Tenant says I am responsible

booksurr

ClareElizabeth wrote: »

There is nothing in the Forum Etiquette section that says I MUST thank people for their posts as the conversation goes along, no.
Yep, time to get in a professional to demonstrate and I will bill MSE!

don't worry about it Annie1960 is a well known anti LL poster so as soon as you identified yourself as one you were always in her sights for a comment of some sort - her own attitude has been remarked on repeatedly by others if you look at her posts

and people asking for thanks are very sad!

ClareElizabeth_2

I see, thanks for the info, knew it had to be something like that.
Perhaps she has had a bad experience in the past?

M0ney

G_M wrote: »

so let's see..... depending on the size of the tank, and the tenant's cashflow, they might order an oil delivery between 1 and perhaps 4 times a year.

So they must anticipate when they will leave (which may be at a month's notice on a periodic tenancy) which is hard to do, especially if a sudden job opportunity comes up, or they buy a house (notoriously hard to predict timescales).

Then they must ensure that the last oil delivery (perhaps 3? 6? ...even 9 months earlier) is of just the right quantity (taking into acount the impossible-to-calculate usage over the intervening months) to ensure that the tank is at the same level when they leave as when they arrived........

:eek:

or perhaps you expect the tenant to take any excess oil with them? Or get the supplier to buy it back?

And if the tank is a bit low, how do they top it up to the right level, bearing in mind most suppliers have a 500 litre minimum order?

(funny - I had a feeling this topic would open a can - or tank - of worms)

I once viewed a property with oil heating but then didn't take it. I remember we were told that they would fill the tank before we moved in and we'd be expected to leave it full when we moved out.

I'm fairly sure we weren't told that it was critical to stop it running out but I did know already.

G_M

ClareElizabeth wrote: »

Sorry, should have said, the terms are that the tenant leaves the same amount of oil on moving in when moving out, however if there is more then they are paid for it at the current oil rate that day, if there is less it is taken out of their deposit. There is an accurate reading taken at the begining and end of tenancy, not just reliance on the sight gauge.
.

Now that makes sense and is a fair solution (putting aside the ambiguity of 'current rate that day'!)

rpc

ClareElizabeth wrote: »

I do take on board that this might not be an issue for this tenant, or my previous tenants, but could be for future tenants and will therefore write further instructions in clear simple English to explain just that.

Presumably, there is a check-in inspection? Why not highlight the few really important points to the tenant at that time?

Where the consumer unit is, stopcock, how to read the oil, etc. Both show these to the T and also have a single sheet with the "important stuff" on it.

ClareElizabeth wrote: »

Sorry, should have said, the terms are that the tenant leaves the same amount of oil on moving in when moving out, however if there is more then they are paid for it at the current oil rate that day, if there is less it is taken out of their deposit. There is an accurate reading taken at the begining and end of tenancy, not just reliance on the sight gauge.

Which sounds much better and perfectly fair!

japmis

ClareElizabeth wrote: »

If she feels this should've been demonstrated at move in, then she needs to question this with the agents
The agent when he initially told me about the problem said it was a common problem they encounter often. Surely then as agents they ought to highlight this to incoming tenants?

How can the tenant have known about something they didn't know about?!

Annie1960

booksurr wrote: »

and people asking for thanks are very sad!

I wasn't asking for thanks, just pointing out the over-the-top complaining attitude of the OP.

Usually OPs thanks at least some of the suggestions, but she was just being very negative about everyone, and clearly wanted someone to give her free legal advice, as she mentioned a couple of times.

barbaraemmerson

I have only encountered the job of oil fired central heating recently and had no idea of the complications it caused allowing the oil to run out - especially in Scotland in Winter. It is a rural property and the oil tank is in the middle of a field. I was then introduced to the idea of an oil Watchman. The gadget is placed in the tank and the receiver in the office. It counts down in eighths of a tank and starts flashing when only a quarter full - best £75 I have ever spent!!!

Annie1960

barbaraemmerson wrote: »

I have only encountered the job of oil fired central heating recently and had no idea of the complications it caused allowing the oil to run out - especially in Scotland in Winter. It is a rural property and the oil tank is in the middle of a field. I was then introduced to the idea of an oil Watchman. The gadget is placed in the tank and the receiver in the office. It counts down in eighths of a tank and starts flashing when only a quarter full - best £75 I have ever spent!!!

I rather doubt the OP would even consider spending on £75 on something for a tenant.

She refused to even tell us how much the bill for engineer was - I bet it was much less than £75, and she has made such a fuss about this that I hate to think what she will do about your suggestion.

Pandilex

I would totally suggest filling the tank up and asking tenants to ensure it is filled up when they move out. Then they can order a delivery a couple of weeks prior to leaving and it saves you all hassle and is completely fair.