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Boiler Not Repairable In Rented Property
Comments
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It sounds like a can of worms.
Sister loans money / pays for boiler and puts a charge on the house, or takes one of the other options (rent in advance, discounted rent etc). You would expect a very good tenancy agreement in place to protect her.
Suppose the landlord dies in the next few years. Whoever inherits the property also inherits the responsibilities.
There's a charge on the property and the aging tenant can't easily be removed. Not an easy sale but what are the alternatives? It could get very messy.
What maintenance will the property need in the future, who will pay and who will be the responsible person?
The landlord doesn't sound willing/capable and this is unlikely to improve in the future.
It also sounds as if there are other 'issues' in the background?
Perhaps it's time for sister to find somewhere more secure for her later years?
It might be better to make the move now, rather than wait for the situation to deteriorate in the future.0 -
EssexHebridean said:Hoenir said:Practically speaking if finance is an issue to rectify the matter. Making a move to other accommodation might be the best way forward. As the LL s going to have other property costs to bear in the future. Selling up may well their only option.0
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horsewithnoname said:EssexHebridean said:Hoenir said:Practically speaking if finance is an issue to rectify the matter. Making a move to other accommodation might be the best way forward. As the LL s going to have other property costs to bear in the future. Selling up may well their only option.🎉 MORTGAGE FREE (First time!) 30/09/2016 🎉 And now we go again…New mortgage taken 01/09/23 🏡
Balance as at 01/09/23 = £115,000.00 Balance as at 31/12/23 = £112,000.00
Balance as at 31/08/24 = £105,400.00 Balance as at 31/12/24 = £102,500.00SOA CALCULATOR (for DFW newbies): SOA Calculatorshe/her1 -
horsewithnoname said:EssexHebridean said:Hoenir said:Practically speaking if finance is an issue to rectify the matter. Making a move to other accommodation might be the best way forward. As the LL s going to have other property costs to bear in the future. Selling up may well their only option.
Unless LL finds a pot of gold or wins the lottery, his ability to pay for anything that crops up isn’t going to improve so what’s the solution? He could try to sell with a sitting tenant and may or may not succeed, but the buyer could then issue proceedings because they want to live in the property they’ve bought / increase the rent etc.0 -
Good morning everyone, thank you all for sharing your views on this topic.I will ask my sister to look at this thread and consider options accordingly. To answer some key points -
I don’t know if the property is mortgaged but I expect that is unlikely given the landlords age (he is 90)
The rent paid seems market value for the area £800 per month2 -
It could still be mortgaged - you can get a BTL mortgage until you are 990
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i_like_cats said:Hoenir said:ThisIsWeird said:Yes, it does seem strange that the LL hasn't accrued enough to cover these sorts of costs. Does he charge her below the going rate for rent? Or is he over-enjoying his elderly lifestyle while he can?
However that £7000 quote sounds like absolute nonsense and should go straight in the rubbish bin.Maybe also consider a call to trading standards to report the probably criminal tradesman!
For comparison you can get a Vokera Easi-Heat Plus 29C boiler for £1750 - and yes that includes fitting. They’re advertised all over eBay.
Most fitters like to both supply and fit. But if it’s just like for like replacement of a combi boiler it can be done by one person in a day.
Get a range of quotes but no way will it be £7k that’s just a crook trying a scam!Even British Gas wouldn’t charge that much and they’re known for being expensive.There's nothing illegal about a tradesperson giving an inflated quote for work. Calling trading standards would be a waste of everyone's time.None of us know exactly what work is required for the boiler replacement (e.g. it may include conversion to a fully-pumped system, or the oil tank and supply pipework could need replacing), so it is impossible for any of us to work out whether £7000 is a reasonable cost or not.It is improbable a 20 year old oil boiler is a combi, more so as the OP mentions the option of hot water being heated by an immersion heater.Given you've quoted for a replacement gas boiler, rather than an oil-fired one, I'd gently suggest the OP doesn't attach too much weight to your suggestions.2 -
MrsWenger said:Good morning everyone, thank you all for sharing your views on this topic.I will ask my sister to look at this thread and consider options accordingly. To answer some key points -
I don’t know if the property is mortgaged but I expect that is unlikely given the landlords age (he is 90)
The rent paid seems market value for the area £800 per monthI'd suggest the starting point for your sister would be deciding whether she wants to continue living in this property medium to long term.Given the landlord's age it sounds like there will be bigger problems coming than whether or not he can afford to replace the boiler.I suspect that if your sister were to 'go legal' in any sense then the landlord's health and ability to continue being a landlord will rapidly decline, leading to a situation where the length of time she can continue living in the property will be significantly less than perhaps hoped for.Reading between the lines it sounds like there has perhaps been some level of mutual understanding between the landlord and your sister/husband. If that understanding is coming to an end then the time to move may be now. Or more to the point, if your sister perhaps feels the property is no longer suitable for her needs (or might become so) then it might be better to move now, rather than leaving it to a point in time where such a move is harder to do.I'm not sticking up for the landlord, but sometimes on this forum there can be an 'evil landlords' vibe. If the landlord is losing capacity to be a landlord then they need to get out of the business.... but your sister needs to think carefully whether hastening that process would be in her own best interests, especially if her own abilty to manage things (now she's sadly on her own) is not what it was.7 -
FlorayG said:It could still be mortgaged - you can get a BTL mortgage until you are 99It’s more likely the LL bought it for thruppence ha’penny, pre-decimalisation!
Some people are just terminally cheap and refuse to spend money maintaining their assets however many decades of income they’ve provided.1 -
i_like_cats said:FlorayG said:It could still be mortgaged - you can get a BTL mortgage until you are 99It’s more likely the LL bought it for thruppence ha’penny, pre-decimalisation!
Some people are just terminally cheap and refuse to spend money maintaining their assets however many decades of income they’ve provided.
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