Tennants withholding rent

[chortle]

Bit of a messy situation here, if anyone has come across anything similar before then advice appreciated.

My tenants are refusing to pay rent for this month until I agree a rent reduction as their shower has been out of action for circa half of December (on and off). Alternatively they are requesting confirmation of no rental increases for 2014..

As way of background, the shower in tenants flat has been leaking into the flat below. Within 24hrs of notification of an issue a plumber was investigating the leak and unfortunately this required removal of shower tray to get access to the waste pipe (tray was at floor level so no means of access). Pipe was fixed, new tray installed (previous one broken) and shower resealed and working again. Unfortunately water continued to leak (installed a leg up kit for the tray so we could view any leak) albeit from various other points of the shower. It appears that the original bathroom installation was at fault and never installed correctly (installation was before I acquired flat or tenants moved in). Not surprisingly company that installed bathroom has gone bust.

As a result, as agreed with tenants, the shower was completely removed over xmas and a new shower is being installed. This takes several days to ensure everything has dried/waterproof.

However, tenants are now withholding rent due to inconvenience of having no shower. There is no bath as an alternative.

I have expressed sympathy and understand the inconvenience but it feels like I am being almost blackmailed here. Rent is now seven days late and I have already paid out over £1200 on repairs with the plumbers labour cost still to come. I will get some of this back via building insurance but for now it's all out of my pocket.

As far as I am concerned, I have dealt with this problem immediately. I cannot help the fact it takes several days to fix. I would have expected tenants to maybe ask for some kind of goodwill gesture due to lack of shower (although if this happens in my own house I have to live with this), but not withhold rent until compensation is agreed.

Is there any legal basis for a tenant to do this given I am acting on the repair?

Up until now they have been good tenants but their actions here are bordering on blackmail and am tempted to act on the non payment breach of tenancy and provide them with their 2 months notice to leave the property.

Anyone had anything like this before?

[Richlist]

As far as I am concerned, I have dealt with this problem immediately. I cannot help the fact it takes several days to fix. I would have expected tenants to maybe ask for some kind of goodwill gesture due to lack of shower (although if this happens in my own house I have to live with this), but not withhold rent until compensation is agreed.

Exactly right. Tenants are NOT entitled to any treatment// compensation over & above that which an owner occupier would receive in the same situation.

Is there any legal basis for a tenant to do this given I am acting on the repair?

Absolutely not. You have acted quickly and therefore your tenants could not have expected more.

Up until now they have been good tenants but their actions here are bordering on blackmail and am tempted to act on the non payment breach of tenancy and provide them with their 2 months notice to leave the property.

In your situation I'd just give them 2 months notice (ending on a rent day) and tell them that paying rent doen't ensure that they will be insulated from problems..

[Grampa]

As much as I would agree to giving them notice the question is, Is it the right commercial reason?

If the tenants vacate will it end up costing you more with a vacant period before new tenants are found and any decorating works that may need to be done. Also any letting agency fees for finding a new tenant?

The way I see it is you have 3 options:

1 Give them notice and swallow the extra costs involved of finding new tenants.

2 Just say no and tell them and you expect the rent payment by the end of the week which they may or may not do. If they don't pay call their bluff and give them notice and or contact the guarantor for payment. This pay encourage them to pay up. Also you can let them know when you get asked for a reference you will make it clear they held you to ransom over rent payments.

3 Offer a non-negotiable discount of say £100 for the inconvenience and a good will gesture. But you need to make it clear in writing that you are not legally obliged to make this offer and as tenants they are not legally entitled to any special treatment regarding repairs that a owner occupier wouldn't get and all the repairs were done in a timely manner. The repairs couldn't have been done quicker even if you were living in there and you wouldn't get a discount on your mortgage.

If they do accept option 3 send a further letter making it perfectly clear that notice will be given if the rent is withheld again in the future without warning.

[Melboy]

What Grampa and Richkist has stated. Totally agree.

I would offer a small payment as compensation. Nothing more and no more than £50

The fact you have paid out a sum of money on repairs is neither here or there. The joys of being a landlord. It is tax deductable so that does help the situation.

[chortle]

Thanks for this. Aye, I appreciate as a landlord the cost is neither here or there it was more to evidence the fact that I'm getting on with the repair despite tenants not paying rent. I have to be fair to the poor guy in the flat below who cant fix his ceiling until the shower in my flat is sorted.

Thanks Grampa - the points you have raised are going through my mind. I actually feel the tenants would be more inconvenienced than me as I haven't reviewed rent since 2012 and market rate for local area is probably circa £50pm higher now. If they leave I would expect new tenants very quickly and at a rent more in line with local market. Tennants would end up paying more and with the hassle of moving out and finding somewhere new.

