WWYD - tenant went ahead without our permission

[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.

You can of course, get the bill, pay it, and then write it off on your tax return against any profits to reduce the overall tax bill due.

Birdlady do you actually have a proper contract with these people as door and dog scenario should be covered. Ie, R&M can't be above certain amount without authorisation, no pets without prior consent. Your tenant is in breach if you do and needs to be made aware before he does anything else he fancies.

However you need to be a bit more on the ball. If you were expecting the bill direct from the locksmith why hadn't you chased him for it.

I agree with @infinite I think they are conning you. They said the door was warped which presumably was why the lock wasn't working, so why would a locksmith replace the lock if the door it is attached to will mean it remains temperamental. This happened with our plastic backdoor so we replaced the whole thing and it didn't cost £400. Ask the tenants to send you the locksmiths invoice and contact details before you pay, because I reckon they won't be able to produce it as it doesn't exist.

You may well have to pay this time but make it clear to the tenants that they are not to undertake repairs to the property themselves in the future and you will have to be more proactive in sorting any problems yourself.

New tenant tells us door lock is being temperamental, we offer to come round but he insists he can get a locksmith to have a look as his GF is home all day anyway.

Unless you're locksmiths yourself, of course he needed a locksmith rather than you coming around to 'take a look'. You couldn't have done anything so it was useless you even suggesting it (unless you were hoping you could jimmy it and not have to pay anything ).

Coincidently in the same email by the way we have a new puppy!

Have you go a contract with them in which it states no pets? Or no pets without permission? No? Then they did nothing wrong and it's your lookout for not being more thorough.

Ah, just a tad of a drip feed!

Lesson learned, make it very clear that you will not pay for any future fixes unless you see a firm quote, and that you will get that quote and make things happen as fast as possible.

Dog. Do they work full time? (Bark bark bark chew excrete...)Did you take a full inventory?

Unless you're locksmiths yourself, of course he needed a locksmith rather than you coming around to 'take a look'. You couldn't have done anything so it was useless you even suggesting it (unless you were hoping you could jimmy it and not have to pay anything hmm).

Of course it's reasonable for the Landlord to take a look at what needs to be repaired before getting the workman in! It's their property, they are responsible for getting the repair completed and they are paying for it, so it's only right that they get to assess exactly what repair is required. Without looking at it, it could have just needed oiling, not a locksmith!
Puppy? check the tenancy agreement. Ask for a bigger deposit, and do a supervised visit in a month or so.

My door was lockable but temperamental and locked shut. It cost me over £800 for a new door as couldn't get spares for the locking system. As previous posters have said a temperamental door can easily become unusable.

You should ask for a copy of the invoice for your records, then you can discuss directly with the locksmith if you think it's dodgy. My landlady wanted a receipt for everything and i assumed she was able to claim the VAT back or something.

I wouldn't allow a puppy, it's written into the tenancy agreement. Check yours.

@birdlady:

"No previous complaints about the door from 2 previous tenants.
New tenant tells us door lock is being temperamental, we offer to come round but he insists he can get a locksmith to have a look"

This is proof enough your tenant is a scam artist. If the door was fine for the last 2 tenants and then complains its "temperamental" - its likely your current tenant fucked it up - and then realised it was beyond repair etc etc.

And that the tenant paid 400 notes, without referring tradesmen to you (as the LL) for payment further emphasises this scam. And then to email you a MONTH later is the icing on the cake!

Section 21, fuck him off and kick him out. I know of no tenant that simply hands over 400 quid for a lock without checking that the LL will either pay or reimburse.

Those telling you to pay the tenant either have too much money or are totally out of touch with reality.

400 quid indeed!

"No previous complaints about the door from 2 previous tenants.
New tenant tells us door lock is being temperamental, we offer to come round but he insists he can get a locksmith to have a look"

at which point a good landlord would say "no we use our own people, wee will be round to check it tomorrow"

OP screwed up by letting the tenant handle the repairs. It'll be a lesson learnt for the future. Puppies can cause a lot more damage than dogs. I can't imagine emailing my landlord blasé about that. Op needs to be very careful here. Tenant seems like a piss taker.

I'd ask for a copy of the invoice & Google the locksmith company to see if they exist & have a website. Then I'd call them to confirm what work was done & could you have a duplicate invoice as the LL.

And never authorise tenants to get quotes or give permission to organise repairs. That's the LL's job.

Temperamental locks are an absolute pain.

It should have been fixed before the new tenant moved in.

It would have been fixed before the new tenant moved IF it had been reported by the previous tenant.
IT IS ONLY SINCE THE TENANT MOVED IN AND TOLD US IT WAS TEMPERAMENTAL.
RTWT

Does no one, i.e. you or your agent or check out clerk check the keys work and the doors and windows lock between tenants?

Get the invoice and ring the locksmith. I wouldn't pay this, the tenant should have phoned you and checked once it was clear it could be way over estimate to carry on.

A mechanic would ring if they had your car and extra needed doing, BEFORE doing it to check you were ok with them proceeding.

And they should have asked re the dog. As a landlord I'd be rethinking this tenancy.

THE LOCK WAS FINE UNTIL THIS TENANT!!!!

It would have been fixed before the new tenant moved IF it had been reported by the previous tenant.

Do you not check these things between tenancies?

Hate nowhere does it say the lock was fine before this tenant, just that it hasn't been reported by previous tenants. And if op didn't do a check before moving the current tenant in there's no way of knowing for sure either way.

The previous tenants have nothing to do with it! As a landlord, you check the condition of the fixtures and fittings before you relet it. This is for the benefit of both you and the next tenant, to mitigate the risk of costly and inconvenient emergency repairs.

If you hired a car and discovered the airbags didn't work, and the hire company just said 'well nobody told us they were dodgy' you'd be slightly horrified, right? You'd expect them to be responsibile for maintaining and checking it.

It matters not a jot if the previous tennants were happy to put up with a "knack" and a giggley/sticky lock…
… or if the door only broke when the current tenant moved in…

Since you appear to e ignoring my question, I'm going to assume your tenancy agreement with them states nothing about pets.

I'm starting to wonder how legit this tenancy even is, and whether or not there even is a contract (or more worrying, whether you have put their deposit in a scheme or not).

Of course we have a contract AND protected deposit.
I asked WWYD ie tell the tenant they are out of order not to have told us the difference in price or call the locksmith.
We offered to check it ourselves AND ARRANGE REPAIR. THE TENANT SAID IT WAS EASIER FOR THEM TO ARRANGE AS GF IS HOME EVERY DAY.
Of Course as it MN I will be a bad landlord- silly me!

You still have not answered my question.

Does it state in their contract no pets or pets require permission?

I feel you have tried to be helpful and let them book their locksmith as per their request and it has bit you in the ass.
Ask for the invoice, pay it and always use your own tradespeople. If the gf is in then she is there to let them in and show the problem then they quote back to you direct.