What can the landlord do?

[doxy]

I rented out my place through an agency and they signed a 1 year AST with tenant. The agreement ends in June and so in March I indicated to the tenant that I no longer wish to rent the place and they should leave at the the end of term

This is not what they wanted to hear and apparently they are upset. Then my agent calls to say that the toilet has been developed repairs - cost 200GBP. Then the boiler spings a leak - cost 1,500GBP. Now the cord in the bath room has broken - cost 75GBP. This has all developed in the course of three weeks after I informed of them of my decision.

I suspect foul play and want to play hard ball. What options do I have?
Thanks

[MrWoof]

You may suspect foul play but you can't prove it. Either get a reliable plumber/heating engineer in to assess the problems and give you a report or get the agent to do the same then delay any repairs until they are out of the property. You say you have indicated the tenancy will not be renewed, have you or the agent served them with notice? Even if the agreement finishes in June, they still need 2 months written notice, if you haven't done this, do it now.

[Jennifer_M]

For the boiler to leak it must either have broke by itself or the tenant must have done something to it and an engineer should be able to determine what happened.

I mean, for it to cost £1500 it must be quite major and intentional damage should be visible (say if no part looks old and used etc.)

[zoe]

£75 for a cord !!!???!???

[davidjohnbutton]

Yes, it can cost £75 for a cord to be replaced in a bathroom - callout charge for electrician plus VAT is likely about £50 and the switch, if it has to be replaced, about £10 to £12

This is what a lot of people do not understand - many simple repairs, when executed by the relevant professional, i.e. electrician, plumber etc. can easily wipe out a week's rent or more!

[Paul_f]

Doxy. Answer these questions and I might have a completely different angle on this:-


Do you have written terms of business with the agent?
Does it give your specific i.e. express - authority to sign tenancy agreements on your behalf?
Is there a limit on the amount that the agent can spend on behalf of the landlord, because there should be, otherwise they MUST refer everything to you beforehand before spending any of your money? (Agents TOB are so often remiss on this point)
In any contract terms must be "fair & reasonable" and the agent would have no authority to spend £1,500 to repair a boiler without asking you first. Your local trading standards office would take an extremely dim view if this were the case (I can back it up with some findings from Southend-on-Sea TSO who took Countrywide Letting Agents to task about three years ago on this very point!).


Let me know as many details as you can - you can send me a private message if you would prefer.