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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
VanCleefArpels · 12/05/2023 07:30

Haven’t you got insurance on the building?

If it’s issues with window condensation and/or water ingress around windows then replacing them with good upvc double glazed units with trickle vents may be a cost effective way of dealing with that.

But your is a salutary tale of the so-called “accidental” landlord (but nothing accidental about it at all - you decided to do this and therefore have to live with the consequences, good and bad). Any landlord should have a slush fund of at least 6 months rent to deal with these expensive maintenance issues and/or void periods. How will you deal with replacing the boiler or fixing the roof??

Museya15 · 12/05/2023 07:31

Cloud9Super · 12/05/2023 07:28

Another amateur landlord. There really should be better vetting and regulation of the whole industry. None of this is your tenant’s fault. Why should they have to live in damp, mouldy conditions because you can’t be bothered to fix your property? You can’t simply rake in the rental money without maintenance. It doesn’t work like that 😠

They're all about the money mate and like this one, say nothing and hope they also say nothing. Then they leave and op won't get it fixed and get some other desperate soul in

Hellno45 · 12/05/2023 07:34

In the short term have you considered a dehumidifier or 2 for the property and paying a contribution to the electric for its running costs.

My landlord brought me 2 Meaco dehumidifier. They were £350 each and gave me the running costs (£30 a month). They also send me the filters. Obviously, when I leave the dehumidifiers will stay in the property.

Rhondaa · 12/05/2023 07:39

AntiHop · 12/05/2023 01:22

Start with a damp survey from an independent damp surveyor. Not a company that provides damp proofing, that's quote not a survey

We had an independent damp survey of a place we were hoping to buy. It was £250 and identified gutters as the problem

This. Surely you get an assessment before giving them money etc. Tenants can't just move in and demand improvements without a bit of basic fact gathering.

What next, the heating is playing up so they want a new boiler stat?!

DisneyDisneyDisney · 12/05/2023 07:41

FFSFF · 11/05/2023 23:57

All I can tell you is that I've had a damp and mould problem for 3 years. The past 6 months it's taken over and I cannot keep on top of it. The ceilings are black, I clean them and 2 weeks later it's like I never touched it. My landlords have been promising to sort it out for 5 months now, but nothing has been done. It's seriously affecting my health, the health of my kids and pets. I've now been left with no option but to report it to Environmental Health, who will force the landlord to do something.

Damp and mould is the responsibility of the landlord.

Have you got a dehumidifier? They are great. And the only thing that works with getting rid of mould is white vinegar. It won’t reappear after that.

midgemadgemodge · 12/05/2023 07:47

Condensation damp as described by the OP is an interesting one as it's not automatically the landlords problem - the tenant would need to show it was

The first stage is therefore to talk to them?

Explain you lived there without damp issues because of what you did - the citizens advice website seems to imply there are reasonable expectations of a tenant to avoid problems from condensation damp

If they can show they have windows opened every day and are drying windows every morning and not drying loads of washing indoors then it's the OP problem but you do need to check their actions as tenants are not causing the problems

HelpMeGetThrough · 12/05/2023 07:50

Damp and Mould is a hot potato in the Social Housing world at the moment, constantly in the Housing press and there a no reason it won't be in the private rental sector.

You need to bite the bullet and get this sorted. Your suggestion of offering them money to get out is absolute heaven for the media if your tenants decided to let them know, because they are pissed off with you.

Rhondaa · 12/05/2023 07:54

HelpMeGetThrough · 12/05/2023 07:50

Damp and Mould is a hot potato in the Social Housing world at the moment, constantly in the Housing press and there a no reason it won't be in the private rental sector.

You need to bite the bullet and get this sorted. Your suggestion of offering them money to get out is absolute heaven for the media if your tenants decided to let them know, because they are pissed off with you.

Yes and rightly so but an independent assessor decides, not the tenants surely.

Blughbablugh · 12/05/2023 07:57

notangelinajolie · 12/05/2023 00:36

You need a damp survey carried out by a chartered surveyor. They will charge you for the survey, we paid around £400. They will then write a report and tell you what you need to do to remedy any problems. They are not a contractor and they will not quote you for the work that needs doing.

You do NOT need a damp survey carried out by a company that advertises themselves as specialist damp surveyors. They are not surveyors - they are contractors. They will offer a 'free survey' and then quote you thousands for the work that needs doing. Probably involving knocking all the plaster off and injecting chemicals. The are contractors - they would say the work needs doing wouldn't they?

For us £400 was money well spent. Our damp was caused by a section of broken guttering. Water was pouring down onto the flag stones outside our bay window and splashing up the wall, breaching the damp course and making the wall wet. It cost less than £100 to fix.

Knowledge is power - find out what is causing the damp before paying out for work that you probably don't need doing.

The damp 'specialist' company quoted us nearly 15K to fix it.

