New Landord Question

RHemmings

As someone who has rented a number of properties, I will say that leaving instructions on how things work is extremely useful. There are often things that are completely 'obvious' when pointed out, but aren't if you don't know where to look. I don't include not switching on the oven if the switch was clearly visible.

E.g. I didn't recognise the water meter when I moved into a new (not rented) house yesterday. Upon being told by the water company that the meter is in 'kitchen cupboard', I eventually used a phone to see behind something that looked like a pump, and numbers were revealed. The boiler was basically labelled only with cryptic icons and initially seemed not to work. Until I worked out that a separate object that looked like a clock was a remote controller/thermostat. Obvious for the previous owners, but I thought that by thermostat they meant the control on the front of the boiler, and I was a bit surprised that was all there was. For the previous owners, I would think it was 'obvious' what was the thermostat because they were used to it. 

There can be a lot to deal with when moving into a house. Minimising potential confusion, even minor, is a good idea.

AlexMac

You're lucky you don't have an old programmable (but unfathomable) central heating timer.

An electrician who I called in to replace the thermostat and timer in our tenant (our grand-daughter)'s flat joked that half the call -outs he gets to Agent-Managed rentals are caused not by faulty kit but by tenants who can't cope with the controls!