Landlords and responsibilities
Discussion
NiceCupOfTea said:
What was wrong with it? If you broke it, pay. If it's wear and tear, tell him to poke it [(c) Soovy 2009].
Presumably your contract says you're not liable for wear & tear stuff? If not is he going to charge you for new carpets and repainting while he's at it?
I think smiffy is the landlord, not the tennant.. so take those, and reverse em...Presumably your contract says you're not liable for wear & tear stuff? If not is he going to charge you for new carpets and repainting while he's at it?
According to my recently signed contract, our landlord is responsible for all fixtures and fittings, repairs and anything beyond the realms of normal wear and tear.
Our landlord looks after the property directly, which is good as I like to deal with the landlord direct rather than the (usually) f
kwit letting managing agents.
Usual disclaimer - I don't care if you are a letting agent who reads this post, if you are offended by my statement, then obviously the cap fits...
Our landlord looks after the property directly, which is good as I like to deal with the landlord direct rather than the (usually) f
kwit letting managing agents.Usual disclaimer - I don't care if you are a letting agent who reads this post, if you are offended by my statement, then obviously the cap fits...
davido140 said:
NiceCupOfTea said:
What was wrong with it? If you broke it, pay. If it's wear and tear, tell him to poke it [(c) Soovy 2009].
Presumably your contract says you're not liable for wear & tear stuff? If not is he going to charge you for new carpets and repainting while he's at it?
I think smiffy is the landlord, not the tennant.. so take those, and reverse em...Presumably your contract says you're not liable for wear & tear stuff? If not is he going to charge you for new carpets and repainting while he's at it?
I would have expected to be consulted by the agent before repairs are made,..
jas xjr said:
in my experience letting agents are not t be trusted.landlord in another country? kerching!
i do not ever let the agents maintain a building.it will always cost you more.better having a reliable tradesman and have them do the work directly.
This. In spades.i do not ever let the agents maintain a building.it will always cost you more.better having a reliable tradesman and have them do the work directly.
I'm sure there are good letting agents. No, stop laughing, there must be one or two.
But the vast majority I've had the misfortune to come into contact with have been shysters of the highest order. Never ever get a 'managing' agent to carry out repairs, always find someone you can trust to do them for you.
As for whose responsibility, we work on the principle that if the item was working when we let the property, then it's out responsibility to fix it for the tenant as quickly as possible, unless of course the damage was caused by them through negligence or deliberately.
My daughter had a similar problem to the OP's. When her and her house mates left their property there was an inspection done by an independent (of the landlady and letting agent) company who said there were small dents in the carpet due to pressure of furniture and one or two other minor problems. A month later the letting agent came back to my daughter saying there was serious damage to the carpet and the landlady wanted to charge them to re-carpet the entire house, the agent said they may do well to agree to 15% of the cost rather than the whole lot.
My daughter told them exactly where to go as any damage should have been noted on the final inspection and carpet damage would be fair wear and tear and what did the woman expect letting her house to students. Expecting a lengthy battle to get her deposit back she was very surprised when the agent emailed her few hours later saying he would return the full deposit that day.
I think he was trying it on and may have been after a bit of pocket money himself.
My daughter told them exactly where to go as any damage should have been noted on the final inspection and carpet damage would be fair wear and tear and what did the woman expect letting her house to students. Expecting a lengthy battle to get her deposit back she was very surprised when the agent emailed her few hours later saying he would return the full deposit that day.
I think he was trying it on and may have been after a bit of pocket money himself.
jagracer said:
My daughter had a similar problem to the OP's. When her and her house mates left their property there was an inspection done by an independent (of the landlady and letting agent) company who said there were small dents in the carpet due to pressure of furniture and one or two other minor problems. A month later the letting agent came back to my daughter saying there was serious damage to the carpet and the landlady wanted to charge them to re-carpet the entire house, the agent said they may do well to agree to 15% of the cost rather than the whole lot.
My daughter told them exactly where to go as any damage should have been noted on the final inspection and carpet damage would be fair wear and tear and what did the woman expect letting her house to students. Expecting a lengthy battle to get her deposit back she was very surprised when the agent emailed her few hours later saying he would return the full deposit that day.
I think he was trying it on and may have been after a bit of pocket money himself.
I have posted on here before - I have actually turned down a job before where a landlady was telling me to make up an invoice saying that the carpet was badly damanged and dented (it was in extremely good condition and had been cleaned well before I got there). In her words, so she could "get some money back from her tenant, everybody else does it" My daughter told them exactly where to go as any damage should have been noted on the final inspection and carpet damage would be fair wear and tear and what did the woman expect letting her house to students. Expecting a lengthy battle to get her deposit back she was very surprised when the agent emailed her few hours later saying he would return the full deposit that day.
I think he was trying it on and may have been after a bit of pocket money himself.
Denting of the carpet, if challenged will come down to normal wear and tear. Ripping is another matter unless it is very, very old. Nobody can expect their tenants to weight less than 1 stone and levitate 2 inches above the carpet at all times.
I have lost count of the amount of times I have pointed it out to end of tenancy landlord cleans. A cheap carpet for the tenants, kept clean will last a long, long time.
If its your gear, you have to fix it unless it was malicous damage.
I had a spate of the same tenant going through just about every appliance in the house including central heating boiler in the course of a year. (It was all pretty new stuff)
Nothing I could prove so I just had to foot the bill(s). Slung them out at the end of the term tho'!
I had a spate of the same tenant going through just about every appliance in the house including central heating boiler in the course of a year. (It was all pretty new stuff)
Nothing I could prove so I just had to foot the bill(s). Slung them out at the end of the term tho'!
Unless there is very clear evidence of deliberate neglect or abuse it is your problem. Take the opportunity to contact the tennant and ask, nicely, if any other jobs need doing. You don't want this to become an issue between you and then. Sometimes appliances just fail, especially electrical ones, when no fault was apparent only days earlier.
As a point of interest my personal experience with landlords is that the majority are common crooks, always trying to make out that you owe them your deposit and threatening to black list you to future landlords if you make a fuss.
I know that tradesmen often collude in this as a few years back MrsC asked for a quote for repairs to our pato door. The tradesman who quoted, for some reason, assumed that the house was rented. He phoned us to say that, if we wanted, he would make out that the door had been vandalised by the tenants and put in an inflated quote. He did quote (we didn't tell him we actually owned our home) and he was TEN TIMES more expensive than the guy who we finally got in to do the repair.
As a point of interest my personal experience with landlords is that the majority are common crooks, always trying to make out that you owe them your deposit and threatening to black list you to future landlords if you make a fuss.
I know that tradesmen often collude in this as a few years back MrsC asked for a quote for repairs to our pato door. The tradesman who quoted, for some reason, assumed that the house was rented. He phoned us to say that, if we wanted, he would make out that the door had been vandalised by the tenants and put in an inflated quote. He did quote (we didn't tell him we actually owned our home) and he was TEN TIMES more expensive than the guy who we finally got in to do the repair.
Thanks for the replies.The contract has me paying for all "fixed" electricals,so I am responsible.I have also sent the agent a strongley worded e-mail saying that I want to know of things before repairs are conducted and they were not meeting my expectations etc. I'll see how things go but I'm not holding my breath
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