Hello,
we have a somewhat complex problem and are currently unsure about what to do. Any experiences would be appreciated.
Our house is 23 years old, with a Buderus boiler and control system; the burner was recently replaced. In our living room, there was a kind of "thermostat" that was already broken when we bought the house. We naïvely accepted the sales advisor’s statement that it wasn’t needed and assumed that the heating could be controlled directly at the unit downstairs.
We suspect that something was set up about 23 years ago, after which no one cared about this thermostat, and eventually, it just broke. The water may be a bit cooler, and our bathroom radiator never really gets warm despite bleeding and unblocking. Otherwise, everything is fine for us. When my husband goes into the living room around 7 a.m., it’s still a bit cool, but absolutely okay, and when I come home in the afternoon, it’s warm in there. So far, so good.
Now, we have rented out our granny flat to a young woman for 8 weeks. There is only one heating circuit. Due to her work, she gets up at 4:30 a.m. This was not a problem before, but since last weekend it seems that the flat is freezing cold when she gets up in the morning. Previously, according to her, this was different, and the heating was running in the morning. Now it isn’t anymore. She feels cold and wants this changed, which I can understand.
Today, a technician was here. The problem is: this control unit is broken. The heating is set to something, the sensor is located outside on the north side, but exactly what was set can no longer be read or changed.
The young woman now wants the heating to be set so that it is warm at 4:30 a.m.
Because we have only one circuit, we cannot separate the systems for the granny flat and the main house. This means we would have to set it so that the radiators start heating at 4:30 a.m. for ourselves as well. This makes no sense for us—no one here gets up before 6:30 a.m., the children get up about an hour later, and we may not be as sensitive to cold.
But to do this at all, a new controller is needed. These parts from 25 years ago are no longer available today—you can get “refurbished” ones from various online shops for around 300 euros, but whether we can still set those ourselves is questionable.
The alternative would be a completely new heating control system, which would cost about 1500 euros; a binding offer will be made. That is certainly even more expensive 🙂
For us personally, everything is basically fine, so this is a lot of money. On the other hand, it may also not be very sensible if you have no way to adjust your own heating, and sooner or later, one might have to invest in this anyway?
we have a somewhat complex problem and are currently unsure about what to do. Any experiences would be appreciated.
Our house is 23 years old, with a Buderus boiler and control system; the burner was recently replaced. In our living room, there was a kind of "thermostat" that was already broken when we bought the house. We naïvely accepted the sales advisor’s statement that it wasn’t needed and assumed that the heating could be controlled directly at the unit downstairs.
We suspect that something was set up about 23 years ago, after which no one cared about this thermostat, and eventually, it just broke. The water may be a bit cooler, and our bathroom radiator never really gets warm despite bleeding and unblocking. Otherwise, everything is fine for us. When my husband goes into the living room around 7 a.m., it’s still a bit cool, but absolutely okay, and when I come home in the afternoon, it’s warm in there. So far, so good.
Now, we have rented out our granny flat to a young woman for 8 weeks. There is only one heating circuit. Due to her work, she gets up at 4:30 a.m. This was not a problem before, but since last weekend it seems that the flat is freezing cold when she gets up in the morning. Previously, according to her, this was different, and the heating was running in the morning. Now it isn’t anymore. She feels cold and wants this changed, which I can understand.
Today, a technician was here. The problem is: this control unit is broken. The heating is set to something, the sensor is located outside on the north side, but exactly what was set can no longer be read or changed.
The young woman now wants the heating to be set so that it is warm at 4:30 a.m.
Because we have only one circuit, we cannot separate the systems for the granny flat and the main house. This means we would have to set it so that the radiators start heating at 4:30 a.m. for ourselves as well. This makes no sense for us—no one here gets up before 6:30 a.m., the children get up about an hour later, and we may not be as sensitive to cold.
But to do this at all, a new controller is needed. These parts from 25 years ago are no longer available today—you can get “refurbished” ones from various online shops for around 300 euros, but whether we can still set those ourselves is questionable.