Absolutely this. We had a damp surveyor come out who reported that it was caused by condensation upstairs and the damp proof course had failed downstairs. It cost us £600 to put a piv system in upstairs which sorted that problem and the damp proof injections cost about £3000.

kirinm · 12/05/2023 07:57

caringcarer · 12/05/2023 01:27

In the meanwhile supply tenants with a dehumidifier. It will suck out damp from walls. It will generate water from walls that will need emptying every day. Get the building survey for £400. If this damp was not visible to you or your agent a week ago it can't be that bad. Is there a fan in both the kitchen and bathroom? If not get an electrician to put one in. Are tenants airing properly or are they drying washing inside? I doubt it will cost anywhere near £15k. I had a tenant complain of damp whereas previous tenants had never mentioned it. It turned out new tenants did not put the fan on in the bathroom when having a shower.

That's naive. Letting agents have no issue with letting out damp properties and nor do some landlords.

IceStationHorse · 12/05/2023 08:00

We had this issue with tenants - had it investigated by an independent expert and he said it was "lifestyle caused" ie them not switching on extractor fans when using kitchen and en suite and not opening windows. They also put a clothes airer on top of the bed and filled it with damp laundry. We got new extractor fans that came on automatically 🙄 and had some extra ventilation bricks put in. They didn't wipe windows in winter and completely ruined a very expensive set of curtains. We continued to rent to others afterwards , no issues and sold the property on with no issues. Not saying that is all it is but could be worth getting the investigation done. Sorry I haven't read all posts.

Clymene · 12/05/2023 08:01

The tenants only moved in this week. There is no way they've caused damp problems in that short amount of time. I'm amazed that in a week though the tenants have identified an issue and the OP has managed to find someone to go and look and quote her in that time.

Greenfairydust · 12/05/2023 08:03

You need to address this and investigate quickly what is causing the problem.

Your tenants are absolutely right not to want to put their health at risk by living in a property with damp/mould...

As a landlord if the damp is caused by structural issues, it is your responsibility to fix the problem.

I really don't understand why some landlord think it is OK to rent poorly maintained properties or that like any there businesses being a landlord also includes costs, not just profits.

I assume you already knew about the damp, but just hoped the tenants would not want to kick up a fuss...

HelpMeGetThrough · 12/05/2023 08:07

Yes and rightly so but an independent assessor decides, not the tenants surely.

Agreed, but we all know what the media is like. It's been all over the local press where I am.

midgemadgemodge · 12/05/2023 08:10

Ah was the house left empty and unheated for the period between OP moving out and tenant moving in?

roses2 · 12/05/2023 08:11

If you don't fix it it's going to rot the house and cost you a lot more in the long run to fix. You may as well do it and thank them for highlighting it to you.

User1685409 · 12/05/2023 08:12

Clymene · 12/05/2023 08:01

The tenants only moved in this week. There is no way they've caused damp problems in that short amount of time. I'm amazed that in a week though the tenants have identified an issue and the OP has managed to find someone to go and look and quote her in that time.

Exactly, and we have had a Bank Holiday

Wonnle · 12/05/2023 08:16

How long has the property been empty ?
No heating or ventilation can cause problems .
They are very quick to indentify the problem , in under a week

Whaeanui · 12/05/2023 08:22

If they’ve been there just a week, this is not caused by them.

You say you lived in it with condensation issues. You also seem to know it’ll cost a years rent or more so this suggests you had someone look at it at some point. I think what’s happened is you had it checked and it was too expensive to do and you’ve rented it hoping someone will put up with it like you did. Renting damp homes can result in legal issues. Borrow against the house to fix it, reduce the rent for the inconvenience of maintenance works at the start of the tenancy and hope they stay long enough that you have consistent rent to help pay it off.

BaronessEllarawrosaurus · 12/05/2023 08:22

Its not normal to have to go to those lengths to keep a house dry. I live in an old house, dry laundry inside etc but I only get very minor bits of condensation on the very coldest nights when I've had washing drying. I've never had to vacuum dry windows, dry window ledges etc and the op was doing this on top of ventilating the house, this house is excessively damp. I also suspect the op had the damp report/quote before the tenants moved in.

Twobyfour · 12/05/2023 08:24

How long have you had this property? Surely doing maintenance costs are part of being property owner,
?

As a stop gap measure can you arrange to put a humidifier in place and get an expert to assess exactly what the problem is be it broken guttering or rising damp? Will these costs be tax deductible (by the way you have to declare all rental income to the HMRC).

Or did you buy an old wreck at auction, without any diligence, hoping to make pots of ash out of people desperate for a home.

EggInANest · 12/05/2023 08:25

We had damp dealt with in 2 walls, including replastering a section of one wall, for £3k.

Don’t panic. Don’t start offering anything.

Is the damp causing mould or an actual hazard?

Get 3 competitive quotes.

Talk to the agents and get their advice.

Maddy70 · 12/05/2023 08:27

I am a landlord. Your home has to be maintained to a high standard of safety.

If it isn't you cannot rent it. Simple. Yiu haven't specified what the issues are

User1685409 · 12/05/2023 08:33

If OP has had quotes then she must know exactly what the problem is but for some reason hasn't included it in her posts so how she can expect proper advice as no one on here knows what's wrong with the house

GMsAWinner · 12/05/2023 08:34

OP, how bad was the damp on the windows/cills when you were there? Was it literally running or just a bit of condensation that would trickle on the cills Oct-March?

What work has been assessed as needs doing?

It's certainly worth a phone call to your insurance company. If you've lived there and really didn't realise it was a major problem and tenants are reporting it's worse now, then could be worth a claim.