Not giving deposit back to tenant who damaged property, but we're friendly now

Snazzy_Chazzy

So I have a tennant who is leaving that broke some stuff not maliciously but still its gonna cost a few bob to put right. Left a bath running by accident and caused a few square feet of plaster down stairs to fall out and needed replacing. I was billed out 240 quid by the plasterer to cut out the messed up section of ceiling and to insert new plasterboard and re-skim. It will need repainting also.
Also the issue of a new carpet that has a dirty big ciggy burn where a smoke fell and burnt out. Now Im going to be out of pocket by up to 300 euro but the tennants been there for near 1 year. And were kinda friendly we have the odd glass of vino at the weekend etc. we have an old natter each evening. My thinking is to just leave it and put it down to just one of them things. A mate of mine is like are you mad thats a months rent... friend or no feckin friend....
So do you bill out someone who you have kinda made mates with over some accidental damage>? Then again I have had lots of tennants over the years who i was "friendly" with but i dont really ever hear from anymore. Its kind of a temporary friends thing i guess. Should i become Mrs Landlord the day the leave or what?

aN.Droid

Snazzy_Chazzy wrote: »

So I have a tennant who is leaving that broke some stuff not maliciously but still its gonna cost a few bob to put right. Left a bath running by accident and caused a few square feet of plaster down stairs to fall out and needed replacing. I was billed out 240 quid by the plasterer to cut out the messed up section of ceiling and to insert new plasterboard and re-skim. It will need repainting also.
Also the issue of a new carpet that has a dirty big ciggy burn where a smoke fell and burnt out. Now Im going to be out of pocket by up to 300 euro but the tennants been there for near 1 year. And were kinda friendly we have the odd glass of vino at the weekend etc. we have an old natter each evening. My thinking is to just leave it and put it down to just one of them things. A mate of mine is like are you mad thats a months rent... friend or no feckin friend....
So do you bill out someone who you have kinda made mates with over some accidental damage>? Then again I have had lots of tennants over the years who i was "friendly" with but i dont really ever hear from anymore. Its kind of a temporary friends thing i guess. Should i become Mrs Landlord the day the leave or what?

Why should you cover damage they done? Even if you are friends they cannot expect you to shell out for the damage they made. Heck I would even expect my best friend to cover any damage they do!

ProudDUB

Were you friends with this person before they began renting from you? If so, then it is up to you to decide whether or not deducting the costs of repairing damage that they caused is worth pissing them off to an extent that it damages your long term relationship with them. Even if they do get pissed off, how valuable a friendship is it if they expect to be able to damage your property, and get off scott free?

If you only met this person when they began renting from you, than by all means deduct the cost of repairs from their deposit. You are running a business, not a charity. Most people are not "friends" with their land lord. Maintaining friendly relations is one thing, having them as friends is something else. It is hard to be true friends with people who are purchasing a service off you, as it leads to an unequal relationship developing.

Perhaps you might think about maintaining a more formal and professional relationships with your tenants in the future. You'll be an easy target for people to take advantage of you if you don't.

Victor

I would think they should have to pay at least something.

zenno

You rented you're premises out to a third party and expected the home to be looked after, and you receive the unacceptable news of damage to said property, a friend would not cause this to happen in the first place so buckle-up and be a bit more understanding to your own predicament and get payment for any damage. Why should you have to pay for all repairs ?. Being too nice a person can damage you in the long run.

petethebrick

To be honest if I flooded my best friends apartment I would offer to pay for any damages. But I know what you mean - if he has been a good tenant otherwise and you get on well maybe you could show him the costs and them tell him you'll charge him only half to do him a favour

P. Breathnach

What's the problem? If you deal with one another a friendly basis, then you should expect him or her to behave as a friend would, and accept responsibility for the damage caused.

It comes down to finding the right way to broach the issue. Perhaps you should not leave it to the last day of the tenancy, as that might seem like an ambush.

Mr.Wemmick

Is he/she fully aware about the damage he caused? Surely he knows that you have already fixed the plaster by paying a plasterer to do it. Did you tell him how much it cost? And the carpet, is he aware it will need changing? You need to talk to him/her about this now, not later. Keep your receipts of work done and quotes received to show him.

If he/she is a friend, surely he would have offered to pay for the damage he caused, no? This is your property and he has damaged it so a friend he would cough up or at least be aware the amount will be deducted from the deposit.

We are renting and my son accidentally knocked a small hole through the wall by banging the door handle against the wall. Now granted, all the walls have some damage prior to moving in as the landlord hasn't put any door springs or wall protectors on, and the door handles are large and heavy brass types. I will still get someone in to fix the damaged wall before I leave and pay for it, or expect it to be taken out of the deposit.

My Landlord's really nice, a good Landlord and very respectful. I will make sure I leave the house in good condition when I leave.

If your tenant is a friend and a decent guy, he will do the same.

djimi

The deposit is there so that situations such as these can be dealt with. Neither of the situations you described in the OP are normal wear and tear; both were completely down to the tenants negligance, and both should be taken care of out of their deposit. Doesnt matter how friendly you are with the tenant they are still just that, a tenant, and letting them away with this kind of thing leaves you unfairly out of pocket and lets them off the hook for damage which you have every right to expect them to pay for (unless you have been friends for years in which case its really up to you as long time friends to sort it out).

However if you are on friendly terms with them then I would suggest the best thing to do in future is give the tenant a chance to repair the damage when it happens, rather than taking it from their deposit. The end result is the same; they lose the money and you get your property repaired, but trying to deduct from a deposit at the end of a tenancy can lead to disputes, whereas its easy to reason with them at the time as to why they should be paying for the damage. Also if you leave it until the end of the tenancy then you could potentially have a period where the place is vacant as you do repairs (depends on the type of damage), so from your point of view in that regard it is better to do the repairs while the tenant is still there.

UDP

Renting is a business not a friendship. Know the difference or you will pay the cost.

Mr.Wemmick

You're in a house/flat share with them, no?

Is that why you're reluctant or unable to deal with them objectively?

the_syco

They caused damage, they must pay for it. Sounds like you're being taken for a fool.