My tenants moved in 6 days ago
They can’t open loft hatch, broken key in padlock on back gate. Both issues they want me to sort
Also now said access door on bath panel won’t close properly
Are all this issues my responsibility?
Just a bit concerned that I could be getting constant messages
Have you been to see what is required to fix. You will be better able to assess if they have damaged or if these are reasonable snags for you to resolve.
For the padlock, I’d angle grind it off & let them fit their own.
Did you do an inventory ?
They sound clumsy
This many issues in six days
Did you do a full turnover between tenancies and sort out issues ?
Why do they need access to loft hatch ( are they growing cannabis ?)
I tell mine to stay out . It’s off limits .
If they broke the key it’s the tenants problem to sort out
Broken access panel they pay for it .
Why are they fidgiting with stuff?
Put your boundaries down now before it’s too late
If they break it they fix it or they pay you to fix it
I’m visiting today
I did a full inventory
None of these issues were picked up
And I’m certainly not gonna be repairing things like this moving forward.
I would not repair them now otherwise you set a precedent of behaviour
Get them to fix it or tell them they have to pay for it don’t wait till deposit because there will not be enough money left
Two schools of thought…
are you sure you didn’t miss these items when you did changeover? For our property, I wouldn’t routinely check things like the access panel on the bath or the loft hatch opening. It could just be little snags that could have been missed and need a quick resolution (I certainly think it’s unfair to call the tenants clumsy at this stage).
If you know you checked these items before the tenants moved in, and that the tenants definitely broke the items, I’d agree with @A_A and don’t be too quick to replace things. I made that mistake with our current tenants…wanted to come across as a good/trustworthy landlord to our new tenants and wanted to start their tenancy off on good terms…the fact I fixed things immediately just ended up biting me in the behind and I’ve ended up spending around £6k on repairs to the property in the past 18 months and both the tenants and myself have got to the point where we’d had enough of each other.
Just as a side comment following @A_A’s post - can I ask why your lofts are off limits? If I’m renting a house, I expect to have access to the entire house, loft included. Similarly, I give our tenants full access to the loft (though they have to supply their own ladders).
We viewed a house once (years ago) and the landlord (who were living in the house at the time and wanted to move elsewhere) wanted to retain access to the integral garage. I didn’t like that because technically that meant they could come and go as they please and being an integral garage there was a door into the house. We decided against renting the house purely for that reason.
The loft is insulated between the joists and does not have a proper floor in situ. It also contains the PIV unit, all the electrical cables and TV booster etc etc
If the tenant uses that space and falls through the ceiling because they don’t know to walk on the joists or can’t see the joists who do you think will carry liability?
What happens if they damage cables, PIV or anything else up there? PIV units retail >£1K. Will it be there on departure? How do you know if the tenant has not tampered with it and invalidated the warranty ( they can go in and switch it off and then allege mould to make a false claim etc etc there is a clock on the PIV so it can be determined if it has been switched off by the tenant)
The PIV unit works on the basis of free air flow in the loft. If it’s full to the rafters of stuff how much free air will their be for the PIV to function. A tenant would not be mindful of those things.
If they make alterations and use it as a habitable space what fire safety measures have you got in place?
We had one loft that was converted but I don’t know if it was done to buidling regs as it was before purchase. We rent as a student HMO. The local authority banned it’s use as a habitable space due to non compliance with fire regulations.
I’ve also been asked directly from prospective tenants if they can use it to grow!
There are enough problem’s in the house to contend with. The loft is Pandora’s box…
When I rent a house I am clear about what is and is off limits. The property is described in the contract. Out houses may be used by the tenant or they may contain my belongings (eg building materials). They are informed before tenancy starts.
I only have one property with a garage. We stopped renting it to students because it was usually filled with rubbish which was costly to deal with at the end of tenancy. The roof is now in disrepair. The local authority advised that as long as the tenant does not have access I’m covered.