Currently letting my house out through a letting agent and today I got a bill for £150 for "repairs" done to MY boiler and some wiring in my conservatory. I never received a quote and was never asked for permission for the plumber and sparky that the letting agents sourced (without my knowledge) to carry out any work. Do I have a legal right to sign off quotes for work that is being done on my property while I am letting it or would the bollocking I'm preparing to give the agents be a waste of breathe? Cheers for any advice.
Have you read your terms and conditions I would imagine that within them it will detail what responsibilities you and they have. But no doubt the rates they pass on to you will have a hefty "commission" for the letting agency within them.
Depends on the terms of your agreement If you are having them manage the property for you and the boiler fails they need to get it fixed You can write into the agreement that they contact you for everything, or its more normal to allow them to just get on with day to day expenses. Id check what you agreed regarding repairs if anything before sounding off - also £150 doesnt sound a bad price so to me it sounds like they have done OK. Obviously if you agreed beforehand they should ask you before spending any money then its a bit different - though I guess your tenants wouldnt be too impressed to be without heating whilst you spent time getting quotes.
Usually there is a term in the contract that says they can do work upto £x without approval Usually about £250 Depends are they just letting it for you or as I suspect managing it
That's certainly the case with mine Plus if a repair is deemed urgent (and a boiler repair in the winter would come under this) then they have the right to go ahead with repairs. The last thing you want to be doing is peacing off the tenants so they look elsewhere losing you income. Not sure about the wiring in the conservatory but if it's under the approval threshold then that'll be that. Of course you can request to see the bills for work carried out. A reputable letting agency should have good contacts with the local workforce and be able to get you the work done very competitively and promptly. That's the theory anyway!
