Providing alternative accommodation for Tenants due to damag
Discussion
Any pointers here would be useful, I have a house where the header tank in the loft started leaking and flooded the house to some extent. At exactly the same time, the boiler on the ground floor started spraying out water and flooded the ground floor too. The boiler had broken the day before and was therefore inoperative. The tenant said he heard some kind of explosion and then these both started leaking, meanwhile there was smoke in the house from some of the electrics or sockets getting wet. I have not been to the house yet as one of the builders I know went out and after an hour or so and turned off the water.
The sparky came the next day and said the electrics were fine and to give it a couple of days and he would came back, he said had isolated/turned off the areas that had been flooded in the meantime. He foresaw no problems.
The plumber came the same day and cannot work out how the boiler has started spraying out water until he take some parts off, he did comment that he cannot see the relation between the header tank explosion and the boiler leak and could not understand how they would happen at the same time. Meanwhile he went upstairs and capped off the supply to the header tank (before the water for the house was turned back on) and commented that the leak appeared to be from the breather pipe and that the header tank looked like it had been moved so that it was no longer underneath this pipe, hence the leak.
Independent insurance assessor came out this morning and called me to say that the loft flood would be covered however he cannot see how it caused a problem in the boiler and was very confused. No damage apparently on the ground or first floor.
I am also suspicious about the random boiler explosion.
I've now bought a new boiler but my plumber man cannot install till Monday morning. Tenant is now screaming about me getting him a hotel until the boiler is back in. I can't get hold of the actual insurance company so although alternative accommodation is on my policy I can't actually action it until Monday.
To add to complications I am in court next month for a possession hearing to get this tenant out as he has not paid rent for approx 18 months, although I've had some recently off the UC.
Any advice?
I was thinking of asking him to pay for any alternative accommodation himself for now and it can be paid to him from the insurance company as and when, or he can take it off the multiple thousands of rent he owes.
The sparky came the next day and said the electrics were fine and to give it a couple of days and he would came back, he said had isolated/turned off the areas that had been flooded in the meantime. He foresaw no problems.
The plumber came the same day and cannot work out how the boiler has started spraying out water until he take some parts off, he did comment that he cannot see the relation between the header tank explosion and the boiler leak and could not understand how they would happen at the same time. Meanwhile he went upstairs and capped off the supply to the header tank (before the water for the house was turned back on) and commented that the leak appeared to be from the breather pipe and that the header tank looked like it had been moved so that it was no longer underneath this pipe, hence the leak.
Independent insurance assessor came out this morning and called me to say that the loft flood would be covered however he cannot see how it caused a problem in the boiler and was very confused. No damage apparently on the ground or first floor.
I am also suspicious about the random boiler explosion.
I've now bought a new boiler but my plumber man cannot install till Monday morning. Tenant is now screaming about me getting him a hotel until the boiler is back in. I can't get hold of the actual insurance company so although alternative accommodation is on my policy I can't actually action it until Monday.
To add to complications I am in court next month for a possession hearing to get this tenant out as he has not paid rent for approx 18 months, although I've had some recently off the UC.
Any advice?
I was thinking of asking him to pay for any alternative accommodation himself for now and it can be paid to him from the insurance company as and when, or he can take it off the multiple thousands of rent he owes.
Great advice guys, I've paid for a hotel for a couple of days whilst the boiler gets sorted, after abusive messages from him and his mum.
I think absolutely correct that he is trying to claim unliveable house and damages to try and bring his arrears down and try and maintain the tenancy. Although he told me today that the 'rent and tenancy are void and as we will find out in court'.
Good thing is that we can take some time to dissect the boiler now and see where this leak was actually from, if we find any damage that looks like it was done on purpose I can take some steps.
I think absolutely correct that he is trying to claim unliveable house and damages to try and bring his arrears down and try and maintain the tenancy. Although he told me today that the 'rent and tenancy are void and as we will find out in court'.
Good thing is that we can take some time to dissect the boiler now and see where this leak was actually from, if we find any damage that looks like it was done on purpose I can take some steps.
Indeed they did, my possession case was for the end of March and so it got deferred till now. I've been lucky though, I've had his housing benefit payments from the UC paid directly to me, so I've had some money each month. It does grate a bit though that I've had to spend a couple of grand now trying to get him out, but Shelter give him free legal representation to keep him there.
Trouble i've got is that he's got CCJ's now, so theres no way anywhere decent will have him. The house we rent to him is in a really nice area and so his only option is council, and they will put him most probably in a crap area where he doesn't want to be. So he will just drag this on now as long as he can and has no interest in listening to reason. Plus he's got Shelter and various other organisations that will give him a free lawyer to represent him and keep him in the property.
He also complained to the council about me, who gave me a works order on the house - now removed thankfully. Funnily enough the guy from the council department actually suggested me offering him a financial incentive to move - I think however though thats only useful if they have somewhere to go.
