙄

@ParkingFeud

Please explain how you are an accidental landlord? Frankly, if you have a business renting out property you should accept that you will have to deal with hassle and communications. It's what you get paid for.

It's pretty obvious how this happens!

@MotionActivatedDog

Yes- accidental landlord is a term that is widely used and accepted. But it is an inaccurate term. Shout all you like. I don’t care who is annoyed by the people pointing it out. I’m not going to stop doing it.

Fgs! Grow up!

@billy1966

There are serious literacy issues on this site.

Which part of "accidental landlord" is so confusing?

A very common description IMO.🙄

It's not a literacy issue😉

@MotionActivatedDog

Yes- accidental landlord is a term that is widely used and accepted. But it is an inaccurate term. Shout all you like. I don’t care who is annoyed by the people pointing it out. I’m not going to stop doing it.

Ever considered changing your username to MotionActivatedDogWithaBone?

It must simply be a miscommunication between tenant and gasman. Try not to get too worked up or assume the worst when you've never had issues with the tenant in the past.

Hope it gets sorted OP

Right. I last posted on this thread 2 hours ago, I stated my point and then I left the thread and had no intention of returning to post anymore. I had said all I needed to say. Yet somehow, I have been accused of derailing the thread and called a dog with a bone, and a nasty piece of work, when there have been, at the time of me writing this post, at least 11 posts in my absence continuing the conversation, or rather just having a go, about the issue with “accidental” landlord. If this thread has been derailed, it certainly wasn’t by me.

Now, again, I have no intention of posting again on this thread, I have said anything I needed to say long ago. anyone else who does wish to derail it is welcome to do whatever gives them a tickle. But please don’t kid yourselves that you aren’t the ones derailing it.

@MotionActivatedDog

Right. I last posted on this thread 2 hours ago, I stated my point and then I left the thread and had no intention of returning to post anymore. I had said all I needed to say. Yet somehow, I have been accused of derailing the thread and called a dog with a bone, and a nasty piece of work, when there have been, at the time of me writing this post, at least 11 posts in my absence continuing the conversation, or rather just having a go, about the issue with “accidental” landlord. If this thread has been derailed, it certainly wasn’t by me.

Now, again, I have no intention of posting again on this thread, I have said anything I needed to say long ago. anyone else who does wish to derail it is welcome to do whatever gives them a tickle. But please don’t kid yourselves that you aren’t the ones derailing it.

That's a fair point.

It's threads like this that give Mumsnet a bad name.

Problem is the term "accidental landlord" is often used by landlords who want the tenant to pay their mortgage but don't want to bother themselves with the legalities or inconvenience of running a business. That's not how being a landlord works and gives landlords in general a bad name.

Getting worked up about a minor misunderstanding isn't helping anyone. Clearly the tenant wasn't overly concerned or they would have been back in touch. Besides, in this case it hardly mattered what the tenent said - what mattered is what the report actually said. You've got that, so no problems?

From the title of the post it sounded like they had started a bonfire in the living room or something. God help you if you get an actual bad tenant!

As a tenant myself one who pays rent on time and looks after the property to a high standard your OP title is disgracefully disrespectful toward your tenant of 18 months who pays their rent, was there to let the gas man in no messing around, you get your knickers in an absolute knot over a misunderstanding.
Respectful relationships work both ways, my landlord always compliments me on the nice well kept garden etc.

Tbh the tenant could have simply send another text with "soz, my mistake It's ok" instead of saying boiler is condemned and then refusing to communicate... I don't think it's that disrespectful title

Yes they should have replied that part is annoying but overall it is not a huge deal and depending on how OP has reacted in the past they might have took the say nothing without facts stance judging by the reaction now
My only concern if is there is a genuine leak somewhere in the property.