Can you terminate a tenancy agreement due to affordability of repairs?

propertyman

GDB2222 wrote: »

I agree, but there's a possibility that the agent is taking the mickey. The OP should note for future reference that there is urgency in repairing the boiler but not the fence panel.

Yes they may even be honest but inexperienced and the contractor is taking advantage.

My concern was that it was automatic reaction that the agent was not only at fault but evil, when they could have twisted the arm of the contractors to lower the price knowing landlord's circumstances.

As we don't know, it's inappropriate to spew out outright condemnation, cherry picking the post to make a point to suit an agenda..:(

propertyman

GDB2222 wrote: »

The OP should note for future reference that there is urgency in repairing the boiler but not the fence panel.

I agree in that case I might have just taken the trip down and fixed it myself. The op if nearby and able might consider that in the future.

tbs624

HAMISH_MCTAVISH wrote: »

Worst "advice" ever on MSE.

You should be ashamed of yourself for such a despicable comment.

Here's someone on here genuinely looking for help, and yet again your inflated ego and delusional opinions that being a landlord is a difficult task are dangerously out of touch with reality.

Artful's style may be an acquired taste but IMO his posts are generally up there with the more helpful and genuine ones on this board

Being a LL is not a "difficult task" and I don't think that Artful has actually said that it is: it is however one that is best undertaken *after* thorough preparation and research, with a hefty contingency fund in place.

Werdnal

tbs624 wrote: »

Artful's style may be an acquired taste but IMO his posts are generally up there with the more helpful and genuine ones on this board

Being a LL is not a "difficult task" and I don't think that Artful has actually said that it is: it is however one that is best undertaken *after* thorough preparation and research, with a hefty contingency fund in place.

I totally agree.

Nothing in life is a "difficult task" if you learn what you are doing before you start doing it!

I for instance wouldn't contemplate perfoming brain surgery unless I had trained and become suitably qualified!

Similarly, becoming a LL can be fraught with problems, complications and pitfalls if you do not do your homework and learn everything about it first. OK, so you do not literally have someone's life in your hands ... but, whilst hindsight is a wonderful thing, there is no room for it where being a LL is concerned ... At the very least it can lose you good tenants, and at worst, it can lose you good money!

So whilst I do concede that being a landlord is not a "difficult task", being a good, effective and efficient landlord can be ...

Please note - This is not directed at the OP by the way, just a general comment!

dizziblonde

So basically since the going's got tough - you want to land your tenant with about £200 (probably plus since I'm assuming prices have gone up since I stopped renting) in application charges, the need to find another deposit, the need to pay out for removals and/or time off work to do the move themselves, the need to cover bills on two properties for the initial month... just have a thought about what you're actually planning on trying to lay on them because you've jumped into this without thinking things through properly.

What would you have done if things had gone wrong in the house when you actually still lived there? Things go wrong, and generally, the Law of Sod dictates, expensive things go wrong together.

And yes, of course it must be that evil scamming tenant - because all we do when we rent houses is to sit and plot with the letting agents the ways to maximise inconvenience to our landlords and make backhanders for ourselves... we particularly love boilers breaking in the dead of winter and having to sit in the freezing cold - just to spite landlords!

propertyman

Before this comment gets lost re "3k for a fence,roof tiles and boiler"

The OP should be looking at a building insurance/landlords insurance claim to recover some if these costs if there was an insured peril eg storm for the snow, winds for the fences, and in an advanced policy boilers for extreme conditions.

Blackpool_Saver

Why can't you go to the property with tradesmen yourself, get a second opinion and then you will know the facts.......

I read these posts and think no wonder some tenants think LL's don't want to do the work, it's all these third parties that are the problem and all the Chinese whispers, see the tenants yourself.......

aliasojo

HAMISH_MCTAVISH wrote: »

There is somewhere around a 99.99999999999% chance that you are being ripped off something silly here by the tenant/agent or the pair of them working together to scam you.

NOBODY could be that unlucky.

We moved into a rented property around 7 months ago.

So far we've had:

Boiler working erratically, heat one day none at all the next. Repairman needed to fix issue.

Blocked drains (which have turned out to be collapsed drains and therefore a bigger expense than anticipated).

Wallpaper peeling off bedroom wall revealing black mould underneath. Turns out the wall is constantly getting wet because the roof leaks in many places. Quote for putting right - £16,000.

Bathroom light doesn't work. Electrician visit needed.

Washing machine started leaking all over kitchen floor. (We bought our own replacement though.)

Large double glazed window in bedroom spontaneously cracked on inside pane during the night. Unit had to be replaced - £200.

All these problems happened together within the first 2 months.

As the tenant, I feel embarrassed when I need to report something else. We still own a property elsewhere and are well aware of how best to look after a house, but things do happen unfortunately.

Thrugelmir

Eton_Rifle wrote: »

I hear you but you've missed the point. He did have sufficient funds, it's the future he is concerned about.

Not in the least. BTL is no different to running any other type of business.

There's an old adage. The 5 P's. Proper Planning Prevents Poor Performance.

Werdnal

Thrugelmir wrote: »

Not in the least. BTL is no different to running any other type of business.

There's an old adage. The 5 P's. Proper Planning Prevents Poor Performance.

Its actually 6 P's in my neck of the woods, although I won't offend anyone by adding the missing word. Suffice to say it goes between Prevents and Poor!