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?

Very fair of you to pay for every other

how long should one tank last

Surely you can insist though.She is a tenant you are the owner .Its generous ro offer to pay every other oil bill.I would say that you need to have the property kept warm .If she cannot do this you would have to mention eviction(as a last resort obv)

Why do you think LL's should be responsible to pay for tenants heating?
Actually I wouldn't really put it like that, it's more that unaffordable rent + unaffordable fuel puts us in an unsustainable situation which is very difficult to resolve😬

Don't mention her comfort or her needing to he warm. You as a landlord need to protect your property and heating is important and therefore thays why you're offering to pay. Otherwise it sounds a bit condescending if you frame it to be her benefit.

talk to your insurance company about this and figure out whether they can send something to show the building needs to be heated?

I would snap your hand off for that offer! I would however, want something formal in writing/drawn up saying what you have agreed to pay and the heating requirements. You sound a decent LL however from a tenants point of view I'd be cautious of you trying to claim back costs/keeping deposit as payment etc if circumstances changed

@ivykaty44 Do not speak to the insurance company about this, other than to get another copy of the policy.

They could well make part of the policy null and void and refuse to insure it for damage caused by damp, mould etc. You are basically declaring to them that you are allowing a situation to occur and continue. Why should they then still insure you?

What is incorrect? I have outlined what could be a misunderstanding of her motives and advised her to talk to the tenant in person to explain.

A landlord can not suddenly add a clause about temperature to a contract if it isn't already there. If it is already covered then she's fine.

However, there is probably no need to go down the route of talking about contracts because if she has a chat with the tenant she has the chance to explain properly and address any misunderstanding.

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.

This is what I am getting at. Sending a single email saying a tenant has to have the heating on with the landlord contributes while pretending it is for the tenants benefit is quite odd. It is no wonder that the tenant doesn't trust it.

The OP should do what she feels is best.

I am just adding a helpful solution.

No need to quote me just to rubbish my idea.

It was just a suggestion so please unclench yourself....Jeez!

I'll use my own judgement on BF deals thanks.

I think you have to be crystal clear about why the heating must be on. Tenants do have an obligation to look after the property.

Paying for a couple of months oil to last until the lease is up is fair and generous, but it’s reasonable to leave it up to the tenant after that. She must then decide whether she can afford it or not and if she wants to renew.

You can then make sure it is included in any future tenancy agreement. I don’t think you will be the only landlord/letting agent who will be beefing up this part of the contract.

I hadn’t realised I’d opened a can of worms with this thread or that there were already similar threads, apologies.

My concern with THIS house is that having lived in it (particularly during a period when I was skint) I know what happens when you switch the rads off in cold weather because through trial and error I’ve done it, it seems to be much worse in the dining room because of the barrel cellar and so I’m speaking through experience. I do feel for landlords who can’t contribute to heating whose property will end up damaged by lack of heat because it’s going to become a big issue I imagine.

I had a frank conversation with her today and basically said I was dressing it up previously with my concern for her as a courtesy and my main concern is my property and the fabric of it, and that’s why I’m insisting on it. I KNOW the property and I KNoW that in every previous winter she has maintained and looked after it well. I said I wanted her to heat and maintain as she has in previous years and that I will pay for every other oil delivery in order to mitigate additional expense. She is happy with the proposal- we use the same company for oil and I’ve said if she lets me know when it’s low I’ll order every other delivery through my account rather than hers, there is no issue with her waiting for me to reimburse her. she said she’d misinterpreted my original email for pity and so thanks for all who said my original message was washy, it’s been cleared up.

I will amend the ambiguous clause on heating in the next AST, I will have to state how frequently I want the house heating although I do think it’s academic in this case as she is a brilliant tenant who looks after the place very well, she is just (as are many) not able to heat it as she ordinarily would have.

it would be a dark day if I ever considered serving a notice on her, it was my home, I respect her for keeping it as she does, she’s massively improved the garden and I hope she stays for many years- this has been my only ever issue and it appears to be communication on my part as the breakdown. There are a lot of shit tenants (and landlords!) out there but she is absolutely not one of them and actually as the owner of a period property which requires some fairly unique care i do think it’s fairly arrogant of anyone expecting to pass all that on to the tenant.

You are a great landlord and it sounds like she is a great tenant too. 😊

Perfect 😍

So glad everything worked out and everyone is happy, you both come across as lovely people.

You handled that very well, OP. She’s certainly as lucky to have you as a landlord as you are to have her as a tenant, and you’ve dodged a potential bullet with inadvertent property damage. Very well done.

Great result! Happy for you OP

Great to hear it's all cleared up... Great tenants (and great landlords!) are like gold dust. I hope she stays for many years.

Well done 🥳

Fantastic! Well done

Good. And this thread was significantly different to the others I'd seen which might have been superficially similar so don't apologise for starting it, OP.

Why should the OP pay all the tenant's heating? Surely paying fir the heating the tenant is currently not using us fair

A great resolution. Happy days! You are lucky to have each other and may it long continue!