Central heating packed in

[-bigdaz-]

In a flat we are letting, the tennant has a card meter and has been complaining about the cost of the heater we provided for him, claims its uses £30 / week

We offered £20 month discount on rent however he says this isnt good enough and might go to cab if we dont offer more

Not only that but we find out he has signed on dss without telling us and has said he cannot pay the agreed amount on time but will have it the next week

We did say to tennant we did not want dss when he signed ast

Legally where do we stand re heating, we provided a heater and offered a discount, should we offer more or get hard and say pay up or get out?

[Reg]

As long as the heating is working and safe, you are not responsible for how much the heating will cost the tenant.

It sounds like your tenant is testing you, and as a decent person you have offered a rent discount. Unfortunatley, this will send out the message that you are a soft touch, the tenant will see this as a sign of weakness and may well pay you more iregular rent payments.

Get hard and serve notice immediately, don't bother saying pay up or get out, because they will mess you about.

I've been there, got the t-shirt.

Unfortunately, many DSS tenants want everything for nothing and know all the tricks and can be very manipulative.

Also DSS rent is paid two months in arrears so don't expect rent anytime soon, regardless of any lies the tenant may tell you.

I know, you may think what a hassle getting another tenant, but I can see signs of trouble ahead if you don't get them out.

Best of luck

[Selkirk]

Unfortuantely have to agree with Reg.

The T appears to be testing you out and it will steadily get worse and worse, stay calm and just serve the required notice then move on.

In my own opinion 99% of DSS T's give the others a bad name.

Cheers

Selkirk

[Gee]

Hi There

Forgive me if I have misunderstood your question but your heading "central heating packed up" implies to me that the central heating has broken down and that you are supplying the tenant with an alternative heater which is costing £30 pw (extra?)to run. In this case I can understand why your offer of £20 per month reduction has been refused and the tenant is threatening to go to CAB.

If the property was let with central heating you are duty bound to get it repaired asap and would be wise to keep the tenant sweet by making some financial recompense to compensate him for his inconvenience.

As far as applying to DHSS, has he misled you in his application or has he lost his job etc after taking the tenancy? In the second scenario it could happen to anyone (even you and I) and doesn't mean that he is a bad tenant. Of course if he has misled you then serve notice.

Of course if if I have got this all wrong then ignore this post!

Gee

[Trenners]

Hi bigdaz,

I fully support and agree with the comments made by GeeWiz. Get the heating fixed - the tenant has gone to CAB because he can't afford to run the

temporary heating solution and it's the middle of winter!

Also, not all DSS tenants are bad and many landlords are going to have to start accepting DSS claimants if they don't want their properties sitting empty during a recession ..... it's OK to discriminate against the DSS when professional tenants are queueing to rent the property ..... but unwise to turn DSS

tenants away when so many people are queueing to sign on at the Job Centre.

With 3 million un-employed ... my advice ..... get used to benefit claiming tenants !

Finally - having read the 17 grounds for repossession of the Housing Act ..... I can't remember a ground where the landlord can apply for an eviction order because the tenant was claiming DSS benefits ....... although I am sure many landlords would like to add this to the Act.

Mark