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?

The problem with this is what action do OFGEM take, and against whom? If OFGEM say that this needs to be reverted, who pays and who assesses the standard of the work? If they say the grant needs to be repaid, who do they chase?

Check on it to make sure it's done correctly and if it is I would let it go.

By accident I installed fibre broadband in my rented apartment and the landlord made sky rip it out even though we were soon to be a fibre city and soon regular broadband would be turned off. He wouldn't have it. Within 6 months sky turned off regular broadband except to existing customers and it cost him a fortune to install fibre again.

I would be going to see a lawyer.

No way should you let it go! Even then guarantees etc should be in your name.

Me too

I have read all the replies and I’m absolutely shocked

I do occasionally think about renting, but it’s been terrible for landlords actually having rights over their own properties.

Also, is it possible the boiler was scrapped as part of one of those schemes where you get money back? Where has that money gone?

I would want a really good lawyer I suppose the problem is the tenant won’t be able to give you any money or they’ll claim they can’t

But any other party involved should be giving you some money in compensation

And what else has been chopped up in your property to sort this?

Friends got government grant for new heating, heat pump and underfloor heating. £27k!! This was about 13 years ago. When the heat pump stopped working they couldn't find anyone to fix it. They are now back to an oil tank. You may find the heat pump doesn't work well with your radiators. Heat pumps need extra large radiators because the water temperature is lower than from a conventional boiler.

@FairKoala Oh God that is bad. You can see it all over the place in my county. As soon as 2021 started, that's when you really started to see prices go up. So many people were excited to move here from places like London. I was told that some Manchester and Cheshire buyers were buying in cash without even seeing. Yes, compared to where they live, the prices were lower, but I think many didn't understand the local landscape and its particularities, the downsides of certain types of builds. They just saw a 'cheap' 2 bed cottage / house that they hoped would make the pages of Country Living one day. Those houses now languish on the market because back then, they should have given no more than 85k for them, 100k tops, but they ended up spending 120k - 130k, with work needed on them on top! Now, years later, almost no one wants those houses for even that because of Japanese knotweed or other even more serious issues.

As a despairing first time buyer, I've been to see so many houses, and there are so many hidden nasties here - everything from water that runs under the house that's destabilising the foundations (seen that twice), to Japanese knotweednearby (seen that so many times). Unfortunately, the sellers are willing to wait months, sometimes years in order to pass on their dump onto someone innocent or ignorant who doesn't know any better. It's the Wild West over here in terms of housing. Warn your friends! One place sold for over a million during 2023, and now they can't even sell it for 700k!!!

@SaySomethingMan Yes, that's the issue. As the OP didn't give permission, someone has lied to get the grant. That's extremely serious.

It's possible that the tenant didn't realize that the owner needed to give permission (perhaps misinformed by the letting agent) but it's still happened.
The OP needs to speak to all concerned and ensure that nothing like this happens again and get all the paperwork relating to the installation. It's a big mess.

Solicitors letter outlining your grievance and telling them to provide all necessary documentation and information so you can look to approve it retrospectively. If they don't comply you sue them.

If they comply and you're satisfied with the install approve it in writing and they'll be too scared take the piss again

Haven't rrft but I'd be livid. You now cannot go back to a boiler. They're prone to problems, there are few qualified maintenance folk to repair them & ridiculously expensive to replace.

It really isn't. The bad landlord reputation comes from landlords who don't maintain properties properly, rent out moldy and dangerous places, enter the property when they shouldn't, harass or pressure the tenants, lie about the the property, and try to keep the deposit at the end unfairly.

It's not because tenants engage in major changes they have no authority for and get held to account.

I'm pretty certain that the installation company has broken CDM regulations as they didn't get the owners permission. The tenant has probably benefitted by the way of government grant, the letting agency has broken their contract with yourself. This could all have serious repercussions for you. I wouldn't let this lie.

Are your tenants on benefits because if they are the company would have pushed for them to accept. It’s up to you what you decide to do but they don’t sound very respectful of you or your house.

The tenant has breached their contract with the landlord, the agent has breached their contract with the landlord and at least one of these parties, possibly both, has committed fraud. They have also put the rental property in a situation that cannot necessarily be remedied and could incur substantial, very long term costs to the landlord.

even if it was done without permission?

I think that, first of all, you need to establish why they - tenants and letting agents - felt authorised to go ahead without your consent.

Secondly, get your CH engineer to inspect the work and report on it’s quality and any remedial work that is necessary.

And then invest in a consultation with a solicitor who routinely deals with landlord vs tenant issues.

how can anyone think they can make major changes to a home they are renting without the permission of the landlord?

Honestly not sure! I didn't realise it was even possible, there was some quite stringent paperwork when I applied for my grant.

yes this is not a "normal" situation

Quite often the grant funded installations are sub standard. I mean they function, they meet legislation, but they aren't very efficient or neatly done (at least one major installer says they won't take up floor boards to rework pipes neatly, so you can end up with messy pipework to radiators if they aren't the exact same size). It's possible they've not replaced the radiators at all, not improved insulation and draught sealing either. Which can lead to a system that isn't as efficient as it needs to be. A lot of the government funded installations cur corners but charge to prices (obviously footed by the taxpayer), and then end up costing more in energy than what they've replaced.

Is it replacing a gas boiler or some form of electric heating? If it's replacing a gas boiler it needs to have a CoP of around 4 (400% efficient) or higher to be more economic than gas heating.

@godmum56 Yeah, I'm being kind and assuming that perhaps the tenant was misinformed by the letting agent. It's not very credible really!

Estate agent here. I find it baffling the agent just simply sent you on the paperwork without saying anything else! If the tenant did in fact go ahead and arrange work directly with the company and the agent weren’t aware, then it’s not their fault. However, at the point of receiving paperwork, or indeed finding out the work had been done, they should have been straight on the phone to you explaining what had happened and asking you if you did somehow give permission to the company. Not simply bury their heads and send you on the paperwork without a care in the world?!

A tenant can only have a heat pump installed if they obtained explicit written consent from the landlord, or if the landlord organised and paid for the upgrade themselves.
If a tenant bypassed the landlord and hired an installer directly without permission, they have committed a serious breach of the tenancy agreement. Legitimate installers (such as those certified by the Microgeneration Certification Scheme (MCS)) are required to verify that the person requesting the installation either owns the property or has written authorization from the legal landlord. So has your tenant falsely claimed ownership of the property or has the letting agent signed off on the work without consulting you? Either way I would be livid.

I havent read the full thread so someone may have said this and you might have answered OP but, you cant just retro fit a heat pump, they need to fit with the rads and pipework, how did it all work?

Oh, this is a good point actually.

I wouldnt want a heat pump personally.