New tentants, boiler problems, comments please

Tyler_Du

The wife and I are first time landlords, we've recently let our old house when we moved into a new place. A young couple moved in, about 3 weeks ago they called us to say that the central heating wasn't working, an engineer was booked the same day they called (Friday) and I visited the property the same day also (incase I could resolve the problem, I couldn't)
The earliest the engineer, could come was the following Monday. I offered to buy a oil filled radiator for them but they declined. The living room has a gas fire which they used.
The engineer checked the boiler and said that an external overflow pipe had frozen and that the boiler was functioning normally. I re-lagged the external pipes and also put additional insulation round the pipes in the loft (where the boiler is). The engineer advised that if the pipe froze again that it could be thawed using hot water bottles or a hairdryer. We told the tenants to keep us updated.

We got a call today to say that the boiler has been cutting out this last week (3-4 times), they have thawed the pipe and that seems to allow the boiler to work again. They also said that one of their Dads had made an adjustment to the external pipe, what he had actually done was cut about 3-4 inches off the end of it (as this was venting into a drain)

Its clear that the extreme weather conditions are contributing to / causing these problems. Of course as a LL our primary concern is the well being of our tentants (esp with the current weather), what else could / should we be doing ?

Additionally, I not sure if I'm happy with the Dad doing any DIY jobs / fixes on the property

buglawton

Tenants have to be just as flexible as owners, things can go wrong for anyone Living in a house.

G_M

It sounds like you are doing all you can to resolve the problem. After many of the problems one reads about on this forum it's a welcome change to hear from one of the many LLs who genuinely care and do their best.

But I'd agree with you about Dad. Stamp this out.
a) not sure messing with an external pipe constitutes working on a boiler (restricted by law to Gassafe registered engineers)
b) you should not permit work to be done on the property you have not agreed to - in fact you'd be within your rights to re-install the cut off pipe at the tenant's cost. Whether you choose to do so prob depends on whether this has helped the situation AND whether the boiler/pipe still comply with regulations. (your post implies it no longer vents into a drain as it should)

Make clear to the tenants that they shoulkd not attempt or authorise repairs but once informed you will do all you can to fix things asap.

simpywimpy

Ive the same problem this week with my tenants and have acted in the exact same way as yourself. The asked for an electric heater to put at the side of the pipework/boiler and I have bought them one straight away, had the plumber visit straight away etc but I do sometimes think that the tenant thinks I should be able to rectify this problem immediately regardless of this unexpected weather.

G_M

Sadly many tenants do expect immediate solutions and blame LLs when things like boilers take a bit of time.

When a home-owner's boiler breaks down, it takes time to find a man, he gives you an apptmt, then he needs a part, it all takes time. We deal with it. It's really no different in a tenanted place in fact there are extra complications like the time it takes the tenant to report it, and then agreeing an appointment with the tenant.

PayDay

G_M wrote: »

Sadly many tenants do expect immediate solutions and blame LLs when things like boilers take a bit of time.

When a home-owner's boiler breaks down, it takes time to find a man,

Not if you have service agreements on your lets. Why don't you have a service agreement?

G_M

:rotfl:Funny, when I saw you'd emboldened it takes time to find a man I thought you were going to pick me up for sexism:rotfl:

Yes, there are arguements for service agreements on boilers, or ch systems, or drainage, or electrics, or the white goods, or or or

As with all insurance (apart from statutory ones like cars) it's a question of choice and priorities.

olly300

PayDay wrote: »

Not if you have service agreements on your lets. Why don't you have a service agreement?

The two landlords I rented from where the boilers broke down had service agreements.

It took one of them 24 hour to fix the boiler, and the other one 6 days but 7 days in all.

Just because the landlord has a service agreement doesn't mean the boiler can be fixed immediately. Some boilers need parts which take time to come in.

Anyway back on topic - OP do as G_L says. However tell the tenants verbally and also in writing otherwise they may turn around and say you gave them permission.

franklee

G_M wrote: »

Yes, there are arguements for service agreements on boilers, or ch systems, or drainage, or electrics, or the white goods, or or or

As with all insurance (apart from statutory ones like cars) it's a question of choice and priorities.

I'd guess prioritise means you choose how much you want to pay and a service contract is too expensive? Homeowners are different as they don't pay rent and they *choose* for themselves how to prioritise, whether or not to pay more for a quicker fix e.g. pay for a weekend callout, or when to replace that old boiler instead of waiting for hard to get parts etc.

Why are tenants the only people expected to pay full price when receiving a partial service? OK so you can't get parts, if the waits too long you refund a portion of the rent. If you were paying for a service and a vital part was absent would you pay full price if the business owner you were buying from said correcting the fault was out of their hands. Or would you not be that interested in the problems they have running their business and expect your bill adjusted to compensate?

Anyway, well done to the OP, it's nice to see a landlord doing all they can to sort things asap.

david29dpo

I agree but forbid any DIY.

2010

Oh, the joys of being a Landlord!