The alternative would be a completely new heating control system, which would cost about 1500 euros; a binding offer will be made. That is certainly even more expensive 🙂
For us personally, everything is basically fine, so this is a lot of money. On the other hand, it may also not be very sensible if you have no way to adjust your own heating, and sooner or later, one might have to invest in this anyway?
B
Baumfachmann3 Apr 2018 00:07At some point, if no solution is found, your tenant will move out and you might end up with problem tenants. Maybe that is what you want.
Hello at this late hour,
Phrases like "being stingy is cool" are quickly thrown around, they sound great, and you feel morally superior – how cheeky, someone wants to let their tenant freeze! Unbelievable!
As is often the case in life, it’s not that simple, and there are always two sides to a story. I don’t know if you care about that or if you’re just interested in catchy slogans, I don’t know you. This thread should actually be proof that we don’t just not care in principle and that we are looking for solutions – but for me, a solution can also mean sitting down again, discussing what we as landlords might have naively assumed with a flat-rate rent that she requested, what is currently technically possible, and what is possible at what additional cost. I personally don’t see the point of a tenancy agreement as the landlord being responsible for ensuring it is 75°F (24°C) in the apartment at 4 a.m., just so someone can get up briefly and then be away for 12 hours.
Problem again:
- We cannot currently reset anything; a new control unit costs 1,500 euros (approx. $1,600), and this is for a 23-year-old oil heating system.
- For ourselves, everything is fine; we would only consider spending such a large amount of money right now to make sure she feels subjectively warm at night.
- If at 5 a.m. the apartment is 67.6°F (19.8°C), we are far from the situation where a lawyer or tenant protection agency would need to get involved 🙂 So, IF someone is going to make such claims, they should at least have some solid basis.
- We cannot separate settings between the main house and the secondary unit; to do that, we would have to start heating 11 radiators at 4 a.m. here or pay about 60 euros (approx. $65) per radiator for radio-controlled valves that could prevent that.
- She also says she feels cold in summer, so we would have to set the heating to come on at 4 a.m. even in July – in a 2,600 sq ft (240 sqm) house.
I don’t think it’s unreasonable for a landlord to consider whether to accommodate such requests. We are not talking about a 1,290 sq ft (120 sqm) apartment in a prime location like Munich, but a small apartment in a rural area, where we would have to expect that most of what remains from the rent after taxes goes toward such things. This is a young woman, apparently currently single, who might move out within a year regardless of whether it’s 68°F (20°C) at 5 a.m., and then we would have made such an investment in an old heating system for nothing.
And of course, we don’t want her to be cold, that’s obvious. We are really thinking about this, and just that alone is really frustrating me.
Phrases like "being stingy is cool" are quickly thrown around, they sound great, and you feel morally superior – how cheeky, someone wants to let their tenant freeze! Unbelievable!
As is often the case in life, it’s not that simple, and there are always two sides to a story. I don’t know if you care about that or if you’re just interested in catchy slogans, I don’t know you. This thread should actually be proof that we don’t just not care in principle and that we are looking for solutions – but for me, a solution can also mean sitting down again, discussing what we as landlords might have naively assumed with a flat-rate rent that she requested, what is currently technically possible, and what is possible at what additional cost. I personally don’t see the point of a tenancy agreement as the landlord being responsible for ensuring it is 75°F (24°C) in the apartment at 4 a.m., just so someone can get up briefly and then be away for 12 hours.
Problem again:
- We cannot currently reset anything; a new control unit costs 1,500 euros (approx. $1,600), and this is for a 23-year-old oil heating system.
- For ourselves, everything is fine; we would only consider spending such a large amount of money right now to make sure she feels subjectively warm at night.
- If at 5 a.m. the apartment is 67.6°F (19.8°C), we are far from the situation where a lawyer or tenant protection agency would need to get involved 🙂 So, IF someone is going to make such claims, they should at least have some solid basis.
- We cannot separate settings between the main house and the secondary unit; to do that, we would have to start heating 11 radiators at 4 a.m. here or pay about 60 euros (approx. $65) per radiator for radio-controlled valves that could prevent that.
- She also says she feels cold in summer, so we would have to set the heating to come on at 4 a.m. even in July – in a 2,600 sq ft (240 sqm) house.
