[Monkey]

http://forums.moneys...d.php?t=3779759

a BTLer - who is letting out a flat, wants to pass on ALL charges to the tennent AFTER the AST had been signed. he's trying to argue that he wants a Varible rent to allow for ground rent, service charges for upkeep of the communial areas etc should be passed on to the tennent. he doesnt seem to be able to grasp the concept that this sort of thing (being the legal owner of the property) comes out of his proffit. if any. if he raises the rent and its above market, but it incorproates these charges, he'll get no tennent, so he'll have ot take the hit. but he wont understand

Quote

Dal Whinnie

I have a leasehold flat which I sublet and have an agent manage it on my behalf. As the leaseholder of the property I get charged an annual maintenance charge by the management company managing the overall development. These costs include cleaning of common parts, gardening, insurance, etc.

I would have thought that I could pass some of these costs to my tenant but my agent says that the Housing Act prohibits me from doing so (the flat is let under an assured shorthold tenancy). I have asked them for details of the relevant sections in the legislation but they have not been able to quote this for me.

It appears odd that costs which are incurred purely for the benefit of the ultimate tenant cannot be charged on to them. Does anybody know the relevant legislation on this?

Quote

Dale Whinnie

Thank you all for your comments. I am aware that the legal responsibility for the service charges are mine. What I was asking my agent when I last had a new tenant was whether I could effectively charge the tenant a variable rent to take account of certain elements of the service charge. So instead of charging say £100 I would charge £80 plus service charge contribution based on actual service charges levied. This might, of course, be more or indeed less than £100.

I am not looking to have my cake and eat it and I appreciate that this might not be practicable and that some may see this as being totally iniquitous but it does seem to me that those elements that are directly impacted by tenants behaviour would not unreasonably be borne by them.

However, back to my question. My agent tells me that The Housing Act prohibits me from entering into a contract with a tenant that allows me to charge rent on the basis I have just set out. I cannot see such a restriction in the Act. I have asked my Agent to confirm what section states this and they have referred me to their solicitor who has failed to respond to my question. So I wondered whether anybody on here knew the answer.

the thread is a good one, and seems still active.

[Aidan Ap Word]

The landlord says:
"I am not looking to have my cake and eat it"

... anyone else find this shockingly hard to believe?

Aidnapaword

[Sir Sidney Ruff-Diamond]

I see MSF uber-muppet HAMISH MCTAVISH has picked up the baton to try to defend the indefensible.

Dear oh dear. Its like watching propellerheads coming up with money-making schemes:

1. We suck all the air out of the atmosphere
2. We put it into bottles
3. We stick some labels on them
4. ...
5. ...
6. PROFIT!

[Monkey]

Hamish is a special person

[catmandu]

Sir Sidney Ruff-Diamond, on 22 March 2012 - 07:32 PM, said:

I see MSF uber-muppet HAMISH MCTAVISH has picked up the baton to try to defend the indefensible.

Dear oh dear. Its like watching propellerheads coming up with money-making schemes:

1. We suck all the air out of the atmosphere
2. We put it into bottles
3. We stick some labels on them
4. ...
5. ...
6. PROFIT!

That is, in effect, just what the mineral water companies do, and it works very well for them.

As for the topic of this thread, the guy was just asking the question - that's what forums are for. Now he knows the answer....no harm done. Better than the people who plough ahead without asking the important questions.

[GBdamo]

The guy sounds like he has a deep seated resentment towards paying for what he sees as his tenants expenses. He is only talking about communal area maintenance such as lighting, heating and tidyig but you can just picture him being kept awake at night worrying that the foyer light might be left on, a door left open or someone not wiping their feet when they come in.

Control freak landlord, avoid at all costs.

[Monkey]

what i still dont understand, and i cant be bothered to register on MSE to ask this question is:

why cant he understand the basic concept of profift and margin?

Rent = the money a tenant pays to live in a property, INCLUDING all charges neccessary to cover living there.

if the rent is £800pcm, but the LL is not making enough money to cover HIS liabilities then hes in the wrong game. as i see it he as 2 choices.

1, when he legally can, raise the rent ot cover his out goings. he doesnt need to declare why the rent is £XXX, it just is. but if he suffers voids as the rent is too expensive then tough.

2, Sell up and cut his losses, vow to never buy a property that has additional charges like this ever again.

[Son of Taeper]

Most guys I give info to, but I would make an exception in his case.
I could sell him the info he wants at a variable rate of course dependent on how many questions he asks. The more stupid his questions, the higher the price.

Ooops, he seems to have run out of money before we even start.