Matthew Posted July 24, 2007 Report Share Posted July 24, 2007 Hi all, I know it is the landlords responsibility to fix boiler/heating system/plumbing etc promptly. This is why I got a homcare agreement with British Gas to cover such problems. They only come out at specified slots, e.g. morning or afternoon. Should I be available to let them in or should the tenant? For any emergencies they do come out anytime, but only emergencies, not if the water is only getting luke warm for example. The way I see it is that I am not an electrician/plumber or expert in that field, i am not needed. I don't need to be there to negotiate price as it's all covered. Just want to know if I should be doing this or the tenant. As there is no point having the contract if I need to make myself available for 4 hours of the day. For landlords who have workmen to hand, do you go to every property when there is a minor problem or do the tenants let them in? I know that these services are popular among the buy to let industry, just wondering what other people do, as must be experiencing the same problems as me. The tenants do not expect to do this, yet I used to ring them direct and arrange myself when I was a tenant as advised by the landlord. Thaks in advance, Mat. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Simon Dewsberry Posted July 24, 2007 Report Share Posted July 24, 2007 Hi Mat For as long as i have a hole in my Axxx i will not be sitting around waiting for anyone for 4 hours !!! NOT A PRAYER sorry i have a business to run ! I always insist on a phone call when they outside (if local ....) if at a distance 30mins b4 ! .......can sometimes be interesting arranging this though... Or a note on door saying " bell not working please call my mob xxxxxxxxxx" then i explain i am around the corner (if local) 30 mins otherwise.. with most of my stuff i use people known to me ....and have a good relationship with tenants where we give tradesman key and they have permission from t to enter when they are out ............of course you are always going to get one !.......If callout is from an unknown party i always try to get their mob no.... In todays modern world communication isn't a problem ...as i keep trying to explain to some fairly large organisations...and as they have the ability to communicate with field guys then there shouldn't be a problem !! If i can get t to agree to being there - that is clearly first option ! Simon Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Webb Posted July 24, 2007 Report Share Posted July 24, 2007 In my experience British Gas will give a phone call when they are about quarter hour away from calling. As the gas service - safety check is the landlord's responsibility and takes about two hours, depending on the equipment, I always offer to house-sit for the tenant and it gives me an extra and useful opportunity to inspect the state of the property. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matthew Posted July 24, 2007 Author Report Share Posted July 24, 2007 Hi Webby, The landlords safety I accept, but it is when there are problems i.e. The timer isn't working properly, the water is only getting luke warm etc etc, been about 5 times in last year on top of service. The tenant knows the problem, I do not, so could result in problem not being fixed if I get it wrong. Just want to know if I can legally say that they should be in for Tradesman or whether it should be me. Builders etc, I'm fine with that, I should be there and they needn't. Any more advice from others? Thanks Webby and Rodent for your input. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pugsy Posted July 24, 2007 Report Share Posted July 24, 2007 I see what Matthew is saying, I would love to know the answer. Perhaps it is just a matter of friendly negotiation between landlord and tenant. Is there anything in the average AST agreement that specifies who is responsible for meeting the callout. Could a clause be put in, or perhaps for those of us who are time poor, we could incentify our tenants to meet the callout? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
J4L Posted July 24, 2007 Report Share Posted July 24, 2007 I'd imagine that if this is a call out rather than just an annual service/inspection that the Tenant will be 'more than happy' to be in for the engineer to look at/repair a problem that they have reported. It's about negotiating with the Tenant on this one I feel, if you're too busy to be there, and they want the problem fixed then really they should be happy to be there, or it won't get sorted. With regard to the 'annual inspection' then of course you can negotiate maybe a shared responsibility and go for the '1st half' of the four hours (they never arrive earlier than midday anyway in my experience' Gareth Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Webb Posted July 24, 2007 Report Share Posted July 24, 2007 If the call-out required the tenant to explain, I would ask him/her to be available to do so. But five call-outs on top of annual Homecare Service sounds excessive, like four too many. In that case I'd certainly want to be there as well to get an explanation from the service man and find out what I'm paying for! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GPEL Posted July 24, 2007 Report Share Posted July 24, 2007 In reply to Pugsy, most agreements advise that the tenant should allow access for repairs etc. If they can't be present then should allow unhindered access in their absence. In this circumstance, pass keys can be given to contractors etc. However, British Gas are intransigent when it comes to picking up keys and insist they are met at the property and escorted, whereas local tradesmen are usually OK with getting keys. I wish to minimize the inconvenience to me and advise the tenant it is their responsibility to allow access. If I cannot get keys to contractors and the tenant won't be in, I have a small key safe with metal bracket that can be fitted to doors at a convenient time and left there until collected, with a house key inside for use by the tradesman. The safe has a combination lock and I give this combination to the tradesman beforehand to allow some flexibility for their commitments. This means no-one is inconvenienced any more than necessary and works quite well. Let me know if you'd like to know how to get one. There are 2 brackets available; one for uPVC doors and one for wooden doors. It's a chunky little safe designed for this type of arrangement and secure, costs about £30 but saved me a fortune avoiding wasted time and inconvenience. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
J4L Posted July 24, 2007 Report Share Posted July 24, 2007 What a great idea GPEL and what a great solution, I'd love to know where these can be found. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pugsy Posted July 25, 2007 Report Share Posted July 25, 2007 Thanks for the reply, that sounds ingenious, I'll have one too! Please let me know where to source. Regards. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matthew Posted July 25, 2007 Author Report Share Posted July 25, 2007 Nice one GPEL, that does sound like a very good idea, where can we source? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matthew Posted July 25, 2007 Author Report Share Posted July 25, 2007 Also, are the insurance companies happy about this? I'm not too worried about the security aspect, they would probably have to remove it, go away, find a way in, then you would notice it was gone and replace the lock. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GPEL Posted July 25, 2007 Report Share Posted July 25, 2007 Unsure about the insurance aspect but the product is designed for this type of use. Further details at www.keysafe.co.uk Product number 001017, 069-001 is a strengthened bracket and 069-001-PVCu is the PVCu bracket. Call 08700 539723 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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