Last updated 1 second ago, view live on Reddit.
Hey,
So I've moved abroad for a year and I'm renting my house out for a competitive price to a colleague (covers just the mortgage which is below what an agent valued the rent to be).
He has messaged saying he's struggling to efficiently heat the house without a proper thermostat. The boiler has a timer system but there isn't a way to have the boiler turn on/off at a certain room temp which is what he's getting at. We have lived there just before renting it to them and the boiler was serviced 5 days prior so was in full working order.
Is it reasonable to say that the heating can be managed as is? It's not like it makes crazy expensive bills- my January gas bill was <£40 and that includes the hob..
TLDR: should I pay for my tenant to have a smart thermostat or tell them to cope with old functioning school radiators?
Thanks
Given they're only about £200 supplied and fitted, I'd say it's a worthwhile investment even just for when you move back in. It will definitely help with someone's bills, as it allows for variations in ambient temperature - with a timer system alone, it's on even if it's unexpectedly hot, off even if's unexpectedly cold etc.
Given you're renting for well below value, you could say that you approve the installation, but they have to pay for it? Or split the bill?
You could just say 'no', equally :)
Unrelated to your question, but I know we all want to know. Have you done this rental properly? Or just 'mates rates' and he'll definitely 100% move out when you get back home?
Didn’t realise they were only £200 that’s not too bad. I may suggest they pay for the materials and I’ll pay someone to install.
The rental agreement is done properly as this was needed by my mortgage provider so deposit protected, gas and electrical safety certs and proper contracts etc. the mates rates were essentially as I know there won’t be an issue with paying rent as him and his partner are in stable jobs and could easily cover the rent on a single income, it avoided having a management agency (thought he wouldn’t cause any problems- oh well), and I know he will move out once I’m back with minimal overlap
OK, thanks for confirming on the rental (purely being nosey!) - and good work doing it properly :)
Re: price - mine was £160 supplied and fitted by British Gas, a long time ago admittedly but I googled for approx prices and £200 is what came up. Might be a bit more, or less, and a local sparky / gas engineer might be cheaper.
They're simple to fit, too...so shouldn't cost much regardless.
If you're offering then do it the other way around. You pay for the material and they pay for labour. Otherwise they are likely to take the stat with them when they vacate.
Go for a smart thermostat that's registered under your name.
I mean if you have TRV valves you might not even need a smart thermostat
This is what I was thinking too... a single thermostat whether it's smart or dumb, won't give individual room control...
Aaaaand your first mistake was????
Renting to a colleague
I won’t make this mistake again 🙃
second mistake renting below market value, why you doing them a favour? Would they give you stuff for free?
It’s all a learning process for my inevitable property empire I’m sure
In which case I'd say you give you permission for the upgrade but they should arrange it and pay if they want it. They are renting below market rate and that is a great saving for them in itself, why save them even more when you personally don't feel the need for it?
Having a thermostat will improve your EPC ever so slightly when it next comes to it. Also environmentally it's the right thing to do, along with of course putting less wear on your expensive to replace boiler. I'd say it's quite a reasonable request given the comfort improvement too.
Having a smart thermostat in a rented property can get annoying when dealing with the account it's tied to, so I'd go for a bog standard digital thermostat.
Tbh in all rented houses I have been in I have put my own smart thermostat in and just removed it and put it back how it was when I have moved out. Of course you probably dont want to openly say they should do that as they may cause damage, but in theory if they want something 'smart' they can do it.
You could off course offer to install a non-smart but wireless thermostat to meet in the middle, you can see it as a home improvement for future tenants too
Yeah I’m leaning towards something like the product you’ve posted. The tenant has zero home skills- initially he thought the heating was broken as he hadn’t turned the radiators on. So I’ll probably end up having to pay someone to set it up for him too
Might be worth the upfront expense to keep people happy in the long run. You just have to be carful not to set a precedent of them complaining and you fixing it immediately.
What a shitty attitude. A good landlord should be fixing problems immediately.
Except this one isn't a problem as such. Tenant can just Google stuff sometimes too!
Of course, but still if there’s a problem it should be sorted out quickly.
I agree if there are actual issues it should be dealt with immediately yes
Yes, you'll often find that renters have no DIY or skills at all or even general knowledge about things you thought were obvious. They expect the landlord to do it for them and for things to *just work* without having to mess about with radiators or heating timers or whatever. I really would just get the above fitted. It'll save *you* money when you move back in anyway.
If all he wants is to set a temp for the rads to come off and on at, you don't need a full on smart thermostat. Just a bog standard one, which is a pretty basic and reasonable request.
Rented as seen. No need to make improvements unless you want to.
This will improve the EPC if the property. I’d do it
are you going to move back in? yes, do it... no, how generous you feeling
The issue with smart thermostats is that they usually have a user account. Is this your user account or the tenants? How do you ensure the tenant gives the smart thermostat back at the end of tenancy. I know people are having issues buying and selling houses with smart thermostats due to the user accounts, how does it work with more frequent tenancy changes
Make it a condition of the deposit return
They doing seem to be that easy to change between user accounts. I think the manufacturers would rather you buy a new one. You can’t make it a condition of deposit return. The Deposit Protection Schemes might let you deduct an appropriate sum for a missing one, but you couldn’t withhold the full deposit, and they might struggle to understand that you can’t access the user account.
This. They’re a pain in this regard, because the user account (at least with Hive, anyway) is tied to the device for life, for security reasons. You can’t ever change it.
What I’ve done is set up an account as landlord, and then I create a secondary account for any tenant who moves in. This works fine, but it does mean that I retain access to the system, so if I was so inclined I could log in, view and alter the settings. I always make that clear at the start of the tenancy - and point out that I will never ever do that! - but it’s important to be open and upfront about it.
It’s never been a problem for me or any tenants; but judging by some of the landlord-tenant relationships we read about in this sub, I’m sure that plenty of tenants would not accept this arrangement.
I’ve heard of people having issues with user accounts for this reason when their spouse passed away. The hive was registered to the spouse and it was a massive work up to get it changed over.
If they use the “at home” feature to turn the heating on and off, does this not put you in a difficult position for GDPR? You have access to data that you don’t have need to have access to from a gdpr point of view.
Your solution seems like the best of a bad bunch, but I can see it causing other problems, and certainly wouldn’t want that power in the hands of an unprofessional ll.
I think as the data officer, you would be liable if you passed on the data about when the tenants were at home, but being party to that data given the context I don't believe would be an issue.
Boiler should have a thermostat.
Some people will argue that they should control the rooms with a radiator trv's (your boiler needs somewhere to send the heat, so it will all go to the non trv rad.)
And others that you can set the boiler rad temperature.
It seems people will debate this. And it doesnt matter as they can do what they want in their home.
However it might be good for your boiler if its not always on, and turns off when it can and make a better environment for the tenant. Also can prevent frozen pipes, if you set it low while away.
You will benefit from the smart thermostat once you are back, honestly, it’s a no brainer.
If you wanted to be petty as they have themselves a bargain- "I am sorry you are not happy in the house - I will completely understand if you wish to terminate the lease early"
Then rent out at market rates to next tenant