Tenant got a heat pump installed without consent

[Kimmers4334]

I am in two minds about this because it’s an upgrade to the property, but it’s a pretty significant and permanent thing that I’m now responsible for.

So as not to dripfeed, the tenant asked if they could have an appointment to see if the property would qualify for any upgrades. I agreed but was very clear that I’d want to see plans/recommendations before I agreed to having anything installed. I heard nothing further and then the letting agent sent me a certificate for work I know nothing about. There is a good chance I would’ve agreed to the heat pump, but that would depend on me having all the information. On principle I am pretty annoyed that the tenant, letting agent and installation company didn’t actually seek permission to go ahead at any point.
What would you do in this situation, complain to someone (letting agent? Installation company?), see it as breach of contract by the tenant, or just let it go as it does benefit the property?

@LakieLady A house I saw this year on the market in Wales looked as if it had been bought and someone had begun renovating a small 2 bedroom stone cottage (this is an oil-only area of the countryside where they don't have access to mains gas).

A heat pump was already there, but nothing had been connected yet and the place looked half done. In my opinion, the people who had bought it probably thought they got a bargain during covid but clearly had spent too much. I do wonder if the reason why they abandoned the renovation and put it on sale is because the total cost of ripping out the old heating and installing the air pump and everything else frightened them away.

If you are paying the letting agent to also manage the property, then I would complain to them as I presume there are clear procedures in place in the management contract regarding you signing off any work done on the property.

I would make the complaint because they have gone outside of procedures and you don’t want that to happen again. It’s fine now, but what if it happens again with some work that you are not happy about?

I would send notice of an inspection which l would do myself.
I would want all -eachand every - detail regarding the fitting, the equipment used, who signed it off, who paid, how it will be maintained etc.
Then l would have a word with my solicitor
presenting any information I had found.
Then I would make a decision regarding the Tennant and the letting agency.
I would not make any hasty decision but gather all information I could and seek legal advice - and the house inspection would be a ‘fine toothcomb’ one too, not a cursory one.

I'm about to have an air source heat pump installed (high temperature version, so normal radiators can be used) but it took a lot of research and working out whether it would indeed be warm enough.

I also know I will have to run it very differently to a traditional heating system, in other words, leaving it on all night (lower temp) rather it cycling on and off as it costs much more doing that.

As other posters have said, there are stories all over about bad heat pump specifications in houses which are under-insulated or too difficult to insulate (e.g. walls) and the result is a lukewarm house which is more expensive to run and liable to attract mould etc.

So even if these tenants move on, the OP could be left with a real problem. You can't just do what you like to someone else's property without permission!

Indeed, why would they . . . ?

Since the abolishion of s21 whereby no reasons for the possession order were required or needed, the only mandatory ground (a mandatory ground is when the judge has no discretion and has to make the order providing the paperwork is in order) is the landlord requiring possession to move into the property either themselves or a family member, or to sell the property, or rent arrears - that's pretty much it.

Judges are not in the habit of awarding possession orders for minor breaches of the tenancy agreement because it's the tenants home.

However looking on the bright side, when the tenant leaves they have to leave the heat pump and it's ancillary items in situ. Once affixed to the property, like a boiler, or wooden flooring, it becomes the landlords once the tenancy ceases. The tenant may not remove it.

Yes, I wouldn’t be surprised if that was what had happened, either. Although they should have come back with final plans to the OP as the owner, surely, before going ahead with the work?

Also consider that if this was done under the ECO4 scheme and OP has more than one property, the tenant has removed the choice to use the scheme in the property it would benefit the most.
I would assume that the work was a fully funded by the scheme if benefits are recieved.

I don't understand why the company would do the work without having the owner's consent. Edited - just seen the bit about the letter which they might argue is consent.

