Responsibility for blocked waste in rented property?

casperlarue

donfanatico wrote: »

yuck...so what does one do with cooking fat?

take it to your local tip/recycling place ... there should be facilities for recycling used cooking oil there

rpc

Write a nice clear letter explaining that their conduct is causing the blockages and they should not be doing XYZ. The sink is not fitted with a disposal unit, put it in the bin, blah blah blah. You have been generous up until now but will charge them for any future blockages caused by their conduct.

They should know better, but may not. Spell it out in black and white so they have no excuse next time.

dancingfairy

Any leftover oil I would use some kitchen roll to soak up, if it was small amount.
df

dancingfairy

If the tenant becomes too much hard work and a friendly warning fails then you could consider serving them their notice.
df

itm2

So having explained the situation to the tenant, reflecting the advice offered above, his response is below:
"The reocuring problem with kitchen drain has not been caused by our negligence. WE DONT POUR LARD into the drain! All kind of deposits in drain pipes form gradually over the years and this is natural process
It could be stone or fat or enything else and this is unavoidable when you wash up plates in the sink despite using washing up liquid.There is not washing up machine here,as you know. Therefore the pipe blockage is an effect of our normal usage and it is the Landlord responsibility to get it fixed. Any drain unblockers are not effective at all. This problem has to be fixed by manually cleaning the pipe inside or replacing it and your plumber knows it very well. If you keep avoiding your statutory responsobility I reserve myself the right tp hire a plumber to get it fixed and the bill will be presented to you. I look forward to hear from you as a matter of urgency"

Any ideas for how to respond? Should we be responsible for sorting this out again??

antrobus

itm2 wrote: »

.....Any ideas for how to respond?...

S21 notice.

clark24

How often has the pipe got blocked? Yes it can happen more frequently if you don't use hot water to rinse the sludge down but seriously some Mr Muscle down the plug hole every few weeks and a rinse through with boiling water will sort it, unless there is a structural problem with the pipes (but I'm assuming plumber would have noticed).

I think they are being unreasonable and unrealistic and are incapable of maintaining correct standards of cleanliness, possibly in other areas of the home (do they unblock the bath plug hole, de-scale taps etc)

Or they are doing it on purpose as are hoping to use it as a way of witholding rent in future...)

dodger1

In 63 years I have never had a blocked sink pipe and for many years before the warnings that included every bit of left over dripping, other fat, melted butter etc. Tell your tenant to sling his hook, as already suggested serve an S21. If he sends you a bill simply return it, the plumber has already told you that it's their fault so nothing they can do to successfully claim money from you.

clark24

I would love to know if they had the same problem with previous places they've lived, and what happened?

Also the 'and you plumber knows it very well' bit, I don't suppose you could have a chat to him and get him to write down what 'he knows' and sign it. You may need it if they do something silly like report you to environmental health etc

moromir

itm2 wrote:

So having explained the situation to the tenant, reflecting the advice offered above, his response is below:

"The reocuring problem with kitchen drain has not been caused by our negligence. WE DONT POUR LARD into the drain! All kind of deposits in drain pipes form gradually over the years and this is natural process
It could be stone or fat or enything else and this is unavoidable when you wash up plates in the sink despite using washing up liquid.There is not washing up machine here,as you know. Therefore the pipe blockage is an effect of our normal usage and it is the Landlord responsibility to get it fixed. Any drain unblockers are not effective at all. This problem has to be fixed by manually cleaning the pipe inside or replacing it and your plumber knows it very well. If you keep avoiding your statutory responsobility I reserve myself the right tp hire a plumber to get it fixed and the bill will be presented to you. I look forward to hear from you as a matter of urgency"

Any ideas for how to respond? Should we be responsible for sorting this out again??

Dear Tenant,

Thank you for acknowledging that drain blockages caused by normal use form over years.

As the drains were cleared by our contractor on xxxxxx, I trust we will not recieve any further call outs of this nature until xxxxxxx (insert date several years in the future).

Drain unblocking products available at your local supermarket are perfectly adequate and should be used regularly (not just when you experience a blockage) as part of normal household cleaning to ensure that drains remain freeflowing.

Please continue to report any maintenance issues to us and provided these fall within our remit, a contractor of our choice will be instructed to remedy them.

For the avoidance of doubt, any unsolicited invoices recieved from contractors instructed by you without our consent will be returned to sender.

I trust that this clarifies the position and if there are any queries, may I refer you to Shelter who will be able to explain your responsibilities to act in a 'tenant like manner'.

I note that your tenancy does not end until xxxxxx, but if you feel the property does not meet your expectations, please let us know and we are prepared to consider an early surrender of your tenancy.

Maybe include a bottle of Mr Muscle

PS don't send this I was just feeling really frustrated on your behalf!!