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?

Provide a dehumidifier and offer a slightly reduced rent on the understanding that she runs it for a few hours each day? The reduced rent would be to cover the electricity cost of running the dehumidifier. Normal rent resumes in warmer months.

There are some pretty good energy efficient ones on the market and it's Black Friday ATM.

I’m in a rental at the moment and the lease specifies a minim boiler tempt to avoid legionaries and heating on at least an hour a day during winter.

Don’t do this, you e then no way of knowing if she’s heating the rooms. Your idea of providing the oil is better,

@witheringrowan As I said, it won't matter much if the temp is set to 14 or 20° because the radiators are highly unlikely to get those rooms to 20° in only a couple of hours twice a day. That was my point!!

my point wasn't the cost.

A room in an old house, with a wooden floor, several external walls and above a cellar, having a radiator on for a couple if hours, twice a day. Is most categorically not going to overheat a house & make it stuffy!!

it just won't, but even if it did, the tenant could turn down the radiators she currently has in!

Your post to the OP shows you either haven't read the OP's posts or haven't understood them

Did I read this correctly? -@nyou’re having your property repossessed and making someone homeless because you won’t put a bolt on a thing? 😄 mortified for you.

It's in the contract so basically she has to keep it adequately headed or she's breaking her terms.

You are being very generous offering to pay for her heating. You don't have to. She is breaking the terms of her contract if she is not heating it adequately.

@Lilithslove there's so much incorrect in your post (unsurprisingly) you need to read all of the OP's posts.

But is it really? I can see in normal times it would be, but in times of unprecedentedly unaffordable fuel costs.... Does that not change things?
And at a time when rents themselves are unprecedentedly affordable ....how can people afford to live??

@pjani if you'd bothered to at least read the OP's posts, you'd see that the it's oil heating and the OP has offered to pay for the next delivery, this should last until Spring.

the OP is only asking for the radiators in the unused rooms to be turned back on & is happy with the timings the tenant has the heating on for, it won't use that much more oil & the OP paying for a whole tank is a LOT more than it'll use. So the tenant will benefit!

She likely doesn’t fully understand the implications of a not being house heated adequately through the winter

Personally I’d ask to meet her for an informal chat, keep the tone light, and explain your reasoning

Sometimes emails are easy to misconstrue

Assume she has good intentions, meet in person.

No they have asked the tenant to leave and served notice appropriately. Then the council have served a repair notice. Now they can't serve notice for 6 months to discourage retaliatory notice from landlords. There's nothing to say you can't increase the rent though.

I'd push the insurance aspect. Go back to her and explain that it's a term of your insurance that the house needs to be heated so you have no choice but to find a solution. Maybe ask don't tell? As in, you've been a great tenant but I'm really worried that if the house gets damp the insurance won't pay out if they suspect those rooms have been unheated. I know heating is expensive at the moment, but I need to find a way to ensure those rooms are heated for some of the day - can you help me find a solution?

I'd agree with this, face to face is best. Emails can be mis construed etc. You need the place heated one way or another..

If she refuses she's the unreasonable one, but this way you're more likely to get to the bottom of why she rejected your original, generous, offer.

I have to agree really ....even if the tenant tries to argue that the landlord was imposing high living temperatures on them they could agree on something fairly low like 18 degrees?
It still feels like the landlord imposing their choices on someone else's home life🤷

Clearly you didn't read it correctly. That's not what it says. Read it again.

@Brightstarowl this makes NO sense.

The tenant has the heating on twice a day for a couple of hours, it passes by some radiators she's turned off. Turning those radiators back on will not cost a lot.

the OP has offered to pay for the next delivery of oil which will cover WAY more than turning on thise radiators.

No need to be messing around emptying the dehumidifier either.

the OP would be mad to reduce the rent, far better to just pay for an U.K. deluvery.

oh & beware!! Loads of Black Friday deals are just cons.

@Womanconflicted

Try reading the OP's posts again.

I think be even clearer.

Don't suggest it's for your tenant's benefit, that's patronising and disingenuous. Maybe she doesn't the mind cold or wants to do her bit for the planet.

Focus solely on your concerns as a landlord for the proper care and wellbeing of your property. Begin and end by emphasising how much you value her as a tenant, but make it clear that you feel you will have to insist as per the tenancy agreement.

Try and find out what her refusal is about. When life has been hard, and solitary, it can be difficult to believe or trust or accept help. I think it's likely she's misunderstood, or needs to hear it again. What you propose is very unusual, wonderfully so. Persevere.

I'd be over the moon if any landlord had ever offered to partly pay the extortionate bills to properly heat a traditional property, or to upgrade the heating system to make it more sustainable. Instead I live in the cold with judicious use of a dehumidifier knowing full well that the security deposit is rarely returned anyway.

@RhondaD still reads like that poster wants it repossessed 🤷‍♀️

@Soothsayer1

Yes, it really is ridiculous.

Why do you think LL's should be responsible to pay for tenants heating?

Yes CoL, but LL's aren't immune from that you know. Their CoL has risen too!

some people seem to think LL's just pocket the monthly rental with no expenses to
pay out, taxes etc. that they're all rolling in money. It's really not like that.

It still feels like the landlord imposing their choices on someone else's home life

This person has chosen to live in a listed cottage, and has agreed in their AST to adequately heat it. She is imposing her choice to underheat it on the landlord.

Yes and comes down to the contract. If it’s in there then it needs to be observed otherwise contract is broken.

I would have a read of your tenancy agreement, op. There may be a clause about “actions which cause detriment to the condition of the property” or something along those lines. Worth a look.

YANBU and I think you are offering a very fair solution. If only more landlords took this sort of approach. Perhaps her pride is understandably getting in the way, as well as not being aware of the serious issues cold spots can cause.