I recently got new tenants & there is no break clause in the one year contract. The tenants have complained that the noise from the water tank pipes is unbearable for them however no other previous tenants have complained. I sent them an email advising them that I am not willing to undertake works of moving pipes & that as they have hot water, heating etc this is the way it is. I have advised them that as I have decided to sell in January that if they want, they can leave with no penalities & we break the lease mutually. Does anyone have any thoughts on this as I’m worried that I have done the wrong thing?
If it works for both parties nothing wrong with breaking lease via mutual surrender.
Regarding pipe noise i assume it is noisy when it is heating up while they are trying to sleep? A simple fix is to heat the water in evening and then have it come on after they would normally wake up. A decent tank keeps it hot for 2 days so should still be hot the following morning.
Thanks Richard. The noise apparently starts when the heating is on (I may have got it wrong that it’s the water tank) . I had advised the rental agent that I wanted to sell in Spring however he forgot to put in a break clause. I’m sure these tenants want long term so better that they know. The agent suggested that they may seek legal advise however obviously the hot water & heating works, it’s just a noise which other tenants have lived with so i doubt if it’s going to cause an issue. I just wanted to see other landlords thoughts on it.
Personally, I’d ask them to demonstrate the noise to me so I knew what the issue is. They could leave the heating off, invite you round, turn it on & voila!
Re the early termination, of course, by mutual agreement they can leave early.
unfortunately I’m not in the UK currently & the only video that they made was inside the cupboard, right next to where to pipes vibrate so I’ve asked them to make another video from outside the cupboard as the door is kept closed.
no agent to go round for you?
So if the pipes vibrate, you have your solution. Its noisy….and potentially easy to fix with some pipe fixings. Sounds like you should get fixed even if you are wanting to them to leave in January.
When there is an accumulation of lime in the heating system this can happen
We had it at home
Use sentinel 800 in the system and it will solve it if it’s because of debris
Also make sure boiler ( if old ) the filter is hoovered yearly
This mutual surrender has to be witnessed?
If you’re planning to sell in January then I think youve done the right thing, but be prepared for the actual date of surrender to vary quite widely as finding somewhere else isn’t easy.
thanks David. I offered to give them a 10% discount for this month even though the plumber advised me that someone in the property had damaged a timer & a thermostat which were working previously. They want 15% however I have told them that it is unacceptable. I have also advised them that I am not fixing the pipes. Funnily enough they still have not sent a video of the noise when the cupboard is closed only when it’s open with a phone right next to the pipes which I’ve explained does not give me anything to go by. It will be interesting to see what they reply with.
Hi
Sometimes pipes make a noise because there is air trapped in the system. You can ask them if they have bled the radiators and repressurused and if not to try it.
Noise when the heating is on doesn’t make the place uninhabitable it sounds like a scam tbh. Some rubber fittings to reduce the vibrations might help (just like the rubber things people put under washing machine feet when there’s a lot of vibration noise).
If you have landlord insurance or homeserve it may cover boiler repairs and you could use that to get a boiler engineer/plumber to come and take a look or get your plumber to take a look
If plumber is confident it’s not wear n tear, I’d get plumber to put in writing that thermostat and timer have been damaged by users, get quote for repairs and tell tenants this will be taken from deposit (after they have left/tenancy had ended). After all if these were being used properly then they’d be able to set so didn’t come on at times which disturbed them. Seems more than just a coincidence
Property sales time from offer to completion is 12-16 weeks on average. But if they decide to stick around for the full 12 months you can either sell with them in situ or otherwise could hold up the sale. If you have documented a specific request to agents for a break clause you might have some recourse but telling them you planned to sell in Jan isn’t the same- you might have been thinking of selling with tenants in situ. Agents aren’t mind readers.
Good luck