I don't think I'd let it go if they are not very good tenants otherwise but I don't know how difficult the RRA has made it to evict tenants these days and animal damage seems to be not just accepted but even encouraged by not letting landlords say no to pets or even being able to take a larger deposit.

apparently the tenant is not a good one.

landlords can still say no to a tenant having a pet, what they can't do is say no pets as a blanket ban.

whatever you chose to do, make sure you get the guarantee certificate from them. Does it have a 10 year warranty like a boiler? Does it have to be serviced each year as part of the terms and conditions for the warranty? I personally would be furious. Very few tenants would take it upon themselves to do something like this. You’ve had no opportunity to chose the make/ location etc for the heat pump. If it has been funded because they’re on benefits, would you then have to pay for it if they moved out and replaced them with someone who wasn’t on benefits? They clearly don’t understand boundaries. What else might they think they can do?

I'd be concerned about whether the installation had been done to a decent and legal standard. I follow a couple renovating an old house who had an air pump installed under one of these schemes and the level of work was appalling and did not meet safety standards and most of the work had to be re-done. I'm always wary of any work that is "free" so I would be getting all the work independently checked and signed off. The tenants and the letting agents need a thorough bollocking over this.

Are they on benefits?
Never take a tenant on benefits!! And with animals too… 🥴 🤧

I dunno. It’s been so hot that in one way I’d be relieved to know they had it. Can you say you want all the paperwork and an independent inspection to check it’s safe and fitted properly? If it’all ok I’d leave it at that. It’s their home that they pay for every month after all.

Came here to say this!

Blatant fraud and should be investigated.

I think all those people saying how bad if is have to realise it is a done deal.

Even if you wanted to, could the tenants afford to put the boiler back to it’s previous state and still pay the rent?

Yes, of course it is wrong, and they need to know it and the consequences of doing anything similar again. And you do need to get a safety inspection and the insurance brought up to date.

But, if they are otherwise good tenants, are there for the long haul, and pay the rent on time, I wouldn’t have thought it was worth going to war over.

I immediately thought this as well. Our grant, which was at the top end due to living rurally, covered 60% of the costs only - and we did all the pipework and radiator upgrades ourselves.
I'd be worried at what sort of quality something done so cheaply would be - and is the property suitable in terms of insulation? Are the pipe and radiator sizes correct or will it cost a fortune to run?

Also who owns the warranty? It will need an annual service to maintain that, will the tenant reliably organise that?

That's an absolute breach of trust, OP, and I wouldn't trust them again after this.... nor the letting agent.

I'd give both their notice.

I'm stunned any legitimate company would install anything without permission from the owner. The eco4 scheme (and anyother) requires a landlord's written permission. I would be warning the tenant and letting the company any works require permission. This is crazy.

I'm also always on the tenant's side, but I think this is outrageous. I'd start with legal advice. I'd wonder if someone forged your signature or if the letting agent signed on your behalf. I second comments about the tenant selling or disposing of your boiler. What if they decide to take the heat pump with them when they leave? Even if they don't, it could cost you a fortune if the heat pump doesn't provide adequate heating for your next tenant. Ignore this at your peril.

Hating landlords isn’t the problem here. The tenant has acted illegally and OP is potentially responsible if the work hasn’t been carried out properly. She also needs to make sure that every aspect of the work has been properly signed off on and certified otherwise there will almost certainly be problems if she comes to sell on.

Also what happens if the tenant breaches the tenancy in the future and OP wants to evict ? Is she going to be sued for the cost of the installation ? The point here is that it’s not the tenants property and that they didn’t seek the proper permissions for the work is on them, not OP as the landlord.

To be honest I would be looking to evict, but at the very least I would be looking at changing the management company or taking legal action against them for breach of contract.

With the proposed changes to EPC requirements, they've probably done you a favour.

It’s anything but a done deal. If the installation hasn’t been done correctly and the required sign offs and certificates aren’t in place, then OP will have a problem if she comes to sell the property. I would be getting legal advice at te very least.

I wouldn’t be happy with this, if it goes wrong you’ll have to pay to put it right, is it hooked up to underfloor heating? If I were you I’d get an independent company in to check it and get their option on whether to keep it or revert back, and ask the tenants to pay to put it back to how it originally was.

How old if the property and how well insulated is it?