To insist tenant heats house

[daisymade]

I own a cottage which I lived in for about 6 years before moving in with now husband.

it’s a listed cottage, stone solid walls with timber suspended floors and it’s cold, it needs a fair bit of heating. I’ve had the same tenant since I moved out and she’s lovely, keeps the place immaculate and genuinely looks after it as if it was her own, just her and her dog live there, she’s in her mid 40s. I’ve always inspected it twice a year and never had an issue.

during my inspection last week it’s apparent she’s switched the rads off in rooms she’s not using. I know this property well and I know it needs heating otherwise it will become very damp, the dining room is above a cellar with three outside walls and the two spare rooms also have lots of outside walls so they sit cold, especially the one which is now above the unheated dining room.

I went home and discussed with my husband and we both agreed that it’s bad for the property to stay like this, but that (like most) she’s hit with the cost of living crisis and can’t afford the rising costs. I emailed her yesterday and proposed that during the colder months I will pay for every other 500l oil delivery on the understanding that all the rooms are heated when the heating comes on (a couple of hours in the morn and eve which is what she said she usually has on timer). There is a log burner which really warms the place but she works shifts and so it isn’t always practical for her to light it but I have also offered logs.

she has just responded to say “thank you but I would feel very uncomfortable with that and I’m happy with the current heating”.

I don’t know whether I can insist on this? I’d hope that by offering what I have, I am financially covering what I am asking of her, even though the AST states the property must be adequately heated. I absolutely don’t want to lose her as a tenant but I’m also worried about my property, I know how cold and damp it might get, the dining room is a timber floor above a barrel cellar so heating it will stop any moisture setting into the room from damp and I don’t want to have hefty invoices for repairs in the future from this.

am I being unreasonable? I don’t want to offend her but it’s best for her and the property if I contribute towards it being properly heated?

I think you are being more than fair.

Look up articles on what can happen in unseated properties and take them to show her.

Perhaps say you’ll have to do an inspection once a month to keep an eye on the rooms.

Maybe if she doesn’t use these rooms, she doesn’t want to heat them full time (assuming radiators are on a single circuit) and is concerned about wasting energy for environmental reasons.

An alternative might be to buy oil filled radiators that can be programmed just to come on the minimum needed. Or maybe there is something that can be added to the radiators, that put them on a timer.

Good tenants are precious and I can see why you don’t want to annoy her.

I think it's very generous of you to offer, and maybe she's confusing it with charity.

Just message explaining in a bit more detail that the property has to be heated to a certain level to avoid structural as well as cosmetic damage and it's non negotiable.

Best of luck with this OP.

It's a false economy for her, though; unless she has hermetically sealed the rooms, heat from the used rooms will be pulled into them, cooling the areas she does want to keep warm. It's better and usually cheaper to low-level heat a whole house, rather than try to contain a higher heat in less rooms.

Whether it's fair or not my concern would be the contract stating "adequate heating." If a term is ambiguous in a contract I understand it to fall in the favour of the person who did not draft the contract, in this case the tenant. If the tenant feels she is adequately heating the property then I'd be surprised if there's any legal precedent to force otherwise.

Twice yearly inspections? I imagine she's considering moving on.

I think that’s written in such a way she’s taken offence, especially where you say it’s not good for you. It’s a pride thing, that’s why she’s said no, she’s embarrassed she can’t afford to heat it.

I think I’d respond and say we love having you as a tennant but it’s a requirement of the contract the house is heated due to its build. I do not want the property damaged due to damp and as this is our requirement we will pay for every second tank on the understanding you commit to heat all rooms.

Don’t be daft she’s been there six years and clearly ok with the inspections. The op is doing the right thing there. But she maybe considering moving on if heating it is now too expensive and she’s too proud to accept help

I think the problem has been the wording. You’re not asking her to heat the house for her own good but for the good of the property as per the AST.

That’s fine, but just be clear. If she shuts off one room and turns the heat off she could open it up in spring to find it covered in green mould (ime). And then you would have the cost of fixing it.

This sounds perfect. I think you are being more than generous .

