Active discussions

Meet the Other Phone. Protection built in.

Meet the Other Phone.
Protection built in.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Talk
Property/DIY

Join our Property forum for renovation, DIY, and house selling advice.

Original poster

New tenant asks for maintenance work that is financially not viable

383 replies

Amadeaa · 11/05/2023 22:41

My tenants moved in this week. They’ve asked me to undertake maintenance work which they believe are in my responsibility as a landlord, but these works are financially not viable. The costs would exceed the yield of a whole year’s rent with no guarantee that the problem might not reoccur within 6 months. I also don’t have this kind of money available right now. What are my options? They are at the start of a 1-year contract. I don’t think I can terminate the contract without any fault at the tenants side.
Should I offer them money if they agree to terminate the contract early?

OP posts:
Thread gallery
7
C4tastrophe · 13/05/2023 07:05

As @PigletJohn says, why is a damp problem costing 15k to fix?
What are you going to do with the tenants while the work is being carried out?

Is your house partially below ground level? How old is it? So many questions.

Batalax · 13/05/2023 07:24

Grid luck. Hope the surveyor finds a cheaper option.

Wafflesandcrepes · 13/05/2023 07:31

Hi OP,

We had a damp “problem” in our first flat. The first few guys who came to give us quotes said the flat had to be gutted entirely, replastered etc…. They had damp meters beeping away etc….

We then had Timberwise coming in and they called bullshit on all this. We ended up spending gbp 250 and problem sorted with injections in the wall, airing the room, and pulling a table away from the wall to increase air flow.

I think Timberwise can advise you online for starters and will then do a home visit. Do you have photos?

Wafflesandcrepes · 13/05/2023 07:38

Oh and do buy them a dehumidifier. Will cost you around GBP 150-200. Works wonder in room where there is condensation. I dry my laundry with it.

Blondeshavemorefun · 13/05/2023 08:12

You say you were not aware of the issue

But the. Say when you lived there it had confederation and you had to air it

Always make sure you mention in contract of older houses ventilation and windows open

I don't get why you would offer to pay your tenants thousands to get them to move when that money will go towards mending

As someone said above get a Aubrey done for £400 ish and see what it says

Not sure where the £15k came from the quotes

moomoo1967 · 13/05/2023 08:16

Surely the rent you are receiving isn't being swallowed up by the mortgage payment ? Landlords insurance ? If you can't afford to complete repairs then quite frankly you shouldn't be renting out a property. My ex landlady left me with no water in the kitchen for 4 weeks in 2020, saying she couldn't afford repairs, yet I knew the rent I was paying was £400 more than her mortgage payments

abpsoton · 13/05/2023 08:41

Did you have a survey done on the property before you purchased it and did that identify any damp issues? If so you may be able to make a claim against the surveyor for not identifying the problem (depending on the type of survey you commissioned).

TunnocksOrDeath · 13/05/2023 08:41

Many properties need ventilating a LOT to avoid mould. However this is expensive if you're heating the room, and some people just don't do it enough. Even after the works are done, you need to discuss ventilation with the occupants. I know more than one person who's been told by their tenants that a room was damp, only to go round and discover the window shut (in one case, with cling film taped over so it couldn't be opened) and laundry drying in there! If you have a good relationship with the tenants you can sort it though. Good Luck.

User1685409 · 13/05/2023 08:58

TunnocksOrDeath · 13/05/2023 08:41

Many properties need ventilating a LOT to avoid mould. However this is expensive if you're heating the room, and some people just don't do it enough. Even after the works are done, you need to discuss ventilation with the occupants. I know more than one person who's been told by their tenants that a room was damp, only to go round and discover the window shut (in one case, with cling film taped over so it couldn't be opened) and laundry drying in there! If you have a good relationship with the tenants you can sort it though. Good Luck.

The tenants have only been in a week...

So much blaming of tenants on these threads when it comes to ventilation and heating, discussing with them about ventilating the house like they are naughty children and a bit thick, almost like they are lesser people than home owners.

I own my house, that is owned by me not the bank but DS rents and perfectly well understands about damp without a pep talk.

User1685409 · 13/05/2023 09:05

OPs house has clearly got problems which she won't say on here what they are but it will cost £15k, maybe she was hoping to get away with providing a £40 window vac instead of getting the problem fixed, no one on the thread knows what the £15k problem is though as OP hasn't revealed it so thread is probably just another tenant bashing/damp house one where people with mortgages can moan about how people that rent don't air the house enough

Dishwashersaurous · 13/05/2023 09:33

To repeat again.

The tenants have been in a week.

A week.

One week.

They can't have done anything to have caused a damp problem

IncessantNameChanger · 13/05/2023 09:38

As a landlord I don't have 15k ready cash to fix issues either. I'm not sure most single property portfolios do. As with the EPC changes, there a limit where renting is no longer viable and you sell up. Not so easy if your in a fixed term. Work out if it's viable to remortgage but honestly that's not something I would do because of capital gains tax etc unless you have a good chunk of equity. You do need to be able going forward to have 3-5k to get the boiler replaced as a minium fall back either via credit methods or cash. Being a owner and not having the money to replace a boiler is one thing, but as a landlord it's not an option.

