shootingstar
Registered User
- Messages
- 634
to put her heating on or she goes away for a few days
A tenant isn’t obliged to leave any heating on - Why should they, as under current building regs, if followed, the house should be capable of taking care of itself, all pipes exposed to the elements should be adequately protected.
Does this not make sense
I have not had any conversation with them about it at all. It just got me thinking this morning when our own pipes had froze.
Re the OP it would be useful to reach an agreement re this with your tenant.
Equally I am surprised that some general term about tenants having to maintain the property in good condition doesn't cover this kind of thing.
I would expect this to apply even while she's away in a cold snap, especially where the risk of burst pipes arises.
ONQ.
All true.....Buildings in use take care of themselves.....
Buildings with no one in them tend to get colder....Insulation merely slows down the rate of loss of heat.........Unless some backgroundheating is on constantly ..... the house will get colder and colder....Attics by definition are unheated spaces and you will find several threads here dealing with problems of condensation and tank insulation.
Even under the current regulations, the water tank relies on heat rising from below to keep it from freezing.......
Actually, there is. Or should be. The tenant has a Duty of Care to the property to treat is as if it's their own. This prevents them abdicating responsibility for issues such as this, through such actions.....Equally I am surprised that some general term about tenants having to maintain the property in good condition doesn't cover this kind of thing.
I would expect this to apply even while she's away in a cold snap, especially where the risk of burst pipes arises.
ONQ.
See above. Nothing to stop you writing a polite note to the tenant now, to keep the house heated, to prevent damage.Im inclined to agree with this. Although if she did go away how would I even prove that.
Do I write to her maybe advising her how to protect the property in this cold snap if it is vacant for a period of time? And if she doesnt then she "may well become responsible"... (note* i said MAY WELL). Again, Im going to pop down this week to her and have a look at the piping system.
Her contract is due for renewal in Feb. Im certainly going to add a paragraph relating to same.
There is no legal requirement to provide a particular thermal standard of accomodation. Some property to let is atrocious, some brilliant, and range for G to A on the BER scale. All are available, and all priced respectively. Neither one end of the spectrum, nor the other, are a gaurantee that you won't run into the problem the OP has mentioned....nor that you won't.Are you running the risk of having a vacant house. Surely the onus is on you to have proper insulation.
If the tenant in my house decides not to put her heating on or she goes away for a few days etc (whatever the situation) and supposidly the pipes burst because they have froze, would I be responsible for the repair?
Just to clarify there is nothing in the contract relating to this?
I have not had any conversation with them about it at all. It just got me thinking this morning when our own pipes had froze.
I accept that I would be responsible if something happens and shes at home with heating on maybe, but my Q was if she was away for few days etc or didnt have her heating on (which I know is highly unlikely) would I then be liable?
Should I have a conversation with her just in case?
Um, so hang on. You want to hold a tenant responsible for a problem in your property, that you yourself never foresaw?
Are you running the risk of having a vacant house. Surely the onus is on you to have proper insulation.
...sorry, don't know what happened with the font sizes in my response above.........can't seem to get them the same.......??.....
<snip>
Don't be greedy, check out the water pipes and the insulation yourself and put a rubber ball in the water tank in the attic,this keeps the water moving which in turn makes it less likely to freeze.
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