Boiler problems

[vegasgo]

Hi, our T went on holiday over Xmas and came back to frozen pipes and boiler not working. The cost of repair was £360, which they were liable for as it is in the contract regarding keeping pipes warm during the winter when you're away. When the next payment for rent was due, they deducted the £360 cost from it - very cheeky. Fortunately I was able to claim the money back via our insurance, now however there has been another problem costing £85 to fix - the pressure kept dropping on the boiler and they over-filled it to cause a value to break. Again, they are refusing to pay for this and on this occasion I am not covered. They let this problem escalate without telling us. Where do we stand? Thanks.

[westminster]

Hi, our T went on holiday over Xmas and came back to frozen pipes and boiler not working. The cost of repair was £360, which they were liable for as it is in the contract regarding keeping pipes warm during the winter when you're away. When the next payment for rent was due, they deducted the £360 cost from it - very cheeky. Fortunately I was able to claim the money back via our insurance, now however there has been another problem costing £85 to fix - the pressure kept dropping on the boiler and they over-filled it to cause a value to break. Again, they are refusing to pay for this and on this occasion I am not covered. They let this problem escalate without telling us. Where do we stand? Thanks.

You can claim the £85 as a deduction from the deposit, if you have evidence that the repair was necessary due to the T's negligence. (Is this an AST, in England/Wales, with a protected deposit?)

You could also consider serving a s.8 notice on T. Although, if you followed through with possession proceedings, this may not succeed because it would not be on a mandatory ground unless two months' rent is owing, the notice itself might remind the T of their liability to pay the rent. Up to you to weigh the facts and decide what you want to do...

See this link for further info, and search the forum for information on eviction, s.8 & s.21 notices.

[matthew_henson]

Hi, our T went on holiday over Xmas and came back to frozen pipes and boiler not working. The cost of repair was £360, which they were liable for as it is in the contract regarding keeping pipes warm during the winter when you're away. When the next payment for rent was due, they deducted the £360 cost from it - very cheeky. Fortunately I was able to claim the money back via our insurance, now however there has been another problem costing £85 to fix - the pressure kept dropping on the boiler and they over-filled it to cause a value to break. Again, they are refusing to pay for this and on this occasion I am not covered. They let this problem escalate without telling us. Where do we stand? Thanks.

Why did they deduct £360 from the rent? did they pay for it? deduct your insurance excess from their deposit when they leave

If the pressure keeps dropping there is a leak and you need to get this fixed (you obliged to under section 11 of the 1985 LTA) however if you can prove it is linked to the first incident you can charge them. one of the earliest definitons of "tenant like manner" required the tenant to prevent the heating system from freezing so you could seek to recoup the losses from their deposit when the leave.

[vegasgo]

Thanks for the replies.

We did not take a deposit so I guess we'll have to take it on the chin. We had no excess to pay on the £360 so whilst we haven't lost out (T paid initially then deducted off their rent), we should have been notified of the growing problem that materialised.

T moving out next month so will get to the bottom of the 'leak' then.

Did a house inspection today. Celings yellow through smoking. Again, partially our fault as this was not made clear in the contract (we're first timers). Painting, cleaning carpets and curtains was probably due anyway.

The garden was a craphole. Overgrown, full of rubbish and dog pooh. Firmly requested this be brought back to its former glory. IF it isn't, and without a deposit to deduct from, would it be worth pursuing them for money? A day's work and £200 on new turf would be sufficient, I just despise such people who deem it fit to think such a mess is acceptable - and they knew we had prospective new Ts viewing same day.

Good news to end. After the inspection, the viewers, despite the house looking nowhere near as good as the pics on Rightmove taken prior to leasing, agreed to rent it on a 2 year deal plus £100 extra than the current rent. Happy days.

Will keep on eye on this forum, glad to find it.

[mind the gap]

With your next tenants, please take a deposit (and protect it), then conduct a detailed check-in inventory, preferably with lots of photographs, and preferably signed by the Ts, as evidence of the state of the house and the garden when they move in. It saves a lot of grief on both sides at the end of the tenancy.