Where should a landlord draw the line with Damage to property?

ronan45

I am a landlord and have had a strange few months, In fairness I have had some great tenants over the years. But lately my god I have some tenants in that are quite simply quite rough and uncaring for the place

So far in the last few months

2 windows have gone crooked by themselves like they have been pulled and the handles are not funtioning anymore will need to be repaired replacement hinges and handles. (this happened by itself of course)

Front door Handle has needed to be replaced. (again it just got loose by itself from "wear and tear")

Now today I notice a venetian blind hanging on the front door pulled off with 3 of the slats cracked off. (this was an accident it somehow got caught on the door when it was being opened... very strange as i cant replicate how it could of happened lol. somehow the strap on his back pack latched onto it lol !!!)

DVD recorder just doesnt work anymore.... (I have used it fine many a time but since they used it never worked since supposedly it didnt work for them either)

Last weekend the loo was blocked and i was able to pull out a half full toilet roll complete with core from the outside gulley. (again no one put it down it must have fallen from the top of the toilet by itself)

Cooker Knobs 2 of the four of them broken (obviously twisted the wrong way with force) this was a mistake they thought it turned the other way... fair enough

Bought a brand new dinner set at the sales and alas 1 of the dinner plates was binned within the first week as it fell off the draining board so my nice new 20 piece set is now a 19 piece set lol. It fell of the draining board by itself they think

As a landlord i know there will be accidents and stuff like that but when do you have to say Enough is enough. If i let it go it will probably get worse Im thinking? Like i dont wanna be a sap asking for money for a plate or a cooker knob but where do other landlords draw the line. I would allow maybe a grand or two on upkeep and repairs but it pisses me off when these repairs are due to someone just not giving a hoot and then letting on it happened by itself or its wear and tear !

mikemac1

Wear and tear happens, so do accidents but I've looked at your list and none are acceptable. Well apart from the plate, everyone has broken a plate at some stage.
It's not acceptable they broke two knobs on the oven, they must have used some serious force. I'm guessing coming in drunk and cooking some after pub meal


You seem a good landlord but you'll just be stressing yourself out over the next thing to be damaged

Give them notice, you'll get some new people

xper

Hi Ronan,
Accidental damage is still damage, not wear and tear. People have to take responsibility for their actions.

I'd let one plate breakage go as 'wear and tear' and the DVD recorder fault, if there is no obvious physical damage, is too disputable (though given their track record, yeah, we can guess something stupid happened).
But, on the face of it, all the other items should be deducted from their deposit as there is clear physical evidence of misuse. Keep the receipts for the repairs/replacements.

If you don't trust these guys, you may or may not have grounds to give them notice based on how long they've been in there and the lease terms.

If they won't be going anywhere then you do need to have a serious chat with them, tell them that the above items ARE coming out their deposit and will continue to do so if they keep it up. Don't use the 'From now on its coming out of your deposit...' line, that'll signal to them they've got away with negligence and you're a bit of a push over. If they're young, they may just not have copped on yet and this will be a wake up call. If they're a bit older, you might have a problem in that they are set in their careless ways and/or know what they can get away with.

The_Conductor

Ronan- I'd go with what the others are saying too.
Damage is damage- wear and tear is wear and tear.....

Proving that these 'accidents' were accidents will only develop into a 'he said, she said' scenario- its seriously not worth going there.

If I were in your position- I'd start looking for new tenants- as the damage thus far could well the thin edge of the wedge.

I know that repairs to the door, window mechanisms etc can be pricey- and believe you me I know only too well all about whole rolls of toilet paper and the trouble they cause- ultimately you are probably going to have to put it down to experience and be more careful with your next tenants.

It is an unfortunate fact of life- that many people will take far better care of their own possessions than they will of possessions that belong to others.

Zamboni

They sound like cavemen!
Get rid of.
If you appear to be a pushover there behaviour will spiral.

subway

Are they renting a room? If not it seems like they are calling you over a lot. I wouldn't call a landlord for a broken plate for example.

