New tenant asks for maintenance work that is financially not viable

[Amadeaa]

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?

You don't need to offer them money AND not charge them rent. You're not a charity!

Explain to the tenants that you weren't aware. See if there's a compromise (eg funding dehumidifiers or a temp fix) or offer them to exit the contract early.

If the op was using a window vax on the windows can they really claim they weren’t aware?

I did post up thread re a particular mould I became infected with due to damp. It's case law so I can't say anymore. Please be aware it is a criminal offence not to clear mould in a rental property. Maintaince is not in play here, the OP knew this house was damp but let it anyway. I would strongly advise you to speak to a solicitor, offer a early exit or get the work done. I nearly died and the landlord got off scot free as they were based overseas. The EA didn't give a shit. If you are UK based, a woman and pleed poverty the courts will have your arse on a plate. They love to lock up women (I volunteer in the prison service) they have space. Old houses can be damp if not well maintained but it sounds like a tart up job and let anyway. Do the right thing OP.

Eugh, this is why people hate landlords. You’ve rented out a house with a damp problem and instead of fixing it you want to boot out the tenants and hope the next ones don’t know their rights. Fix it, and then consider whether you’re really suited to being a decent landlord. Horrible.

What kind of damp is more expensive to fix than giving them 3-5k? Genuine question, I’m a building surveyor and concerned you’re being ripped off - so many damp companies are cowboys.

say they take the money and move out, are you going to sell up? Because if new people move in they will ask the same. Youre only kicking the can down the road that way.

You are a terrible landlord and just not cut out for the role

Before saying this is a terrible landlord, we need to know as does she what the damp problem is. As I mentioned up thread in one case I know we found the causes - one was a bit of flashing on the roof which had come away. I knew what might have caused damp in that place so told the builder to get up there on ladders as stage 1. He then could see the gap and filled it. In other words you need to find the damp cause first and then get quotes and use a good builder ideally one with which you have a relationship and to whom you give regular work which we do and that really helps as they are not a one time rip the customer off kind of out fit.

The other bottom line however is that if a tenancy is not going to make a profit then landlords withdraw from the market. That may be a good thing as it helps first time buyers. Even if a pension fund were letting 1000 properties if they made a £10k a loss on each one they would not be letting out those properties. So other than charities and the state, no one will let properties at a loss.

No it isn't - I've never had to do it in any of the properties I've lived in as an adult - several houses over the last 40 years.

As a child there was condensation on our bedroom windows - that was before double glazing though.

She said a years yield on the rent, so it's a year's profit, not the full year's rent

It's all very well making a "human mistake" but as a landlord other people rely on you for housing. I think it's very reasonable to point out that people need to think seriously before becoming a landlord.

We have just moved out of a rental property with a damp problem. It was frankly covered up when we moved in (I'm not suggesting OP has done this) and only became obvious after a couple of months. It was a problem in the whole block of houses owned by the landlord and we could see that it would be a major undertaking to sort out. However, the landlord made no effort at all to address the situation and it became unbearable. We only realised some prized items had been ruined when it was too late.
A problem like this is the landlord's responsibility and you should seek to get it sorted out for your tenants, who will then more than likely stay around. Otherwise you are only stuck with the same problem for the future.
Have you got it costed at all? If you can think of throwing £5k at the tenant just to delay solving the problem, I would think you could also afford to sort it out!

@xenia don’t you find it really odd though that this “responsible” landlord is aware that it’s going to cost 15k to repair, yet the tenants had only been there a few days? That @Amadeaa claimed there wasn’t an issue despite using a window vac?

Would you be more concerned about the profit or fixing the issue?

Personally not only do I think @Amadeaa was aware of the issue, that the property was put on the market and this is when they found out how much it cost. Rather than taking a vastly reduced price selling thought let’s get some dupe in to rent it to.

you absolutely need to sort it, damp is a major issue and it’s entirely part of the risk of being a landlord I’m afraid. If you can’t afford it you need to get a loan or figure it out some other way, but you cannot continue renting it out to tenants with no intention to fix as though it isn’t your problem.

I had to use a window vac and dry window sills in the morning

I'm not sure I understand this - are you saying that you rented out a property where you knew that the window sills have water on them every morning? In what world is that acceptable?

It seems odd that the tenants told you what work needs doing? Have I read this correctly?

I would propose that you instruct someone professionally qualified to carry out a damp survey and confirm what is causing the damp and what work needs to be done to fix it.

I bought a house with major damp problem. Having 1/2 my house repointed, having the cavity wall insulation sucked out my back wall (it was causing the damp to bridge), having the wall ties replaced, a damp proof course and having the affected areas replastered with special plaster cost about £8k in 2019.

However, as the damp was in the kitchen and the bathroom I had to rip out both to fix the damp problem.

Get them a dehumidifier. Serve Section 21 two months before end of contract and be prepared to go to court if they don’t leave. Then sort damp issue.

Is the property being correctly ventilated? Dehumidifier?

There's so much false information out there about damp and the causes.

Be careful and do your research - a lot of these chemical-based treatments just don't work.

What kind of building is it? Flat? House? Brick? Stone?

What on earth are they saying the problem is that's only become apparent to such an extent in the last week?!

1. Determine where the supply of water is coming from - internally, condensing on the walling fabric?

Or

1. External - leaking roof soaking into the masonry substrate?

Intervention without establishing the root cause is a waste of money, like treating an illness without a diagnosis.

My partner is a structural engineer, who has a PhD in (in layman's terms) wet/damp masonry buildings.

You do realise that many of the flats, maisonettes, houses had single glazing before they had double? As in these are properties that were built many years ago. My house I’m in now doesn’t have a jot of condensation v my flat we lived in before. 3 people breathing, showering and cooking in a small flat compared to 3 people living in an airy house

OP must have got quotes before the tenants moved in as there hasn't been time to get 2 people in to look at it and write up a quote if they moved in this week, perhaps she was hoping the tenants wouldn't notice. Where is OP anyway?

What kind of damp ?
biggest cause is often condensation
if it’s a leak patch it up
first investigate
mMy Tentant dryers clothes in their room
and never opening a window it becomes a problem.

Ps go in and check
if it’s black mould , wash with bleach etc
then , make sure it’s ventilated

I'm a landlord and most of our tenants have been very happy in our property. We use a good managing agent and tenants have usually stayed for at least a couple of years. We did have just one couple who complained about damp. We believe that they dried washing in the washer/dryer without ventilating enough. They'd turned off the bathroom fan completely, and also the main fan which is meant to be on (very low) all the time.
We went to Argos and bought them a couple of dehumidifiers and they said that this solved the problem.
However we had to redecorate much of the flat when they left as they'd made no attempt to clean the resulting mould.

My first thought exactly?!!! 🤔😳

Older properties will have condensation if not ventilated daily. Had tenants that did that and had no issues and other that didn't even when cooking and drying clothes inside and caused mold to appear on the colder external wall. The water vapor has to go somewhere.
Even the damp experts said so. Thankfully they weren't cowboys trying to sell us a damp proof course.