please help- rookie landlady and tenant problems!

[whataboutbob]

I have power of attorney for my dad and so have to deal with his student rental flat. There are agents but basically they like to call out their contractors and charge inflated prices. So I tend to use a builder I know and trust. Last weekend there was a leak over the weekend, I took a day off work on the Monday, it was fixed by the tuesday. The water was off sunday and monday. I offered £60 per person per day water was off.
Now they are coming back to me (via the agent) saying it was 3.5 days, and also the boiler keeps "cutting out" after 10-15 minutes and they want a plumber to come down.
Because I already have a lot on my plate with Dad's dementia (he's a widower and I have to organise all aspects of his care) I am stressed out already, but I'm starting to hate everything to do with this student flat.
I have got back to them via agents saying it's £60 for 2 days (that's a total of £240). I am not able to get a plumber out next week because I want to be there and I am not going to the city in question for another 2 weeks. I have asked him to keep a record of exactly what happens with incidents, times etc. In the past I have been contacted about problems which on closer examination just aren't there, like a broken lock (it absolutely wasn't broken, same old lock, but the agents said it was and that the council had been round to change locks. hmmmm). I am getting daily calls re "problems" even though I spent £10 000 of Dad's money this summer for a refurb. I think the student is either an anxious type, or is trying to get discounts now I've set a precedent. Any insights about how I can handle this so I can be a reasonable landlady but get fewer calls would be gratefully received.

Manage the place yourself, the agents are middle men who will just fleece you. Get a boiler cover like British Gas Homecare, they are very good, and can do plumbing and drains as well.
Offering compensation for water being off is a bad idea. Do not do it again. As another poster said, sometimes it happens, so long as you expeditiously fixed the problem you should not have to pay extra.

Thanks to all of you who have given constructive advice. I agree you can't leave tenants with a inadequate water supply. I have spoken to the builder who employs the plumber who fixed the leak. The problems is primarily one of very low water pressure. The water company are sending a technican round and I will then consider my next steps. I am also reading Which? Magazine 's guide to renting and letting to better understand my legal responsibilities.

You can't manage this flat. In the short term you need to leave it to the agents. In the medium to long term, if you can't afford the agents' cut, you need to sell it.

It isn't fair to your tenants that you delay things because you feel the need to be there personally to check, and can only take time off work with 1 or 2 weeks' notice. It just isn't on.

(this is not to say that every tenant is perfect, but this is something your agent will be completely clued up about)

being a ll is a job. You need to do it, or get someone to do it for you, for money.

Am I understanding this correctly: you are not sending a plumber out immediately despite their boiler cutting out every 10-15 minutes?

You realise it's November?

Op I cannot say this strongly enough SELL THE PROPERTY AND STOP BEING A LANDLADY

it's people like you who make me despise renting. That is a completely unacceptable way to treat your tennants. You should be ashamed.

Use the managing agent. It will save you money compared to paying money to the tenants every day and still failing to meet your legal responsibilities.

Yes you might be able to do it cheaper, but you aren't doing so so you have to get the managing agent to do it. That's why your dad pays for them, so they can sort the tenant out promptly.

I take back my earlier post actually, he more you post the more arrogant a landlord you sound. You can't be serious that you expect your tenants to wait until you can take time off work to go to the property and think that it is okay to 'buy time' by getting them to complete their 'diary' for you? Even if the boiler is cutting out every 10-15 mins in a 24 hour window, that is unacceptable. Your tenant is paying you for the use of that boiler for heat and water which are BASIC requirements. Who do you think you are, no sorting that out ASAP? You don't deserve good tenants with your attitude OP. the weather forecasters are predicting snow and temps of between -2 and 3. Pull your finger out and give your tenants their basic rights

I ll say it again. The problem is not with the boiler per se. The plumber looked at it and that was his conclusion. It is low water pressure that makes it cut out. I am investigating why the pressure is low and an engineer for the water company is going round. The council are saying the have no responsibility which may or may not turn out to be correct. I have no intention of forcing the tenants to live in a shower free, heating free flat. That s not the situation anyway.they have water and heating but the pressure is a problem. It s because I was horrified by the state my dad had let the place get in to ( because of his dementia) that I spent £10 000 on a refurb this summer.

Have you tried adjusting the pressure on the boiler?

So you are doing something: you've had a plumber and been advised to have a different specialist out. I suggest you get another plumber in mind in case the water co think that the problem is still your end: some plumbers are cowboys* and will blame something they don't know how to fix on something else.

• Disclaimer: a majority of plumbers aren't, but if there are still problems its likely you got unlucky.

Tff. I think the plumber tried that. If the water company find a problem within the flat that requires a plumber s attention I shall certainly get one out.

Has the water been turned back on fully at the mains after the recent problems? Mine needs to be turned fully on to allow the combi-boiler to work properly.

Whenever I've had plumber/boiler tradesmen in they've left it only half-way turned on, which my dad says is usually enough which is why they do it.

Can you get over there yourself and have a check on the pilot on the boiler for half an hour? If it is a combi-boiler then the flow of water needs adjusting anyway from summer to winter mode.

If it is simply not enough water pressure into the property it will be an on-going thing and ideally you should teach your tenants how to re-pressurise the system themselves as required.

Mine needs doing every few weeks regardless of weather and usage etc. It would cost me a fortune if I called a plumber to do it each time.

I've managed a rental property myself, at a distance before, by calling and arranging for plumbers etc to go round when the tenants were in, pronto. I visited once a year. Worked well for years but perhaps I was lucky that problems were always identifiable and fixable.

Heating issues do need to be addressed very promptly.

You might consider a British Gas service agreement, or at least compare the service and cost to your agent's.

I agree that agents are mostly useless and charge out of all proportion to their value but, if you have no other way of managing the place, you need one.

I have never heard of compensation being paid. Your tenants are trying to milk you. The deal is that you both act reasonably. That is it.