Tenant sent the builder home!

[Ilovemychocolate]

I am a landlord, and rent a house out to a young couple.
There is some urgent work that needs doing to it, so I arranged for a builder to attend the property yesterday and today to carry out the work, at my expense obviously.
At lunchtime the tenant sent the builder home, as her cat had escaped and she said the cat wouldn’t return if the builder was in the house, he was plastering so hardly creating a huge amount of noise.
Not withstanding that her original tenancy agreement stipulated no pets, (which I overlooked as she is very pet orientated) am I being unreasonable to ask her to pay for the builder when he has to return next week to finish the work?
She didn’t phone me first to check if it was ok to send him home, I called her when I found out she had, and she swore at me, saying she didn’t give a fuck about the building work, she was more concerned about finding her cat.
I am bloody livid right now, the work should be finished by now, and now I’ve got to stump up another £250 for an extra day!
And before anyone piles on, yes I have a cat, yes I get she was upset, and yes I know the rules about pets have changed since May 1st.

OP - can you just have a conversation with her along the lines of:
Im not happy about what you have done
I was prepared to be flexible about the pets but now they are causing damage , and you have increased my costs by sending the builder home, Im taking legal advice on how to recover those costs from you , possibly from your deposit ( even if you are not)
I feel you have broken the goodwill between us.
It might be best for both of us if you start looking for somewhere else.

If she says “you cant evict me etc” explain calmly you are not - you are just letting her know that you are very converned about her behaviour as a tenant and that she needs to think about whether she wants to stay living there because clearly it’s not suiting her.

her original tenancy agreement stipulated no pets

She has pets in the house

Bill her the £250 extra!

Did your builder he is supposed to be a mate? Did he ring you when she chucked him out? If the Work isn’t to make the place safe and it’s just cosmetic, I wouldn’t bother. And the new law doesn’t mean anyone can have any pets they fit fancy they still have to buy an insurance policy to cover any damage. I think it’s time for this lady to go.

Look at the means to evict your tenant, she sounds terrible. Is there nothing in the contract about allowing workmen to do essential work? She's breeched that if there is. Could that lead to an eviction?

The deposit paid by a tenant would probably only cover a tiny fraction of replacing floors destroyed by dogs.

I don't think you are wrong but obviously it's all a bit tense right now. I'd communicate in writing that due to her instructions to the builder there is an extra cost that it seems reasonable she should cover. I'm not sure on what the laws are - worth checking it all out if you don't know regarding notice etc. If she was more concerned about the cat and now has the cat back, I imagine at the time she chose her priority and would've paid the money to get her cat safely back. I also think you should address the way she spoke to you. Keep communicating in writing. Make any decisions when you've had a sleep on it. I think it might be time to sell it.

I'd pay for a quick consultation with a landlord and tenancy solicitor to see how best to proceed with eviction. If you decide to sell, it may be difficult with her in place. It is 4 months notice for the tenant and then you cannot re-let the property for 12 months, so if a sale doesn't materialise (which is very possible as rental property sales are dropping through the floor), you could end up with an unsaleable and unlettable property for some time.

Overlooking a rabbit isn't the same as permitting 2 large dogs and a cat following a written request. She has also now damaged the property. You may be able to evict on those grounds...get legal advice.

I hope the cat is found and safe, I just wish the poor thing had a more responsible owner.

You have my sympathy OP, not least because the Renter's Rights Bill is making the system so hostile for decent landlords that they are getting out of the market in large numbers, which ultimately doesn't benefit tenants. It makes not a jot of difference to bad landlords, they are just carrying on illegally, exactly as before.

You are not also a step-mother are you? In this heat you could cause some MN-ers to froth at the mouth before passing out with rage😂 .

Forgot to add, plastering is not always just cosmetic, nor does it only have to be done for safety. Plastering helps to protect the wall underneath from damage by every day use, for example, water in a bathroom. You have a right to maintain and protect the property.

I’m with you op. Just give her notice. She’s abusive, disrespectful to your property and entitled. YANBU.

Report her to the RSPCA. Keeping cats indoors is a criminal offence.

What do you mean by 'write it off'? A £250 bill will cost the landlord between £250 and £138 depending on their marginal tax rate. It doesn't get paid by HMRC.

Since when?!

I'm not sure how section 21s act these days but your tennant is taking the pi**.
So she has broken boundaries, or rules, cost you additional fees. Increase the rent or take it out of her bond when she leaves
She is taking advantage of a good landlord & no you are definately not being unreasonable.
Im a housing association tennant ex home owner & my brother is a landlord.
I wouldn't dare do that, its just disrespectful behaviour.

Are you insane or trolling?

Section 21 ended May this year

I had a tenant who was forever changing the times when work could be done. I went through the right rules and got them out and put the house on the market. It took ages but we exchanged contracts to sell yesterday. Hurrah
I went through the new long arrangements because it overlapped the date for the new rules.

🤣🤣🤣

Get her out she’s breached the terms of her tenancy and it will only get worse.

Ha ha ha!!!!
I am not a stepmother but I’m best friends with my dds stepmother, does that count 🤣

Have you read the thread AT ALL?

She’s ridiculous. We had builders recently and also have a nervous house cat so we moved his food and litter tray into a room they wouldn’t need to be in, closed the door and put a sign on it to warn it should not be opened. This is all on her and yes I think you should ask her to pay (but I don’t think the CF will).

She's a CF. I also have a rental property ( not in the UK though) and in the contract its no pets and no smoking. If my tenants where to break this they would be out on their ear. Give her notice to leave.

This is excellent advice, thank you so much!

I have to say, I think the issue with the pets and the one with the builder are two very different issues.

The fact the cat escaped is on her.
The fact she got angry at you is likely because she is worried sick about her cat. That’s on her too. Bring worried doesn’t entitled anyone to be rude.
Except … I’m not sure how you can ask her to pay £250 because she sent the builder away. She is likely to argue what some posters said - the builder should have rang you to check if it was ok.

However, I would give her notice of when the builder will come back and tell her you will come too to check in the progress of the work. Make it sound like you’ll stay for a while too.
Remind her that her cat is her responsibility.

Re tge dogs etc… I would recover the cost from her deposit as she broke the tenancy agreement.