Tenant's electrical problems

Pagala

I'm a bit stuck with my BTL.

In short, the electrical boiler at the property has stopped working. This happened a few days ago, and after a lot of difficulty, I was able to find an engineer who came around to look at it. The engineer said the breaker switch was off. Paid the engineer, and the problem was apparently solved. In the course of looking for engineers, I was told I needed an appliance engineer rather than an electrician generalist. Anyway, as of right now, apparently the boiler doesn't work again, yet the breaker switch is on.

Obviously, this is costing me money, electricians charge a lot, I might need an appliance engineer or just a new boiler. In any case, I don't have a technical background and I have no idea. The tenant expects me to sort out this problem, but I had to make a lot of phone calls to find one engineer the last time, and these visits aren't cheap, and if I call them out again it could be the wrong sort of engineer who simply informs me I need a different sort of specialist, and then charge me a fee.

I had a look at my landlord insurance policy and it covers nearly nothing (exempts "wear and tear" - and the problem can probably be blamed on the boiler not being new enough).

It's all getting costly, and I don't feel that the tenant is pulling their weight or is motivated enough to investigate the problem or to even help find an engineer themselves. I have Googled the make and model number of the boiler (not that it means much to me) but I'm absolutely sure the tenant hasn't. They don't seem motivated - they seem to see me as a problem solver and I'm not that. Much as I would like to solve the problem, these sorts of technical issues are beyond me, and I can only take reasonable steps to call out an engineer.

I'd like to put the ball back in the tenant's court on this one, as it cost me money last time to simply find out the breaker switch was off. But I'm not sure how to do this.

Any thoughts appreciated.

kingstreet

Your property. Your responsibility.

greatcrested

Good grief! What sort of a landlord are you?

This is NOT the tenant's responsibility - it is yours! 100%

I sympathise with your dilemma as to who to get to fix it, but that is NOT the tenant's problem it is yours.

And yes, if it costs you money to run your business and you resent that, then, well, sell the business and buy a diferent type of business.

Maybe run a garage?

Rant over: tell us the make and model of the boiler in question and maybe someone can advise you.

ps - the title of this thread should be "Landlord's electrical problems"

moneysavinghero

They view you as their landlord. It's your boiler, don't expect them to fix it for you.

If the tenant complained about having to pay the rent and said they thought you were not pulling your weight by helping them to get a pay rise would you be ok with that?

Breaker switch was probably off because it was doing its job and cutting off when there was a problem.

HampshireH

Pagala said:

I'm a bit stuck with my BTL.

In short, the electrical boiler at the property has stopped working. This happened a few days ago, and after a lot of difficulty, I was able to find an engineer who came around to look at it. The engineer said the breaker switch was off. Paid the engineer, and the problem was apparently solved. In the course of looking for engineers, I was told I needed an appliance engineer rather than an electrician generalist. Anyway, as of right now, apparently the boiler doesn't work again, yet the breaker switch is on.

Obviously, this is costing me money, electricians charge a lot, I might need an appliance engineer or just a new boiler. In any case, I don't have a technical background and I have no idea. The tenant expects me to sort out this problem, but I had to make a lot of phone calls to find one engineer the last time, and these visits aren't cheap, and if I call them out again it could be the wrong sort of engineer who simply informs me I need a different sort of specialist, and then charge me a fee.

I had a look at my landlord insurance policy and it covers nearly nothing (exempts "wear and tear" - and the problem can probably be blamed on the boiler not being new enough).

It's all getting costly, and I don't feel that the tenant is pulling their weight or is motivated enough to investigate the problem or to even help find an engineer themselves. I have Googled the make and model number of the boiler (not that it means much to me) but I'm absolutely sure the tenant hasn't. They don't seem motivated - they seem to see me as a problem solver and I'm not that. Much as I would like to solve the problem, these sorts of technical issues are beyond me, and I can only take reasonable steps to call out an engineer.

I'd like to put the ball back in the tenant's court on this one, as it cost me money last time to simply find out the breaker switch was off. But I'm not sure how to do this.

Any thoughts appreciated.

Not their job or responsibility.

You are the owner. You are the landlord. You could have gone and checked the switch yourself.

Arrange a visit and then recall your specialist who turned up the other day and advise them they haven't fixed the problem. Get a quote for a proper fix.

Your tenants are under no obligation to do the donkey work for you.

Edit: unless their contract states responsible for repairs which I presume doesn't else you wouldn't have arranged the first electrician to attend

Pagala

I have already sent an engineer out once.

Don't know how to fix it, or the right engineer to send out. If you do, let me know.

Don't think the tenant has even bothered to Google it themselves.

Not looking like a good business, I agree with you on that. But I'm stuck with it for now.

moneysavinghero

If you really don't want to have to deal with this kind of thing then pay extra to get a letting agency to manage it all for you.

greatcrested

Pagala said:

I have already sent an engineer out once.

Don't know how to fix it, or the right engineer to send out. If you do, let me know.

Don't think the tenant has even bothered to Google it themselves.

Not looking like a good business, I agree with you on that. But I'm stuck with it for now.

There's no reason why they should.

The tenant has an obligation to report problems to their landlord in a timely manner.

The landlord has an obligation to fix problems (well, certain types as defined either by law or contract) i a timely manner.

We frequently see on this forum tenants complaining about landlords who just want the rent and don't care about their tenants.

Now I understand why LLs have a bad reputaion....

(I'm a landlord)

[Deleted User]

Pagala said:

I have already sent an engineer out once.

Don't know how to fix it, or the right engineer to send out. If you do, let me know.

Don't think the tenant has even bothered to Google it themselves.

Not looking like a good business, I agree with you on that. But I'm stuck with it for now.

 They have no need to google it. They pay you rent and you are responsible for any googling and repairs. 

ElizabethRose

Surely the tenant informing you rather than messing with the electrics and causing a bigger issue is the right thing. If it's an issue with the boiler tripping the electrics it's probably a boiler engineer you need as there's a possible fault with the boiler. For the avoidance of doubt your responsibility as the landlord. 

AdrianC

"The breaker was off".

Are we talking an MCB or RCD or just a switch?

If it was just a switch, then the only way it would be off is if somebody turned it off. Their problem.

If it was an MCB or RCD, then it's far more likely that a problem with the boiler tripped it. The sparky reset it. The boiler worked. Now it's sulked again, but this time hasn't tripped the breaker. Your boiler still has the same problem. Simply turning it on again has cleared the symptom,. but not fixed the fault.

Electric boilers - if that's really what you mean - are a fairly specialist thing.
No, your average electrician will almost certainly not know about them.
No, your average CH engineer or plumber might not know about them either.
I presume it didn't come as a surprise to you that this was what was installed in your property?

And, yes, this is your problem...