No contact from landlady - boiler certificate expired

minuettoallegretto

My landlady lives in Australia, so only email contact. I emailed to remind her that the boiler safety certificate expired on November 20th, and at the same time told her about a hole developing in the stair carpet (we've been here 9 years so normal wear and tear). I have had no reply. She has never been great about maintenance, and I'm now wondering what to do next - any advice gratefully received!
My thoughts so far run along the lines of: get the boiler checked myself, and replace the stair carpet. But do I then bill her/take it out of the rent, or do I write it off? Total cost is probably around £350, and my monthly rent is £600.
Thanks in advance for any help!

jamie11

Who is managing the property for her? You must have a contact address for her agent.

There is a protocol for getting the work done, it must be followed exactly to cover your own back.

Who is paying the income tax on the rental proceeds?

Tread carefully, there are some things you need to learn about.

minuettoallegretto

No agent - there was supposed to be something set up before she moved out there, but it never happened. Don't know about tax, would say that's none of my business really.

tbs624

If your LL in non resident here then she has to give you an address in Eng/Wales at which notices may be served regarding the property - if she hasn't done you are not obliged to pay rent until she does so. If she does not have an agent then you *may* be responsible for deducting tax from the rent - check out the non resident LL pages at HMRC.

She is legally obliged to arrange an annual GSC and to keep copies for two years. Get yourself a carbon monoxide detector if one has not been provided ( an audible one, not one of the basic colour change jobs)

Send another email asking for a response within 24 hours then get three quotes for the GSC to be done and email again saying that you will arrange for the work top be done - see Shelters "Guide to Getting Repairs Done"


On the carpet issue the LL is not obliged to replace although a good LL would do so to avoid the possibility of a of a trip accident occurring.

Your LL may of course be in hospital, on holiday or whatever but that does not alter the fact that you should have that Eng/Wales address.

jamie11

minuettoallegretto wrote: »

No agent - there was supposed to be something set up before she moved out there, but it never happened. Don't know about tax, would say that's none of my business really.

The tax is very much your business, I will leave the tax experts here to tell you why.

Since you have no UK address for her then you have no liability to pay the rent until you do, when you do have a UK address all the rent becomes due immediately. (I am assuming you are in England or Wales).

You need to send her at least three letters saying that you need to get the gas certificate done, get quotes as well and send those, if you still get no answer then go ahead and get it done, pay from the rent. Keep copies of all the costs very carefully.

I would also suggest that you withhold 20% of the rent in a separate account against the inevitable tax demand.(That may come in the form of a court order sequestering the landlords rent for tax unpaid) HMRC may not be able to chase them in Australia but they can certainly grab their money before it leaves UK.

minuettoallegretto

Living in England, most of our rent actually comes from Housing Benefit, and the council are aware of where our landlady lives. I seem to have created more problems for myself by trying to sort out these relatively minor things! Now need ideas on where to go for advice on these new things as well please!

Svenena

Here are some links that might help you: http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/cnr/tenants_guide_to_the_nrl_scheme.pdf

http://england.shelter.org.uk/get_advice/repairs_and_bad_conditions/disrepair_in_rented_accommodation/repairs_in_private_lets/tenants_doing_repairs#4

jjlandlord

To be honest the expiry of the gas safety certificate is not a big deal for the tenant.
Safety-wise the best thing to do is to get a CO detector (as suggested above): A safety certificate does not prevent the boiler to break down between checks.

poppysarah

minuettoallegretto wrote: »

Living in England, most of our rent actually comes from Housing Benefit, and the council are aware of where our landlady lives. I seem to have created more problems for myself by trying to sort out these relatively minor things! Now need ideas on where to go for advice on these new things as well please!

Don't care if the council knows.

Can YOU get hold of her if the boiler breaks?

You'll be the one freezing for weeks if you can't.

Road_Hog

jamie11 wrote: »

Who is paying the income tax on the rental proceeds?

That has no bearing on the question asked and is quite frankly none of your business.

Road_Hog

minuettoallegretto wrote: »

My landlady lives in Australia, so only email contact. I emailed to remind her that the boiler safety certificate expired on November 20th, and at the same time told her about a hole developing in the stair carpet (we've been here 9 years so normal wear and tear). I have had no reply. She has never been great about maintenance, and I'm now wondering what to do next - any advice gratefully received!
My thoughts so far run along the lines of: get the boiler checked myself, and replace the stair carpet. But do I then bill her/take it out of the rent, or do I write it off? Total cost is probably around £350, and my monthly rent is £600.
Thanks in advance for any help!

Hi,

As a landlord (single property), here is my view.

If by the boiler safety certificate, you mean the annual gas check, then I would go ahead and have this done. I think it's about £65 from memory and is a legal requirement.

Deduct this from the rent, but send an email in advance so that your landlady is aware what the deduction is for.

The carpet is a slightly different matter, it is not a legal requirement, it is also a much larger expense. You'll need to email/chase up the landlady about that.