Im worried that any weakness on my part could be abused again but mindful that I will have to suffer some hassle to get this sorted.

If they had simply paid the rent and then asked me to consider a gesture due to inconvenience that would have been a more sensible approach, withholding rent has simply got my back up!

[Grampa]

You have to treat it as a business and try to not let personal feelings come into it.

You don't have to like the tenants but don't let them walk over you and dictate terms.

Though saying that in all aspects of life there is a element of give and take and ideally you want a win win situation where both parties feel like they have got something out of the situation otherwise if it appears to be one sided it doesn't bode well for the long term.

[Dave A]

Good advice above. From past experience, being too nice to tenants can backfire on you with ever more increasingly unreasonable demands being made. I think as above a good will payment is in order as being without a shower for more than a couple of days is a fairly serious inconvenience. Depending on the type of tenants a box of chocs, bunch of flowers may do it, otherwise somewhere between the two amounts above seems reasonable. It should be made perfectly clear however that witholding rent is an unacceptable approach for the tenants to take, and if it happens again a S21 will follow. From what you have said I would definitely not agree to freezing the rent as you will end up signing away your basic rights as a Landlord.

Dave

[Richlist]

I think as above a good will payment is in order as being without a shower for more than a couple of days is a fairly serious inconvenience.

Good heavens....what is the world coming to.....you aren't a lettings agent by any chance are you ?

So you think that its acceptable to give in to tenants who withhold rent until they receive compensation ?

Let me remind you that for many landlords, not receiving the rent payment can also be a fairly serious inconvenience.

[Dave A]

No, not a lettings agent by any means, just a human being. Nor giving in to tenants. I think giving in would have been to let them getting away without paying the rent or freezing rent increases. Two weeks with no way of getting properly clean in my view is pretty serious, and yes I would find some way of compensating my tenants for such an inconvenience. That is perhaps why we keep most of ours for years on end, and that's the way I like it. No voids @ £550 a month, no redecorating, no advertising, no hassle, sticking with the devil you know. Well worth a box of chocs and a bunch of flowers or even a hundred quid in my book.

Dave

[Richlist]

So, if I understand you correctly, you are suggesting that a box of chocs or a bunch of flowers is going to persaude these tenants not to leave your property. I seriously doubt that would be the case.

Any tenant that thinks its acceptabblle to withholds rent......even though their landlord has done a brilliant job at arranging for repairs :-

......within a short time frame AND given the time of year ie Christmas holiday period...... doesn't really deserve to be rewarded with gifts.

If you are in a situation that requires you to bribe tenants who dont pay their rent to stay in your property then I'd suggest that you don't have a very robust business model.

[Grampa]

Horses for courses. But surely it makes better business sense to shell out 50-100 quid than give notice and have a empty period which will cost a lot more than 50-100 quid plus any rent arrears.

It doesn't mean you have to like it.

I do knowledge you don't want to set a president and bend over backwards in future but its then down to the landlord to set the tone for the remaining time they continue to live there.

[Chestnut]

I'm for Grampa's option 3.and agree with Dave A. Compensation for inconvenience over several days is a fair way to treat a tenant and is in no way a gift.

[Richlist]

Personally I won't be blackmailed or held to ransom by any tenant.

Like many other landlords, I like to think I do a good job, when there's a problem I respond as quickly as possible to get the issue fixed. I either do the job myself or bring in expertise as required. Paying rent does not guarantee that a tenant will be insulated against problems or temporary hardship.

Over the years there have been many incidents of issues that have resulted in inconvenience to my tenants. I certainly don't provide them with any compensation ie money, rent refund, box of chocs or flowers because eg

* their immersion heater has broken & can't be replaced for a few days or

* a storage heater has stopped working and can't be fixed over a bank holiday weekend or

* there is a bathroom leak resulting in them not having the use of a shower for a week.

I expect my tenants to respect the efforts that I put in to respond to their issues. I'm available 24/7 & I will even fix things on a weekend or a Saturday evening if its feasible & necessary. Any delays are in every case due to circumstances out of my control.

So, the tenant has had a tough time for a few days.....thats life I'm afraid. We all have a tough time occasionally. The tenants should look on the the positives of the tenancy not the few days of inconvenience.....& there are usually many positives if you look closly enough.

My tenants WON'T be getting compensation for inconvenience .....many of them already

* pay below market rent (longer term tenants).

* get free use of my Spanish holiday home.

* enjoy rent increases as infrequently as every 3 or 4 years. etc