"you must report any queries within 5 days" - legit?

Mr.Boy

A building work did some work for us on a rental property and after they finished I queried a couple of details with them (not complaining per se just wanting clarity). They responded with a fairly terse response which ended:

Our invoice stipulates that any queries are to be brought to our attention within 5 days and we have already paid the roofer and scaffolder from our end.

It made me curious whether this is contradicting consumer rights? Clearly(?), the fact he's paid his roofer is not relevant to the consumer as that's his affair but does this type of work have any applicable consumer rights in terms of timing?

dj1471

It's not entirely clear from your post whether they worked on a property that you own and rent out, or on a property that you're renting.

If the former you're a business, which makes this a B2B contract so you don't have any consumer rights, your rights are per your contract with the company.

Mr.Boy

I am the owner but I am not a business. I engaged a builder to work on my property as a private individual just like if it was my own residence.

I am unsure (need to check) if anything we signed up front mentioned this 5 days thing either, or it was just something they tagged on the invoice. But even if it did, does that matter or is there something in law. Let's say for example a builder did work on my house while I was on holiday, sent the invoice but only did half the work and then claimed I had to respond within 5 days if I had any queries.

Fosterdog

d000hg wrote: »

I am the owner but I am not a business. I engaged a builder to work on my property as a private individual just like if it was my own residence.

I am unsure (need to check) if anything we signed up front mentioned this 5 days thing either, or it was just something they tagged on the invoice. But even if it did, does that matter or is there something in law. Let's say for example a builder did work on my house while I was on holiday, sent the invoice but only did half the work and then claimed I had to respond within 5 days if I had any queries.

You are indeed a business, being a landlord is legally classed as a business so you have no consumer rights here. It will all come down to contracts on this and with business contracts and the terms you agreed to when employing them.

Mr.Boy

a)I don't think that's true - can you back that up? It sounds odd because nothing in our correspondence makes reference to me being a landlord.

b)At the time the work was done I was not a landlord of the property, yet.

c)regardless of all that my question was not can I as a landlord take the guy to court. It was is there anything in law that makes such a clause invalid, in the normal case you get a builder to work on your house. It was asked out of curiosity because this is his standard invoice template, not one geared towards landlords.

neilmcl

d000hg wrote: »

a)I don't think that's true - can you back that up? It sounds odd because nothing in our correspondence makes reference to me being a landlord.

Hang on, you've just stated that you're the owner of a rental property, that makes you the landlord, surely.

zoob

It’s simple really, if it’s your place of residence or an other home that only your family use solely for no financial gain then it would be a consumer rights issue.
Technically anything else would be B2B

Mr.Boy

I didn't deny being the landlord I am dubious that legally that means I am a business. A B2B contract is between two legal entities. Landlords are not taxed as a business on profits or able to write off losses against profit like a business (though holiday-home owners ARE treated as a faux-business through the different rules on FHLs).
It's also not true to say B2B contracts are unregulated. They are less regulated i.e. offer less protection but they are not above the law.

Anyway fun as this is, can anyone answer the question? If it was work done on MY house, can the tradesman put arbitrary rules on his invoice? Are their consumer rights in this area or not, and if so what are they?

KeithP

In a contract between a trader and a consumer, the trader's Terms and Conditions cannot overrule the consumer's statutory rights.

waamo

Do you earn money being a landlord? Is it a hobby or a registered charity?

DoaM

Are you aware that you need to declare your rental earnings to HMRC?

Are you aware of your obligations and responsibilities as a landlord? (There are certain things you need to legally provide to your tenants, at the start of the tenancy and annually).

You might want to take a look at The House Buying, Renting & Selling Board, specifically the Tenancies in Eng/Wales: Guides for landlords and tenants sticky.

And to echo the others ... Yes, you are a business - whether you have sitting tenants or are just starting out, you're still acting in the course of a business.