I think factoring into rent only works with community heating arrangements. I think a lot of old buildings will be withdrawn from rental market as you can't expect a tenant to care for the fabric of the building the same way you would. I own an old building it needs heated for the benefit of lathe and plaster if nothing else.

Your tenant sounds like a stubborn old goat, a ridiculous one at that. I’d have been jumping for joy if my landlord offered that in the days when I used to rent. I mean, get the oil delivered but you can’t force her to turn the heating on. She might not turn it on just to piss you off now. From what you’ve said, it sounds like she doesn’t like being told what to do, even though you’re only being nice. Maybe it’s time for new tenants and you can do one of two things, increase the rent to include the money for heating. Or say in the contract that you will be sharing the cost of oil with them. Sadly, neither will guarantee that the tenant will use the heating 🤷‍♀️

What an amazing landlord.

All properties need to be heated to a degree to prevent burst pipes? Often wondered what will happen to rentals.

I would insist, perhaps she hasn’t thought about damp/mould.

Agreed your wording was unclear and perhaps a little patronising by framing it that you're concerned for her health. She doesn't want to accept charity, and/or is keen on keeping her carbon emissions down (in which case offering to pay won't budge her).

Agreed you need to go back explaining exactly why - it's about preventing damp, wood rot etc and keeping the house structurally sound. Insist firmly but politely.

Are there any insulation and damp proofing measures you could consider? Maybe send a specialist company round to take a look and do a quote - maybe the prospect of workmen on site will sway her.

Tell her it's dangerous to allow the house to get cold and damp because mould can grow and cause lung problems especially for children. If Aspergillus spores get into the lungs it can cause long term, untreatable illness, asthma, aspergillosis, which is life changing.

That's very harsh. It doesn't sound like that to me at all. Some older people are just very unhappy about taking charity but I don't imagine she would start being awkward just to piss the landlord off - she will be living in the house after all.

Having said that the Landlord, in this case, is behaving very responsibly and I think she should make it clear that she is doing this for the benefit of the structure of the house making it clear she doesn't think the tenant is a charity case.

When I bought my house (just a bog standard northern Edwardian terrace but with almost no alterations so still very 1907 inside and out!) the surveyor said that the house would benefit from being kept at a constant 18-20 degrees and recommended a thermostat be installed.

Anything similar in your own paperwork? Could help you with talking to your tenant re: why you are making this offer and that spending on heating now is likely to save you the landlord money on future structural repairs/redecoration costs due to damp/mould.

it’s jolly decent of you to help out with the costs btw, plenty of landlords would try and insist on the minimum temperature without offering to subsidise!

Why? That sounds quite minimal for an old listed cottage to me. The OP needs to check the fabric of the building, it's not snooping on the tenant.

@CaptainMyCaptain

did you miss that's she's mid 40's?? That's not 'older' ????

I would provide a dehumidifier, and maybe an oil filled radiator, for some background heating.

I say this as a LL myself.

What temperature do you want her to heat the rooms to? Have you told her clearly? If you're expecting everything to be at 20C+ that's unreasonable, if you want the heating to be set to kick in if it falls below e.g. 14C then that's a more sensible request.

I think you be better off both in terms of cost and clarity if you simply paid for every other fuel delivery. It's cheaper to buy oil in the summer and I think it could be if you only buy it in winter some years you buy more/less than others depending on when the fuel runs out. If you use the same company could you just arrange with them they bill you every other time? Save her having to ask you?

@daisymade

BE FIRM.

it's YOUR property she's damaging.

INSIST those rooms need to be heated and look at installing a system you can see on an App if that's possible with oil heating.

tell her you understand she's comfortable with the heating as she has it, but YOUR property is not and this could be viewed as wilful damage.

I know you like her & she otherwise looks after the house and that's incredibly valuable but unless she takes this on board you're going to have to MAKE her heat the rooms with the oil you're paying for or give her notice.

you're doing the right thing re paying for oil, more than generous as the usage will be much lower than 50% of all oil costs, you could just contribute x per each delivery.

let us know how your conversation goes!

Your wording makes it sound as though you are offering to pay to be polite. I think you need to make it clear all rooms are to be heated but that you will be paying for the additional costs.

The poster I quoted referred to her as an old goat. My point about not wanting charity stands though.