UK Landlord Forum / Life

A few months ago, my tenant was using the washing machine, which started leaking into the flat downstairs. As part of best practices as a landlord, I've provided them with manuals for all appliances. When the engineer came to fix the machine, he identified the leak as being caused by a clogged detergent tray - an avoidable issue had it been cleaned.

Recently, I received a bill from my downstairs neighbor for the damage to their ceiling. I believe this situation could have been avoided with a simple cleaning of the detergent tray, which I consider negligence or misuse by the tenant.

My question is: should I inform my tenants that I'll be deducting the repair costs from their deposit, or should I ask them to pay upfront? I'm concerned that if I deduct it from their deposit, I'll be left with less than 50% of the deposit to cover potential damage or cleaning at the end of their tenancy.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Thank you!

Tell the downstairs neighbour to talk to the tenant directly. You're only liable if you were negligent, which you weren't.

You would probably want to play it low key and simply email your Tenant to say you have been informed and can they explain what happened.

If they don't admit liability or suggest it was a different fault then you can refer to the report saying it says it was the detergent tray not being cleaned and what does s/he have to say about that.  If there is more than one Tenant and they are not related they will blame each other.

Often these matters are referred to insurers, people wrongly suggest the damaged party should claim on their insurance, you can ask the Tenant if they have any insurance and if it includes accidental damage or negligence.

Getting things in writing now will help you at the end of the tenancy so you are not accused of making it up.

I suspect the cost of the work will exceed the deposit.

In this situation I would not wait until the end of the tenancy, but rather invoke whatever term is in place and ask the Tenant to settle the matter with the neighbour, making sure you work with the parties to ensure it is resolved to the neighbours satisfaction.  Make sure that they get 3 quotes and choose the middle one to avoid any cost mitigation claim.

Quote from: KnockdownGinger on October 11, 2024, 12:28:45 PMA few months ago, my tenant was using the washing machine, which started leaking into the flat downstairs. As part of best practices as a landlord, I've provided them with manuals for all appliances. When the engineer came to fix the machine, he identified the leak as being caused by a clogged detergent tray - an avoidable issue had it been cleaned.

Recently, I received a bill from my downstairs neighbor for the damage to their ceiling. I believe this situation could have been avoided with a simple cleaning of the detergent tray, which I consider negligence or misuse by the tenant.

My question is: should I inform my tenants that I'll be deducting the repair costs from their deposit, or should I ask them to pay upfront? I'm concerned that if I deduct it from their deposit, I'll be left with less than 50% of the deposit to cover potential damage or cleaning at the end of their tenancy.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Thank you!

Liability could be based on assumptions... I guess. Dunno.

I would think if an Engineer report says the issue was down to the detergent tray being clogged and the issue could be avoided by it being cleaned, then you would also need to prove that it was clean at the start of the tenancy. Dated picture or specifically called-out in the Inventory (best practice as a Landlord). Unless the machine was brand-new, of course, then you have what you need.

Otherwise, if I wanted to "get away with it" and I knew the machine was always there... I would say - "I don't even use the tray." - and leave it to Others to 'discuss'.

Some this will depend upon the amount and the type of person. Additionally, the type of person you are... if it's a first-time 'offence' and the amount is nominal (the word bill is unspecific and that could be avoided by adding a number before it)... can it be called a learning experience (for everyone)? The person I'd blame is the downstairs occupant - how dare they?

I don't use the tray, I chuck the soft bubbles straight into the drum.

Anarchist.

I would not feel at all comfortable expecting the folk downstairs to take the hit. It could be argued that the landlord is at fault for renting to total lowlife who don' t clean the tray. I suspect that the tenants will deny all knowledge,  or simply refuse to cough up .Surely the landlord should pay up if this is the case?

Having had to remove all kinds of hideous bacterial lifeforms from trays many times, I can't ever recall such blockages leading to leaks. You learn something new every day.   

Something not covered - whose washing machine is it?

Tenants? - their problem

Landlords? - (unless fully furnished) your problem for supplying one in the first place