UK Landlord Forum / Life

Hi,
I have an AST with my tenant for a flat which has a German made slide and tilt door. This had a problem and was rectified in March when the tenant moved in and the tenant confirmed everything was alright. In June, the tenant again complained the door is jammed so when I brought in the same repairmen said a significant part is broken and has to be replaced which would cost me around 1300£ and this amount is way more than the rent.

When i asked the contractor what could be the reason for the breakage he said its due to usage.

My question is who should pay this bill - landlord or tenant?  bearing in mind it was all working fine when the tenant had moved in.

Any advice/help appreciated.

The Landlord. You. Unless you can prove some kind of incontrovertible negligence or mis-use... not just use - use is like wear-and-tear. Things get used, things will sometimes break.

It doesn't matter if it's way more than the rent, does it? Part and parcel of the game you're in.

Quote from: Hippogriff on June 05, 2017, 09:25:05 AM
The Landlord. You. Unless you can prove some kind of incontrovertible negligence or mis-use... not just use - use is like wear-and-tear. Things get used, things will sometimes break.

It doesn't matter if it's way more than the rent, does it? Part and parcel of the game you're in.

Thanks. Since this is a issue in the garden facing balcony door of a 3rd floor flat, would this be covered in the landlord's buildings insurance ?

It is quite possible, but you'd need to read into it, or ask.

It's a rule of thumb, for me, that I consider claiming on the [my] insurance for anything over £1,000... less than that mark and I really don't consider it to be worth it.