My tenant has requested an engineer to fix two radiators at night without my permission. They requested me to cover them full cost for this repair but such cost was incurred out of my control. They reported a radiator issue to me in less than 24 hours, neglected my effort to find them an engineer, and eventually found themselves an engineer who offers a service at a premium price.
They said it was an emergency because they feel cold at night. Generally speaking, 10.5 togs duvet or 13.5 togs duvet should be more than sufficient for a night in September in a normal property and their case could not cause any threat to life or serious damage to property. Therefore, it should not be classified as an emergency situation.
I suggested both of us are liable for half of the cost as this cost was incurred out of my control and in a non-emergency situation. However, they insist I must cover them the full cost. In this case, can I legally cover them half of this premium cost or refuse to cover this overpriced charge at all? Thank you.
Hi David122, thanks for your reply. Would you be able to tell me more about this please? Such as what argument can be used to support me and which part of this incident makes the tenant responsible for the cost. Thank you.
The engineer said something happened creating a vaccum inside the radiator. They also changed a air vent because the tenant has broken it. The tenant denied, and demanded me coving full cost, including the cost for the air vent. They said if I don’t cover them, I violate the Landlord and Tenant Act 1985.
the radiators needed bleading . Not a long job. Overtightening the bleed screw is common . I teach my tenants how to do this simple job. They sound incapable. But should have your permision first if they expect you to pay the bill
The contract was between the tenant and the engineer and not with you. The tenant deliberately bypassed the procedure that you had begun and that was presumably laid out in your tenancy agreement and that they were contractually obliged to follow. You would normally have been obliged under the Act they quote to repair the radiator, but they took over that responsibility and you are not obliged to pay the inflated fee they incurred.
Agree, you are not obligated to pay this and would suggest you write to the tenant reiterating that they refrain from doing this in the future as they are the ones who have violated your agreement, not you.
Along with the broken air vent maybe you need to consider if you still want them as tenants and get rid of them while there is still a section 21 that can be used.
For the sake of relations I would state what David said and offer 50%, no more. (Or the regular cost to repair). Bleeding rads is an easy thing and takes minutes.
Assuming bleeding rads and replace air vent I would expect to pay around £60 regular callout, an emergency premium of around £60, plus around £6 component.
Where does this end? What if they block the loo in the middle of the night? Another emergency plumber callout? They sound like a problem.
If you pay this you are in a slippery slope
They are not engineers btw any diy man or plumber or yourself can bleed a radiator and top up the system pressure, it’s easy and that is not an emergency. A big leak is an emergency.
What they did there was use a vaccum sacking out air inside to make it work again. Not sure if that was a show though. The service charge was £120 + £10 for the air vent and had to be paid in cash.
They keep annoying me 24/7 and I gave up, covering them all cost. This useful advice came too late but I need to do something to prevent this kind of blackmail from happening again.
I do not . I am a builder and we renovated 100 s of properties so I know a bit about the maintaining of places. What I learnt ,of other trades( I am a joiner), I learnt by watching others and by my own trial and error
I’ve paid them as they keep annoying me 24/7.