Responsibility for blocked waste in rented property?

SuzieSue

My shower drain needs to be cleared nearly every week even though I have a cover over it which prevents anything except water from going down it.

Have your tenants tried using a plunger like this - it works very well on my sink which blocks up every few months:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Monument-1459W-Master-Plunger-Unblocker/dp/B0001P0F4A

itm2

bouicca21 wrote: »

I'm beginning to have a glimmer of sympathy for the tenant. If the waste pipe isn't very straight, is it possible that it is partially blocked with the grease of ages, and that normal use blocks it further? Have you or your plumber tested how long it takes water to clear from the sink? If it clears very slowly a partial blockage may well exist.

The plumber said that, following the last clearance, water was flowing/draining very quickly. It just seems odd that we never had any problems in 10 previous years of owning/renting the property. These tenants have been in for about 3 years and the sink has blocked 3-4 times.

rpc

ruggedtoast wrote: »

And here you have everything that is wrong with the private rental sector.

No, I'm pretty sure you get bad tenants in social housing too.

BitterAndTwisted

What would I do? Write back to the tenant, pointing out that there is nothing structurally wrong with the pipes, that in ten years of ownership it has never been necessary to call a plumber out to clear a blockage until they took over the tenancy, at which point you have called a plumber out several times at your own expense. Therefore the only conclusion you can come to is that this must be the result of what they are doing. And enclose a S21 Notice. You can issue one now but you cannot bring the tenancy to an end before the fixed-terms ends so you must b absolutely certain whether they signed and returned the last renewal or not. If they didn't you can just give them a minimum two rental-periods notice.

This tenant sounds like a right smart-@rse and I'd get rid asap.

PZH

itm2 wrote: »

...It just seems odd that we never had any problems in 10 previous years of owning/renting the property.

Or of course, other occupants acted like proper tenants and cleared any blockages themselves.

When I was renting, I would have NEVER even dreampt of contacting my landlord if I had blocked the sink - I would simply clear it myself and try not to do it again.

itm2 wrote:

IIRC the current 6 month agreement ends in Feb/Mar next year, although I don't believe that the tenant ever actually signed and returned the last renewal.

In which case - wouldn't they be on a Rolling Tenancy?

In which case - don't you just have to give a minimum notice of 2 months from the anniversary date of the Original Tenancy Agreement ?

ETA: - beaten to it in above post ;-)

jbainbridge

bouicca21 wrote: »

I'm beginning to have a glimmer of sympathy for the tenant. If the waste pipe isn't very straight, is it possible that it is partially blocked with the grease of ages, and that normal use blocks it further? Have you or your plumber tested how long it takes water to clear from the sink? If it clears very slowly a partial blockage may well exist.

Indeed. Over time it is likely that the waste pipe could be narrowed by a gradual build up. The thing is that unless you physically clear the build up you may continually have problems. Using a liquid drain cleaner may give a quick fix - but once the immediate blockage is gone it will just drain away (as it should) leaving behind the main problem.

I'll add that when we had our kitchen done a few years ago (so new waste pipe) I noticed a massive difference in the speed the sink drained.

clark24

Pipes can get a bit sludged but that's why drain cleaners are so readily available, normal things that go down a kitchen sink can easily be cleared with them and a sink full of hot water.

When I moved into my current property the sink was completely blocked, the previous tenants used to empty their chip pan down it, pour paint down it, and it was full of dog hair and other things I don't want to think about and as they had broken the boiler some months previously there was no hot water, but rather than ask the LL to get someone out I took the under-the-sink pipes out and cleaned then by hand. Not pleasant but I didn't want to bother her and I certainly wouldn't dream of doing so if I had been the cause!

itm2

itm2 wrote: »

I've decided that I'd like to give the tenant notice, as this isn't the first time he's been a little more demanding than I think is reasonable.

A little more background here...a couple of days after moving in the tenant declared that some of the furniture was "not up to acceptable standard" and told us that we needed to replace them (it's a furnished property). We politely pointed out the essence of renting furnished accommodation, and the significance of the lease that he had just signed. A couple of months later he called us to say that the fridge was too small, and that he needed a larger one. As the fridge was quite old at that stage we did accommodate his request. He then complained that the washing machine was damaging his clothes - pointing to a small black stain on the rim of the seal as being the likely problem. The plumber at the time was highly amused, saying that there was absolutely nothing wrong with it, but again we actually ended up replacing the appliance to keep him calm. The last time we visited we noticed that he'd thrown alot of our furniture into the bike shed (probably damaging it). He also bought a sofa recently and asked if he could throw ours out (which we agreed to - the old sofa was looking a little tired, even though it was only 4-5 years old). And now this....2 years into the lease and the sink starts getting blocked every few months and he's expecting us to sort it out every time it happens.

TBH it's only due to sheer inertia that we've continued to roll over the lease, but now we feel that enough is enough, and that the effort of finding a new tenant will be worth it.

donfanatico

itm2 wrote: »

A little more background here...a couple of days after moving in the tenant declared that some of the furniture was "not up to acceptable standard" and told us that we needed to replace them (it's a furnished property). We politely pointed out the essence of renting furnished accommodation, and the significance of the lease that he had just signed. A couple of months later he called us to say that the fridge was too small, and that he needed a larger one. As the fridge was quite old at that stage we did accommodate his request. He then complained that the washing machine was damaging his clothes - pointing to a small black stain on the rim of the seal as being the likely problem. The plumber at the time was highly amused, saying that there was absolutely nothing wrong with it, but again we actually ended up replacing the appliance to keep him calm. The last time we visited we noticed that he'd thrown alot of our furniture into the bike shed (probably damaging it). He also bought a sofa recently and asked if he could throw ours out (which we agreed to - the old sofa was looking a little tired, even though it was only 4-5 years old). And now this....2 years into the lease and the sink starts getting blocked every few months and he's expecting us to sort it out every time it happens.

TBH it's only due to sheer inertia that we've continued to roll over the lease, but now we feel that enough is enough, and that the effort of finding a new tenant will be worth it.

Be prepared for a long haul here - just saying

clark24

Is this a very high-end property in a prime area with extortionate rent?

If not, tell him to jog on