fussy tennants

bigmock

hello i have recently started renting out my old home via an agent, they have been in for 5 days now and on the second day the tenant apparently got her key stuck in the front door so the agent called out a locksmith and had to sort that which i apparently have to pay for even though in the 7 years i lived there i never once had a problem with the door and it is not my fault if she jammed it in or in fact put a wrong key in the door. i am happy to let this go though as these things happen.

However yesterday i received and email from the agent with some maintenence issues they have brought up, most i think are very unreasonable, here are a few of them, 1. they want me to pay to fix a cupboard in the kitchen that doesn't close all the way.
2. they want me to pay to fix the heated ladder style towel rail (which does not work at all) however to fix this the newly laid laminate floor will have to be completely removed and there is another radiator next to it that does work
3. on the bathroom taps there are little caps on the end (about 1cm small) with H and C on for hot and cold, one is missing and they want this replaced.
4.they have told me its compulsory for me to buy and install a carbon monoxide monitor, which i understand is not compulsary but advised
5. in the email i was advised that in the loft space the brickwork appears damaged (not sure why i am told this)

i do believe that these issues are not important and quite uneccasary but ontop of this i was actually accused of entering the house after they moved in as some of there items had gone missing! this is incredibly rude and i am really annoyed about it.

anyway i would just like some advise about the previous points am i right in feeling very angry that they have accused me of entering the property and stealing? also do you think the repairs they have requested reasonable?

many thanks!

RAS

Which country is the old home in? Scottish law is different.

bigmock

hello its in england

RAS

2,3,4 are not things you are required to do.

The key situation - sorry but I could not understand your explanation. If the tenant jammed the wrong key in the lock, they pay. If the lock was faulty, you pay.

malcolmffc

Write a letter in reply stating reminding them that your statutory obligations are limited to paying for repairs to the heating, electricity, water supply and exterior of the building. That you are obliged to get a GSC certificate but not a CO alarm.

State that none of their issues fall within these obligations. You may consider paying for work beyond your statutory obligations and make these repairs on a goodwill basis, but that is entirely at your discretion.

DannyboyMidlands

You are running a business here so don't take it so personally. I mean, how are you gonna feel if a tenant smashes the place up and smears faeces all over the walls?

I imagine that they have previously been shafted by landlords over minor issues of the type you describe. Anticipating you charging them for this stuff at the end of the tenancy they may just be getting their ducks in a row for when they move out.

I'd want you to fix the towel rail too. If I'm paying for a house with certain features, I want those things to work.

bigmock

hello yes i have been trying to contact the agents re-they key situation to find out whos fault it was but have had no joy getting through yet and yes i thought these requests i did not have to do. I have left out 5 other requests that i have agreed to fix (a faulty extractor light, and repleacement curtain rails) but yes the rest just seem silly

Wyndham

Did you have an inventory that you both signed? Did that say that, for exampe, the towel rail doesn't work? If they were made aware of it beforehand then that's one thing, if they were led to believe it worked and it doesn't, that's something else.

bigmock

DannyboyMidlands wrote: »

I'd want you to fix the towel rail too. If I'm paying for a house with certain features, I want those things to work.

I understand youre points but there is a large radiator right next to it so to me they just seem to be out to complain about every little problem from the beginning not to mention accusing me of breaking in and stealing, they are unreasonable

jay1181

bigmock wrote: »

hello i have recently started renting out my old home via an agent, they have been in for 5 days now and on the second day the tenant apparently got her key stuck in the front door so the agent called out a locksmith and had to sort that which i apparently have to pay for even though in the 7 years i lived there i never once had a problem with the door and it is not my fault if she jammed it in or in fact put a wrong key in the door. i am happy to let this go though as these things happen.

However yesterday i received and email from the agent with some maintenence issues they have brought up, most i think are very unreasonable, here are a few of them, 1. they want me to pay to fix a cupboard in the kitchen that doesn't close all the way.
2. they want me to pay to fix the heated ladder style towel rail (which does not work at all) however to fix this the newly laid laminate floor will have to be completely removed and there is another radiator next to it that does work
3. on the bathroom taps there are little caps on the end (about 1cm small) with H and C on for hot and cold, one is missing and they want this replaced.
4.they have told me its compulsory for me to buy and install a carbon monoxide monitor, which i understand is not compulsary but advised
5. in the email i was advised that in the loft space the brickwork appears damaged (not sure why i am told this)

i do believe that these issues are not important and quite uneccasary but ontop of this i was actually accused of entering the house after they moved in as some of there items had gone missing! this is incredibly rude and i am really annoyed about it.

anyway i would just like some advise about the previous points am i right in feeling very angry that they have accused me of entering the property and stealing? also do you think the repairs they have requested reasonable?

many thanks!

were these tennant in social housing before ? The reason i ask this is most if not all council landlords provide a co detectors and all would send an inspector to repair most if not all the items they have reported . Some people just dont know any better and think everything should be fixed that they report but in real terms its just to make sure the building is wind and watertight with safe supplys of both gas and electric and the house free from dampness ect. If the door lock packed in then yes you need to pay but if they put the wrong key in it and it snapped then i would re charge them. As one of the previous posters has said write to them explaining their rights as a private tenant and your rights as a landlord for repairs ect so that they are both clear on what is classed as a emergency repair ect and what will not/ be considered at your discretion as a repair and tell them to go to screwfix where a co alarm is £11 pounds. if they are still not happy then feel free to ask them if they wish to leave the property and then fill out all the paperwork ect to give them notice ect. In my experience that puts them in there place and they then think twice about calling out for silly repairs that are not repairs ( eg like what we are going thru right now re a new tenant demanding bt points in every room and to upgrade the bt cable ect oh and to repaint the living room in a warmer color oh and re tarring the council road the leads to the property better stop here lol) :eek:
after a re read there
the real reason for the key getting stuck or snapping was to change the locks at your expense as they think you must have been entering the house. I would re recharge them asap. fly very fly tenants you have and it will only get worse trust me they sound the type that will give any landlords sleepless nights wondering what they will do next. good luck

Jimbo1976

Bigmock

I do think a number of their points are pedantic but with regards to the towel rail, presumably they can use the radiator in the winter but when they switch off the heating then the towel won't dry on the radiator whereas I'm guessing that the towel rail comes on when the hot water comes on.