Minierme · 13/05/2023 09:41

Buying the a dehumidifier would be a fairly cheap and effective solution if the damp isn’t major.

PigletJohn · 13/05/2023 10:01

Minierme · 13/05/2023 09:41

Buying the a dehumidifier would be a fairly cheap and effective solution if the damp isn’t major.

But we don't know what the cause is yet.

Therefore we don't know what would be an appropriate cure.

Montbab · 13/05/2023 10:17

I would say if you can't afford the necessary maintenance work then you can't afford to be a landlord look into selling the property.

I've lived in a property with damp as a tenant which the landlord was aware of and it was miserable. The flat looked fine on showing but as soon as we moved in the mould started coming through the fresh coat of paint. The advice of the agent was to leave windows open (in the middle of winter on the ground floor) & run a dehumidifier at our expense.

Honestly it was miserable, the mould was every where, on every thing and no amount of cleaning could contain it. It got on all our clothes and furniture, mattresses. When the agent said we could move out due to a break clause in the agreement we jumped at the chance and left. Of course they never replaced any of our damaged possessions and we lost all the money on fees (this was about 15 years ago) but we were just glad to be out.

If you're going to be a landlord you have to be responsible and not just cover the bare minimum of legalaties to cover yourself and make profit.

Fluffyslippersohyes · 13/05/2023 10:32

Sorry not RTFT but I would join the NRLA and get some advice from their specialists.

wherethecityis · 13/05/2023 10:36

Who has quoted that 15k, and has there been an independent assessment of whether they are necessary?
In my house there's a lot of damp - it's an old house, I don't think there's much that could ever be done to stop it. I just put the heating on more regularly, open windows even when it's cold, and use a dehumidifier and everything is fine. But if I rented out my house and people didn't want to do that then issues would obviously arise.
Were they aware of the steps you took to reduce damp when living there, and they would be required to do the same to prevent problems?

Humanbiology · 13/05/2023 10:51

redboxer321 · 11/05/2023 23:34

Your tenants have been in the property a matter of days, identified a damp problem which was not evident to anyone else and you've already got two quotes to sort it out. Righto.

That depends on whether the quotes she has received is for work that will solve the issue. If it's a quote for DPC tear it up immediately. If they have found the defect then she can get anyone to repair it. My guess is if they have given her a quote it won't be to repair the defect I bet my children's life on it.

Humanbiology · 13/05/2023 10:58

wherethecityis · 13/05/2023 10:36

Who has quoted that 15k, and has there been an independent assessment of whether they are necessary?
In my house there's a lot of damp - it's an old house, I don't think there's much that could ever be done to stop it. I just put the heating on more regularly, open windows even when it's cold, and use a dehumidifier and everything is fine. But if I rented out my house and people didn't want to do that then issues would obviously arise.
Were they aware of the steps you took to reduce damp when living there, and they would be required to do the same to prevent problems?

Have you had an independent unbiased survey on your property?

Water is entering from some where you have a defect that needs repairing. I wouldn't leave it for too long if you wanted to sell you would have money knocked of the property of you have not maintained it and looked after it. You can't hide it either a good damp surveyor will find the defects. A damp surveyor in my opinion does more than RICs we find why and what you need to do to fix it.

I hope I sold it to you I am very passionate about property and helping people to maintain and look after their kingdoms.

wherethecityis · 13/05/2023 11:22

Humanbiology · 13/05/2023 10:58

Have you had an independent unbiased survey on your property?

Water is entering from some where you have a defect that needs repairing. I wouldn't leave it for too long if you wanted to sell you would have money knocked of the property of you have not maintained it and looked after it. You can't hide it either a good damp surveyor will find the defects. A damp surveyor in my opinion does more than RICs we find why and what you need to do to fix it.

I hope I sold it to you I am very passionate about property and helping people to maintain and look after their kingdoms.

Show quote history

Do you have any tips on finding a good damp surveyor?
The thing is there's pockets of increased damp around the house, in all different places. I didn't think it was likely that water would somehow be entering in all these places

Humanbiology · 13/05/2023 13:57

wherethecityis · 13/05/2023 11:22

Do you have any tips on finding a good damp surveyor?
The thing is there's pockets of increased damp around the house, in all different places. I didn't think it was likely that water would somehow be entering in all these places

Show quote history

What area do you live in?

Mentalheath · 13/05/2023 14:23

Would be great if @Amadeaa would come back and give details of what the 15k includes

Dillydollydingdong · 13/05/2023 14:47

Many properties suffer from damp. Give the tenants a dehumidifier and advise them on wiping away condensation regularly. The damp couldn't be that bad or someone would have noticed it before

PigletJohn · 13/05/2023 14:50

"someone would have noticed it before"

FFS

Blondeshavemorefun · 13/05/2023 15:14

Been a cold few months - op hasn't been in house for a while

Heating on. No windows open and damp ans mould appear

She used a window vacuum so knew there was damp issues

Swipe left for the next trending thread