Asked landlord to replace 4 plate hob with 2... and they did

NeptunesMoon

The counter top in my place needed replacing a few months ago and I mentioned that the 4 plate hob wasn't working great and only one of the hobs worked well. I use the hob often, but as it's only a small place and I'm on my own, I'm not cooking up huge feasts so to give me more counter space, asked for a 2 plate hob instead of 4 and the landlord said no prob. I've since heard that there's a requirement for a 4 plate hob in rental accommodation :eek: I don't want to have put my landlord in a bad spot here and wouldn't want there to be a case where if I decide to move out, that the new tenants kick up a fuss about it.

What's the situation here? cheers

athtrasna

It is a legal requirement but landlords are also required to keep on top of the laws around private rentals. In trying to help you the LL has inadvertently put himself in a dodgy situation and will probably end up having to put in a four ring hob sooner rather than later.

MarkAnthony

If you don't complain then there is unlikely to be an issue until you move.

Pawwed Rig

And if you don't complain and whoever moves in doesn't complain then there is no issue. Some of the laws are really daft and take no account of a persons preference.

DivingDuck

I'm not sure what your concern is here, OP.

Are you worried that you will be liable for asking for a two-ring and the law says four? You won't; your landlord is responsible for adhering to the law, not you.

Are you worried your landlord will get into trouble for only giving you a two-ring during your tenancy? He won't; the PRTB or others bodies will not get involved unless you as the tenant ask for them to.

Are you simply just worried that you have caused a problem for your landlord further down the line when you move out and the subsequent tenant will want the four-ring they're entitled to? You have and it may, but ultimately that is his concern and not yours, especially if the two-ring is there now and paid for. (If not, you might want to drop him a line to inform him of this law before he buys it, if you want to be a real star.) If it is there already though, just say when you are leaving that some of your friends mentioned a two-ring was legally insufficient and he may want to consider replacing it before he gets in a new tenant, but that you were very happy while you were residing there.

Ultimately there are no real consequences for you here, so I wouldn't worry, and as for the consequences to the landlord... There might not be much to be done about it now.

athtrasna

Pawwed Rig wrote: »

And if you don't complain and whoever moves in doesn't complain then there is no issue. Some of the laws are really daft and take no account of a persons preference.

Unless the council randomly choose to inspect it as they can do with any rental, private or otherwise.

newacc2015

athtrasna wrote: »

Unless the council randomly choose to inspect it as they can do with any rental, private or otherwise.

Except most local authorities dont. I know several landlords with collectively over 100 properties in DCC. In 20 years the only time they got inspected was due to an 'anonymous tip off' from a pissed off tenant or because they owned a pre 63.

Mrs OBumble

athtrasna wrote: »

Unless the council randomly choose to inspect it as they can do with any rental, private or otherwise.

Any idea what the probability of that is?

And whether any council inspections are really random?

OP chill and say nothing, and everything will be fine.

athtrasna

Mrs OBumble wrote: »

Any idea what the probability of that is?

And whether any council inspections are really random?

OP chill and say nothing, and everything will be fine.

No idea but I've been surprised at how often landlords and tenants pop up here posting about random inspections. I also think that it's sod's law that the landlord who isn't pulling a fast one, rather working to accommodate the tenant is the one who will get checked.

Pawwed Rig

There was a blitz on old bedsits but other than that I don't recall anyone ever mentioning a random inspection.
If on the tiny chance the council were to inspect and all they found wrong was a cooker that the tenant asked for then a landlord would have to be happy enough.

These things are cheap enough anyway OP. I wouldn't fret about it.

foggy_lad

Pawwed Rig wrote: »

And if you don't complain and whoever moves in doesn't complain then there is no issue. Some of the laws are really daft and take no account of a persons preference.

The reason most of those laws are there is to prevent situations seen on boards recently where rooms were turned into "self contained flats" and they seem to think a two ring hob plate and microwave satisfies the hob and oven requirements. these tiny rooms were advertised for €100+ a week!

DivingDuck

athtrasna wrote: »

Unless the council randomly choose to inspect it as they can do with any rental, private or otherwise.

According to DCC, the procedure is as follows:

The Environmental Health Section will contact the landlord by an appointment letter in order to arrange an inspection. A time and date for the inspection will be clearly stated in the letter. If the landlord intends to be represented at the appointment, the details (including the name and the telephone number) of that individual must be given to the Officer beforehand. The landlord must notify the tenant beforehand and they should facilitate the inspection.

Note the difference in the last line between how details "must" be given and the landlord "must" notify the tenant, but that the tenant only "should" facilitate the inspection. This reads to me like they don't have any power to enforce the decision to inspect if the tenant refuses, but I could be wrong there. Either way, you'll have plenty of notice and can raise the issue with the landlord in the unlikely event of that happening.

Even so, the law on landlord obligations says only this:

Article 8 of the 2008 Regulations (as amended) requires private landlords to provide facilities for cooking and for the hygienic storage of food, to include the following:

• 4-ring hob with oven and grill

So, if asked, "Did your landlord provide a four-ring hob", you can answer yes honestly, as he did exactly this at the outset of the tenancy. I would imagine that if you said the 2-ring was put there by your choice, no further action would be taken.

The situation would have to require an unusual occurrence (random inspection) plus an especially uptight inspector (to ignore the preference/request of the tenant), and in the event that this should be about to happen, you and your landlord will have a good bit of notice to sort the matter out.

You sound like a lovely tenant and your landlord sounds like a decent sort, too. I wouldn't let this stress you too much.

Worth a simple e-mail / chat with the landlord and explain that you've just come into this information after the fact?

"Hey, thanks for sorting the hob out, much appreciated. Unfortunately have just found out that it's technically a requirement to have a 4 hob cooker! Given that I've asked for the 2 hob specifically, you can rest assured I won't be complaining about it, but thought it best to let you know as it could potentially be an issue down the line for you. Weird requirement, but I guess the law is an ass sometimes!"

I'd reckon something like that is all that's required to be honest.

NeptunesMoon

cheers for all the help and info everyone! I'm not worried I'll be liable for anything, only worried that I've caused a problem for the LL down the line if another tenant may raise the issue.

Good to see the chances are really low of any issue being raised, even with an inspection and the point that a 4 plate hob WAS provided and I requested it to be changed. I can't imagine many tenants would have issue over the 2 hob so hopefully it'll never be an issue but I'll try mention it to the LL at some stage just so they know.

gctest50

It'd be more to stop these yokes :