Would you expect to pay?

[daydream**believer]

So my tenants rang me last week to ask if my electricity was on.

I said it was and they tell me that theres isnt.

They said the safety switch is off and when they try to flick it back on, it goes straight off again.

I asked if they had unplugged appliances and was told, yes, they have unplugged everything.

So, i call our electrician.

He says, due to the torrential rain we had had, there may be water damage in the roof or something similar.

He goes to the house, has a look around. Goes in the garage and sees a power board has been left plugged in, switched on and sitting in the garage doorway which is a big puddle of water.

He switches it off, goes inside, flicks the safety switch and it stays on.

He checks out in the roof just to be sure and checks the power board readings and sees nothing else that would cause the power to go out.

He says he will wait a few days to send the bill as we were expecting more big rain and if the power goes out again, then we know there is another problem.

Well, we had more rain. They had no black out and ive now got an electrician bill.

So, as a tenant, would you expect to pay this bill? It was completely their fault after all

Im taking it over to them tomorrow and i expect them to not be happy and i am ready to put them in their place if they have a whinge.

And if they winge too much, the next form they get will be to tell them get out

[cherry*135]

As there are both tenants and landlords/ladies posting on this thread, I would think anyone could get a good general answer to the type of question in the OP... the electrician had already given his professional opinion in writing of who/what was the cause of the electrical fault.

[buzzlightyearsgirlfriend]

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@the_hawk* wrote:

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@*elizabeths-mum* wrote:

Given that minimum 2.4 metres is a standard ceiling height, 2 metres means that the landlord would have to replace all ceiling bulbs. 

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Any tenant that expected that would have a very quick rent increase to cover the additional maintenance

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Any landlord who did that to a tenant with half a brain would likely have a very quickly organised trip to the relevant tribunal.

[cherry*135]

Increases in owner's expenses ( repairs, maintenance, interest rates on mortgage rising,water rates, council rates etc) are  a legitimate reason for a rent increase.

Owners put the rent up by $40-$50 a week here, simply because they can (lack of supply, more demand than houses/units available) They get away with it because people are desparate to find accommodation.

A quick trip to the tribunal results in the tenant being given 90 days no reason termination.. new tenant gets the owner $60 more a week than prior tenant.

[*elizabeths-mum*]

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@am*3 wrote:

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@*elizabeths-mum* wrote:

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@am*3 wrote:

The owners or their RE agent usually gets the tradesmens bills. Up to them to pay it and get the money off the tenant, if the tenant was responsible.

We don't get bills incurred by our tenant.

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Do you use a RE to manage the property?  Are the tradesmen (plumbers,electricians .. called by you or RE to attend your leased property?

Do your tenants have many bills where they have damaged something and need a tradesman to fix it?

Genuine questions.. wondering if you as an owern or the RE called a tradesman to your leased property and  it was tenants fault, and the tradesman sent the bill to the tenant.. the trademan would have to wait if tenant decided they won't pay it.. if they didn't pay it  they would have a lot of hassle getting the money from them.

If the bill was paid by the owner and the owner or RE sent the bill on to the tenant, the owner would have some pull in getting the tenant to refund them?.. could be dealt with by a dispute held in the Tenancy tribunal?

Our rental is next door, we don't use an estate agent, our tenant discusses any problems with us and usually makes tradesperson appointments at a time to suit himself. A bill such as described would then be billed to him as he was responsible. He also makes the annual appointment for his pest inspection, usually around the same week as our own pest inspection is done and the bill is arranged to come to us as it is our expense. 

When we rented our house in the Blue Mountains out before selling (after moving here we held onto it for a year in case we wanted to move back) a RE handled the rental and bills incurred by the tenant were passed on to the tenant, while bills relating to maintenance and repair were sent to us. 

[cherry*135]

I can see if he makes the appts himself for the tradesman and knows he will be paying, that he would recieve the bills. (Except for pest control where you have an understanding with him. you will pay)

Are you in NSW? On the last lease renewal we got, on the letter on the front it stated.. the tenant is responsible for pest control.. I didn't think that was correct?

Fair enough the tenants must keep the house clean and not have it overrun with cockroaches etc, but other pests like termites or wasps in the roof cavity which are not the tenants fault,  I can't see why the tenant woud have to pay for their removal?

[toon_town_nutter]

Ask in the home forum at whirlpool forums amy

[freddie*rooster]

If the RE asked me to pay for spraying for pests I would tell them where to go.

[j*oono]

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@freddie*rooster wrote:

If the RE asked me to pay for spraying for pests I would tell them where to go.

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Absolutely Freddie.  It is the owners propery and it is up to them to keep it protected from termites etc.

I only had a rental property for a very short time and we used an agent.  It was just a couple of years while we were figuring out whether to sell or rent.  The agents did take a decent chunk of the rent but it seemed to all run pretty well with a go between.  Those were the days when a new property could be bought for under $100,000.  How amazing is that?  Not so long ago.

[just_me_karen]

I'm glad I've got a good landlord. They fix things on the same day and that's because I let the owners pop in whenever they want .. Except for RE inspections, where I expect a week or two notice. I buy the replacement things, like smoke alarms and taps, and they do the work. I would not like to have a stroppy landlord, I supposed I've been lucky so far.

[*pepe]

its not hard to keep a landlord happy, just treat their home with the respect and care you would want somebody to treat yours.