M
Masood
if only life was so simple
the tenant will have signed an agreement in which they agree to take reasonable actions to protect and look after the property..if they had done nothing about the leak they would be liable to costs incurred....they took action in an emergency to protect the property, which they would be under contractual obligation to do so,they entering into a questionable contract but they would plead ignorance,as they are not aware of property maintenance costs,as not property owners and they were placed in a situation were their hands were tied if the landlord does not agree with their actions ,she should have made advanced arrangements and written it into the contract
the landlord has a contract with the tenants and the tenants have a contract with the contractor,as said unless a special clause set in the tenant..landlord contract..the landlord is liable...as emergency works..you discuss charge of works..can you imagine possible cost of repairs if works not carried out by call out....suddenly cost not so great .... but as said..these contractors are chancers...you may well get away with paying a % of the bill
I'm absolutely certain that you're wrong on this drip-dry. The tenancy agreement will include a clause that the tenants are obliged to look after the property, yes. But not that they have authorisation to contract on the landlord's behalf.
I've been in a similar situation where a lettings agency refused to pay part of my invoice on the grounds that they could have had the job done cheaper (it was a Sunday callout and I charge double time). I took the legal route and was told that my contract existed solely with the tenant. They tenant ended up having to pay.
What a decent landlord / lettings agency will do is provide a 24-hour emergency number to a someone who can then call in trusted tradespeople as required. Not many of them do this, unfortunately.