Rebate of rent

[tek-monkey]

I'd expect reduced rent if a fault of the landlord cost me money, but not otherwise. The one time such a thing has happened the landlord just gave me some cash anyway, to cover things til it got sorted.

 

[littleme]

@hop

10+years ago* I rented a house from the council, if there was a serious problem (no hot water/heating, hole in the roof, water leak etc etc) & you had children under 7 then the council had to come out the same day to look at the problem & fix it the same day where possible.

If it couldn't be fixed at the time, I believe they had 3 days in which to try & fix it.

If you didn't have children under 7 then you were given a time slot within 3 days - but they usually came out within 24hrs.

As a council tenant I never received a rent reduction or reimbursement & never expected to, just hoped that the work would be carried out quickly & efficiently.

I think that this rent rebate thing is a very new thing, tennents expect a lot more nowadays! This also brings to mind @Gadget 's problem with her boiler - she had no hot water or heating for weeks on end & ended up paying out lots of money on electric heaters (maybe this is a good example of where a rent reduction would of been apt) & extra electricity to run them.

All in all you sound like a conscientious landlord & I'm sure the tennants will be more than happy that you are carrying out the work...

*I believe things are very different now!

 

[Katniss]

I presume he was hoping that someone who rented a property in a similar condition would comment on this.

IF I rented I would expect the property to have a central heating system that worked and had all the relevant safety certificates and was generally in a good condition especially if I had young children etc.

In the past if one of our tenants was having repairs done to their property we would not charge them rent for a month.

 

[Gramaisc]

A happy tenant will usually be a good tenant.

A happy landlord will usually be a good landlord.

 

[hop]

Way I read it, Hop has just purchased a property which has sitting tenants. This property needs some work doing to it, which Hop is more than willing to do. In the meantime while they are having the work done, he is prepared to drop the rent to a lower rate or to not accept rent off them at all.
Am I correct in assuming this @hop ??
I wish my sons landlady was this nice. They've had problems with their combi for ages now, ended up with the kitchen being flooded the other day.

Yes you are correct. There are intermitted issues with a boiler and problems with mechanisms on UPVC windows which will not even close properly.
Despite the fact the windows aren't great and won't open fully to provide an egress point in the case of a fire the council have re-issued an the HMO licence.

When I visited one tenants room the window would not close and they had attempted to prevent the draught by filling the draught with toilet paper.
I wouldn't even let my dog sleep on a mattress which was so past its best.

 

[hop]

I presume he was hoping that someone who rented a property in a similar condition would comment on this.

IF I rented I would expect the property to have a central heating system that worked and had all the relevant safety certificates and was generally in a good condition especially if I had young children etc.

In the past if one of our tenants was having repairs done to their property we would not charge them rent for a month.

It does have all the certificates, like a said the councils just wants their money, they don't even visit the property.
The boiler has faults as well as the controls but it would get a gas safe certificate, since this like an MOT is a limited set of tests. Indeed I don't think it would even assess the possibly of a water storage tank continually expanding into a plastic tank in the loft which then melted and poured boiling water through a ceiling onto someone below.
When you are generally clued up about most laws and how things work you can see gaps in legislation. I wouldn't trust most certicates since a lot of laws a introduced retrospecitly after an accident has occured.

The main issues and faults with windows, dangerous lighting in wet zones, and faulty boiler controls. Yet I have all the paperwork....

 

[hop]

I presume he was hoping that someone who rented a property in a similar condition would comment on this.

IF I rented I would expect the property to have a central heating system that worked and had all the relevant safety certificates and was generally in a good condition especially if I had young children etc.

In the past if one of our tenants was having repairs done to their property we would not charge them rent for a month.

It does have all the certificates, like a said the councils just wants their money, they don't even visit the property.
The boiler has faults as well as the controls but it would gas a gas safe certificate, since this like an MOT is a limited set of tests. Indeed I don't think it would even assess the possibly of a water storage tank contunually expanding into a plastic tank in the loft which then melted and poured boiling water through a ceiling onto someone below.
When you are generally clued up about most laws and how things work you can see gaps in legislation. I wouldn't trust most certicates since a lot of laws a introduced retrospecitly after an accident has occured.

The main issues and faults with windows, dangerous lighting in wet zones, and faulty boiler controls. Yet I have all the paperwork....

 

[Katniss]

It does have all the certificates, like a said the councils just wants their money, they don't even visit the property.
The boiler has faults as well as the controls but it would gas a gas safe certificate, since this like an MOT is a limited set of tests. Indeed I don't think it would even assess the possibly of a water storage tank contunually expanding into a plastic tank in the loft which then melted and poured boiling water through a ceiling onto someone below.
When you are generally clued up about most laws and how things work you can see gaps in legislation. I wouldn't trust most certicates since a lot of laws a introduced retrospecitly after an accident has occured.

