Commercial Landlord.... few queries

[Pfer]

If anyone can help please....Am meeting with a clients landlord today to dispute various invoices he's submitted. Here are my queries I need help with:

1. Servicing of boiler. In the lease agreement it states that the Landlord will ensure the maintenance of all fixtures and fittings etc including heating appliances. However in another section it states that the landlord is exempt from certain maintenance including this. The HSE say that it's the landlords responsibility. So who's is it? He wants her to pay £350 for the annual service of 1 boiler!! If she has to pay is she within her rights to get her own engineer? There is a local corgi reg. firm that will so this for about £50, a big saving.

2. Buildings insurance - again the lease agreement under the insurance section states that the landlord does this, and also that he deals with the tennents contents insurance. As far as we know the contents are not covered by the landlord as they've never asked for details and she has arranged her own cover. Under the Rent section of the agreement it states that buildings insurance is payable to the landlord as rent. ? Surely this can't be right? Anyway if she has to 'reimburse' him for the buildings insurance can she deduct the amount she's paying for her contents from the sum he's charging her? On the invoice he only lists it as Buildings insuranace

3. We've repeatedly asked for copies of utility bills that he's asking for payment for - in the lease it says he keeps copies of these - but they've not been forthcoming and TBH I'm reluctant to authorise payment of these without proof.

I'd appreciate any comments as I'm really not looking forward to the meeting.

Please

anyone....please...

Re the boiler. It is the Landlord's legal responsibility to provide a Gas Safety Certificate to the tenant every 12 months. For a CORGI engineer to issue one of these he has to check everything which amounts to a service. The lease agreement is going against the law. You are NOT ALLOWED to rent a preoperty withouth one of these certificates.

£350 for ONE boiler!!!!!!!!!! We charge £70 plus VAT and we are expensive.

Now I have no actual knowledge of buildings insurance but as far as I am aware it is the Landlord's building so his responsibility (and a requirement of his mortageg co if he has one) to insure it.

Actually though, it isn;t just the boiler, it is every appliance so if there are several gas appliances eg fire, cooker etc then the bill might mount up a bit but unless it is a mansion I wouldn;t have thought £350

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Pfer,
The landlord is responsible for providing a gas certificate for the boiler each year - by law. If when checking the boiler, the contractor finds a fault with it, this, in normal circumstances will be charged to the tenant at cost and a copy of the invoice to prove it. Also, if the contractor finds any faults these are noted on the gas certificate to show he has corrected them. £350 for the servicing of a boiler is ridiculous. A gas certificate should cost £40/£50 if the boiler is in working order plus extra any faults.
The lease should cover buildings insurance but it is highly unusual for the contents to be included. However, accidental damage is not normally included like with household insurance, so the tenant would have to pay, for instance, damage to internal walls, e.g. paintwork damage. Also, the buildings insurance does not normally cover windows and the tenant is usually responsible.
I am surprised about the utility bills TBH as tenants are usually responsible for ALL of these - rates, energy, etc. I certainly wouldn't authorise payment without the proof.
HTH

Ok just done some checking. You don;t have to service the boiler to issue a certificate, full servicing involves a lot more.

Also your client is not entitled to get someone in herself as it may be breaking the terms of her tenency to do something to his property.

However this is an unreasonable charge and you caould perhaps raise it with a rent tribunal. Even to fully service a boiler, cooker and gas fire, plus issue a landlord's certificate should cost half of that.

Sorry missed this earlier. Agree with previous posters.

1. Landlord's responsibility - in order to get the annual safety certificate, a legal obligation on the landlord's part, some servicing and checks for emissions are made.

2. Buildings - landlord (again I thought that was a legal requirement and, if he has a mortgage running on the property, a condition of the loan).
   Contents - Fixtures and fittings, plus any furnishings (ie those things belonging to landlord are his responsibility. Tenant's belongings insured separately by the tenant -don't see how he could take out a policy on her behalf.

3. Utilities should be transferred into her name not his, possible exception for the Water which is sometimes paid by landlord , sometimes tenant according to the lease. He must have copies of the bills/statements.

hope this helps

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Thanks everyone, I spent a lot of time yesterday reading and re-reading the lease and I must say it's very good - in favour of the landlord. Very ambiguous. The info is in the relevant sections but also in other sections contradicting what's in the other bits. So the landlord is covered for just about every thing that we could and should query.
So off I stroll to the appointment to find he's arrived early and meeting in progress. So after mouthing 'trust me' to my client we manage to haggle a deal to which everyone's in reasonable agreement and client is saving quite a bit of money.Bearing in mind he didn't have to agree to anything it's not too bad an outcome. TG that's over.