Look to get them out when the lease is up or asap if they're renting a room

mikemac1

Seems to me they are lodgers and Ronan lives in the house

Pawwed Rig

mikemac1 wrote: »

Seems to me they are lodgers and Ronan lives in the house

This is the important question here. If they are lodgers in a rent a room property then fair enough the landlord can do what he likes. If not then some of the advice given so far is very dangerous and could land the landlord in alot of trouble. Would need alot more details about the tenancy.

I would not be paying for the repair of things that are in excess of wear and tear unless they are a once off.

Ray Palmer

xper wrote: »

'From now on its coming out of your deposit...' line, that'll signal to them they've got away with negligence and you're a bit of a push over. .

Damage is damge as people say. Never say it comes out of your deposit. They pay for damage as they do it. The deposit is for the unknown element. I would say for anything you have fixed it is likely they have broken more.

Ray Palmer

Pawwed Rig wrote: »

This is the important question here. If they are lodgers in a rent a room property then fair enough the landlord can do what he likes. If not then some of the advice given so far is very dangerous and could land the landlord in alot of trouble. Would need alot more details about the tenancy.

I would not be paying for the repair of things that are in excess of wear and tear unless they are a once off.

What trouble? If a tenant of any sort breaks something they are liable to replace or repair the item to the standard it was before they broke it.

subway

Ray Palmer wrote: »

What trouble? If a tenant of any sort breaks something they are liable to replace or repair the item to the standard it was before they broke it.

id say the advice about giving them notice etc would be on dangerous ground if there is a lease in place.
to go from fixing everything without question straight to eviction could be problematic, depending on the lease.

if they are tenants and not lodgers then inspecting plates on a weekly basis is also bizarre and could go agaisnt the landlord if an eviction was sought and fought via te courts

Ray Palmer

subway wrote: »

id say the advice about giving them notice etc would be on dangerous ground if there is a lease in place.
to go from fixing everything without question straight to eviction could be problematic, depending on the lease.

if they are tenants and not lodgers then inspecting plates on a weekly basis is also bizarre and could go agaisnt the landlord if an eviction was sought and fought via te courts

Way to over exagerate:eek:
One person suggested get rid of them and noticing a plate broken is no where near the same as suggesting they inspect plates.

ronan45

Pawwed Rig wrote: »

This is the important question here. If they are lodgers in a rent a room property then fair enough the landlord can do what he likes. If not then some of the advice given so far is very dangerous and could land the landlord in alot of trouble. Would need alot more details about the tenancy.

I would not be paying for the repair of things that are in excess of wear and tear unless they are a once off.

Hi Sorry I should have said Lodgers in a rent a room Scheme. Thanks for the advice. Of course I guess mentioning the plate was silly. Thats normal im well used to that

joethatoom

Broken Windows

subway

Ray Palmer wrote: »

Way to over exagerate:eek:
One person suggested get rid of them and noticing a plate broken is no where near the same as suggesting they inspect plates.

ok... just giving an example, we're not in court, take it easy.
you asked what could go wrong...

subway

ronan45 wrote: »

Hi Sorry I should have said Lodgers in a rent a room Scheme. Thanks for the advice. Of course I guess mentioning the plate was silly. Thats normal im well used to that

your in a strong, but awkward position.
you can set rules about who pays for breakages (suggest "he who breaks it, buys it") but they might be unwilling to go along since youve paid in the past.
you can ask them to leave at any time as lodgers and you can use the deposit to cover past breakages, but it wont go down well i would imagine.
might be best to get them out and start afresh with new lodgers and clear ground rules if they wont go along with your proposal

Pawwed Rig

subway wrote: »

id say the advice about giving them notice etc would be on dangerous ground if there is a lease in place.
to go from fixing everything without question straight to eviction could be problematic, depending on the lease.

Yes this is what I meant