# Tenant paid for boiler service or did she??



## classychick (23 Feb 2014)

Our Tenant of 3 years has withheld 80e from last months rent for a boiler service to the property. 

 Problem is -

 1. She refuses to give us a receipt for the service 
 2. She said it was a local handy man and doesn't know if he's RGI Reg...
 3. She never contacted us to in advance of this service
 4. We have Bord Gais Service and insurance on the boiler at property 

 I would consider us very good landlords as in very accommodating to late payments and maintenance on the property plus no rental increase since she moved in, even though rental costs has increased in the area. 

 At this stage I fill duped by her on more then 1 occasion and would gladly issue her with a notice...Am I entitled to issue this letter....


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## Billo (23 Feb 2014)

Get the number of the local handyman and give him a ring.


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## Knuttell (23 Feb 2014)

classychick said:


> I would consider us very good landlords as in *very accommodating to late payments *and maintenance on the property *plus no rental increase since she moved in, even though rental costs has increased in the area. *



This is part of the problem,she sees you as a soft touch,you need to soften this ladies cough,next time she is more than a day late send on 14 day rent arrears notice If the full arrears are not paid before the notice expires you need to/can serve a 28 day notice of termination for a failure to pay the agreed rent.Check your lease to see does this type of processing of notice come with a fee to a tenant?I have it in mine that €30 admin fee is charged with every such letter.

Also you need to tell her what she did in sourcing this guy is not acceptable,no receipt or proof of registration and no consultation with yourself ??(unbelievable)

Tell her in no uncertain terms you will not be paying for it and explain she will be held liable for any damage this handyman has caused to your boiler remind her she is now €80 in rent arrears & send her a 14 day rent arrears notice.

Do not under any circumstances ask for this handyman's number in order to confirm that he undertook this work,unless of course you want to look like a complete mug.

Have a look around at what the market rate is for a similar property and if she is out of lease increase the rent to this amt.

You have been too soft with her now its time to crack the whip,failure to do so will see you losing a war of attrition with this tenant as she pushes again and again to see what you are made of.


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## facetious (23 Feb 2014)

classychick said:


> Our Tenant of 3 years has withheld 80e from last months rent for a boiler service to the property.
> 
> Problem is -
> 
> ...


When was the boiler last serviced by Bord Gais?

All boilers should be serviced once a year and on completion of said service, the qualified engineer should give you proof in the form of a  certificate of compliance (if a gas boiler) or service record for an oil burner. Having one of these is the only way to prove that the boiler is in compliance with the current regulations.

If the tenant has used a local handyman then this would not be proof that the servicing has been done to the correct standard. Furthermore, if you do not have his name (assuming that the boiler was "looked at") and there is an issue (for example, the boiler goes on fire), you will have no comeback on the handyman and his insurance.

Before a tenant can deduct any part  of the rent, the tenant must inform the landlord in writing, that there is an issue and give the landlord a reasonable time to remedy the issue. Only then, if the landlord has not complied with his obligations, mat the tenant go ahead and have the job done by a suitably qualified person. Furthermore, a receipt or invoice must be provided.


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## suimiuil (23 Feb 2014)

Contact The Private Residential Tenancies Board (PRTB) if you are a member which you should be as its main role is to provide a dispute resolution service for landlords and tenants.


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## mandelbrot (23 Feb 2014)

suimiuil said:


> Contact The Private Residential Tenancies Board (PRTB) if you are a member which you should be as its main role is to provide a dispute resolution service for landlords and tenants.



Whoa there buddy - talk about upping the ante prematurely!!


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## postman pat (24 Feb 2014)

classychick said:


> Our Tenant of 3 years has withheld 80e from last months rent for a boiler service to the property.
> 
> Problem is -
> 
> ...



It is ILLEGAL for anyone not RGI resgistered to go near a gas boiler by the way..


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## delgirl (24 Feb 2014)

mandelbrot said:


> Whoa there buddy - talk about upping the ante prematurely!!


++1  Definitely wouldn't contact PRTB!

Knuttell's and Facetious' posts are absolutely spot on.

Where will it end - I had a tenant repaint the walls in the kitchen because she didn't like the cream colour and deduct the money from the rent for the paint etc!!  The kitchen had just been painted before she moved in.

Jumped on it straight away and she had to cover the cost of the paint herself, plus I advised her not to make any further changes to the property, as is detailed in her lease, without my written permission.  There were no further problems.


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## Bronte (25 Feb 2014)

Knuttell said:


> Also you need to tell her what she did in sourcing this guy is not acceptable,no receipt or proof of registration and no consultation with yourself ??(unbelievable)
> 
> .


 
Agree with this, unbelievable.  

And it certainly does sound like Classychick needs to be get tougher on the tenant.


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## jhegarty (25 Feb 2014)

Is it even legal to have a gas boiler turned on that had a "diy" service ?

I would check you are not leaving yourself open to a claim if anything happens.


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## AlbacoreA (26 Feb 2014)

jhegarty said:


> Is it even legal to have a gas boiler turned on that had a "diy" service ?
> 
> I would check you are not leaving yourself open to a claim if anything happens.



+1 that would be the main concern here. As a LL you'd have an obligation to have it maintained correctly.


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## Alexmartin (1 Mar 2014)

If this were me, i would do as the others have said and be raising her rent to what it should be today, if it is higher than she is currently paying and I would be getting a professional to service and certify the boiler properly, since its been tampered with.
The cheek of some people.


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## facetious (1 Mar 2014)

Knowing how insurance companies try to wriggle out of things, if you do not have a certificate of compliance, should there be a fire caused by the boiler, they may well find a way out for not paying compensation.


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