I'll give the landlord action guys a tinkle if this possession hearing doesn't work.
I'll give the landlord action guys a tinkle if this possession hearing doesn't work.
UPDATE...
After the January court date being deferred due to the tenants health reasons the case was back in court again this week and possession awarded with 2 weeks for him to leave and permission to escalate to High Court.
He stopped paying the rent in June 2019 and the original court case that got heard today was deferred due to Covid just under a year ago, so a year extra the tenant got due to Covid.
Finally!
After the January court date being deferred due to the tenants health reasons the case was back in court again this week and possession awarded with 2 weeks for him to leave and permission to escalate to High Court.
He stopped paying the rent in June 2019 and the original court case that got heard today was deferred due to Covid just under a year ago, so a year extra the tenant got due to Covid.
Finally!
UPDATE...
Possession date came and the council phoned the solicitor and said they were rehousing him and could we just wait on a couple of weeks. She left her name and number and said she would keep us updated.
I rung her weekly for a couple of weeks, complete waste of time as she kept telling me she was not getting updates from maintenance as to when the tenants new house would be ready.
She then asked me to stop calling her and ring the housing officer instead. He wasn't upto speed but did say that he would also chase up the maintenance team. I also asked if I just got him bailiffed out then what would happen. He said there was a severe shortage of council housing stock and so it would most probably mean that the tenant and his 3 children would be housed in a hotel for a couple of weeks. I then asked if the council would at least pay me the rent difference until they rehoused him, he said he would ask his manager as paying me £400 a month was cheaper than 3 rooms in a hotel for a month.
The next week his manager agreed that they would pay the rental difference from the discretionary housing fund, but only if i signed a new tenancy. Clearly that was a no.
So after 6 weeks of the council saying that they would rehouse him 'very soon', the housing officer himself said the only way now was to get him out in a reasonable timeframe would be to call the bailiffs in.
Annoying.
Possession date came and the council phoned the solicitor and said they were rehousing him and could we just wait on a couple of weeks. She left her name and number and said she would keep us updated.
I rung her weekly for a couple of weeks, complete waste of time as she kept telling me she was not getting updates from maintenance as to when the tenants new house would be ready.
She then asked me to stop calling her and ring the housing officer instead. He wasn't upto speed but did say that he would also chase up the maintenance team. I also asked if I just got him bailiffed out then what would happen. He said there was a severe shortage of council housing stock and so it would most probably mean that the tenant and his 3 children would be housed in a hotel for a couple of weeks. I then asked if the council would at least pay me the rent difference until they rehoused him, he said he would ask his manager as paying me £400 a month was cheaper than 3 rooms in a hotel for a month.
The next week his manager agreed that they would pay the rental difference from the discretionary housing fund, but only if i signed a new tenancy. Clearly that was a no.
So after 6 weeks of the council saying that they would rehouse him 'very soon', the housing officer himself said the only way now was to get him out in a reasonable timeframe would be to call the bailiffs in.
Annoying.
UPDATE
Eviction was this morning. Tenant had moved out before and emailed the solicitor to say he would drop them the keys yesterday so that no doors had to be broken down or locks drilled.
He then emailed last night to say he couldn't afford a taxi to come and drop the keys so he would do it this morning before his 10am meeting.
He then phoned to say he was walking to the solicitors but would be there by 10am.
We clearly didn't wait for 10am and managed to get in and change the locks.
It's nearly half 12 and hes still not at the solicitors. Clearly thought it'd be funny to string us along for a bit.
Lets see if hes laughing when the charging order application for his own house (rented to tenants) comes in.
Eviction was this morning. Tenant had moved out before and emailed the solicitor to say he would drop them the keys yesterday so that no doors had to be broken down or locks drilled.
He then emailed last night to say he couldn't afford a taxi to come and drop the keys so he would do it this morning before his 10am meeting.
He then phoned to say he was walking to the solicitors but would be there by 10am.
We clearly didn't wait for 10am and managed to get in and change the locks.
It's nearly half 12 and hes still not at the solicitors. Clearly thought it'd be funny to string us along for a bit.
Lets see if hes laughing when the charging order application for his own house (rented to tenants) comes in.
vikingaero said:
That's good news. Just remember, when you posted on the 12th May, about the Council rehousing him, that was a fatal mistake. NEVER trust a Council. If you had possession, swallow your Mr Nice Guy pride and go for it - after all the tenant has screwed you over for a couple of years.
No doubt, no more Mr Nice GuySydneyBridge said:
So your tenant had his own house, rented to tenants, who paid rent I assume?
While he paid no rent to you... hope you get every penny back you are owed
Yep you think as a landlord he wouldn't have been so bad. The bit I get confused on though is that I thought once you own a property you were no longer eligible for a council house? I doubt he told the council though.While he paid no rent to you... hope you get every penny back you are owed
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