UK Landlord Forum / Life

hi, and thanks in advance for any advice

we have some pretty good tenants, they pay ontime, don't cause much trouble, they have stayed for 6 years.  They have had complaints about damp mould caused by them drying laundry indoors with windows closed. I installed an active venting system.  They complained about the boiler being inefficient and keep going out, and I installed a new one, they have manged to burn out 2 showers and 3 extractor fans, all of which I replaced.  They had a door which mysteriously fell off its hinges, and I had it refitted. Otherwise no issues no police, no complaints from neighbours.

Recently they maintain that the gas cooker just caught fire for no apparent reason and the grill compartment burnt out.  It was bought new for them just before they moved in (they complained the existing one was grubby). The cooker has been inspected every year and was last done 6 weeks to 2 months before it "caught fire".   I don't believe a cooker would do that (unless it took out half the street at the same time), far far more likely they left something under the grill and forgot it.

I do not feel I should replace the cooker, I do not feel I should pay the call out charges to have it inspected, especially as they maintain that they don't care what anyone says, and the call out system seems to be an extortionate rip off, costing about half the cost of a new cooker.

I have a property manager, he just wants an easy life and for me to replace it.  I've asked him to try to asses whether it is faulty, and provided the information for him to get them to complain to trading standards if they really insist it is defective.  He doesn't seem to want to engage with them, he feels I should just buy a new cooker as they are good tenants. 

I should say that I have never raised the rent in 6 years in return for their lengthy tenancy.

Questions

should I buy a new cooker or not, or offer 50/50 or something ?

do you think the safety inspector has an obligation to check the appliance for free/ and does he have any liability ?

is the onus on me to prove it was not faulty, or is the onus on the tenants to show that it was.

anything I've forgotten to ask ?

thanke again,

sarge

If as you suspect, the tenant left food to catch fire,this would be visible if you go and take a look yourself,unless they have had a deep clean.The inspector could only judge the safety at the time of his visit,so I don't think he can be held responsible.Your comments seem contradictory,describing them as good tenants,not much trouble etc,then a whole list of possibly negligent/clumsy/ deliberate damage they have caused.If the cooker is ruined,you will need a new one.I would replace it,say nothing then serve 21 to evict as soon as possible before they wreck that too.That way they won't be able to claim revenge eviction.

Thanks fir your reply,

I am actually an absent landlord, my manager said he looked at it and didn't see any burnt food anywhere, but I would have expected any burnt food to be on the grill pan which had been thrown away as unusable.

I didnt feel I was being contradictory until you pointed it out. I had felt that modern shower units and extractor fans were just not built to last.  I had just felt that they were keen to point out any faults, but now I wonder whether they have been misusing them too.

The door on its hinges always niggled, as it is an old house, built solid, and doors dont just fall off their hinges, but the manager guy fixed that pretty cheaply.

I have no intention of evicting anyone, particularly during corona times, so I won't be taking that advice, but the cooker is definitely ruined.

Thanks for the feedback on the inspector , do you think he should at least be prepared to inspect it again for free?

Is it possible to post a pic here ?

It feels like you're in for a penny, might as well be in for a Pound... to me. Why is the cooker the straw that breaks your back? Either your property is in profit or it isn't... getting a new cooker / oven... maybe even moving over to electric... can't be the tipping-point between profit and loss, surely? If you're not in profit and you're replacing too much that you aren't 100% sure are normal breakages then the solution is your Tenants are heavy-handed, or not taking due care and attention (knowing you'll fix) or... alternatively, everything in there was always a pile of garbage and you're skimming along the bottom of the property world - I can't say which it is... but Tenants for 6 years who've always paid on time... are ones you want to keep (I mean, especially if there's no police involved, right?)... so take the cooker on the chin and, as soon as you have the leeway, raise the rent by £20 per month.

the house is let unfurnished, the only appliances are cooker, and fire and shower unit.  We installed an extractor fan as regulations required one.  My mentioning the other appliances was more to highlight that I usually responded to their issues promptly, but now with your comment  feel more and more that tey are being heavy handed in these areas too.

I thought that the fan was supposed to be left on for extended periods , so what could they do wrong?   The shower should operate as long as you want, so I felt that the appliances were failing. 

I ask the manager to go for mid range products, not the cheapest or most expensive, but I don't check on what he actually buys. 

the difference here is that I don't believe that a cooker can just catch fire by itself.  I feel the tenants are "coming it" as my dad would say.

the arrangement is profitable but I don't like being taken for an idiot.

thank you for your feedback,  I'm adding it to the weight of opinion.