Emergency, urgent or just maintenance?

By Chris Chambers

According to recent research 250,000 tenants a year in the UK are withholding rent to pay for urgent repairs which their landlords have not acted on. Usually tenants have a right to do this - so landlords: act on those repairs quickly - it's in your interest.

However, many landlords will have experienced the tenant that requests a repair that is an "emergency" or instructs tradesman to act on tasks that were not emergencies or even very urgent at all! However, a balance needs to be struck - you don't want a tenant to be completely inactive and ignorant of major problems that are quickly going to worsen and be a danger to both the tenant and the property.

Give your tenants advice - if you are using an agent they should do this for you. Here are some extracts from our advice booklet which we give to our tenants:

Emergency repairs and callouts
Remember; what may seem like an emergency to you may not be seen as an emergency by your landlord. So think carefully about the situation, especially if the landlord is going to be expected to pay an emergency call out fee. To be treated as an emergency the fault must carry the risk of immediate injury to people or major damage to property. We consider the following to be emergency repairs:

• Escape of gas or fumes 
• Electrical fittings in contact with water 
• Live or bare electric wiring 
• Sewage overflowing into the home 
• Outside doors that need secured 
• Burst storage tanks, cylinders or pipes 
• Failure of all lights or all power 
• Failure of heating systems in severe weather and where no alternative is available 

Emergency repairs can be initiated by the tenant by contacting the relevant tradesman from the list of preferred tradesman detailed in the next chapter. You must inform Proudhouse Property Management (if we are your managing agent) or your landlord without delay and include details of the emergency/defect/malfunction, the name of the tradesman/emergency organisation that you contacted and any fees that have been incurred. Any other requirement for repairs should be raised with Proudhouse Property Management (if we are your managing agent) or with your landlord.

Maintenance
This is a much debated subject and can become emotional! It is best to clarify at an early stage who is responsible for what. As a general rule, for short leases (eg an AST) the landlord/freeholder will be responsible (ie pay for) for upkeep of the external parts of the property. He/she will also be responsible (ie pay for) for provision of equipment for heating and services. If he/she has provided any goods or appliances which were present at the commencement of the tenancy then he/she is responsible for ensuring that they remain in working order. However, a tenant should never expect a betterment on what was present at the start of the tenancy (unless the object concerned is a snag, hazard or danger) - so as an example, if the washing machine breaks down and is beyond repair then the landlord is obliged to replace it only with something of similar quality and functionality as the original - this could even be comparable second-hand item assuming it was safety checked.

Tenants are expected to take reasonable care of the property, irrespective of any expressed terms in the tenancy agreement.

...you must be vigilant to emergent defects that can cause damage over time - eg a slowly leaking pipe which is causing a damp patch on a ceiling: do not ignore this! Inform the landlord or agent and ensure that it gets rectified - otherwise you could be guilty of something known as “permissive waste” (ie allowing the property to fall into disrepair).

Chris Chambers is the owner of Proudhouse Property Managament - we are an ARLA licensed firm and members of the Property Ombudsman Scheme. We provide property management and lettings in Yeovil, Sherborne, Somerset and Dorset.

Who can you trust?

By Chris Chambers
30 Dec 2013

Would you entrust a cherished and valued item to someone that knows absolutely nothing about how to look after that item? Let's say it's a vintage car - you would want your chosen custodian to know when and where to take it for a service; how to top up the oil; make sure it is taxed and insured etc. You wouldn't dream of giving it to someone that didn't know or care about cars.

Well it seems to be a different story with houses. The boom in the rental market has led to a proliferation of property management and letting agents and in an unregulated industry this has meant an inevitable rise in the number of unscrupulous agents. And there are plenty of unwary landlords willingly handing over their properties to agents in exchange for low rates of commission and getting a poor service in return.

