Landlord wants chimney swept and woodburner cleaned

Cakeguts

rosyw wrote: »

You'd be surprised!! No, it's not a get out of jail free card, but you need to understand how debilitating it can be - I speak from experience. I'm fine now, but at my lowest even getting out of bed in the morning was a major effort, let alone doing anything else. If you've never suffered from depression it's almost impossible to fully understand what it can do to you. It's no good anyone saying "pull yourself together" or anything else for that matter, it doesn't help.

I agree with this about the depression but the health of the tenant isn't anything to do with the landlord or how the property is left at the end of the tenancy. Which is why someone has mentioned it in this way. If the tenant doesn't leave the property in the way that the contract says it should be left then that is a problem.

You can feel sorry for the tenant but the landlord is not a parent or relation and doesn't have to accept the house back in a state which doesn't match what was agreed in the contract.

I am a landlord and basically the health of my tenants is none of my business just as their family life is none of my business.

theartfullodger

The great Lord Denning's judgement in Warren v Keen 1954
http://swarb.co.uk/warren-v-keen-ca-1954/

‘The tenant must take proper care of the place. He must, if he is going away for the winter, turn off the water and empty the boiler. He must clean the chimneys, where necessary, etc etc

Landlord correct about chimney cleaning... IF soot in chimney due to use by hubbie...

If I'm not depressed, would that mean I have more responsibilities as a tenant?

davemorton

rose28454 wrote: »

Interestingly when I looked online today it said he should have had smoke alarms and a co2 monitor. Neither of these were there!

Unless it has been updated, the following is from

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/smoke-and-carbon-monoxide-alarms-explanatory-booklet-for-landlords/the-smoke-and-carbon-monoxide-alarm-england-regulations-2015-qa-booklet-for-the-private-rented-sector-landlords-and-tenants

The Smoke and Carbon Monoxide Alarm (England) Regulations 2015 have been approved by Parliament and will come into force as planned on 1 October 2015.

Private sector landlords are required from 1 October 2015 to have at least one smoke alarm installed on every storey of their properties and a carbon monoxide alarm in any room containing a solid fuel burning appliance (eg a coal fire, wood burning stove). After that, the landlord must make sure the alarms are in working order at the start of each new tenancy.

The requirements will be enforced by local authorities who can impose a fine of up to £5,000 where a landlord fails to comply with a remedial notice.

tiz

chappers wrote: »

Dodgy ground if you consider sweeping a flue or chimney a matter of safety, which essentially it is. How can you be sure they haven't lied and just said they didn't use it. My personal opinion is that as it is the safety of an appliance it should be the LL who is responsible. The LL is the only continuity for responsibility across subsequent tenancies, You can't make the outgoing tenant responsible for the incoming one's safety
Particularly so in the OPs situation where there is complete absence of an inventory or mention of it in the contract.
Cleaning the burner however is a different matter an analogous to the cooker situation

I agree it's the landlords responsibility to check it's sorted before a new tenancy - I wouldn't just assume the previous tenant had done it because we said they had to. However, if on getting it checked at the end of the tenancy we found it had been used and not cleaned we would consider billing them for the clean - although our tenant is lovely and keeps everything else so neat so in reality we'd probably write it off anyway.

I think though that there are other areas where the tenant is partially responsible for interim appliance safety e.g. cleaning a lint trap on a washing machine in accordance with manufacturers instructions to prevent a fire hazard.

Sorry, getting a bit off topic

franklee

The tenant should clean to the same standard as was documented in the inventory at the start of the tenancy.

So professional clean at the start, the tenant does or pays for same at the end.

Inventory silent at the start - no proof of the initial state. If that went to arbitration in any deposit dispute I would expect no deduction as there is no standard to measure against.

Same applies to curtains, carpets, oven, fires etc.

If you have overdone the cleaning of the curtains without referring to the inventory I would refuse to pay for other extras.

If OTOH the inventory says professionally cleaned for curtains and wood burner then I would pay up if the inventory wasn't disputed (the tenant agreed with it at the start).

chappers

The problem with items of safety is that the outgoing tenant has no responsibility to the incoming one, whereas the LL does, so he/she is the obvious person to take responsibility, they would be the one sued by the new tenant not the outgoing tenant.
In court the LL wouldn't be able to use the excuse that the previous tenant had told them that they had done something or other. The judge would just turn round and say that it is your responsibility as a LL to make sure the place is safe.

G_M

rose28454 wrote: »

Just wondered as Gas cert was not his responsibility
LLs have a specificlegal obligation to have annual gas safety reports done
but wood burner was ( he obviously used both )
There is no corresponding legal obligationfor wood burners
Interestingly when I looked online today it said he should have had smoke alarms and a co2 monitor. Neither of these were there!
Only if the tenancy started after 1/10/15
.

What date did the tenancy start?