also in property- tenant issue

[birdladyfromhomealone]

New tenant first month in, tells us the back door is not easy to lock.
For security we agreed to his request to call a locksmith.
He told us he had called three and gave the price.
We agreed the one who charged £65 per hour- estimated £95 to fix.
One month later our tenant has emailed to say they came out but couldnt fix the lock as the PVC door was warped.
Attached an invoice for £398 for complete new locking mechanism.
He has paid on the day and wants repayment.

errrr....contractually speaking - he should have informed you of the locksmith's observations on the day.
Then it would have been up to you to inspect for yourself/get a cheaper quote and sign off on it.

The original door/lock was working - the warped door wasn't preventing it from being secured
Therefore it probably didn't need a new lock - especially not a £400 one - or is he charging you for a brand new door as well?

He did not have authority to sign off for an amount that high without your approval.

Is he claiming to have 'forgot' about such a huge amount til now?

Why wait til now?

I think your tenant sounds a tad dodgy.
If i were you i'd call the locksmith/s and check the facts -and works description- for myself.

I think your tenant is pulling a fast one - getting some mate/bloke he knows to falsify receipts/jobs done.
Either that or he thought this was a 'clever' way of getting the changes he wanted without having to foot the bill.

Rather sneaky how he's done this - gets you to approve an estimated quote and then tries to make it look like you approved the work too!

I wouldn't pay - as a last resort i'd go 50/50.

my last place had a 'warped' pvc front door, had to 'lift' the door when shutting it or else the mechanisms wouldn't line up properly and lock.
It was annoying but not majorly.

The 'warp' was magically fixed when my friend attached new hinge fittings on the door - he placed them in new positions as well.

I wonder how much money companies have made from charging for 'fixing warped doors'?

You're the landlord and should have made sure the contractor contacted you before work was carried out. I've seen your other post where you say the lock was temperamental - you cannot expect a tenant to put up with that frankly. Not when it is about safety and security. Get a copy of the invoice, refund the tenant and deal with this kind of thing yourself.

You've already posted this in the home and garden section

You we're almost universally told to step up and not be 'that landlord '

Are you looking for more favourable support here? You left your tenant to it, didn't bother checking what happened for a month and now don't want to pay the bill clearly

It was a health and safety risk and needed sorting, please just pay the bill and learn the lesson

These are issues that should not happen. As a landlord letting a home to tenants, a check in of the property should be undertaken.

Landlords are legally obliged to care for and ensure the fabric and structure of the property is up to standard.

With regards to the invoice, that is a separate issue. You should have managed this rather than the tenant. The issue of the warped door could have been picked up much earlier.

The tenant has paid the invoice on work they authorised. But there is a lesson here. I would dispute an invoice raised by someone not authorised to order the work.