I don’t think it’s unreasonable for a landlord to consider whether to accommodate such requests. We are not talking about a 1,290 sq ft (120 sqm) apartment in a prime location like Munich, but a small apartment in a rural area, where we would have to expect that most of what remains from the rent after taxes goes toward such things. This is a young woman, apparently currently single, who might move out within a year regardless of whether it’s 68°F (20°C) at 5 a.m., and then we would have made such an investment in an old heating system for nothing.
And of course, we don’t want her to be cold, that’s obvious. We are really thinking about this, and just that alone is really frustrating me.
I would buy a used control unit from ebxxy and have it installed. Of course, there is no warranty, but it is initially the most affordable solution. Then you can have peace of mind for now and maybe enjoy the system for many more years.
Edit: Just Google it; for example, I found a company called Darche that even offers exchange options. In my opinion, there is no cheaper and safer alternative!
The same principle also applies to old car control units.
Edit: Just Google it; for example, I found a company called Darche that even offers exchange options. In my opinion, there is no cheaper and safer alternative!
The same principle also applies to old car control units.
Mizit schrieb:
Since we cannot control the main house and the granny flat separately, we would have to invest in several wireless thermostats to prevent the heating from turning on everywhere at 4 a.m. 4:30 a.m. isn’t early enough either, as she wants it warm by then, and that applies to summer as well. The basement probably isn’t “warm” in summer either if you feel cold at 21°C (70°F). There are still a few things we need to discuss with her, because the heating behavior she wants can’t be managed with a flat rate as agreed, and as landlords, at least in our thinking, we are not willing to bear the costs for such an investment alone if we don’t need it.I don’t quite understand. If it was already warm at 4 a.m. for her, then it should have been warm for you as well. What would be different now compared to before? By the way, based on what you describe, I suspect your heating system stopped winter mode on March 1, 2018, and therefore no longer heats through the night.
Mizit schrieb:
We don’t know enough yet about questions like gas boilers or other things, but buying a new system and equipping the entire house with wireless units will cost us around 2000 euros (about $2,200), and if a new gas system starts at 10,000 euros (about $11,000), that’s an enormous amount of money for us.-The problem for you is that there is only one heating circuit. You can replace the boiler, but you still have to control the rooms/apartments individually.
C
chand19865 Apr 2018 09:35Baumfachmann schrieb:
If I lived with you and was cold, you would either face tenant protection laws or have a lawyer involved, plus a rent reductionThere is a difference between feeling cold at 20°C (68°F) and at 16°C (61°F)...
@TE
Regardless of the current tenant’s issue, I would consider installing a system that heats the main house and the separate apartment independently. As an investment for the future. Having everything on one heating circuit is quite unfortunate; even as a tenant, I might not want the same temperature the landlord prefers (it could be too warm for me rather than too cold).
So, I would spend the money on this anyway and never see it as a lost investment, even if the tenant moves out in one year.
K
Knallkörper5 Apr 2018 10:50That won’t be possible with this regulation. Physically, there is certainly only one heating circuit.
I would also buy and install (or have installed) an old, used controller. You will likely have to invest a few hundred dollars if you want to rent out the property. If the entire house needs to be heated from 4 a.m., then that is simply how it is. If, according to your statement, the rooms in question already reach nearly 20°C (68°F), then raising the temperature to 22°C (72°F) will cost “almost nothing.” I don’t understand why you are considering an investment of around $10,000 (the boiler might need to be replaced soon) but at the same time don’t want to start with a minimal, solution-oriented option. For me, as a homeowner, a heating system without an adjustable controller would be a no-go anyway.
I would also buy and install (or have installed) an old, used controller. You will likely have to invest a few hundred dollars if you want to rent out the property. If the entire house needs to be heated from 4 a.m., then that is simply how it is. If, according to your statement, the rooms in question already reach nearly 20°C (68°F), then raising the temperature to 22°C (72°F) will cost “almost nothing.” I don’t understand why you are considering an investment of around $10,000 (the boiler might need to be replaced soon) but at the same time don’t want to start with a minimal, solution-oriented option. For me, as a homeowner, a heating system without an adjustable controller would be a no-go anyway.
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