Landlord & Tenant law and the Housing Acts are complex subjects riddled with points of law waiting to trip up the uninitiated; the statutory requirements placed on a private landlord are not for the faint-hearted; houses need maintenance and an agent really needs to know about property in order to correctly diagnose problems and ensure he/she calls out the appropriate tradesman (eg; the boiler is leaking and the electrics have tripped off - is an electrician, plumber or gas engineer required??); tenants go into arrears and breach tenancy agreements; the list of pitfalls is long but a robust and knowledgeable agent will foresee and prevent many of these issues and will act quickly to safeguard a landlords interest.

So who can a landlord trust?

Firstly; look or ask for an agents fees - agency fees have come under the spotlight in recent months: lettings and property management have become known as the "Wild West" of the property industry due to countless examples of agents charging unfair fees, having hidden fees or not disclosing their fees up-front. Get this information; ask for their terms of business and make sure that you sign up to an agreement that, should you need to, you can get out of on reasonable terms.

Check if your chosen agent is a member of a redress scheme; the main one in the UK is The Property Ombudsman Scheme. Membership of this scheme shows that the agent is bound by a Code Of Practice and follows managerial and customer-focused standards and practices. Our firm Proudhouse Property Management is a member of this scheme.

Secondly, find an agent that is actually trained and qualified! The National Federation Of Property Professionals (NFOPP) oversee the education, examination and qualification for a range of services within the Property Industry - holders of their qualifications are then permitted to become members of various licensing/accreditation bodies. Membership of ARLA (Association of Residential Letting Agents) means that your agent has gained a minimum of a Level 3 qualification and is qualified to practice within the industry. It also means they are a member of a redress scheme. Furthermore, ARLA licensed-firms have had their accounting practices verified by an accountant, have client money protection and will have the appropriate indemnity insurance cover in place. Proudhouse Property Management provide lettings and management in Yeovil, Somerset and are ARLA members.

There are other bodies out there - most notably NALS - they provide redress, assurance and require agents to have client money protection in place. However, a landlord shouldn't just assume an agent is trained or qualified simply because there are some fancy looking logos in the agents window. Do your homework and ensure that, whether it is your cherished former home or a buy-to-let investment, your property is placed in safe hands.

Chris Chambers is a member of ARLA and owns and runs Proudhouse Property Management who provide lettings and management in Yeovil, Sherborne, Somerset, Dorset and the South West. Proudhouse Property Management also conduct energy assessments and Green Deal advice.

Regulation Of Letting Agents

Yesterday the Communities & Local Government Committee called for the regulation of letting agents. This move would empower the Office Of Fair Trading to ban agents that act unfairly or improperly. Proudhouse Property offer letting and management services to landlords in Yeovil, Sherborne, Dorset, Somerset and the South West. We have long been opposed to what can only be described as underhand and greedy charges made by some agents for all manner of reasons: setup fees with no tangible return for the landlord; eye-watering registration fees for tenants; fees for overseas landlords; renewal fees; administration fees; correspondence fees; finders fees; lock in fees if a landlord decides to dispense with an agent but retain the tenant; set thresholds below which agents have free reign to spend a landlords money without his/her prior approval... the list goes on - if you can think of it, some agent somewhere has charged for it! Sure, it can be argued that there is good reason to charge some of these fees but the basis for any contract is agreement... it is simply unfair to charge someone a fee which they are not aware of; sometimes the landlord only becomes aware of the fee when they check their bank account and see less money for a particular month than expected! It's a pretty disappointing experience - our ethos is not this.

Your property is your business - the rental fee is your income. We charge fair and reasonable fees that reflect the level of work that we put in. We are unique in having our own in-house domestic energy assessment and electrical services and provide that necessary certification, along with a Gas Safety Certificate, in return for our setup fee. We are a relatively new business and serve a niche market for members of the Armed Forces - we do not need to maintain or depend on archaic income streams that some of the more established agents have become dependent on. Our fees are available on request and also provided to potential landlords during our free initial consultation. We offer flexible services and a refreshing, honest and professional approach to landlords and tenants alike. We are working towards ARLA accreditation and landlords' money is held in our client accounting bank account with regular statements provided. Please contact us if you are need letting and management services from true property professionals in Yeovil, Sherborne, Somerset, Dorset and the South West.