Unreasonable request from a Tenant?
Hi, this is my first post so a big thanks in advance for any advice. We have a tenant that is currently 3 months into her contract, all was well when she moved in and the property has been kept in a fantastic condition so no real cause for concern. However she had budgeted for working from home when taking on the house originally and her company were happy to send relevant documents on line for her to process. ![]()
However she has had issues with her internet provider blocking a lot of the content her office had sent, this in turn led to a loss of earnings and subsequently she has been called back into the office rather than been allowed to work at home.
We received a text saying originally she would be leaving at the end of the 6 months due to this problem with the internet and now having to travel to work and back every day. This has since changed to she will be vacating the house end of March, paying the rent but not heating the house or staying on top of its upkeep. Now obviously this leaves us with a house stood empty or worse abandoned and potential damp or condensation issues.
Preferably we are now in the mind frame just to sell the house but believe the tenant still has an obligation to ensure the property has the relevant utilities in place for the term of the contract at her cost?
Thanks
James
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Member Since October 2013 - Comments: 248
10:45 PM, 21st March 2015, About 11 years ago
I agree with Neil. Don’t look a gift horse in the mouth. You are going to be paid 3 months rent while you try and sell the house, which presumably you can bring to presentation standard. To me, asking her to pay for the utilities seems a little petty – condensation shouldn’t be a problem at this time of year, and it’s you that needs the utilities to show the house.
Be aware that once she vacates, the council will come after you for Council Tax for the remaining period, whatever the contract says.