I’m an accidental landlord and recently moved in my first tenant. She is lovely and conscientious and I have a feeling she’ll take good care of the flat, but she needs a lot of extra support setting up bills etc. She’s quite young and not from the UK, and this is her first time having to deal with utilities, broadband, council tax etc. because her previous tenancies were all fixed term and with bills included.
I know that this won’t be forever - she only needs to set up the bills and accounts once. I do really empathise because I am also foreign, and remember how stressful it was trying to figure everything out for the first time. It can be really tricky if you’re not used to the system.
I’ve been there to answer all the tenant’s questions, and we even had a long phone call during which I explained everything she needed to set up and how. I don’t mind doing some hand holding, but what I do mind is that she’s been getting a bit arsey with me, and quite demanding. I get the feeling she thinks I should be doing more and/or that it’s my fault that it’s a complicated process. I think the fixed term contracts with bills included gave her an unrealistic view of what you need to take on as a tenant.
Would be curious to hear from others what level of support/involvement is normal in this kind of scenario? I’m really keen to be a good landlord and on friendly terms with her, and I don’t want her feeling aggrieved about not getting enough support, but I also feel like it’s not my responsibility to help her figure out the minutiae of broadband contracts etc.