Tenant wants reduced rent to cover Green Deal loan?

Tenant wants reduced rent to cover Green Deal loan?

11:29 AM, 30th August 2016, About 8 years ago 21

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I have updated a property of mine with a new extra wall insulation on green deal finance, new boiler and new roof. Which has been an expensive upgrade. My tenants saw a massive improvement in their energy costs. However due to job circumstances they moved out in June.green home

I now have new tenants who I advised the property had just had the above improvements and they should not use a lot of energy. As the property is on a prepaid key meter I advise they could also reduce cost by transferring to direct debit payment.

When contacting the energy provider the tenants have been informed they pay £10.84 per week through their energy bills to pay on the green deal loan. They now want to me to reduce the rent by this amount.

I have tried to explain they will more than recoup this cost over the winter months.

My contract says tenant will pay all bills on the property, but dose not go into standard charges of green deal repayment plans.

I have always tried to get the best deal for my tenants in both energy and cost. However I feel really put out about this situation. Has anyone else had a similar situation?

I would love to hear anyone’s comments.

Thank you

Gareth

 


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Comments

David Mensah

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12:27 PM, 3rd September 2016, About 8 years ago

also, presumably the rent reflects the fact that the house has been improved with greater energy efficiency. So you can't then go back and ask them to pay for the improvement, it is already reflected in the rent they pay. If you didn't raise the rent, you should have.

Bill

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13:00 PM, 3rd September 2016, About 8 years ago

Makes one wonder why the NLA was so keen to push this deal on landlords.

Fed Up Landlord

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13:17 PM, 3rd September 2016, About 8 years ago

Well we can have an educated guess....

Jay James

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13:22 PM, 3rd September 2016, About 8 years ago

Go on Gary..

Fed Up Landlord

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13:45 PM, 3rd September 2016, About 8 years ago

Jay you know if I do Mark and Neil would moderate it out...☺?

Jay James

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14:50 PM, 3rd September 2016, About 8 years ago

Reply to the comment left by "Gary Nock" at "03/09/2016 - 13:45":

The NLA may have backed Green Deal for reasons of self-interest or simply being unable to recognise a poor deal.

Jay James

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14:51 PM, 3rd September 2016, About 8 years ago

Did anyone see that backhander Murray played in the US open?

William Gray

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16:56 PM, 11th September 2016, About 8 years ago

The Green Deal is back in a much better format now, most of the comments here just show how little knowledge there is out the about such a massive opportunity for property improvements.

Some key facts.

You pay via your electric bill not gas.

The property owner and the current tenant must both agree to the improvements.

The loan is on the property paid for by the bill payer not the improver.

If you re-rent the property the GD is displayed on the EPC, it is up to the renter or the purchaser to realise this not the landlord.

Therefor Gareth if your tenants seen the EPC at time of contracts you have did everything correct. They have to pay the bill. There is no get out here, you have done nothing illegal.

Hope this clarifies the situation here for you.

Bill Gray
1North Ltd
Green Deal Provider (GDPA297)

Fed Up Landlord

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23:55 PM, 11th September 2016, About 8 years ago

Bill you state that the comments "show how little knowledge there is out the about such a massive opportunity for property improvements"

Well from your own admission it does not seem to have changed a lot:

"Some key facts.
You pay via your electric bill not gas.
The property owner and the current tenant must both agree to the improvements"

The tenant invariably will object to paying for the landlords improvements regardless of it costing them less on their fuel bills. Trust me. We are talking tenants here.Even if it costs them less they will argue that they should not be funding landlords improvements. And as previously pointed out, as a landlord you have to be really careful in terms of unfair terms in consumer contracts to not make this clear on a tenancy agreement.

"The loan is on the property paid for by the bill payer not the improver"

A contradiction in terms really. If you come to sell the property any purchaser will normally expect the loan to be repaid on completion.And it's between 8% and 10% APR according to latest figures. So who pays then?

Green Deal was a good idea but for landlords and tenants it doesn't quite fit due to how it was marketed and how it works. As a Green Deal supplier you have a vested interest in it but please do not assume that landlords do not have sufficient knowledge on the subject to make an assessment on its impact on a tenancy or a subsequent sale.

Romain Garcin

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7:32 AM, 12th September 2016, About 8 years ago

"Therefor Gareth if your tenants seen the EPC at time of contracts you have did everything correct. They have to pay the bill. There is no get out here, you have done nothing illegal."

I don't know exactly how the details are listed on the EPC but in my opinion it is not sufficient that it is written somewhere that that the property is subject to a Green Deal loan.

It is like having a unexpected charge in the small print of a contract.

To be completely in the clear with respect to consumer protection regulations, I think that this charge should be clearly and explicitly pointed out to a prospective tenant.

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