rental repairs beyond fair wear and tear....how to procede ???

[Deleted User]

9oaks said:

their contarct states
'you will pay the cost of replacing or making good any losses or damamge occuring during the tenancy other than caused by fair wear and tear'
the propery is the same age as our own and our radiators are the same as the day they were put in. my arguement is the way they have mistreated them has resulted in the state they are in.
they have also admitted to breaking the shower but did not notify us of this until inspecstion, the loose tile is as a result of the shower being broken by them......not  just  normal fair wear and tear.

'you will ensure the property is kept in a clean and tidy condition.'
its not clean, i dont expect to be going round to clean a shower and windows that they should be maintaining. if we dont clean them, then it could lead to bigger problems.

'you will be responsible for the expense of having the property cleaned after vacatingif in the reasonableopinion of the landlord it is not left in a satisfactory condition' this is a bridge to cross later.
i would just like to clarify what is reasonalble for us to pay for and the tenant to pay, as i believe they are in breach of their contract.

You can argue the toss all you like with a bunch of strangers on the internet but ultimately it will come down to the deposit arbitration service and the sheriff court if you want to claim more than the value of the deposit.

You say the tenants are still in the property are they moving out any time soon?  Have either them or you served notice to the other party? 

Splatfoot

Lover_of_Lycra said:

Splatfoot said:

Lover_of_Lycra said:

Splatfoot said:

Who doesn't dry their clothes on radiators?🙃 Outside is not always practical. I can't see how drying clothes on decent radiators would ruin them in a few years?

I don’t. When I have to dry clothes indoors I put them on a clothes horse, not over the radiator. Allowing air to circulate around the wet/damp clothing helps them to dry. All drying your clothes over a radiator achieves is an increased gas bill and encourages mould. 

Not ruined radiators though...? I don't now because I have a tumble drier but have done loads of times in the past! 

I wouldn't know because I've never been daft enough to do it in the first place.

I think you're a bit ott.... 

Norman_Castle

Splatfoot said:

Who doesn't dry their clothes on radiators?🙃 Outside is not always practical. I can't see how drying clothes on decent radiators would ruin them in a few years?

I don't. It stops the heat radiating from the radiators and stops convection. Hanging clothes above the radiator is far better.

Despite never drying clothes on my radiators three of them have flaked paint and surface rust on the top edge. They need painting, not replacing.

 

9oaks

Despite never drying clothes on my radiators three of them have flaked paint and surface rust on the top edge. They need painting, not replacing.

im hoping we can do this, but they are all crazed and the current paint has flaked off back to the metal, which is rusted. this is only along the top front facing not the whole way down.

9oaks

thank you everyone for your comments, thoughts and opinions.
we consider ourselves good landlords and only want to be fair to the tenants and ourselves, and stay withing the guidance.
our rent is much lower than should be for the property, but unfortunately this will now need to go up inline to what it should be.
as i say this is our only rental and our first tenants, so we have no previous experience to draw on.
its good to get others views on a situation before taking any action.

theoretica

Once this is sorted you may want to be a bit more proactive in spotting paint deterioration as soon as it starts and renewing it as it is the barrier layer to protect radiators or window sills etc from greater damage. 

Perhaps replace the washer with a washer drier?

greensalad

9oaks said:

thank you everyone for your comments, thoughts and opinions.
we consider ourselves good landlords and only want to be fair to the tenants and ourselves, and stay withing the guidance.
our rent is much lower than should be for the property, but unfortunately this will now need to go up inline to what it should be.
as i say this is our only rental and our first tenants, so we have no previous experience to draw on.
its good to get others views on a situation before taking any action.

If some radiators in need of a new coat of paint is worth losing tenants who have paid rent on time and caused little other trouble for the past 5 years then... go on, up the rent, and hope you don't end up with worse. 

The washer/dryer provided does sound like a good idea going forward to mitigate any further issues once you replace the radiators?

I never hang washing on mine, yet they are still flaking. 4th year in this house and it was refreshed the year before we moved in so about the same time line.

Angela_D_3

9oaks said:

thank you everyone for your comments, thoughts and opinions.
we consider ourselves good landlords and only want to be fair to the tenants and ourselves, and stay withing the guidance.
our rent is much lower than should be for the property, but unfortunately this will now need to go up inline to what it should be.
as i say this is our only rental and our first tenants, so we have no previous experience to draw on.
its good to get others views on a situation before taking any action.

Honestly never do this.  You get no thanks for it 

rik111

I presume you will be replacing the carpets very soon and keeping with all other maintenance issues. If I was you tenant and you came whining about paint flaking off the radiators and not to dry my clothes on them after paying you 5 years worth of rent. I would be rather unhelpful in future and any small maintenance issue I would be straight onto your case. It works both ways.... 

[Deleted User]

9oaks said:

thank you everyone for your comments, thoughts and opinions.
we consider ourselves good landlords and only want to be fair to the tenants and ourselves, and stay withing the guidance.
our rent is much lower than should be for the property, but unfortunately this will now need to go up inline to what it should be.
as i say this is our only rental and our first tenants, so we have no previous experience to draw on.
its good to get others views on a situation before taking any action.

As I suspected, the tenancy isn’t even coming to an end yet so you’re being premature with talk of what you can charge/claim from the tenant. You’ve got the place cleaned up so remind them not to dry clothes of the radiators and to open a window every now and then. Then do another inspection in 3 months. Also remind the tenants that they have a responsibility to report repairs in a timely manner. 

Charging a much lower rent doesn’t make you a good landlord. Letting property is a business and you need to start treating it like one. Do you know how and when you can increase rent during a Short Assured Tenancy? Are you positive it is a Short Assured Tenancy you set up i.e. did you give the tenants an AT5 form before the tenancy started?