The main issues and faults with windows, dangerous lighting in wet zones, and faulty boiler controls. Yet I have all the paperwork....

The council we deal with are biggest pain in the a*** but we have no choice because some of our tenants are on benefits. We use the same workmen for all our repairs in our houses and they have been excellent and will come out within 24hrs if there is a problem with the electrics or the heating.

 

[hop]

I don't see the council as a pain, if anything they should be more active. The whole self certification by trade groups such as FENSA and the like results in unsuitable work being signed off since some tradesman has paid a few quid to what amount a trade lobbying group. If the buildings control officer and the conservation officer were more actively involved we have a much better built heritage. Instead we have heritage buildings which have been ruined with the use of inappropriate materials and which have had unsympathetic replacements which do not match the architectural style or local vernacular.
I will be ripping out the offending window and commissioning something more suitable since modern fittings have no place in a regency period stucco townhouse.

 

[Gadget]

Sorry, I've not been up to date with my forum reading.

I presume he was hoping that someone who rented a property in a similar condition would comment on this.

@hop


I think that this rent rebate thing is a very new thing, tennents expect a lot more nowadays! This also brings to mind @Gadget 's problem with her boiler - she had no hot water or heating for weeks on end & ended up paying out lots of money on electric heaters (maybe this is a good example of where a rent reduction would of been apt) & extra electricity to run them.

As littleme remembers I had this situation the Winter of 2014 My boiler broke down around the middle of October it was fixed Christmas Eve. I had to first purchase then run electric heaters and boil water for washing. I am on a prepay electric meter too so it was a lot of actual cash being used. It cost me around £100 plus a week and that was having the heaters turned down low so the house was chilly but not freezing.
I was refused any discount or rebate on my rent. It put me into a situation where I then struggled to pay my rent, fell behind and was threatened with eviction. We have managed to get our arears paid off now but it was rather soul destroying. It would have been wonderful not to have been put in that position.

So my view as someone who has been there, is, if the tenants have been greatly inconvenienced or had to live with a fair bit of disruption or discomfort or been put to some expense themselves to be able to live in that property due to an issue, then a discount or free period would be a nice gesture.

 

[Katniss]

Sorry, I've not been up to date with my forum reading.




As littleme remembers I had this situation the Winter of 2014 My boiler broke down around the middle of October it was fixed Christmas Eve. I had to first purchase then run electric heaters and boil water for washing. I am on a prepay electric meter too so it was a lot of actual cash being used. It cost me around £100 plus a week and that was having the heaters turned down low so the house was chilly but not freezing.
I was refused any discount or rebate on my rent. It put me into a situation where I then struggled to pay my rent, fell behind and was threatened with eviction. We have managed to get our arears paid off now but it was rather soul destroying. It would have been wonderful not to have been put in that position.

So my view as someone who has been there, is, if the tenants have been greatly inconvenienced or had to live with a fair bit of disruption or discomfort or been put to some expense themselves to be able to live in that property due to an issue, then a discount or free period would be a nice gesture.

We would never let any of our tenants go without adequate heating during the winter months and I am appalled that you had to go through that.

Sometimes we have had tenants leave owing us rent and we have tracked them down only to find out they were completely broke, so we have let them off because what is the point of taking someone to court who has no money or any means to pay us back.

 

[Trumpet]

Genuine question, how did you track them down and ascertain their financial status?

 

[Katniss]

Genuine question, how did you track them down and ascertain their financial status?

Our debt collectors did it for us.

 

[Trumpet]

Out of interest, who did you use?

 

[Katniss]

Out of interest, who did you use?

I can't remember now, our solicitors recommended them to us I think.

 

[Trumpet]

Did you get CCJ's in place prior to going to a collection agency?
Just wondering how it worked for you.

 

[Katniss]

This was a few years ago but I think we firstly used a private detective to track him down to the south coast and then we sent the debt collectors after him. He owed us over £800 but was unemployed and not worth pursuing through the courts so we just wrote it off.

 

[Trumpet]

Bet the PD was expensive. Again, out of interest on what basis were the debt collectors acting without a judgement in place?
Oops, edit. Thought you said the debt collectors tracked him down.

 

[Katniss]

Bet the PD was expensive. Again, out of interest on what basis were the debt collectors acting without a judgement in place?

Why all the questions? Does someone owe you money?

 

[Trumpet]

Just interested in someone's experience in this area.
Can't see what a debt collector can do without some form of warrant other than knock on the door. If your tenant tells them to p*ss off and shuts the door I assume they're stuffed.