UK Landlord Forum / Life

Dear Landlords,

Maybe some of you can learn from my experience as a landlady.
My previous tenant complained about poor water pressure in the shower. When the replacing of the shower head didn't resolve it, the estate agent sent a gas engineer. Gas engineer discovered a leak in the water tank and advised removing the tank altogether and putting in a new combination boiler (that won't need a tank and will improve the water pressure).
Replacing the tank and putting in a new one would be a cheaper option but I chose to have  anew combi boiler installed at the cost to me of 3K.

The water pressure improved dramatically. As a result the tenant started enjoying the good shower but not wiping the walls and door of the cubicle, not opening the en suite window - and that resulted in black mould on the ceiling of the en suite. The tenancy then passed to his sister who continued not doing what the agent asked her: to clean the mould off and paint the cubicle with mould-resistant paint. I asked her twice to do it and by the last inspection last month nothing was done, and more damage to the other bathrooms. She keeps all doors shut so the air doesn't circulate and water condensation can form in the rooms.

The lesson to learn from this:
- if your tenant wants a better shower, think: will they keep their side of the bargain and not cause mould (my house is a modern warm and well insulated one, and yet they caused mould)
- fix only what is broken; any improvements - such as this one - can cause you more problems in the future (another example: I put a new laminate floor in place of the carpet that was ok at the request of the current tenant, only to be pestered about the broken scotia round the fire)

I am actually quite a mentally vulnerable person and this mould issue is causing me a considerate distress; I've involved the agent with the potential view of eviction under section 8 - damage to the property.

Finally, the current Renters reform bill will make things even worse. I've never had tenants with pets or people on benefits, the ones I had caused enough damage and were selfish enough.
Sell if you can and keep the money in the bank. I pray I would be able to do just that.