hein25 Posted August 7, 2007 Report Share Posted August 7, 2007 Hi all ,I want to compensate my tenant because water ruined the bathroom,a leak from upstairs flat, this has taken time to fix ,tenant not pleased,want to keep her happy.The question is ,is the money I give her tax deductable and if so do I get a receipt from the tenant? We are looking at hundreds of pounds not peanuts!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
plym77 Posted August 8, 2007 Report Share Posted August 8, 2007 I would claim the compensation as an expense as it is a cost of your letting business. This said, I would certainly ask her to sign something 'in full and final settlement of' - this will be documented evidence of the cost and may stop further claims being made against you (if indeed she would). Hope this helps Regards Sherena Glanton CTA Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matthew Posted August 8, 2007 Report Share Posted August 8, 2007 So the leak from above, which the letting agent would not investigate has caused your ceiling to come down twice and now you need to pay for the joists to be replaced because they wouldn't look into it and get it fixed. And now you're having to pay compensation as well? If it was owned by her, she wouldn't get compensation and would have to pay thousadns of pounds, as she is renting she pays nothing and gets hundreds of pounds in compensation. Sounds like a good deal for Tenants, but bad for the landlord. Yet all we (landlords) get from the Gaurdian etc is that we are ruining First Time buyers chances of getting onto the property ladder, I wish that people would read this kind of thing and see the value for money that Tenants are currently getting. Whose pipes are they technically anyway? Sorry, rant over, it's just I've been to one of my props yesterday and was a leak from the washing machine (upstairs) and now water has ruined the Kitchen ceiling. Complicated reasons as to why this happened, essentially tenants fault, but there is no way of charging tenant for this (proving it etc) so Landlord pays. Yet we're the bad guys. It seems we get all the responsibilities, and have to cough up for everything, but no co-operation from government legislation, no respect and certainly no thanks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hein25 Posted August 8, 2007 Author Report Share Posted August 8, 2007 I would claim the compensation as an expense as it is a cost of your letting business. This said, I would certainly ask her to sign something 'in full and final settlement of' - this will be documented evidence of the cost and may stop further claims being made against you (if indeed she would). Hope this helps Regards Sherena Glanton CTA Hi Sherena, thanks for your advise ,I will take your advise .maija. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hein25 Posted August 8, 2007 Author Report Share Posted August 8, 2007 So the leak from above, which the letting agent would not investigate has caused your ceiling to come down twice and now you need to pay for the joists to be replaced because they wouldn't look into it and get it fixed. And now you're having to pay compensation as well? If it was owned by her, she wouldn't get compensation and would have to pay thousadns of pounds, as she is renting she pays nothing and gets hundreds of pounds in compensation. Sounds like a good deal for Tenants, but bad for the landlord. Yet all we (landlords) get from the Gaurdian etc is that we are ruining First Time buyers chances of getting onto the property ladder, I wish that people would read this kind of thing and see the value for money that Tenants are currently getting. Whose pipes are they technically anyway? Sorry, rant over, it's just I've been to one of my props yesterday and was a leak from the washing machine (upstairs) and now water has ruined the Kitchen ceiling. Complicated reasons as to why this happened, essentially tenants fault, but there is no way of charging tenant for this (proving it etc) so Landlord pays. Yet we're the bad guys. It seems we get all the responsibilities, and have to cough up for everything, but no co-operation from government legislation, no respect and certainly no thanks. Hi Matthew, my ceiling collapsed because the washingmachine hoses were not connected properly! The second leak was from the cistern overflowing. The agent managing the flat above agreed to fix my ceiling within 7days provided I let his plummer investigate the leak through my damaged ceiling,now he says he never promised and he smugly added his clients bathroom is in good order!!What a liar . I refuse to replace the rotten joists and told him his client may soon have no bathroom at all if the joists give way .Putting preassure on him to keep to his word and fix the joists ,I have also told the owner that failing to fix my ceiling sharp ,I will sue him!! Simple checks would have prevented all this,I check all my properties for possible leaks including lifting cistern lids. One of my previous tenants did not put the filter tight enough on the washing machine and it popped out in mid wash! He then dumped 12rolls of loo paper on to the leak and left it and went to work ,just new laminater floors fitted! I think washing machines cause a lot of leaks .tenants overload them,they would not do so if it was their own machine. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
odecar Posted August 8, 2007 Report Share Posted August 8, 2007 Shouldn't you be involving your insurance company ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hein25 Posted August 8, 2007 Author Report Share Posted August 8, 2007 Shouldn't you be involving your insurance company ? Hi,When the leak happened ,the agent for the upstairs flat asked if his plummer could try to find the leak through my ceiling so as not to disturb the nice mosaic floors of his clients floor,I agreed on the condition that they would pay and put the ceiling back ,which the agent assued me would be done within 7days. The plasterboarding was done last week but it is already wet because the joists are saturated and need replacing. This at the time seemed a reasonable thing to do,now I regret it .I feel I have let my good tenant down .The owner is back from his hols.tomorrow and says he wants to settle this a.s.a.p so here is hoping. I have learnt from this bitter experience ,the stress has caused me chest pains ,had to goto hospital to get checked out,I am still alive!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Simon Dewsberry Posted August 8, 2007 Report Share Posted August 8, 2007 Hi Speak to owner upon return and get 3 quotes for job done properly (reputable companies) firmly request owner for cash to instruct "builder" to begin works immediately( also compensation for both you and tenant) - informing him failure to do so will result in you issuing invoice followed shortly by debt collector if not settled within 10 days (plus costs, plus interest) Why should you have claimed on your insurance - Owner above should be claiming on theirs - or incompetant wm engineer.. I would be hoping up and down with fire coming out of my mouth and smoke from my ears on this one..... I would not be taking prisoners on this ...as as for the smarmy LA - bide your time ....what goes around comes around ... NEXT TIME get things in writing to avoid this kind of thing happening ... Also if it is a flat you are almost certainly on a lease - check terms and responsibilities... Simon Ps i would also invoice for all works already carried out -immediately... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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